Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

front of the class. As he finished his lecture, I kept thinking about Zach’s pictures. They were so strange to me. I’d never thought of myself as a photogenic person. My sister had always been the one who shone in our family portraits. But in Zach’s pictures, I had looked … beautiful.
    “Phe?” Mr. Sherwood caught my eye as I was packing up my stuff to leave.
    “Yeah?” I looked up.
    “We have your advisor meeting on Friday, right?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “Great.” He smiled. “Remarkable work today, by the way.”
    My cheeks flushed.
    “Thanks, Mr. Sherwood.”
    As I stepped out of the building an involuntary shiver ran through me, and I whipped around to see if someone was behind me. There were several students walking by, but no one seemed to be watching me. I had almost convinced myself I was being paranoid when I heard a voice call out my name.
    I turned back to find Zach’s cousin from the bookstore leaning up against a tree, staring at me. “It is Persephone, right?” he asked.
    “Yeah.” I looked at him quizzically. He pushed himself off from the tree and strolled over to me. His movements were sinuous. “How do you know my name?”
He definitely didn’t hear it from Zach’s dad. There had been a distinct lack of introductions
.
    “I’m in your psych class,” he answered smoothly. “But we haven’t formally met. I’m Trent Redford IV.”
    He grasped my hand in a firm shake, and again I felt the dizziness I had experienced earlier when I put my hand on Zach’s shoulder. Except this time, it made my bones ache. It was like the shock I had received from Corinne, but stronger, deeper.
    What we are
. Zach’s words floated back to me. Trent was related to them; maybe he was what they were. Maybe all the townies, with their high IQs and speed-reading skills, were “what they were.” Whatever that meant.
    “I usually go by Phe.” I worked to keep my voice steady, but Trent was staring straight into me and gripping my hand even more tightly than before. The large ring he wore dug into my skin. This no longer felt like a handshake. He was holding me in a vise grip, one I knew I couldn’t break, even if I tried.
    “Phe. That’s … cute.” Trent smirked, still not letting go of my hand. “I’d like to get to know you better, Phe. At the back-to-school dance. The Saturday after next? You can be my date.” It was more a command than a request.
    Trent may have looked like a young Chris Pine, but he still made my insides lurch. There was something off about him, something wrong. My leg muscles were contracting, building pressure, preparing me to flee from him.
    “Uh, I don’t know …” I thought about my beautiful new dress from Flirt. I wanted to go to the dance, but not with this sadistic-seeming person. Plus, I had this irrational hope that Zach would ask me, despite all these mysterious “reasons” why we shouldn’t be dating. Part of me wished he would break the rules—no matter the consequences. “I have to check with Adriana. We talked about going stag. But, you know. Together.”
    Trent cocked his head, looking me up and down. “If I were you, I would be careful not to bet on the wrong Redford. Some of us are much more likely to break the rules—no matter the consequences.” He smiled, but it was empty; Trent was baring his teeth. “Think about my invitation. It’s not a bad way to start off the year—on the arm of the most eligible bachelor in school … See you tomorrow, Goldilocks.” Trent winked and, finally releasing my captive hand, walked away.
    My hand was on fire, and the spot where his ring had made contact with my skin was bright red and splotchy. My mind whirled, and I felt as if I might faint. I walked unsteadily to the edge of the building and rounded the corner so I was sure Trent couldn’t see me before I allowed myself to crumple to the ground.
How did Trent happen to say
exactly
what I’d thought?
    When I got back to the dorm, I changed out of my