Page 40 of The Wicker King

August shivered while he thought up an answer. “I don’t know. Anything, probably.”

“Do you really mean that?” It wasn’t said with softness. It sounded like a threat.

Jack, misinterpreting August’s silence as denial, dug his fingers into August’s flesh. August gasped at the pain but didn’t pull away.

“Come on. Let’s get out of the water,” August said gently. “Let’s go home.”

BLEED

A lot of people were absent from lunch on Monday. This left him at the table with just Alex and Jack, who had emigrated quietly over to their friend group after quitting the team. Alex was studying for an AP exam and had spread her papers all over the place. August knocked the side of Alex’s notebook away from her tray.

“Hey!”

August ignored her. “Do you know where Daliah is? I haven’t seen her since we got back from break.”

“Why should I tell you? You’re rude.” Alex sniffed as she pulled her papers toward her protectively.

“Tell him or I’ll spill juice on your notes,” Jack said threateningly, not looking up from his ravioli.

“Ugh. The both of you. I don’t know why I even—” Alex shook her head. “Daliah was arrested on drug distribution charges. I doubt you’ll see her again. They’re really cracking down on that sort of … behavior. I would suggest you take the warning.”

Jack gazed at August and raised an eyebrow in silent agreement. August groaned theatrically and slumped in his chair.

GÜLEN

Not even two class periods later, August was called into the office. He sat down nervously in a chair with peeling yellow paint and waited.

The dean stared at him for a couple of minutes, weighing him in the silence. He was an ex-marine: huge, mustached, and not known for his patience or leniency. Once he felt enough time had passed to sufficiently terrify August out of sheer suspense, he tossed a plastic bag on the desk. “Do you know anything about this?”

“No?”

The dean didn’t look impressed. “Jason Matthews said he bought this from you. You can claim whatever you’d like, but the police are going through your locker. If we find something, there will be consequences.”

August felt like someone was pouring cold water in a straight line slowly down his spine. There shouldn’t be anything there. He hadn’t gotten any fresh supply since Daliah had left for winter break. But what if they found some dust, or something had slipped out? There should be nothing. He never used his supply. Never opened the packages. He hadn’t even known what half of them were.

August sat paralyzed with fear as the dean stared him down wolfishly. The blood pounded in his ears with the ticking of the clock on the wall. When he’d gotten so anxious that it felt like he was about to vibrate right out of his skin, an officer stuck his head through the doorway.

“He’s clean.”

The dean steepled his hands over the desk. “Get out of my office.”

BURN

August walked out of the office, down the stairs, and right out the front door. He just couldn’t finish the day. And like always, he found himself in the woods. He quickly stacked some branches and fumbled in his coat for a matchbook. When the pile was finally lit, he shrugged off his backpack and curled up next to the fire.

Perhaps a bit too close.

Ash was getting on his face and in his hair.

The tension in his neck and shoulders was thick, tight from fear. He was so stressed out he wanted to cry. August looked at the flames and willed himself to stop shaking. This was the only thing that worked. Cigarettes couldn’t really do this for him anymore. Sure, they were more portable, but they didn’t work as fast as this did.

He wished he could share this feeling with Jack. He didn’t even know what to call it. This melting, thawing, calming burn.

DON’T

“I told you, August. I told you.”

August flicked ash into the ashtray by Rina’s couch and stared at the wall. He’d thought he could escape a lecture by virtue of his mom not getting a call from the school, but he should have known better.