a stall and reach down to check.
"What happened, get the runs?" Max asks from above.
"He pulled the zipper trick again," I mutter, checking ALL of my zippers. This pair has zippers for the pockets, too. "On ALL of my zippers."
"Next time get plastic zippers, moron."
"Shuddup, I kept this pair for the trip thinking he'd never see them!" I stop, looking at the toilet. "I gotta pee," I complain. I didn't have to until now, darn it! Max is laughing his head off above my head, and I hear the rest of his team start to snicker. "Why did you come here, anyway?" I ask.
"No, see, I have a reason to come here—you guys are the ones that have no reason," Max says. "Why are you here?"
"We're looking for our healer target, we think it might be a girl named Kirsten."
"Ahhh, is she part of the fan club group?"
"Probably," I say.
"Aren't you lucky, then? We'll be inviting her to join our school. You'll get one of your rabid fans in class every single day," Max drawls.
My eyes widen and a spurt of terror races through my veins. "Oh, crap," I mutter, racing out the door and for the others. They're standing away from the group with the pink haired girl and a shorter, stockier girl with purple hair. They all look up at me and I realize I'm running too fast. I pull to a stop, kicking up dirt. "Hey, guys, I just realized we have to leave," I say almost too quickly. "Time to go, gotta be on the road and everything," I add, wrapping an arm around Malina's shoulders and tugging her along. "We've got a schedule to keep."
"But we haven't gotten the chance to—" Malina says as I haul her along. She's not moving fast enough, so I lean down and wrap an arm around her waist, picking her up.
"Max just made a very, VERY good point," I whisper to her.
"What's that?" she whispers back.
"I don't want a rabid fan girl in school."
She glares at me, jumping out of my hold and hauling me to a stop by grabbing my pants. "You're the one being a bully, now," she tells me, putting her hands on her hips. "We can't abandon her because YOU feel uncomfortable!" she tells me, poking me in the chest—well, the stomach. She has to reach up to do that.
"But Malina," I say, feeling desperate, "you don't understand just how awkward that could get—"
"Justin Eric Gregory," she hisses, standing on her toes. When that doesn’t work, she grabs my shirt and tugs until I get on my knees for her, "would you listen to yourself?"
I've never seen her look this bossy before. I can't help but feel a bit of wonder that one of the shyest zoo kids is now facing me down in public. She is… really adorable when she's angry. I doubt she'd like to hear that, so I keep it to myself. Instead I clasp my hands in a dramatic motion. "Please, Malina?" I beg. "She's got a built-in bodyguard already, right? Max is about to do her pal's debut tomorrow. She doesn't need to go to our school—"
Malina just stares at me for a moment as I let my words trickle to a stop. She takes a step forward, since we're on eye level now, and places her hands on my shoulders. "It'll be okay," she tells me, leaning up and kissing me on the forehead. "Don't worry, we'll keep you safe from the rabid fan girl," she promises, pulling back and giving me a teasing grin.
I don't reply for a second, still feeling the tiny kiss on my forehead. What—no, forget it, I tell myself sharply, shaking it off. She's just being motherly. All of the zoo girls, especially, have a mothering instinct. I think it was all the time fighting to keep each other from breaking. I'm just a bit vulnerable to that sort of stuff—I realized it during my crush on Morgan. "But you wouldn't have to if she wasn't in the school," I have to point out.
"We can go now," Emily says, jerking us out of our chat. We both look up. It's only Emily and Freddy.
"Where's—"
"We did our job," Freddy says with a shrug. "We gave her your mom's card and the card from school. She said she'd check in with the Hall soon. That's all we were supposed to
"What happened, get the runs?" Max asks from above.
"He pulled the zipper trick again," I mutter, checking ALL of my zippers. This pair has zippers for the pockets, too. "On ALL of my zippers."
"Next time get plastic zippers, moron."
"Shuddup, I kept this pair for the trip thinking he'd never see them!" I stop, looking at the toilet. "I gotta pee," I complain. I didn't have to until now, darn it! Max is laughing his head off above my head, and I hear the rest of his team start to snicker. "Why did you come here, anyway?" I ask.
"No, see, I have a reason to come here—you guys are the ones that have no reason," Max says. "Why are you here?"
"We're looking for our healer target, we think it might be a girl named Kirsten."
"Ahhh, is she part of the fan club group?"
"Probably," I say.
"Aren't you lucky, then? We'll be inviting her to join our school. You'll get one of your rabid fans in class every single day," Max drawls.
My eyes widen and a spurt of terror races through my veins. "Oh, crap," I mutter, racing out the door and for the others. They're standing away from the group with the pink haired girl and a shorter, stockier girl with purple hair. They all look up at me and I realize I'm running too fast. I pull to a stop, kicking up dirt. "Hey, guys, I just realized we have to leave," I say almost too quickly. "Time to go, gotta be on the road and everything," I add, wrapping an arm around Malina's shoulders and tugging her along. "We've got a schedule to keep."
"But we haven't gotten the chance to—" Malina says as I haul her along. She's not moving fast enough, so I lean down and wrap an arm around her waist, picking her up.
"Max just made a very, VERY good point," I whisper to her.
"What's that?" she whispers back.
"I don't want a rabid fan girl in school."
She glares at me, jumping out of my hold and hauling me to a stop by grabbing my pants. "You're the one being a bully, now," she tells me, putting her hands on her hips. "We can't abandon her because YOU feel uncomfortable!" she tells me, poking me in the chest—well, the stomach. She has to reach up to do that.
"But Malina," I say, feeling desperate, "you don't understand just how awkward that could get—"
"Justin Eric Gregory," she hisses, standing on her toes. When that doesn’t work, she grabs my shirt and tugs until I get on my knees for her, "would you listen to yourself?"
I've never seen her look this bossy before. I can't help but feel a bit of wonder that one of the shyest zoo kids is now facing me down in public. She is… really adorable when she's angry. I doubt she'd like to hear that, so I keep it to myself. Instead I clasp my hands in a dramatic motion. "Please, Malina?" I beg. "She's got a built-in bodyguard already, right? Max is about to do her pal's debut tomorrow. She doesn't need to go to our school—"
Malina just stares at me for a moment as I let my words trickle to a stop. She takes a step forward, since we're on eye level now, and places her hands on my shoulders. "It'll be okay," she tells me, leaning up and kissing me on the forehead. "Don't worry, we'll keep you safe from the rabid fan girl," she promises, pulling back and giving me a teasing grin.
I don't reply for a second, still feeling the tiny kiss on my forehead. What—no, forget it, I tell myself sharply, shaking it off. She's just being motherly. All of the zoo girls, especially, have a mothering instinct. I think it was all the time fighting to keep each other from breaking. I'm just a bit vulnerable to that sort of stuff—I realized it during my crush on Morgan. "But you wouldn't have to if she wasn't in the school," I have to point out.
"We can go now," Emily says, jerking us out of our chat. We both look up. It's only Emily and Freddy.
"Where's—"
"We did our job," Freddy says with a shrug. "We gave her your mom's card and the card from school. She said she'd check in with the Hall soon. That's all we were supposed to
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