Page 44 of The Wicker King

NOTHING LEFT

Jack wanted to go to bed early, so they kissed Rina good-bye. Jack headed quickly down the stairs, but August paused at the doorway.

“Hey, weird question, but … why do you let us stay here?”

Rina crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe.

“Why is it important? You’re already here and I’m not saying no.”

August laughed, but rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I know, I know. But seriously. I’ve never … usually people don’t just open up like this. Or do anything for … us.”

Rina rolled back and forth on her heels and frowned. She wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“Would it be weak if I said I was just lonely? It’s hard to make friends after you leave school,” she admitted.

“It’s not weak,” August said firmly.

He paused and looked over his shoulder to check for Jack, then pulled Rina into a quick hug.

“It’s not weak. My mom once told me that being alone makes you feel weaker every day, even if you’re not,” he said quietly. “But it’s not as bad if you’re with other people who are alone, too. We can hold each other up like a card tower.”

“Your mom sounds really smart,” Rina murmured into the lapel of his jacket.

“Yeah.” August smiled. “She’s the best.”

TEN INCHES

August, Roger, and Peter had geometry together. They had spent the past couple of weeks subtly migrating across the room from their assigned seats until Roger sat in front of August and Peter sat to Roger’s left, against the wall.

They passed notes. Predictably, Jack didn’t like being discussed in public, which August had made the mistake of doing once. But now that they all ate lunch together and his afternoons were completely occupied, August had to figure out some way to update the twins while Jack wasn’t there. This seemed to work pretty well.

Roger’s main concern at the moment was making sure Jack and August were doing all right, whereas Peter was generally more interested in the progression of the prophecy.

I’m mostly curious about how the completion of the quest will affect his current state. I wonder if he’ll get better or worse.

August scowled at him ferociously and wrote back: Jack isn’t an experiment. Stop talking about him like that.

He received: You don’t have to get so butthurt.

Before August could unleash all hell upon him, Roger snatched the note off his desk. “Ignore him,” he said. “You’re doing fine.”

WARDEN

August went into the school library. He needed to return a couple of books. He’d started taking out more fairy-tale books for Rina because she’d exhausted the selection in her own town library. To his surprise, he spotted Gordie and Carrie-Anne sitting together, talking excitedly at a table in the back of the room.

They’d never been friends before. This was … startling.

In the past, Gordie had griped along with August about Carrie-Anne, but now she was riveted by whatever Carrie-Anne was saying, as if they’d been friends for years. Suddenly, she spotted August staring from across the room. Gordie said something, and then Carrie-Anne turned to look at him, too.

August waved and smiled—mostly out of reflex.

Gordie didn’t wave back. Carrie-Anne frowned at him and turned back around. Whatever Carrie-Anne said next made Gordie laugh. Then Gordie grinned at him with open hostility, like she knew something he didn’t. August tossed his books on the counter, scanned his ID, and got out of there as quickly as possible.

JAAN

“It was creepy,” August said, leaning his head back against the couch.

Rina clucked her tongue disapprovingly and continued running her fingers through his hair.