Outside Reading, post 2

After spending more time at finishing school, Gemma finally gets to make a few friends. Although she isn't very close to these girls due to contrasting personalities, she does spend a considerable amount of time with them. One of these girls is Ann. Ann is Gemma's roommate, and is very shy and plain, although she longs to fit in with the popular girls. There isn't much depth to her character; so far she hasn't said anything insightful or inspiring. She just seems to be a random girl that Gemma talks to. A slightly more interesting character is Felicity. After Gemma saved Felicity's reputation by covering up for her, Felicity's once hostile attitude towards Gemma changed dramatically. She sincerely tells Gemma, "I think we're going to be great friends" (Bray 117). Much more interesting than Ann, Felicity is lively, charming, and has a knack for wriggling out of trouble.

One main struggle Gemma goes through is the mysteriousness of Kartik. Kartik seems to pop up out of nowhere at random times and insists that Gemma concentrates on stopping her visions. Gemma is mostly irritated by this, wishing he would explain himself fully. However, Kartik's messages are just a cryptic as ever. She thinks, "I hate him, standing in my room as if he owns it and me, issuing warnings and insults, sharing nothing" (Bray 121). As much as she despises Kartik, Gemma does learn from him how vulnerable she is to the outside world, and she learns that she must be careful.

A slightly more bothersome struggle is the continuence of her visions. Gemma got several strange visions, one of a girl named Mary telling her about magic, visions, and much more that puzzled Gemma. Another vision was that of her mother calling to her. This made Gemma extremely anxious, because she becomes under the impression that her mother is out there somewhere, able to be reached. She becomes determined to somehow find her mother. Even after Kartik tells Gemma to ignore her visions, she tells him, "That was my mother in the woods today. And I'm going to find her" (Bray 123). This shows that when Gemma's mind is set, she can be very stubborn and refuses to take the advice of others, which may lead to trouble in the future.