she arrived on campus. She yanked the phone out and glanced at the screen, fully expecting the text to be from her mom.
Instead, it was from an unknown number. All it said was:
Don’t panic .
She glanced up and saw Alec secretly working his cell phone beneath the cover of his desk. Another message arrived:
I’ll share my notes. —A
Claire smiled. That was nice of him. She was putting her cell phone away when the sharp rap of knuckles against glass brought her eyes back to the classroom window. She froze in horror. Mr. Patterson opened the window, his eyes fixed on her, Alec’s cell phone in his hand.
“Congratulations, Miss Brennan,” he said with a derisive smile. “You and Mr. MacKenzie have just earned yourselves detention tomorrow.”
eleven
A lec stared at the green wad of gum that was stuck to the underside of the cafeteria table just inches from his face. What possessed these kids, he wondered, to engage in such a repulsive, germ-spreading habit? From his awkward position, seated cross-legged on the tile floor, he raised his weapon—a butter knife.
“I’m sorry I got you into this mess.” Alec began chiseling away at the offensive lump.
Claire smiled, similarly employed beneath a nearby table. “It’s okay. Getting EMD will help defuse my rep as a goody-goody.”
The administration at Emerson apparently believed that it was best for student growth to focus their time after school on athletics, the arts, and other extracurricular activities, so detention—instead of being after school—was served before . Hence the name Early Morning Detention, or EMD. As demeaning as this task was, Alec didn’t mind being here—both because he was with Claire, and because it was a welcome distraction from the assignment that had been weighing on him ever since Vincent’s visit. Alec knew he was supposed to be keeping an eye out for the Awakened at school—he should have started looking yesterday—but so far, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to even glance at the data on Vincent’s tablet. Thankfully, at least Claire was out of the running, since the target was male.
He glanced at her as she concentrated on removing a particularly difficult piece of gum. Even at seven in the morning, crouched beneath a cafeteria table, she looked bright and beautiful, and best of all, blissfully unaware of it. He wondered what she was thinking. The whole school seemed to be talking about the scaffolding incident, and he felt certain it was still fresh in Claire’s mind. Vincent believed Alec had covered up the use of his powers well, but Alec was unconvinced. He’d been so reluctant to talk to Claire that he’d deliberately cut school Monday, but he couldn’t keep that up forever. She hadn’t said a word about it yesterday after history. Maybe—just maybe—he’d imagined that look she’d given him after he tackled them, and she didn’t suspect a thing.
They worked in silence for a few minutes, accompanied by the sounds of clanging metal pans and fervent chopping from the nearby kitchen. Alec was trying to decide how to begin a conversation when, thankfully, she did it for him.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Claire said with a cautious glance in his direction, “after what happened on Friday, we were … I was worried all weekend.”
His pulse quickened. Shite. Here it comes . “Worried?”
“Yeah, I was afraid you might have been hurt in the accident.”
“Oh.” Was that all that was worrying her? Relief curled through him. Alec popped off a wad of pink gum, dropped it into a trash bag, and scooted along the floor to the next table. “No, I’m fine. I was really sorry to hear about Brian’s shoulder, though—and I’m glad you and Erica weren’t hurt.”
“Thanks. We all felt bad that we couldn’t call you or anything. Did you know you’re not listed in the Emerson directory?”
From the expression on her face, he could see that she was dying to probe
Instead, it was from an unknown number. All it said was:
Don’t panic .
She glanced up and saw Alec secretly working his cell phone beneath the cover of his desk. Another message arrived:
I’ll share my notes. —A
Claire smiled. That was nice of him. She was putting her cell phone away when the sharp rap of knuckles against glass brought her eyes back to the classroom window. She froze in horror. Mr. Patterson opened the window, his eyes fixed on her, Alec’s cell phone in his hand.
“Congratulations, Miss Brennan,” he said with a derisive smile. “You and Mr. MacKenzie have just earned yourselves detention tomorrow.”
eleven
A lec stared at the green wad of gum that was stuck to the underside of the cafeteria table just inches from his face. What possessed these kids, he wondered, to engage in such a repulsive, germ-spreading habit? From his awkward position, seated cross-legged on the tile floor, he raised his weapon—a butter knife.
“I’m sorry I got you into this mess.” Alec began chiseling away at the offensive lump.
Claire smiled, similarly employed beneath a nearby table. “It’s okay. Getting EMD will help defuse my rep as a goody-goody.”
The administration at Emerson apparently believed that it was best for student growth to focus their time after school on athletics, the arts, and other extracurricular activities, so detention—instead of being after school—was served before . Hence the name Early Morning Detention, or EMD. As demeaning as this task was, Alec didn’t mind being here—both because he was with Claire, and because it was a welcome distraction from the assignment that had been weighing on him ever since Vincent’s visit. Alec knew he was supposed to be keeping an eye out for the Awakened at school—he should have started looking yesterday—but so far, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to even glance at the data on Vincent’s tablet. Thankfully, at least Claire was out of the running, since the target was male.
He glanced at her as she concentrated on removing a particularly difficult piece of gum. Even at seven in the morning, crouched beneath a cafeteria table, she looked bright and beautiful, and best of all, blissfully unaware of it. He wondered what she was thinking. The whole school seemed to be talking about the scaffolding incident, and he felt certain it was still fresh in Claire’s mind. Vincent believed Alec had covered up the use of his powers well, but Alec was unconvinced. He’d been so reluctant to talk to Claire that he’d deliberately cut school Monday, but he couldn’t keep that up forever. She hadn’t said a word about it yesterday after history. Maybe—just maybe—he’d imagined that look she’d given him after he tackled them, and she didn’t suspect a thing.
They worked in silence for a few minutes, accompanied by the sounds of clanging metal pans and fervent chopping from the nearby kitchen. Alec was trying to decide how to begin a conversation when, thankfully, she did it for him.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Claire said with a cautious glance in his direction, “after what happened on Friday, we were … I was worried all weekend.”
His pulse quickened. Shite. Here it comes . “Worried?”
“Yeah, I was afraid you might have been hurt in the accident.”
“Oh.” Was that all that was worrying her? Relief curled through him. Alec popped off a wad of pink gum, dropped it into a trash bag, and scooted along the floor to the next table. “No, I’m fine. I was really sorry to hear about Brian’s shoulder, though—and I’m glad you and Erica weren’t hurt.”
“Thanks. We all felt bad that we couldn’t call you or anything. Did you know you’re not listed in the Emerson directory?”
From the expression on her face, he could see that she was dying to probe
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