Hunted by Christine Kersey Page B

was helpful to know that my disguise had worked—at least among the four people who had seen me.
    It seemed Billy was avoiding me, which bothered me greatly. I’d hoped he’d try to forget the future too and just be my friend, but instead he seemed to be paying a lot of attention to Brynn, which also bothered me greatly. I tried to ignore them, but Brynn was obviously enjoying being around Billy so much that it was hard not to notice.
    Finally I gave up and got a book from the meeting room and went into the room I shared with Kelly and shut the door. I hardly digested the words I read, my mind focused on my plight, and I allowed self-pity to wash over me. I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling until someone called me to come help with dinner.
    At dinner Billy sat by Brynn and ignored me, so I ignored him and pretended his actions didn’t hurt. I even flirted with Mitch, but he didn’t seem to notice, which made me feel like an idiot.  
    Dani made me eat two servings of dinner. I wasn’t even that hungry, but I ate it anyway, hopeful that the sooner I was physically ready to go to Camp Willowmoss, the sooner I could get this whole thing over with.
    That night after Dani, Brynn, and Tracy had left and the rest of us were watching TV—except Jack, who’d gone into his office—I sat next to Billy. “Can I talk to you?” I whispered.
    “What about?” he asked in his normal voice.
    I frowned. “Please.”
    “Fine.” He stood and we walked into the empty meeting room.  
    “How long are you going to be like this?” I asked.  
    “Like what?”
    I sighed. “Refusing to talk to me.”
    He laughed. “I’m talking to you right now.”
    I folded my arms across my chest. “That’s only because I practically dragged you in here.”
    He folded his arms too. “Look, Morgan. I’ve told you how stupid I think it is for you to go back to Camp Willowmoss. But you’re doing it anyway. Why should I waste my breath talking to someone who won’t listen?”
    “So because I won’t do what you want, now you won’t be my friend?” Warm tears filled my eyes at the thought. I tried to hide them, but Billy noticed.
    His voice softened. “I’m still your friend, okay? I’m just worried about what will happen to you once you get in there.”
    I smiled, grateful that he was starting to be the Billy I’d been counting on.
    “When are you going, anyway?”
    I smirked. “If you’d stayed in the room, you’d already know.”
    “Well, I didn’t. So I don’t.”
    I laughed. “It will be a few weeks.”
    His eyebrows shot up. “Really? I thought it would be right away.”
    “They want me to gain weight and they want my arm to heal.”
    “Oh. That makes sense.”
    “I’m worried though. About Amy.”
    “She’s young. They’ll probably go easy on her.”
    I fervently hoped he was right.
    ~*~*~
    Five days later Jack gathered us in the meeting room. It was late afternoon, so everyone was there—even Brynn, who’d been coming over every day after school. This was the first time our group had met since my decision had been announced and we were all eager to hear what Jack had to say.
    He reached into a small bag and pulled out a rectangular case. “Morgan will wear these when she goes to the F.A.T. center.” He opened the case and lifted out a pair of eyeglasses, then handed them to me.
    I put them on and noticed that my vision didn’t change. Evidently the lenses were just clear glass. “What do you think?” I asked the assembled group. “Does it make me look less like myself?”
    “Yeah,” Kelly said. “It does make a difference.”
    “Don’t forget,” Dani said. “You’re going to be wearing the contacts for the retinal scanner. They’ll change your eye color too.”
    “Oh. Well that’s good.” The more ways they could change my appearance, the better, as far as I was concerned.
    “Do those glasses feel comfortable, or do we need to adjust them?” Jack asked.
    I moved them around against my