you sometimes. Jason isn't like other guys, you know. He's . . .
intense."
Yeah. Jason was intense. And after I'd met him, my life had gotten really
dangerous, really fast. But that wasn't Jason's fault.
We started down the hall to 1st block. It was an Odd day, so Jude and I were
heading to Mr. Sutherland's class. My heart sank. I really didn't want to see
him again. And I wasn't looking forward to having two more days of detention
with him either. Even if Mr. Sutherland wasn't a member of the Sons—and I
wasn't convinced that he wasn't—he was kind of creepy. I could live a happy,
fulfilled life never seeing him again, ever.
But when we arrived at Mr. Sutherland's classroom, he wasn't there. Instead,
there was a different woman, who'd written her name on the board: Mrs.
Clearing. She introduced herself as Mr. Sutherland's substitute.
* * *
I knew exactly why Mr. Sutherland wasn't at school
today. He'd been the man who'd grabbed me in the parking lot last night. He
wasn't at school, because I'd punched him in the nose. He probably had two
black eyes. He knew that if he showed up today, I'd know it was him. I'd been
right! Mr. Sutherland was mixed up in this somehow, and something weird was definitely
going on.
I wanted to tell Jason about it at lunch, but I wasn't sure if we were speaking
yet. Of course, maybe he wouldn't believe me, anyway. I didn't know what else
to do, so I bought my yogurt out of the machine and sat down at our usual table.
I waited, eating my yogurt, to see if Jason would show up.
It seemed like a very long time passed. No Jason.
Geez. He was really angry with me, wasn't he? So angry he wouldn't even sit
with me at lunch? Of course, I hadn't walked to school with him this morning.
Maybe I deserved the cold shoulder.
I finished eating my yogurt and stared into the empty container, running my
spoon around the edges, trying to scoop up the last bits of yogurt.
"Did you ride to school with Jude?"
My head snapped up. Jason was standing over me, carrying his tray. He had a
large helping of spaghetti with meat sauce and a salad covered in ranch
dressing.
"Hi," I said.
"Did you?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said.
He nodded.
"Do you want to sit down?" I asked.
Jason hesitated. He looked around the cafeteria as if he were trying to find
some other place to sit. Then he sat down.
We were quiet for several minutes, neither of us saying a word. I fiddled with
my empty yogurt container some more, feeling very uncomfortable. I wondered if
I should just leave. Maybe Jason wanted to be alone.
"I heard detention was cancelled since Mr. Sutherland isn't here,"
said Jason.
"Yeah," I said. I wanted to tell Jason why I thought Mr. Sutherland
wasn't here, but I didn't. He wouldn't believe me anyway. What was the point?
"This morning, Hallam told me that he was going to be out late looking
into some stuff," said Jason. "I've got to work tonight. So does
Lilith."
So? "Okay," I said.
"I told him it wasn't a big deal, because you had detention, so I figured
you'd only be home by yourself for an hour or so. But now . . ."
Oh. Jason was worried about my safety. At least that was something. I guessed.
"I'll be fine," I said. "I know where the guns are. I know where
the bullets are. I'll lock the doors."
"I might be able to get someone to cover my shift tonight, if you
want," said Jason.
Jason wanted to stay home with me? "Well, would that be hard for you to
do?" I asked.
Jason shrugged. "It might be. It's short notice. I don't know if I could
convince anyone to work for me."
"Never mind, then," I said. "I'll be fine."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah," I said.
Jason nodded. "Just be careful, okay?"
I nodded.
We were quiet again. I picked up my purse and rummaged through its contents. I
felt awkward sitting next to Jason and not talking to him. There were a bunch
of old receipts in my purse. A few tampons. A slip of paper . . . What was
this?
Huh. It was Mr.
intense."
Yeah. Jason was intense. And after I'd met him, my life had gotten really
dangerous, really fast. But that wasn't Jason's fault.
We started down the hall to 1st block. It was an Odd day, so Jude and I were
heading to Mr. Sutherland's class. My heart sank. I really didn't want to see
him again. And I wasn't looking forward to having two more days of detention
with him either. Even if Mr. Sutherland wasn't a member of the Sons—and I
wasn't convinced that he wasn't—he was kind of creepy. I could live a happy,
fulfilled life never seeing him again, ever.
But when we arrived at Mr. Sutherland's classroom, he wasn't there. Instead,
there was a different woman, who'd written her name on the board: Mrs.
Clearing. She introduced herself as Mr. Sutherland's substitute.
* * *
I knew exactly why Mr. Sutherland wasn't at school
today. He'd been the man who'd grabbed me in the parking lot last night. He
wasn't at school, because I'd punched him in the nose. He probably had two
black eyes. He knew that if he showed up today, I'd know it was him. I'd been
right! Mr. Sutherland was mixed up in this somehow, and something weird was definitely
going on.
I wanted to tell Jason about it at lunch, but I wasn't sure if we were speaking
yet. Of course, maybe he wouldn't believe me, anyway. I didn't know what else
to do, so I bought my yogurt out of the machine and sat down at our usual table.
I waited, eating my yogurt, to see if Jason would show up.
It seemed like a very long time passed. No Jason.
Geez. He was really angry with me, wasn't he? So angry he wouldn't even sit
with me at lunch? Of course, I hadn't walked to school with him this morning.
Maybe I deserved the cold shoulder.
I finished eating my yogurt and stared into the empty container, running my
spoon around the edges, trying to scoop up the last bits of yogurt.
"Did you ride to school with Jude?"
My head snapped up. Jason was standing over me, carrying his tray. He had a
large helping of spaghetti with meat sauce and a salad covered in ranch
dressing.
"Hi," I said.
"Did you?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said.
He nodded.
"Do you want to sit down?" I asked.
Jason hesitated. He looked around the cafeteria as if he were trying to find
some other place to sit. Then he sat down.
We were quiet for several minutes, neither of us saying a word. I fiddled with
my empty yogurt container some more, feeling very uncomfortable. I wondered if
I should just leave. Maybe Jason wanted to be alone.
"I heard detention was cancelled since Mr. Sutherland isn't here,"
said Jason.
"Yeah," I said. I wanted to tell Jason why I thought Mr. Sutherland
wasn't here, but I didn't. He wouldn't believe me anyway. What was the point?
"This morning, Hallam told me that he was going to be out late looking
into some stuff," said Jason. "I've got to work tonight. So does
Lilith."
So? "Okay," I said.
"I told him it wasn't a big deal, because you had detention, so I figured
you'd only be home by yourself for an hour or so. But now . . ."
Oh. Jason was worried about my safety. At least that was something. I guessed.
"I'll be fine," I said. "I know where the guns are. I know where
the bullets are. I'll lock the doors."
"I might be able to get someone to cover my shift tonight, if you
want," said Jason.
Jason wanted to stay home with me? "Well, would that be hard for you to
do?" I asked.
Jason shrugged. "It might be. It's short notice. I don't know if I could
convince anyone to work for me."
"Never mind, then," I said. "I'll be fine."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah," I said.
Jason nodded. "Just be careful, okay?"
I nodded.
We were quiet again. I picked up my purse and rummaged through its contents. I
felt awkward sitting next to Jason and not talking to him. There were a bunch
of old receipts in my purse. A few tampons. A slip of paper . . . What was
this?
Huh. It was Mr.
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