“Sometimes it’s just the way our bodies work. Like when your teeth came out and you grew new ones.”
Alina cringed. She never understood that about her teeth. They took so long to grow back, while everyone else seemed to get theirs immediately. But she learned long ago her body didn’t work like theirs.
“Why do we need to go home?”
“You need something to absorb it, so you don’t feel embarrassed.”
“I see.” Alina’s face softened. “People are good at hiding when they leak. It’s not something we show in public.”
Jade nodded. “Exactly. I should’ve been better prepared for you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. No one saw.” Alina smiled at her. “I’m glad, because now we get to sleep at home in our beds.”
Jade grinned back. “Yes, if we make it that far. But tell me—are you feeling okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t feel strange? Like the time you rode the air coaster at the park?”
“No. I feel fine.”
Jade sighed and squeezed Alina’s hand. “Good. Let me know if you start feeling different, okay?”
“Okay.” Alina scratched her chin. She had leaked many times before, but never like this. And Jade seemed more worried this time. What could it be?
A block from home, the Sleep overcame them. With blurry eyes and sluggish legs, Jade threw their pillows on the lawn of an empty house as they collapsed. As Alina’s eyelids closed, her last aching thought was how they didn’t make it home in time, and her nightgown—the only beautiful thing about her—was likely ruined.
“Alina.”
She heard the muffled voice again, and her eyes popped open. Jade stood above the couch, her dark eyes narrowed with concern.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Alina rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Yes, I’m fine. I just saw something gory on the monitor.”
Jade dropped her shopping bags to the floor. Alina peeked at her and was surprised to see a tiny smile on her face.
“Well, I hope you learned your lesson. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Do people really die that way?”
“What way?”
“This girl in the movie—some psycho stabbed her in the throat, then her eyeballs turned black and her skin melted off. She dripped and oozed this bubbly red stuff.”
“What on earth were you watching?” Jade put a hand on her hip.
“Sorry,” Alina mumbled. “I had a bad day.”
Jade sighed and sat down next to her. “Remember how I told you how obsessed people are with death? They seem to think it’s always morbid and traumatic, and movie makers go overboard in depicting it. As for myself, I believe some mortals die peacefully, like in their sleep. I’ve always been an optimist, though.” She smiled, but it faded as she cleared her throat. “Now about this bad day you had—”
Alina groaned and covered her face with her hand. “I know, I know. You don’t have to lecture me. I should’ve ignored Eris and stayed in class.”
Jade’s eyes widened. “What—you didn’t stay in class?”
Alina cringed. “I thought you’d heard.”
Jade shot to her feet and paced the room, rubbing her forehead. “Alina, you can’t skip school! You know that!”
“I’m sorry! But you were wrong about no one noticing these bumps on my face! Thanks to Eris—she announced it to the whole class, and of course they all came over to look. And then she started teasing me about the friends I don’t have and how you and I never talk—” Alina broke off. She hadn’t meant to say that part.
Jade spun around, her face full of hurt. “What?”
Alina regretted the slip. She didn’t like to hurt Jade, but she couldn’t take the words back—they had too much truth in them. So, she became defensive instead.
“Why are you so surprised? We don’t talk! You never say anything to me—nothing worth talking about anyway—and you don’t answer me when I ask questions about myself. You know what? I found out today why I’m different. I found out the same time everyone in my class found out.” Alina’s voice grew louder. “And it hurt that I found out from a teacher, and not from you. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What did your teacher say?” Jade whispered hoarsely.
Her soft tone set Alina off. “AS IF YOU DON’T KNOW! I’M A FREAK! A MISTAKE! FATHER SAMPSON’S WORST EXPERIMENT GONE WRONG!” Alina screamed.
Jade’s face lost all of its color. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
“It’s true then! Even you can’t deny it—thanks for not telling me!”
“Alina,” Jade begged, reaching out to her. “Listen to me, please. I never told you that because it’s not true.” Jade bit her lip, as if she said something she shouldn’t have. But the sincerity in her voice gave Alina a spark of hope.
“What do you mean? Why am I so different then?”
Jade hesitated, then shook her head. “It’s—I can’t—I don’t know.”
Alina’s nostrils flared. “See, there you go again—avoiding my questions! I’m not stupid, you know! If I’m not a failed experiment, then what am I? Because I’m certainly not like the other girls at school, and YOU KNOW WHY!”
Jade’s eyes faltered.
“You know why. Don’t you,” Alina repeated, this time in a whisper.
Jade was near tears. Alina glared at her, and when she said nothing, Alina put her face in her hands and screamed. She bolted for the door.
Jade stepped in front of her. “Stop, please. Don’t go anywhere—I know you’re upset, but let me explain. Oh! You’re—” Jade hesitated, staring at Alina’s face. “Let me get you something for that.” She dashed into the kitchen.
“What?” Alina asked, turning to the mirror by the door. A red stream trickled from the cluster of blemishes on her forehead. She was leaking.
“Here you go,” Jade said, placing a wet cloth on Alina’s brow. Alina’s eyes were glued to the mirror. She narrowed them as the stream oozed between her eyebrows.
“Jade, what is this?”
Jade averted her eyes. “Um—”
“You told me everyone leaks, but that’s not true, is it?” She met Jade’s eyes through the mirror. “I’ve never seen it on you before.”
Jade’s face was calm, but Alina could see the panic
