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“He didn’t do anything to Jen,” I said defensively. “They just broke up. And it was, like, two years ago.”
Sawyer nodded. “I know. I just … I guess I’m overly suspicious of anyone who broke her heart, you know? Especially now that she’s …”
He paused and shook his head. “Anyway …” He looked at me suddenly, as if he had just really looked at me for the first time, and his forehead creased with concern. “Hey,” he said, taking a step closer to me. “Are you okay?”
I blinked, surprised that he cared enough to ask. I felt so alone I think I would have been surprised by kindness from anyone at that moment. But from Sawyer, it was particularly touching. My eyes smarted all over again. “I thought you were going to hate me forever,” I said.
Sawyer sighed. “I never hated you. Yeah, I wanted to … to be …” He trailed off and looked away. Both of us blushed. “But I’m over it.”
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Over it enough to give a crap when you look like that,” he said lightly.
“Thanks a lot,” I joked halfheartedly. But the tears were now brimming in my eyes. God, I was getting sick of crying. Why could I not stop myself from crying?
“Reed,” Sawyer said, reaching for me. “Come on. Whatever it is, it’s gonna be okay.”
Then he tugged me to him and we hugged. It was a totally platonic, friendly hug. And basically, exactly what I needed at that moment. I managed not to burst out into full-on tears, but instead sniffled, blinked them back, and breathed. I just breathed. And it felt good.
“Thanks,” I said, pulling away.
Sawyer smiled. “Anytime.”
Then he looked past me and his skin paled. “Oh. Hey, man.”
My stomach sunk. I turned around and there was Josh. He’d just stepped out of the dining hall, without his stuff, obviously coming after me.
“Um, hey,” he said. His eyes darted between me and Sawyer and his jaw suddenly set. “Well. I guess you don’t need me, then.”
He turned on his heel and fled back into the dining hall.
“Josh!”
I went after him, casting an apologetic look over my shoulder at Sawyer, hoping he’d understand. But by the time I’d opened the door, Josh had grabbed his things and was halfway across the room, headed for the outside door, which he let slam loudly, pointedly, behind him.
Suddenly, my cell phone beeped in my pocket, and I quickly fumbled for it. I’d just received a new text.
ASSIGNMENT NUMBER TWO COMPLETE. ANOTHER JOB WELL-DONE. YOUR NEW INSTRUCTIONS WILL ARRIVE SHORTLY.
My eyes darted to Ivy at the end of my table. She was lifting a forkful of rice to her mouth, listening intently to something Portia was saying, but her left hand was hidden under the table. Across the room, Headmaster Hathaway tilted his ear toward Mr. Owens, but his eyes were on me. Then Gage and Graham walked across my line of vision. They looked at me, then Gage whispered something. They both laughed. At their table, Constance, London, and Missy were all huddled in conversation, looking at something flat on the center of the table. Was it a phone? Had they just sent the text? Suddenly, a door slammed behind me and I whirled around. No one was there. I couldn’t even tell which of the two doors had closed. At that moment, my phone beeped again. My hand was shaking so ha
rd I could barely hit the button to open it. When I finally did, the text made my blood run cold.
NICE NECKLACE, BY THE WAY.
That night I sat at my desk, my laptop screen glowing in front of me, working on my paper for English class. At least, that’s what anyone who had walked into the room would have thought I was doing, what with all the books on Jane Austen’s life open around my laptop, and the title “A Day in the Life of Jane Austen” typed across the top of my Word document along with my name and the date. Really I was staring out the window at the stars, contemplating how completely screwed up my life was.
Noelle had been kidnapped and I was the only one who could save her. I was lying to my best friends about where she was and lying to the headmaster about her excuse for missing classes, which basically meant I was aiding and abetting the kidnappers because, thanks to me, no one even knew the girl was missing. Oh, and I had committed petty theft. At least I thought it was petty. At what price range did it stop being petty and start being grand? The very idea that I had to even ponder a question like that made me sick to my stomach. It made me wonder who the hell I had become.
Meanwhile, Josh, the one person who had always been there for me, and who was currently my rock in seriously choppy waters, had caught me getting intimate with not one, but two guys in four days.
I bet Jane Austen never had to deal with crap like this.
Suddenly, my phone beeped. My heart lurched into my throat. On the desk, my iPhone lit up with a new text. My fingers trembled as I reached for it. It read simply:
ASSIGNMENT NUMBER THREE: PISS OFF THE HEADMASTER.
I groaned and dropped the phone down again, beyond disgusted. I pressed my elbows into the open books on either side of my keyboard, and hung my head in my hands.
