Bait

by Kasi Blake

Hours later they stopped at the outdoor cafe for a quick lunch before continuing on because Keisha insisted Bay-Lee didn’t have a big enough wardrobe yet. They sat beneath a giant umbrella at a glass table next to the cobblestone street. Feeling like a tourist, Bay-Lee spent more time taking in the scenery than eating. A trolley rolled by, mustard-yellow on the bottom and white on top, resembling a narrow bus and Bay-Lee wondered if she could talk the other girl into taking a ride on it.

  Keisha pulled an expensive phone from her stylish red purse and punched a few buttons. “I can’t believe you got stuck with Nick Gallos for a mentor. Maybe you can get your father to assign someone else to you. Take it from me, girl, you don’t want anything to do with that boy.”

  To prove her point Keisha showed Bay-Lee the phone’s screen. She was on the Internet, connected to footage of an old story. The paparazzi had Tyler Beck surrounded. Apparently they were asking him insulting questions about some girl. He cursed like a sailor and punched the closest guy in the face. Keisha said, “He’s got a violent temper.”

  “Who were they asking him about? A girlfriend? Didn’t he have a thing with some model?”

  “Fake,” Keisha said with a breathy chuckle. “Stephanie was a hunter. They used each other to play up their false identities.” She pressed a few buttons and showed Bay-Lee the screen again. This time there were photos of Tyler (Nick) with a beautiful blonde. “That’s Stephanie.”

  Nick and Stephanie were gazing into each other’s eyes, looking so much in love Bay-Lee wondered if maybe they were secretly together for real. Bay-Lee’s favorite picture showed Tyler (Nick) and Stephanie facing each other, pink bubbles coming from their mouths and touching. Bumping bubbles, it was adorable. His eyes were crinkled at the sides, frozen in time. The odd thing was Nick Gallos didn’t seem capable of goofing off with a girlfriend or enjoying life like the guy in the pictures.

  “What happened to her?” Bay-Lee asked.

  “Dead.”

  An awkward silence settled over them.

  After a moment Bay-Lee asked, “Is it my imagination, or do the other students hate me?”

  The question seemed to amuse Keisha. “Half of them are afraid you’re all hype but think your father will let you slide anyway. The other half are afraid you’re everything rumors say you are and you’ll knock them down the list.”

  “What list?”

  “After you move up to Hunter, you’ll be ranked each week with the rest of us. The ones close to the top of the list, probably the first five to ten get all the missions. We go hunting for real while the rest of the school stays safely behind closed doors.”

  “So you’re near the top?”

  “Girl, I am the top.” A wide smile graced Keisha’s face, but it was short-lived. She amended, “Well, I used to be the top until Nick Gallos and Mike Keebler came back to town. I love those boys, but they stole my spot.”

  “What do mentors do?”

  “You don’t know?” Keisha raised a single eyebrow, looking vaguely appalled.

  “If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking.”

  “They do a variety of things. They show you around the school, help you find your classes, introduce you to people, keep you out of trouble, and help you with your homework when you need it. That’s why you can’t mentor someone until you have high rank and good standing at the school.” Keisha smiled sheepishly before adding, “Sorry I didn’t volunteer to be yours.”

  “It’s okay. I’m not mad.”

  “I already have a ton to do and, no offense, but you look like you’d be a lot of trouble.”

  Why did people say no offense right before they offended you? “Why was everyone upset when Nick offered to be my mentor?”

  “Sorry. Can’t tell you. Orders from the boss.”

  “You know, you say ‘sorry’ a lot, but you never sound like you actually mean it.”

  Keisha sipped her tea. With the straw in her mouth and a coy smile on her face, she repeated the word. “Sorry.”

  Keisha started texting, and they finished eating in silence. At one point the girl’s cell beeped. She read the text in-between bites of salad. Her gaze went up for a second to meet Bay-Lee’s. Smiling, she texted something else and giggled. Bay-Lee had the feeling they were discussing her and the gossip was not flattering.