Surrender by Lee Nichols Page B

taken her to Homecoming.
    â€œIsn’t it lunchtime?” she asked me.
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œThen what’re you doing here?”
    â€œUm, looking for—” I didn’t want to tell her about the ashes, either. “You. You ready?”
    â€œCan we come?” one of the guys asked.
    â€œNo,” Sara told him, then hooked an arm through mine. “Let’s go.”
    As she propelled me down the hall, I glanced over my shoulder. The two boys followed us with their puppy eyes.
    â€œWhat brought that on?” I asked.
    â€œThey’re cute.”
    â€œIs this about Natalie and Lukas?” I asked worriedly. “Because—”
    â€œI’ve decided to focus on boys who actually like me, for once,” she said, a slight edge in her tone. “Is there anything wrong with that?”
    â€œNot at all,” I said. “And they
are
kinda cute. Which one do you like?”
    She smiled enigmatically. “Both of them.”
    We found Harry sitting alone in the cafeteria, poring over a Herman Hesse novel. Natalie and Lukas were M.I.A., and I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know what they were poring over.
    I plopped down next to Harry. “World Lit?”
    â€œYeah. Better than
Beowulf
, anyway.”
    Sara pulled out her panda-bear-shaped bento box and dug into her sushi. A little pretentious, but who was I to talk, with my hand-packed silver and linen? Harry neglected to bring lunch, so I passed him a hunk of fresh-baked bread.
    I wanted to tell them about Max and the ghasts, but worried if I told them too much, they’d want to help, and I couldn’t risk involving them.
    So instead, we discussed Lukas and Natalie hooking up, and while Sara seemed jealous in theory—“because, let’s face it, he is really hot”—she didn’t seem that upset. Maybe it was her sophomore boys comforting her, or could be she was still hooked on Coby, or she was able to handle rejection well. In any case, I decided I didn’t have to worry about her and pressed Harry for better gossipthan Lukas and Natalie, mostly because I couldn’t figure out how their relationship would end well.
    â€œDid you hear that Britta is dating one of her parents’ friends?” he asked.
    â€œNo!” I said.
    He nodded. “It’s true, Monkeytoes. They were seen at—hey!”
    The slice of apple I’d flicked bounced off his forehead and fell to the ground. “Do
not
call me that,” I said. “There’s nothing wrong with my toes.”
    â€œMonkeytoes is a term of endearment!” he protested, then his gaze flitted toward the cafeteria doors.
    Natalie and Lukas strode in, glowing with happiness.
    â€œGod, she looks beautiful,” I said.
    â€œShe looks happy,” Sara said.
    â€œI guess a happy Natalie is a beautiful Natalie,” I said. “Not that she was so hard to look at before.”
    â€œYeah,” Harry agreed, with an odd look on his face.
    Did he actually like Natalie? Great. Something else to worry about. I stuffed an orange slice in my mouth, trying to lose myself in its juicy sweetness.
    After school, I waited for Natalie and Lukas at our usual spot at the front gates. I planned on telling them all about Max and the ghasts, but they didn’t show. Either they were avoiding me because they knew I’d bug them about finding Neos’s ashes, or because I’d reveal my true feelings about two ghostkeepers being involved. Or maybe theydidn’t want a third wheel—which somehow made me feel worse.
    I headed home alone, cursing the icy sidewalks and barren trees. As if I didn’t have enough to make me feel crappy, the landscape was positively apocalyptic.
    On the other hand, walking into a warm house that smelled of cookies baking wasn’t so bad. I rushed into the kitchen and almost ran over a guy carrying a plate of cookies toward the table.
    â€œMax!”
    â€œIn the