“You won’t even consider—?”
Salma’s smile wilts into a grimace as she reaches for her toiletry kit, like she’s just pulled a muscle. “What is it?” I ask.
“Slept on my arm funny.” She switches the kit to her other hand and steps into her slippers. “Going to the bathroom.”
I grab my own things and hurry after her. “Need to do my hair,” I say when she casts me a suspicious look on the stairs.
I watch every step she takes on the way down. I know I’m the one who’s catastrophizing now, but I’d rather be spiraling than right.
WHEN WEenter the dining hall, I feel people’s stares.
I’m used to getting collateral attention when I’m with Ma or Salma. Even when that video of me went viral, the focus was mostly on Ma. But right now, I’m not caught in someone else’s spotlight.
Everywhere I look, I lock eyes with someone.
They’re talking aboutme.
“Where’s Will?” asks Salma. All five of us are at the table with our plates loaded, yet the sixth chair remains unoccupied.
I shrug.
“You don’t know?” she presses me.
“He must’ve found my tracking device and deactivated it.”
“Ha,” she says sarcastically, but Trevor laughs for real. Even though both he and Sal have purple bags under their eyes, his greenish gaze has never looked so serene. And it strikes me that Trevor isn’t normally at peace. His mind is troubled.
Is that the thing William picked up on that he doesn’t like? It would be ironic, given that the vampire must be the most tormented soul I’ve ever met.
“There he is,” says Tiffany, and I turn to see William approaching. It feels strange seeing him back in modern clothes, and I’m reminded that his Halloween disguise was the real him. This uniform is his costume.
“Hello, Lorena,” he says, and I give a nod of greeting before biting into my toast. I wish I could take back the last thing I said to him last night.What was I thinking?
“So, Hanover this weekend,” says Trevor, surveying all of us except William.
“I’m so excited,” says Tiffany, tapping the table. “We’ll have phone service again!”
“I don’t understand why that hasn’t been fixed yet,” says Salma. “Didn’t you guys say the paper was interviewing Minaro about it for the next issue?”
“Fran’s writing the article,” says Tiffany. “They’re the editor in chief.”
Salma stands up, scans all the tables, and turns a quarter circle clockwise. “Hey, Fran!”
“Yo!” Fran’s blue pompadour pops up two tables away.
“What’s up with the Wi-Fi? I thought you did a whole investigation?”
Minaro looks up from the staff table, and some of our classmates’ chatter dies down as people tune in to Fran’s answer. “I did!”
“And?”
“You’ll have to read it in this month’s edition ofThe Hunter!”
“Seriously?!”
Fran beams a big smile before sitting back down.
I steal a glance at William. He’s already watching me, and there’s something unsteady in his eyes, as if there’s been a shift in our energy.
