ten
When Claire’s mom dropped her off at school on Monday, the debris from the scaffolding accident had all been cleared away, and it looked as if construction had been halted. Claire scanned the crowd but didn’t see Alec anywhere. As she crossed to the stairs, a group of girls came up to her, concern written all over their faces.
“Claire! Oh my God! Are you okay?” asked the leader of the pack. It was Gabrielle Miller, the athletic goddess she’d often seen talking with Neil.
“I’m … fine.” Claire was taken aback. Gabrielle had only talked to her twice in her life—once to welcome her to Emerson, another time to invite her to watch a varsity tennis match—and Gabrielle’s clique had never so much as glanced in her direction. So why were they talking to her now?
“We heard you were, like, almost crushed to death by that scaffolding on Friday!” cried Ashley, the curly-haired blonde at Gabrielle’s side.
“We were at lunch in the Village and missed the whole thing,” put in Courtney, the third girl. “Everybody’s talking about it. They said you were interviewed by the cops!”
“Is it true that Alec MacKenzie dragged you out from under the wreckage?” Gabrielle asked.
“Well, he … he didn’t actually drag us, it was more like he tackled us, and—” Claire began.
“Oh my God!” shrieked Ashley. “I would so love to be tackled by Alec MacKenzie!”
“He is so hot!” agreed Gabrielle.
“I’d give anything to have him save my life,” Courtney swooned. “He’s that quiet, loner type, which is so sexy. And he has such an awesome accent.”
“So awesome … ,” echoed Ashley.
Just then, Erica and Brian joined them.
“Whassup, peoplez?” Brian said in his typical cheerful fashion.
Gabrielle’s group whirled on them en masse, gasping at the sight of Brian’s sling. “Oh my God!” Gabrielle exclaimed. “Is your arm broken?”
“No, it was just dislocated,” Brian said.
“It’s a miracle that you guys survived!” cried Courtney.
“Are you, like, having nightmares and shit?” asked Ashley.
“Well, it was terrifying,” Erica admitted.
“It would have totally sucked if you’d died.” Gabrielle shuddered. “I mean, school’s just barely started! That would have ruined the whole first semester.”
“Everybody’s so freaked about it,” added Courtney, “saying, ‘It could have been me.’”
Gabrielle shouldered her backpack. “Brian, my dad’s a doctor, so let me know if you need any painkillers.”
“Thanks, but I’m already well supplied,” Brian returned with a grin.
The three girls waved and dashed off. Claire glanced at her friends with eyebrows raised as they headed up the stairs in the group’s wake. “That was strange.”
“Not really. We’re famous now.” Erica smoothed back her shiny red hair, a huge smile on her face.
“Have you seen Alec?” Claire asked.
“Not yet,” Brian answered.
“He’s usually right on time.” Claire was getting worried now. “I hope he’s okay.”
“He looked fine on Friday,” Erica said.
Claire frowned. “Maybe he’s avoiding school so we can’t grill him about what happened.”
“You just keep telling yourself that, Detective,” Brian said, shaking his head.
All day long, the scaffolding accident was the major topic of conversation at school. So many people came up to ask Claire if she was okay—most of them people she’d never talked to until now—that it made her head spin. She’d never been the center of so much attention before. Admittedly, it was exciting—but at the same time, she felt uncomfortable. She hadn’t really done anything, except not die. Alec was the one who deserved the recognition, but he was absent all day. Where was he?
After school, as Claire was grabbing her books from their locker, her eyes were drawn to the bulky, black mystery box sitting at the bottom. What was that thing, anyway? she wondered. Could any of her questions about Alec be answered by what was inside?
The box was locked tight, with a digital keypad on the lid. A thought occurred to her: Even if she couldn’t open it, maybe she could put her new ability to some practical use and try to get a reading off the box—the same way she had with the bracelet. She knew this was prying, but her intense curiosity overcame her feelings of guilt.
Taking a deep breath, Claire extended her right hand over the lid of the box, then pressed her palm down onto it, concentrating on the feel of the cold, textured surface.
Nothing happened. Nothing at all.
Just then, she heard the sound of laughter and approaching footsteps. She quickly slammed the locker door and hurried off with a disappointed sigh. It figures, Claire thought, frowning. Nothing about her supposed ability had ever been predictable or convenient. If she was going to learn anything about Alec, it’d have to be the old-fashioned way.
That is, if he ever returned to school.
The following morning, traffic was so bad that Claire arrived at school with only two minutes to spare before classes started. She made a beeline for history in the North Quad, arriving breathless just as the second bell rang.
To her astonishment, Mr. Patterson’s door slammed shut in her face. Claire stopped short, speechless, then quietly tried the door handle. It was locked.
Claire had never been locked out of a class! It was bad enough that she’d received a D on her first history paper. This would only further jeopardize her grade—and, ultimately, her scholarship. Fighting back a wave of panic, she wandered around the side of the building. Through the classroom window, she could see Mr. Patterson already lecturing. She was about to head to the library to study when she noticed Alec sitting in his usual seat.
So he’s back—and he’s okay, she thought. A surge of intense relief swept through her. A second, lesser thought followed: Maybe she’d finally get a chance to talk to him today, and find out what planet he was from. Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, signaling a new text message. Crap! she thought. She’d forgotten to turn off the damn thing when she arrived on campus. She yanked the phone out and glanced at the screen, fully expecting the text to be from her mom.
Instead, it was from an unknown number. All it said was:
Don’t panic.
She glanced up and saw Alec secretly working his cell phone beneath the cover of his desk. Another message arrived:
I’ll share my notes. —A
Claire smiled. That was nice of him. She was putting her cell phone away when the sharp rap of knuckles against glass brought her eyes back to the classroom window. She froze in horror. Mr. Patterson opened the window, his eyes fixed on her, Alec’s cell phone in his hand.
“Congratulations, Miss Brennan,” he said with a derisive smile. “You and Mr. MacKenzie have just earned yourselves detention tomorrow.”