Olivia and Rai continued to talk together, and Emma rested her cheek in her palm as she chewed on a baby carrot. The friends’ talking faded into the background as she scanned the lunchroom, stopping briefly at the Arrens’ table. Greg was not there. She imagined Mr. Jones locking him away in a basement somewhere until she eyed him at the football table sitting next to Ryan. Kendra was nowhere to be seen.
“Anyone seen Kendra?” Emma wondered aloud.
“She’s in recovery,” Olivia said.
“Recovery?” Emma was curious. “From what?”
“From the crippling social-hit that Jordan’s dumping inflicted on her,” Olivia answered as she snatched a stray carrot from Emma’s tray, “—according to my sources.”
“You have sources?” Rai chimed in. “What sources?”
“You realize I have a life outside of this table, right?” Olivia made a face at Rai. “People tell me things. I’m very likable.”
“The Rads don’t like you,” Rai countered.
“The Rads don’t like you,” Olivia retorted, “Everybody likes me.”
“It’s true,” Emma agreed with a laugh. “Livs is universally adored. You should’ve seen her at the party.”
“Yeah, I can’t believe she got you to dance, Em.” Rai said.
“How’d you know about that?” Emma asked.
“Uh?” Rai looked up from his food and blinked. “Livs was bragging about it.”
“I was?” Olivia asked, frowning.
“Yup.” Rai nodded.
“That does sound like something I’d do.” Olivia shrugged.
Emma glanced back to the football table and saw Jordan walk up to his team members. He looked melancholy as he talked something over with his friends. Two of them stood up, arguing with him, but Emma couldn’t hear them above the lunchroom sound. The debate went on for a few minutes before Jordan turned away and walked out. The door closed solidly behind him.
“Wow! What was that about?” Rai asked.
“I have no idea,” Emma said.
“He looked really bummed,” Olivia said, and then eyed Emma suspiciously. “I thought you said you had a nice time last night.”
“Whatever that was had nothing to do with me!” Emma complained. “—at least, I hope not.”
“Whatever.” Rai shrugged. “On another, less ‘teen angsty’ topic, you know the whole League thing? I have some news.”
Emma nodded for him to continue, welcoming the shift in conversation.
“Well, I did some digging on the LoSM. The group did the charity work mentioned in their leaflets, but there’s nothing on their site about the warehouse fires. The closest thing they had going on recently was a fundraiser-auction in Taylor.”
“So, there’s nothing official they’re doing around here?” Olivia asked.
“Yes and no,” Rai replied. “I called one of the security guys I know. He says that someone from the League had been by before the fire and met with Mr. Jones.”
“Mr. Jones might be a member of the League. He goes to the same church,” Emma said.
“Possibly,” Rai replied. “And if so, the cloth could be his. Did you want to ask him if he lost a piece of his culty jacket when he broke into my dad’s warehouse to set the place on fire?”
“Not really,” Emma answered. “He’s kind of scary.”
“He’s managed our warehouses for years.” Rai shook his head. “I can’t picture him doing anything like that. I really can’t.”
“So, what’s our next move?” Olivia asked.
“I’m going to sneak into a local meeting and see if anyone’s missing a jacket,” Rai said.
“You can’t just sneak in and inspect people,” Emma scolded. “What if they catch you?”
He winked at her mischievously. “I won’t get caught. They have volunteers that help at their charitable events. It’s all in the pamphlet.”
Olivia considered. “With the right clothing, I could pass you off as one of my cousins when we go.”
“Wait a minute, who said you were going?” Rai asked.
“Honestly, if you didn’t want my help, why’d you bring it up?” Olivia answered.
“She’s got you there, Rai,” Emma chuckled.
“Fair enough,” Rai relented.
“Wait, what’s this?” Olivia cut in and gestured toward the corner of the room where the overhead lighting was always dim. Kendra had finally made an appearance. She walked in and sat at the Arren’s table, and then smoothly snuggled against Sean Arrens himself. “You’re seeing what I’m seeing, right?”
Emma did see it and had a tough time picturing Kendra with Sean. He was popular enough in his own way, but those two weren’t even close to the same social orbit. “I’m not sure what I’m seeing.” Emma finally replied.
“Rebound?” Rai suggested.
“Hard rebound.” Olivia agreed. “Either way, it’s getting Kendra what she needs.”
“What’s that?” Emma asked.
“Loads and loads of attention. Look around. All eyes are on them.” Olivia nodded with a knowing grin.
18
A MODEL STUDENT
Emma felt exhausted by the time she got to sixth period. Art class was typically the class she considered her “reward” at the end of the school day. Recently, her class started working on human figure-drawing. Ms. Bel complained since the previous Tuesday about not having the budget for a “live” model, so Emma assumed she would be drawing Olivia’s or her own hand again.
“I have exciting news,” Ms. Bel happily announced. “We have secured a volunteer to model for us today!” Emma was relieved and even a little excited. She looked around the room, wondering which of her fellow students agreed to do it. Without giving further details, the wide bangles on Ms. Bel’s wrists clattered cheerfully as she clapped her hands together, bringing the room to attention. The usual background chatter of the lively class abruptly stopped. Emma looked up from her tray to see Jordan enter and take a seat on the stool in front of the room. The silence was broken by a sigh from a collection of people in the back of the room. Olivia tapped her shoulder.
“Did you know about this?”
“I had no idea, Livs.” Emma shook her head and narrowed her eyes in thought. The last period of the day was typically the start of football practice for the varsity team. Surely, the team needed him more than her art class, so what was up? Then it clicked. Him being here instead of practice, and that drama in the lunchroom earlier meant one thing. “Holy crap!” She muttered.
“What is it?” Olivia asked.
“He quit the team!” Emma whispered.
“Whoa,” Olivia said. “Why would he do that?”
“I think it was because of me.” Emma bit her lower lip.
“You made him quit the team?” Olivia gasped.
“Of course not,” Emma hissed. “Why would you think that?”
“Because you just said…”
“We’re going to start now, girls. Shoosh!” Ms. Bel said, leaning in between them before heading back to the front.
Ms. Bel stepped over and posed Jordan with one foot on the floor and the other propped on the rung of the stool, resembling a guitarist at open-mic night. Jordan looked a little uneasy as Ms. Bel took liberties placing him, tilting his head to look straight down the aisle to the back of the room. She also took the time to adjust the window shades for the best lighting.
With her model settled in the right pose, Ms. Bel turned on her favorite classic rock playlist and wandered around the room assisting students. A few minutes in, Ms. Bel stopped in the row in front of Emma and Tsk-tsked! a student. Emma couldn’t help but lean over and look at the drawing. The girl drew a rough sketch of a figure that looked a lot like Emma draped over Jordan’s lap that included a shorter, angry-looking girl standing in the background glaring at them both.
“Very funny, Lisa,” Emma muttered.
“Art imitates life,” Lisa replied in a casual tone.
“Please show res
pect for the assignment, and for the artistic form of our model,” Ms. Bel said crossly. “You know how I feel about characterizing other students.”
“I have nothing but respect for the form of our model,” Lisa retorted.
“If you feel the need to embellish your work, you may add a background, but our focus should be on the model. Am I clear?” Ms. Bel said in her I’m- not-backing-down-on-this tone.
“I can’t believe you’re censoring me,” Lisa complained, but picked up her eraser.
Emma looked to her right and saw Olivia smirking as she adjusted the apron over her pale blue skirt and matching blouse.
“You be quiet,” Emma snapped.
She had no idea what Jordan was thinking by coming to her class like this. No, she knew he was trying to be nice, but it was turning out to be very embarrassing.
“I said nothing,” Olivia replied primly.
“Maybe not, but you were thinking it really loud.” Emma griped before slumping down behind the large drawing pad and easel.
Emma took in a long breath and then peeked out to look at Jordan. Sunlight tapered through the large windows and lit him from the side, framing him in tones of bright light. She paused, staring, before making mental notes of his form and features like she would for every other subject. She got about halfway down Jordan’s torso before her imagination began to wander and betray her.
Jordan’s eyes shifted in her direction, catching her gaze, and a faint smile curved the corner of his mouth. She felt her face heat. It was like he knew her brain had shifted into NC-17 territory. This was going to be harder than she thought. It was one thing to draw a stranger or even someone she knew. But detailing Jordan, someone she was attracted to and interested in, was proving to be very intimate. Diving back behind her pad, she steeled herself while searching for the right pencil. Without looking up, Emma could tell Olivia was smirking at her.
“Are you going to be doing any drawing today?” Olivia teased.
“You’re not helping!” Emma complained. She frowned and turned to her mockingly blank pad. With a sigh, she set to work, getting the basic figure down in a matter of seconds. Next, she needed to recheck his pose before adding more details. The image of Jordan Riley was so embarrassingly clear in her mind that she could stay behind her easel for the rest of the period. At least, she wished she could.
Her face still felt hot. It was as if she could sense his eyes drilling into the back of her drawing pad, waiting for her to reappear. She took a deep breath before inching out to look. His eyes were there waiting for her and she felt herself shudder. They had a green brilliance to them that seemed to grow more intense in the reflected light.
Then around Jordan, the scene seemed to shift abruptly —at least, in her mind’s eye. Emma recalled the natural scene from her earlier dream. It was inspiring, and she wasted no time rendering it.
***
Ms. Bel turned off the music and announced that it was time to clean up. Emma glanced up from her pad and took a relaxing breath. There was actual sweat on her brow from having been in “the zone” on this one.
Olivia leaned over and looked at Emma’s drawing. “Wow! You really made up for lost time.”
Emma nodded and looked over her work. She had captured Jordan well enough, though his eyes looked strange and luminous—she’d have to correct that later. Jordan may have been physically siting in the classroom, but that was not how Emma saw or sketched him. Instead, she posed him outdoors, leaning on a boulder in front of a pond fed by a small waterfall. She surrounded him by adding trees, tall grass, and scattered rocks, even included the cardinal perched on a branch in the background. For some reason, the bird seemed important to the scene.
“Interesting rendition, Emma,” Ms. Bel pointed out from behind the girls. “I see you took my suggestion about backgrounds to heart.” She leaned closer to scrutinize the drawing and added in a concerned tone, “You do seem to be obsessed with that field, though. Did you sneak out there to take reference photos or something?”
“I just made it up,” Emma replied with a shrug. “Do you know this place?”
“I do,” Jordan’s voice came from beside her. He looked at her drawing with an odd expression. “But it’s not a real place. At least, I don’t think it is.”
“It’s a real place,” Ms. Bel replied. “It’s the grotto on the old Winter’s-Alba farmstead. I haven’t been there in years, but that’s it.” She walked off and Emma noticed that Ms. Bel’s hands trembled—something about the drawing had upset her.
“You know this place?” Emma asked Jordan as she cleared up her workspace. “Hang on—let me put this away first. The bell is about to ring.” They moved out into the hall a few minutes later.
“I’ve seen that field and waterfall before—” Jordan said. “—there’s always a red bird there.”
“If it’s a real place, I’ve never been there,” Emma said. “It’s just a place I had a dream about.”
“Me too,” he said, frowning. “That’s weird, right?”
“Not the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” Emma said, trying to rationalize the drawing.
“I bet he was thinking about that place when you were drawing it,” Olivia cut in and pointed at Jordan. “You were, weren’t you?”
“I think about that place all the time,” he said with a thoughtful expression. “It’s like a Zen-thing for me. It calms me down when I’m anxious.”
“I knew it!” Olivia exclaimed.
“Knock it off, Livs,” Emma said, but Olivia was having none of it.
“Are you kidding me?” Olivia said. “How are you not totally freaking out over drawing stuff he’s thinking about?”
“I had a dream about a place that looks like this too.” Emma said calmly. “It’s a weird coincidence, sure—”
“You saw me there, didn’t you?” Jordan said suddenly, and Emma froze mid-rationalization. The impossible truth of his statement must have shown on her face because Olivia clapped her hands over her own mouth to stifle a squeal.
“How...?” Emma began to ask finally and then felt a flash of anger, not liking pranks. “If you guys are messing with me, I swear…”
“How are you here?” Jordan said in a whisper that sounded like a shout to her. He quoted the exact words from her dream. How could he know? No one knew about her dream, not even Olivia. This was too crazy, and she needed to step back and process. Then she remembered something even crazier that began to make sense—and not in a good way.
“You were in my mirror,” Emma pointed an accusing finger. Now it was his turn to look slack-jawed.
“Wait, what?” Olivia chimed in.
“You were!” Emma snarled.
“I don’t know how that happened,” he said in defense.
“I saw you!” Emma was furious now. “What did you do, sneak cameras in my room!?”
“Wait, what!?” Olivia repeated.
“Emma, I don’t know what that was!” Jordan said.
“Save it! That is so creepy! I don’t even have the words!” Emma grabbed Olivia’s hand and marched away from him.
***
On the ride home, Emma realized she’d been gazing out the window in silence long enough when Olivia made a detour. She pulled into the Cypress Café on Main and dragged Emma out of the car and into a sunny patio seat.
“We need tea,” Olivia happily announced as she ordered. “—and lots of it.”
“Coffee for me,” Emma said. “This moment calls for stronger stuff.”
“So, you gonna tell me what all that was about?” Olivia demanded after the drinks arrived.
“It’s too weird, Livs,” Emma said, swirling a spoon around in her cup.
“They’re all weird,” Olivia replied. “The trick is finding a weird that works with your weird. So, what’s so weird about Jordan?”
“He’s been watching me. I’m sure of it.” Emma took a bracing pull from the enormous mug before continuing. “—and now he’s kind of in my head and its
weirding me out.”
“He’s been watching you for years. And I never got a stalker-vibe from him.” Olivia remarked. “But now that you’re kind of into him, it’s a problem?”
“I didn’t know any of that,” Emma said.
“You can spot the one grain of rice in a salt shaker, but you didn’t know Jordan Riley has been in love with you since before we put on our first training bras?” Olivia said with a smirk. “It’s me, Em. I’m not buying that.”
“Fine,” Emma sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “I knew. I just didn’t like him like that—figured he’d get over it eventually.”
“I know you knew. We always know.” Olivia nodded approvingly and drank some tea. “So now that you do like him, why are you sabotaging?”
“—because it’s scary,” Emma admitted.
“Yes, it is,” Olivia agreed. The girls sat for a long quiet moment before Olivia continued. “So, what’s the deal with the mirror and cameras?”
“I don’t know,” Emma said and got a look from Olivia. “No, I really have no clue now, but I need to talk to Jordan about it.”
“That-a-girl,” Olivia said with a smile. “Now, finish your coffee, I have to meet Rai by six.”
“What for?” Emma asked.
“We’re going to do some snooping tonight at the charity thing.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot all about that,” Emma said. “Let me know how it goes?”
19
A VISITOR
Later the same night, Emma awoke to loud scratching against her window. She glanced over at the much-abused clock on her nightstand. It was just after two A.M. Another sudden barrage of debris knocked against the side of the house. She didn’t hear any rain, so figured it was just a windstorm shaking things up outside.
Emma rolled over and tucked her head under the pillow and tried getting back to sleep. But the scratching at the glass persisted forcing her from the bed to go look. She pushed the blinds aside and discovered small branches from the tree outside bent over, slapping against the house.
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