“Screw you,” I snap, and regret that too, since I’m sure Quill heard it. It’s like I can feel his intense stare on the back of my shirt, and if I close my eyes, I can almost imagine his hot breath on my nape. I can tell his anger is rising. Looking back at him isn’t even necessary. I guess I’m just that in tune to his craziness that I can sense whenever he’s feeling a little more murderous than usual. But right now, I’m at a loss to explain why. Why should he care if I’m rude to Cass? What’s it tohim?
Unless he’s just looking for another reason to hate my guts?
He clearly doesn’t need one. I don’t even know how it’s possible for him to despise me more than he does already.
I shake off the thoughts as they web their way around my brain. I amnotgoing to cry again. It’s been three years of cruel Quill. I should be used to it by now.
But somehow, I just never am.
Cass’s cold, clear voice calls me back to reality.
“You know, Piper, Idohate you—”
“Great,” I snarl. “Right back at you.”
This time, I’m careful to keep my voice low, though I have the unsettling and confusing feeling that Quill is still picking up on every word I say.
“What I mean,” she says slowly, as if she’s explaining the ABCs to a very annoying toddler, “is that, while Idohate you, I alsofeelbadfor you.”
I gnash my teeth together to keep from lunging at her. “Okay. Is there a point to this? Or are you just trying to piss me off?”
“There’s a point, but if you keep interrupting me, how the hell am I supposed to get the words out?” she snaps. “I’m offering you my help.”
“Oh.” I blink at her. “Well, you certainly have an unexpected way of offering.” I stare at her notebook, and then at mine, which is still empty. “You mean…” I lean toward her and whisper, “... I cancopyon you?”
She slams her notebook shut at once. “No. Absolutely not.”
“Oh. So…?”
“I’ll help you learn about mitosis.”
“Huh? Learnwhat?”
Cass turns her head slowly toward me, blinking her icy blue eyes at me as if I’m the most exasperating creature on Earth.
“Cell mitosis. You know, what we’ve been studying since the beginning of senior year.”
“Oh.” I lean back against my chair, crossing my arms. “Well, the school year has only just started.”
“It’s October 28th,” she sighs. “Halloween is in three days. We’ve had six full classes on cell mitosis. Is your brain just… turned off for a full three hours every Tuesday?”
Yes.
Well, maybe not entirely turned off, but at least, hyper-focused on the menacing person behind me and the knowledge that at any moment, he could reach toward me and… strangle me.
“Anyway,” says Cass, clicking her tongue. “You can come with me after school tomorrow.”
“Huh?” I feel terribly slow as she blows out a breath in exasperation.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve told you, Piper, that I have that internship at Devil Tower on Wednesdays. That’s the reason I moved toAstley for senior year.”
Devil Tower? My interest perks up and for once, I forget all about the threat behind me. “Oh yeah? What kind of an internship?”
“I’m interning in the science department, of course,” she sighs as if it should be obvious. “We’re working on something involving cell mitosis. You could tag along, and maybe if you see some of the stuff we do in action, it might help you understand…”
“A science internship,” I echo, disregarding the rest of her sentence. I suddenly remember the few words Dad did tell me about Ray Campbell’s father. “Are you working on an experiment?”
“Uh huh,” she says absentmindedly, as she jots something down in her notebook while staring in the lens of the microscope again.
