William keeps his gaze on me. “Your ball is back.”
It takes me a moment to know what he’s talking about. “Oh—yeah.” As I pull on the lever, my heart is racing, and I hate that he can hear it.
“I’m glad everyone’s here because I want to formally propose we take a break from the LUB,” says Zach while the machine dings. “I don’t know about you all, but I’m falling behind in homework and reading, and now that I have newspaper and history and film club, spending hours every night flipping through empty books just isn’t the thrill it once was.”
“Same,” says Tiffany, and I get the sense they discussed this already.
“We can’t stop now,” says Trevor, and he looks at Salma with pleading eyes. “Come on, we’re almost halfway through the books, and it’s only been two weeks. By the end of the month, we could be done!”
“But there’s nothing there,” says Tiffany. “I think the real story is the secret timeline and why we can’t take photos or videos—”
“And those answers will be in the books!”
“You seem so sure of that,” says Salma, who hasn’t weighed in yet. “Why?”
Trevor’s face grows as inscrutable as William’s, and I wish I knew whathe’s found in the green book. But I can’t tell William about it because I don’t want him messing with Trevor’s mind.
“I just have a feeling,” says Trevor. “Remember when you talked about how you felt a calling to this place? I get that same feeling about those books, like we discovered them because they have something to tell us.”
“I think we’ll have a better chance after Thanksgiving,” says Salma, and she sounds like she’s given this some thought. “I’ll bring my Ouija board, tarot cards, and spellbooks.”
“You really think that stuff works?” asks Tiffany, her voice laden with doubt.
Sal nods, and before I can back her up, I hear William say, “I think it is a grand idea.”
“No one was talking to you,” says Trevor, probably because Salma is beaming at the vampire.
“Salma seems fine with my input.” I get the feeling William is only saying this to annoy Trevor. As the two of them lock into a stare-off, I’m afraid the vampire will use his mental powers to humiliate Trevor—or worse.
Instead, he turns to me and asks, “Can I play?”
It’s the last thing I expected William to say.
“Sure.” I step back and make room for him by the machine. Then he folds his hand around the lever and pulls back.
The entire metal rod comes out, breaking the game.
Tiffany gasps, while Salma and Zach look wide-eyed and speechless.
“I felt something loosen the last time I pulled,” I say to cover for William’s mistake. “I should have warned you.”
“Let’s get away before a teacher sees,” says Zach, and the six of us hurry to join the small queue of people waiting for a turn at darts.
“TheOne Piecepinball machine is broken!” a student exclaims, and we all turn in the opposite direction.
“What happened here?” I hear Minaro ask.
“I don’t know, it was like this when I got here!”
We all trade side stares, barely containing our laughter, and when I look up at William, he’s watching me. His gaze is fixed on my cheek, and I think I must have something on my face.
It’s not until I’m in bed later that I realize he was looking at my dimple.
SATURDAY MORNINGafter breakfast, William and I walk to the garden.
The greenery looks so gentle in the sunlight that it’s hard to reconcile thisplace with the menacing memories it conjures. Every step echoes back to the last time he led me here, when all I saw was a monster. And all he saw was a meal.
Has that changed at all?
