The Hidden

I glanced up. I think I liked her. “Abbey,” I said. “Short for Abigail. And it’s with an e.” She nodded, and just like that, we had an understanding.

Upon closer inspection, I could see that she had thin green highlights scattered throughout her hair. The color of new leaves. The effect was striking.

“I like your hair,” I said.

“Thanks.”

I stepped to one side and cleared a path for her to get to locker 9-C. As she slid the numbers around and then threw open the door, a wave of nostalgia overwhelmed me.

Kristen dropping notes into my locker after fifth period. Kristen letting me use her mirror because I was always forgetting to buy my own. Kristen waiting with a Cheshire cat smile and the latest study hall gossip. Kristen-

Cyn snapped her fingers. “Earth to Abbey. Are we losing you there? You’re zoning out on me.”

I shook my head and stuffed my books into my own locker. “Sorry. Just … lost in a memory.”

“I get it. You knew Kristen, huh?”

“You could say that. We were best friends.”

“Oh. Jesus. That sucks. How did she die?”

Such an innocent question. But it made my skin crawl. “She drowned,” I said curtly. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Got it. That memo is loud and clear.” Cyn finally slid the other thing she’d been holding onto the little top shelf of the locker, and I couldn’t help but steal a peek.

It was a dead plant.

She caught me looking. “I have to keep them here,” she explained. “Otherwise my mom will throw them out.”

Why would she want to keep a dead plant?

Apparently my question was written all over my face, because she said defensively, “It’s a hobby, okay?”

I shrugged. “It’s cool.” Weird, but whatever.

Cyn slammed her locker door shut, then turned to head down the opposite hall. “Nice meeting you, Abbey,” she said. “And don’t worry, I never stay in one place for long. My mom is always moving me from school to school. It’s such a pain in the ass. But that means you won’t have to put up with me, or my dead plant, for long.”

She said with such conviction the exact words that I’d been thinking, that I stared after her with my mouth hanging open long after she was gone. What was she, a mind reader?

* * *

With the lockdown in the morning, I had only two classes to get through before the end of the day, and when the final bell rang, I heaved a sigh of relief. I ran into Beth on the way back to my locker.

“Hey, girl,” she said, stopping to give me a quick hug. “You totally missed out on the beach house. And the hotties.”

I laughed. “I know, I know. But I made your perfume for you. Hopefully that counts for something?” I pulled out the little sample vial that was in my pocket, and gave it to her.

She opened it, and a look of sheer bliss crossed her face. “This is so awesome, Abbey. Thank you.” She poured some of it onto her fingertip to rub across her wrists. “This is just what I needed after a day like today.”

“What happened?”

“Lewis again. The boy cannot get over our breakup. He’s like this little puppy dog that follows me around, and it’s just driving me cray-cray.”

“Cray-cray?”

“Crazy? You know.”

“Uh, yeah. Right.” I entered the combination into my lock. “He’ll get over it. Just tell him to give you …” The door swung open, and there was a folded-up note with a flower drawn on it sitting there. Immediately happiness filled me. Caspian had been here.

“I just need him to give me what, Abbey?” Beth said, interrupting my thoughts.

I glanced back at her, completely forgetting what I had been about to say. Something about Lewis … “Space!” I remembered. “Just ask him to give you some space. It’ll give you room to breathe and him time to accept the truth.”

“I know.” She sighed and pulled out her phone. “Speaking of … Guess who just texted me?”

“Mmm-hmm.” I smiled at her, but already I was turning my attention back to the note. Smoothing down the edges, I took a peek.

A quick hello for you, my dear Astrid, to let you know that I’m thinking of you. Hope your first day back was everything it should be. Meet me at my place when school is over.

– Caspian

His place. … The mausoleum?

Beth furiously texted away, then said, “I guess this is my cue to leave. I’ll catch ya later, girl. Call me!”

I looked up from my note, confused as to why she was leaving. And then I saw Ben coming my way.

I’m going to have to set her straight on that one again.

“Hey, Abbey,” Ben said, getting closer. “You aren’t hiding any Funyuns in your locker, are you?”

I slid the note from Caspian into my bag and turned toward him, shaking my head. “Nope. No Funyuns here.” Ben always knew how to make me smile.

“That sucks. If next Monday is anything like today, I’m going to need some serious snackage.”

“‘Snackage’?” I laughed. “Is that the technical term?”

“Totally.”

Slamming the locker door shut, I hoisted my bag over one shoulder.

“Hey,” he said. “Your arm is better.”

I looked down at it, and then flexed it once. “Yup. The sling came off last week.”

“So now you’re all ready for basketball, right?”

“Maybe if I grow another six inches.” I shook my head at him. “I think basketball is out. But bowling? That I can do. And it doesn’t require any talent.”

He scoffed. “No talent? I’ll have you know that I’m a talented guy when it comes to shoving heavy balls down wooden lanes.”

I stared at him, then started laughing.

Ben scratched his head and cocked it to one side. “Wait a minute. That didn’t come out right.”

“You’re crazy,” I said, grinning at him.

He grinned back. “Yeah, what else is new?”

“What did you think about that whole lockdown thing this morning?” I asked. “That was new. Talk about overreacting.”

He held up his hands. “Anything that gets me out of classes for half the day, I do not question.”

“Can’t say I disagree with that. I skipped English today too because of the new girl that was assigned to Kristen’s locker.”

“New girl?” He looked intrigued.

“Down, boy.”

Then he cast a glance at her locker and moved closer to it. “I guess they had to give it to somebody new sometime. But I thought …” He trailed off and looked sad.

I put out a hand and reached for his arm. “I know what you mean. I thought maybe it would stay empty this year too.”

“Now she’s really gone, you know?” His face darkened. “That’s stupid to say, but it’s true.”

I shook my head. “It’s not stupid. This was like one last piece of her, and now it’s gone.” We both looked at