was the one who answered, his eyes alight with intellectual curiosity as he watched teachers scurry and try to clean up the mess.
“Some sort of chemical reaction, if I had to guess. Could be as simple as using baking soda. Or maybe some kind of mechanical device?”
I gave Eddie a pointed look. “It was a prank,” I said. “Anyone could’ve done it.”
Eddie looked at me, then looked back at Jill. He gave a slow nod. “I see. We should get you out of here,” he told her. “You never know what-”
“No, no,” I said. “Get
“Angeline?” Eddie’s face registered disbelief. “But how…?”
I directed him toward where she stood with Trey on the dance floor. They, like many others, were staring at the aftermath of the punch explosion with wonder. “I don’t know how she got here,” I said. “It’s irrelevant. She needs to leave. Mrs. Weathers nearly caught her.”
A knowing glint flashed in Eddie’s eyes. “But the punch distracted her?”
“Yes.”
His attention fell back on Jill, and he smiled. “Convenient timing.”
She smiled back. “I guess we got lucky this time.” Their gazes locked, and it was almost a shame to interrupt. “Go,” I told Eddie. “Get Angeline.”
He cast one last look at Jill and then jumped into action. I couldn’t hear the conversation as he spoke with Angeline and Trey, but the look on his face would accept no arguments. I could see Trey yielding to family authority, and after a few more arguments, Angeline gave in as well. Eddie quickly escorted her out, and to my relief, neither Mrs. Weathers nor anyone else seemed to notice.
“Jill,” I said. “It might be best if you and Micah leave early. You don’t have to go right this second… but soon.”
Jill nodded, face sad. “I understand.”
Even if no one would connect her to this, it was best if she wasn’t around. Already, I could see people gathering at the table and, like Brayden, trying to figure out what could have caused such a phenomenon. She vanished into the crowd. Brayden finally looked away from the spectacle. He started to say something to me and then suddenly jerked his head toward the DJ.
“Oh no,” he said, face crestfallen.
“What?” I asked, half-expecting the DJ’s table to collapse or a speaker to catch on fire.
“This song. I requested it for you… but it’s almost over.”
I tilted my head to listen. I didn’t know the song, but it was slow and romantic and made me feel… well, kind of guilty. Here it was, a sentimental gesture from Brayden, ruined by my “family’s” wacky hijinks. I caught hold of his hand.
“Well, it’s not over yet. Come on.”
We were able to dance to the last minute of it, but it was clear that Brayden was disappointed. I wanted to make it up to him somehow and, in spite of everything that had happened, still have the normal high school dance experience I’d wanted.
“The night’s young,” I teased. “I’ll go request one for you, and then you can try to guess when it comes on.” Considering I didn’t listen to the radio, it probably wouldn’t be that hard to guess. I made the request and then joined Brayden for another slow song. I was still a little anxious about what had happened earlier but told myself all was well now. Jill had left. Eddie had taken care of Angeline. All I had to do was relax and-
A vibration startled me as I danced. I was wearing a tiny, red dress purse over my shoulder. It was lost in the folds of my gown, but the buzz of my cell phone was unmistakable. Apologizing to Brayden, I stopped dancing to check the message. It was from Adrian:
I texted back:
His response:
A feeling of dread crept over me:
The response was about as bad as I could expect:
CHAPTER 14
“OH, LORD,” I SAID.
“What’s wrong?” asked Brayden. “Is everything okay?”
“Hard to say.” I put the phone back in my purse. “I hate to do this, but I have to go take care of something outside. I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
I hesitated. “No, it’s okay.” I had no idea what to expect out there. It was best if Brayden wasn’t subjected to it. “I’ll hurry.”
“Sydney, wait.” Brayden caught hold of my arm. “This… this is the song you requested, isn’t it?” The one we’d been dancing to had just ended, and a new one was on-or, well, an old one. It was about thirty years old.
I sighed. “Yes. It is. I’ll be fast, I promise.”
The temperature outside was pleasant, warm but not oppressively so. We were allegedly due for a rare bit of rain. As I walked toward the parking lot, some of Wolfe’s lessons came back to me. Check your surroundings. Watch for people lurking near cars. Stay in the light. Make sure to-
“Adrian!”
All reasonable thoughts vanished from my head.
I ran over to Latte as fast as the dress would allow me. “What are you doing?” I demanded. “Get off of there!” I automatically checked for dents and scratches.
Adding insult to injury, Adrian was actually smoking as he lay on the hood and stared up at the sky. Clouds were moving in, but a half-moon could occasionally be seen. “Relax, Sage. I won’t leave a scratch. Really, this is surprisingly comfortable for a family car. I would’ve expected-”
He turned his head toward me and froze. I had never seen him so still-or so quiet. His shock was so thorough and intense that he actually dropped his cigarette.
“Ahh,” I cried, springing forward, lest the burning cigarette damage the car. It landed harmlessly on the asphalt, and I quickly stamped it out. “For the last time, will you get off of there?”
Adrian slowly sat up, eyes wide. He slid off the hood and didn’t seem to leave any marks. Obviously, I’d have to check it later. “Sage,” he said. “What are you wearing?”
I sighed and stared down at the dress. “I know. It’s red. Don’t start. I’m tired of hearing about it.”
“Funny,” he said. “I don’t think I could ever get tired of looking at it.”
Those words drew me up short, and a rush of heat went through me. What did he mean? Was I so outlandish- looking that he couldn’t stop staring at the crazy spectacle? Surely… surely he wasn’t implying that I was pretty…
I promptly got back on track, reminding myself that I needed to think about the guy inside, not out here. “Adrian, I’m on a date. Why are you here? On my car?”
“Sorry to interrupt, Sage. I wouldn’t have been on your car if they’d let me into the dance,” he said. A little of his earlier awe had faded, and he relaxed into a more typical Adrian pose, leaning back against Latte. At least he was standing and less likely to do damage.
“Yeah. They generally frown on letting twenty-something guys into high school events. What did you want?”
“To talk to you.”
I waited for him to elaborate, but the only response I received was a brief flash of lightning above. It was Saturday, and I’d been around campus all day, during which he could’ve easily called. He’d known the dance was tonight. Then, inhaling the smell of alcohol that hung in the air around him, I knew nothing he did should really surprise me tonight.
