Undead Much by Stacey Jay Page A

hadn’t marked him with a halo like I was supposed to.
      “Stellar work, guys. At least spy thoroughly if you’re going to spy.” Typical SA. For an organization that had stayed a secret from humanity for hundreds of years, sometimes I was amazed at how halfassed their work was. But then, the older I get the more I realize a lot of adults don’t give a crap about doing their jobs well-including important people like teachers and policeman and doctors who are supposed to be educating the precious youth of America and saving people’s lives . So why should I be surprised that SA had its share of incompetents?
      I didn’t know. But I was.
      This time, however, my tail’s laziness would work to my advantage. I’d just cut through my neighbor’s yard and chill out in their tree house for a few minutes before circling back to my house. If I waited even twenty minutes, the SA spies wouldn’t know that I hadn’t gone to seal Cliff’s grave. My mom and dad had deliberately chosen our house for its prime location, only minutes’ away from two of the town’s four graveyards.
      As for Cliff, I had no idea how to handle him, but at least he didn’t seem dangerous. Besides, the sun would be setting soon, and I really didn’t want to be out in the dark with a dead guy. Of course, I didn’t want to be back at my house under surveillance either. I didn’t know where I wanted to be, but I couldn’t deny that the last half hour with Cliff had been one of the nicest I’d spent in awhile.
      What that said about my social and home lives, I didn’t want to examine.

    CHAPTER 8

    I suspected the world was ending when I caught Mom chowing meat, but when Monica stopped me on the way into school Thursday and insisted I let her help me clear my name, I knew the earth was in serious trouble. Monica Parsons being concerned for my welfare was totally a sign of an impending apocalypse.
      “This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. SA and the Enforcers have their heads so far up their asses it’s ridiculous. We have to figure out a way to prove you’re innocent.”
      “Did Ethan call you?” I asked, suspicious of my meddling boyfriend.
      Sure, he’d apologized for pushing the Monica issue, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t give her a call and plead for help on my behalf. He’d do just about anything to help me… which made me feel warm and fuzzy and guilty as all heck.
      The weird moment with Cliff was still bugging me. I’d never felt anything but pity or concern-or occasionally irritation-for an Unsettled, never friendship, and certainly never more than friendship. No one had ever made me tingle except Ethan, and the fact that the second guy to incite anything moderately tingle-esque in me was dead, bothered me. Big-time.
      “Why would your boyfriend call me?” Monica wrapped her scarf around her neck and huddled inside her puffy white coat. It was freezing out this morning, and I kind of wished we’d taken this chat inside the school rather than over by the benches near the parking lot. “Is there trouble in paradise?”
      “Everything’s great. Better than great,” I snapped. “He just said something yesterday about asking you for help. He thought you’d be interested to know we might have had a non-Settler watching us with those zombies that day in the woods.”
      “What? You’re kidding me.”
      “Unfortunately, no.” I quickly filled her in, then pulled the ribbon out of my pocket. “He found this. I’m betting it was from a cheer spy trying to scope out our fund-raiser.”
      “Those little biatches.” Monica snatched the ribbon from my hand. “If we get relocated because of one of those freaks, I’m going to shove a spirit stick right up-”
      “There’s a chance they didn’t see anything and we’ll both be fine,” I said, cutting her off before she could totally flip. “But I think we should try to figure it out for sure one way or the other.