“Why does she hate you so much? Was it the diner incident?”
“No, she decided she hated me the first time she saw me. I think it’s just because she’s an evil bitch.” Too bad she wasn’t an evil witch. I immediately cursed myself for even thinking that. I didn’t mean it at all.
Sculpture was actually kind of fun. I had no idea what I was doing on the pottery wheel, but Ms. Matthews let Ethan work with me. We spent more time with our fingers interlaced in clay—which is way more romantic than it sounds—than making sculptures. When our turn was over, we washed up and headed back to our table.
“Hey, you got a text while you were gone,” Beth said, motioning toward my bag with her pencil.
“I did?”
Ethan gave me a look, but I shrugged my shoulders. I reached into my bag, keeping the phone well hidden inside and checked the message. There were two. One from when I was in the girls’ bathroom with Ethan and one from a few minutes ago.
Attack another witch and you’ll wind up back in your grave.
Attack another witch and you’ll wind up back in your grave.
Why was he sending me the same text over and over again? Was he trying to scare me?
“Who was it?” Ethan asked.
“Um, some set-up message from the phone company.”
“Really?” He took his phone out of his pocket. Ms. Matthews was very laid back, and as long as we got our work done, she didn’t care if we had our phones out in class. “I wonder why I didn’t get one. Can I see yours?”
“I already erased it.” When would the lies end?
A hall monitor showed up with a pass for one of the guys in the class. I knew he was on the football team because he carried a ball everywhere.
“There goes another,” Beth said.
“Another what?” I wasn’t even a little surprised she knew what the pass was about.
“They’re calling down all of Trevor’s friends. He’s officially a missing person now, and the cops are trying to find a lead on where he ran off to or who might have kidnapped him.”
So far I’d managed to avoid almost all talk about my victims. Trevor and Rebecca were the only ones who had actually been from this town. The investigation meant I wouldn’t be able to forget what I’d done to Trevor—not that I really could anyway. But now it was going to be in my face until the police ruled the case closed.
At lunchtime, I was starving. I couldn’t remember eating dinner last night. Though I’d certainly had enough glasses of water to fill me up, thanks to Gloria’s attempts to keep me hydrated. Ethan got on the lunch line, claiming he had a craving for chocolate milk, but I saw they had giant soft pretzels and knew he was going to surprise me with one. I played along.
Beth was chatting away with the girl sitting next to her. I couldn’t remember her name. Actually, I didn’t remember the names of any of the kids sitting with us. Beth always did all the talking, and everyone else pretty much listened.
I used the distraction to text Dylan back. Not that I wanted to. I just didn’t want him sending any more obnoxious texts while Ethan was around. I’d have to figure out how to block a number on my phone, but until then, I hoped this would shut him up.
Wrong number.
It vibrated almost instantly. What, did he sit on his phone, waiting for it to ring?
Sam?
Nope. Wrong number.
Silence. Hallelujah! I tossed the phone back in my bag, satisfied that was the end of that.
Ethan returned with two soft pretzels and a chocolate milk. “Surprise!”
“Aw, thank you.” I kissed him lightly on the lips.
“You two are so cute,” Beth said. “How did you meet? I mean, you both just moved here, but you get along like you’ve known each other for a while.”
Damn her and her ability to figure things out.
Ethan squeezed my hand under the table. “We met the day we both got here. In the general store. When I saw her, I knew I had to meet her.”
It was times like this that I understood what my mom had always said about Ethan. He was romantic beyond his years.
“And of course she couldn’t resist my charm,” he added. And there was the typical seventeen-year-old boy attitude.
“Actually,” I said, “it was his goofiness that attracted me to him. He knocked over an entire display of toilet paper.” I was amazed how the lies just rolled off my tongue. Even Ethan look shocked by how quickly I’d come up with that story. “We’ve been inseparable ever since.” I popped a piece of soft pretzel into my mouth before I took the story too far. After all, it wasn’t the same story we’d told Mrs. Melrose in the guidance office. Not that I was worried any students would be gossiping with her.
“Totally cute,” Beth said. “I’m predicting you two are still together at prom.”
Ethan and I smiled. If only she knew that we’d already been to one prom together. My parents hadn’t wanted me to go, but since I was running out of time, they couldn’t exactly say no to me.
I finished my lunch while Beth went on and on about Shannon and how she had practically thrown herself at Mr. Ryan in the hallway. The girl had no shame. I just hoped she hadn’t mentioned finding Ethan and me in the bathroom together. Seeing Mr. Ryan was going to be awkward until I knew for sure. I was kind of surprised he wasn’t avoiding me after Shannon’s last rumor about me having a crush on him, but apparently he was used to the female student population acting this way and got over these things quickly.
Beth started in on the break-in next. She said the principal had had the camera by that exit replaced since there was no footage of the old man on it. At least one thing had gone in my favor. She also mentioned an elderly man who was reported missing a month back. He didn’t have any family but the neighbors discovered he was gone. Reporters were assuming it was the same guy.
I didn’t want to hear any more so I stood up. “I’m going to the bathroom. Be right back.”
Ethan nodded and took another bite of his pretzel, which he was now dunking in his chocolate milk.
I tossed my trash and headed to the bathroom across the hall from the cafeteria. I went to the sink and checked my teeth in the mirror, making sure I didn’t have any food stuck in them.
“I figured you’d come here eventually. You seem to like the bathrooms in this place.”
I jumped at the sound of Dylan’s voice. I turned to see him standing in the doorway of the last stall.
“You go to this school?”
“No.”
“Then why are you here? And why are you in the girls’ bathroom of all places?”
“Waiting for you, like I said.” He shifted his weight, leaning against the side of the stall. “My turn with the questions. Why did you lie in your text?”
“What text?” I played dumb.
He took out his phone. “Should I call it now?”
“No!” My phone was still in my bag on the bench next to Ethan.
“So, you admit you lied then? I didn’t have the wrong number.”
“Fine. I lied. But only because I wanted you to stop texting me.”
“Why was my texting you a problem? You didn’t want me showing up where Ethan would find you talking to me, so I found a way around that.”
“You sent me that same threatening message three times!”
“You didn’t respond. I thought it didn’t go through. I’m not big on texting.”
“You prefer yellow Post-it notes, right?”
He ventured out of the stall. “Look, we need to talk. I don’t care how. Phone, text, in person, you pick, but we have to clear some things up.”