Page 37 of A Thousand Second Chances

I flick my eyes from her eager expression to Percy’s far more wary one. “So, have either of you ever been on a ghost tour?”

I was right. In the end, the haunted tour I suggested turned up absolutely nothing of significance. When logic and science fail, that leaves the mysterious and arcane. But if vengeful witches or dissatisfied spirits had caused our repeated day, they don’t seem eager to make their presence known. I do, however, learn way more than I ever wanted about Mackinac Island’s sordid history. I’m sure Oshkoff would’ve loved it. Quinn, for her part, eats it up, oohing and ahhing in all the right places.

Despite my best efforts, I spend more of the tour watching Percy than whatever our overly enthusiastic guide—a high school guy hamming it up for our benefit—chooses to point out. Of the three of us, Percy seems most affected by the wholehauntedthing. Our tour guide’s in the middle of describing a particularly horrific homicide when I notice Percy trembling, his eyes wide as he glances nervously up and down the street.

“Still not a fan of scary stories?” I ask, sidling up beside him.

He jerks in surprise, looking a heartbeat away from bolting down the street. When he registers me, he tries to turn the sudden motion into a stretch. I raise an amused eyebrow, and he scowls, abandoning the effort. “What’s the point of purposefully freaking yourself out? Life’s full of enough actual things to fear without piling on more.”

I think of the half-formed story I’d started the other night about the island serial killer. “It’s not about being scared. I mean, sure, there’s the adrenaline rush and the thrill of suspense. But that’s not why I like horror.”

He turns to face me more fully. “Oh, yeah?” His pale blue eyes draw me into their icy depths. The rest of the tour group and ourguide’s continued spiel fade into the background. “Then, what is?”’

I swallow as a faint shiver races down my back that has nothing to do with the October chill. “Control. In a story, you can work through the shit that terrifies you because, no matter how unsettling it gets, you know deep down it isn’t real. It can’t hurt you. And that makesyouthe master of your fear so you can conquer it before it conquers you.”

Judging by the intent way Percy studies me, my words must’ve struck a chord. A gust of wind billows past us, and he hugs his jacket tighter around him. That’s when I realize how close we’re standing. It would be so easy to reach out and drag him even closer—to wrap him in my arms and offer both warmth and comfort. Of course, it would also be aterriblemistake, no matter what my misguided libido thinks it wants.

Muttering a half-assed excuse, I retreat from Percy and return to Quinn’s side. I ignore the look she gives me, a too-discerning gleam in her eye.Whatever. Let her speculate all she wants—if my hunch is right, she won’t remember any of this tomorrow anyway.

It’s nearing ten at night by the time the tour wraps up, leaving the three of us to walk together down Main Street toward the Royal Lilac. The mood’s considerably lighter than it had been at dinner. We haven’t discovered any new answers, but that’s okay. There’s always tomorrow.

And the day after that.

And the day after that…

And okay, so maybe I don’t know that for sure. We could wake up tomorrow and discover this was all a bad dream or a one-off occurrence. Maybe thereisno mystery to solve. But I can’t shake this certainty in my gut that whatever is happening isn’t over yet.

I keep mostly to myself on the walk back, staying quiet as Quinn and Percy talk about some of the current games they’replaying. I’ve never been much of a gamer myself, other than the multiplayer games Percy used to convince me to play with him. Memories of sleepless nights snuggled against Percy on my bed, controllers gripped in our hands as we tackle the latest quest in his new favorite RPG leave a dull ache in my chest.

There are still lights on downstairs at the Royal Lilac when we arrive. The front door is unlocked, so we don’t need our keys to slip into the entryway. Recalling my discussion with Ms. Lindman the other night, I glance toward the sitting room and find her perched in the same spot with her Kindle. But this time, she’s not alone.

Professor Oshkoff rises, striding toward us with a hard expression. “Thereyou are! Where have you been all day?”

“It’s my fault, professor,” Quinn says smoothly. She slides in front of Percy and me, her face contrite. “They took me to the hospital like we discussed and—”

“Save it, Ms. Pearson,” Oshkoff barks, her eyes glinting like flecks of steel beneath her spectacles. “Your performance this morning had me so concerned for your health that I contacted the university for an update on your condition. Imagine my surprise when I learned no such condition exists. Serious illnesses are no laughing matter!”

Quinn pales, for once seeming at a loss. “I-I’m sorry, professor,” she says with what I suspect is genuine remorse.

Oshkoff snorts. “I’m sure you are. Needless to say, I have informed the university of your misconduct. They will be reviewing the situation with you once you return to campus.” She turns to Percy and me. “That goes for the two of you as well. At a minimum, I would not plan on attending any future school-sponsored trips.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Oh no, such a loss. As ifthistrip had been a rousing success I’d want to repeat. And that’sassuming a new loop doesn’t begin tomorrow, wiping away any memory of our current transgressions.

Oshkoff fixes her stern gaze on Percy, who visibly shrinks. “Andyou,Mr. Wentworth! Out of the three of you, I’d have thought you at least would have more sense than this. Especially since it was your own father who scheduled this excursion. I’m sure he’d be ashamed of how you’ve behaved after all the trouble he went through to fund and organize this on your behalf.”

Percy bows his head, his bottom lip trembling, and suddenly, this doesn’t seem quite so easy to shrug off. Before I realize what I’m doing, I’ve stepped between him and Oshkoff, fixing the surprised professor with a glare. “Lay off him! You have no idea what kind of day he’s had.”

What kind of day we’veallhad, but I leave that part out. In this moment, Percy’s the only thing on my mind—making sure he’s okay and wiping that pained expression off his face.

Oshkoff recovers enough to shake her head. “Nor do Iwantto know. Whatever you three got up to today, I hope it was worth a mark on your permanent records. Now, unless you want me to file another report with the university, I suggest you go up to your rooms and stay there until it’s time to depart tomorrow. I expect to see you here, ready to head to the ferry at eleven AM sharp.”

With that, she spins and storms up the stairs. As her furious footfalls fade, I’m not sure whether I want to laugh or shout. Why the hell does the university care so much about what we do on vacation anyway? They’re probably only involved at all because Oshkoff made such a huge fuss. I bet she gets some sort of sick power trip out of lording her authority over a bunch of helpless students.

One look at Percy’s pale, withdrawn face convinces me to keep my mouth shut. He’s probably not in the mood to hear me rant about tyrannical professors. We trudge silently up the stairsafter Oshkoff. Percy offers a half-hearted wave to Ms. Lindman when he spots her sitting below, and she fixes him with a commiserating smile.

As soon as we reach the upper landing, Quinn tugs us both in for a hug, one after the other. “Well, it’s been fun, guys.”

“Sorry for getting you into trouble,” Percy mutters, his eyes downcast.