“I can’t believe he’s a sophomore and he’s set to be starting quarterback,” Skylar said, suddenly seeming to loosen up a bit. She smeared lotion on her feet and ankles. “I heard a terrible story about the guy he replaced.”
No, don’t go there, Em thought, but before she could say it, Skylar was plowing on.
“That he killed himself? Is that true?”
Silence.
Gabby cleared her throat. Em ground a sandy scrub into the arch of her foot.
“Did you guys . . . were you guys, like—oh. I’m sorry,” Skylar said, her brows coming together. “I should have known.” She sounded genuinely apologetic.
“Well, he’s replacing a guy named Zach, who left Ascension,” Gabby said softly. “But you’re talking about Chase, who’s . . . really gone. And yes, we knew him. It’s been difficult.”
Difficult. Em chewed on the word. It was difficult to replay the night of Chase’s death, wondering if she could have saved him from Ty’s manipulations. It was difficult to hate him for how he’d tortured Sasha while his face continued to appear to Em in her nightmares. It was difficult that she wondered if Chase’s actions had provoked the Furies’ appearance in Ascension. If not his, whose?
“There were actually two deaths, very close together,” Gabby continued gently, as Skylar stared at her openmouthed. “Another suicide that happened just a couple of weeks before . . . before Chase died. A girl named Sasha.”
“Oh my god,” Skylar whispered. “That sounds terrible.”
“It was,” Gabby said. “It is. Ascension is . . . Ascension is still healing.” To Em that sounded simultaneously melodramatic and true.
“Sasha . . . her last name wasn’t Bowlder, was it?” Skylar asked tentatively.
Em curled her knees into her chest.
“Yeah, that was her,” Gabby responded.
“I saw one of her drawings in last year’s yearbook,” Skylar said. “I was looking at it . . . to get ideas for the dance. Anyway, the drawing was, well, interesting.”
“I had forgotten about those drawings,” Em said, nodding in recollection. “Wow. Remember them, Gabs?”
Gabby sighed. “Yes. They were a little bizarre. And they certainly didn’t help her case.”
Skylar looked at them quizzically.
“Sasha didn’t exactly have the best reputation,” Gabby explained. “She was a bit—what’s the word?—eccentric. Right, Em? People made fun of her. Like, they said she was into witch stuff, spells . . .”
Em interjected with a derisive snort. “Among other things. Anyway, those were just rumors.”
“I know, Emmy, I’m just catching Skylar up,” Gabby said. “I once heard that she stole a frog from the bio lab just to sacrifice it in the woods!”
Skylar made a face. “Maybe she thought it would turn into a prince,” she said.
“And there was another one about some special bag of herbs that she carried everywhere—”
“Can we go back to talking about parties?” Em interrupted again, and this time she made her meaning clear.
There were a few moments of silence, and then Gabby coughed again. When she spoke, it was quick and overly bright. “Parties, yes. Please,” she said, shooting Em an apologetic look. “So, in addition to the pajama party—which is so soon, btw!—and the Spring Fling, I think we should have a special party for you, Skylar. Or rather, you should throw your own party.”
Skylar looked doubtful, and Em raised her eyebrows. Gabby was really going all out on her little project.
“It could be like your coming-out party!” Gabby said, gaining steam as she always did when she was envisioning a social event. “Like a debutante ball, but Maine-style. I’ll be pretty busy with dance committee stuff, but you could plan it, and I could help!”
Em watched Skylar’s face break out into the most genuine smile she’d seen all night. It was clear that she worshipped Gabby, that her gratitude was miles deep. And whose wouldn’t be? Ascension was a tough pool to dive into, full of social sharks swimming in established hierarchies. Gabby was giving Skylar an in.
Ping. Ping. Ping.
The freezing rain that Gabby’s mom had predicted earlier this week began tapping against the window like tiny fingers rapping on the glass. The sound of the sleet lulled Em into a kind of trance until she heard Skylar’s voice, as though from far away, saying, “What if we had it outside? Do people do that here? I mean, I know it’s still cold, but we could have a bonfire . . . ?”
Now Gabby was the skeptical one. “A party outside? In March? March in Maine is still winter.”
“You’re right, it was a stupid idea.” Em watched Skylar’s face fall, and she couldn’t stand it. She had to rescue her.
“Think about it, Gabs,” Em said. “It could work. A big bonfire and a few of those heat lamps that your dad bought for his ice-bar party a few years ago? People would remember it, that’s for sure.”