An Unexpected Guest
Hanna pulled into the Bill Beach parking lot, her burner phone wedged between her shoulder and her ear. Screw the no-technology rule. This was an emergency.
Mike’s voicemail beeped. “It’s me again,” Hanna pleaded. “I can explain. I want you back. I want to go to prom with you. I have a new cell phone—this is my number. Please, please, please call me!”
She hung up and eyed her prom queen crown and scepter—she carried them with her everywhere. Tears pricked her eyes. She was not going to ruin her makeup, though. A future prom queen needed to look good even when she was cleaning up pee.
When something in her bag bleated, she plunged her hand inside again, praying it was Mike. But it was her old phone. It had auto-logged onto the Bill Beach WiFi and downloaded a new e-mail from Agent Fuji. On instinct, Hanna deleted the message without even reading it.
She stomped through the double doors, threw on her scrubs, and kicked the mop bucket down the hall toward Graham’s partitioned-off area. She whipped back his curtains, not caring who saw her. Graham’s eyes were closed, but his mouth was working hard. Hanna pressed her ear close to his lips, but no sound came out.
“Just tell me who you saw,” Hanna growled, wanting to shake him. Couldn’t they, for once, get a freaking break? They could nail A and get Fuji off their backs. They could clear up this nonsense with the painting in Aria’s closet. She could make things right with Mike, too.
But Graham didn’t make a sound. Hanna was so annoyed she stomped her foot hard. Her sole clacked loudly on the linoleum.
“Hanna?” a voice called out. “Everything okay?”
Hanna turned around. Kyla sat up in bed, the bandages still covering her face. There was a pot of nail polish and an emery board in her lap.
“Actually, no,” Hanna admitted.
Kyla made an mm noise. “Guy trouble?”
Hanna walked closer. “How did you know?”
“I heard you on the phone the other day,” Kyla said with a shrug. “So what did he do?”
“He won’t go to prom with me,” Hanna said miserably. “It’s a huge misunderstanding, and he thinks I’m lying about something—but I’m not. He’s being an idiot.”
“So explain it to him,” Kyla said.
“It’s not that easy,” Hanna sighed. She opened her mouth to try to tell Kyla why, but then a wave of exhaustion washed over her.
“In that case, this will make you feel better.”
Kyla groped for something on the little tray next to her bed. She handed Hanna a small picture in a frame. It was a shot of the Hot Male Nurse in the changing room without a shirt on. Hanna snickered. “Where’d you get this?”
“One of the orderlies took it with my phone.” Kyla sounded proud of herself. “I uploaded it to the Kodak site and had it printed at the gift shop. But you should have it, Hanna. You need the pick-me-up more than I do.”
“Thanks, but that’s okay.” Hanna studied Kyla’s bandages and withered arms and legs. A ridiculous feeling washed over her. Here she was, making a burn victim cheer her up. Had she lost all perspective?
She leaned in closer, suddenly dying to know. “What happened to you?”
Kyla fiddled with the jar of nail polish. “My brother and I were messing around in the garage when a can of sulfuric acid fell off a shelf . . . and onto me. That stuff works just like flames—burns your skin right off.”
Hanna winced. “Is your whole face . . . ?” She trailed off, not knowing how to word it.
“Gone? Messed up?” Kyla finished. She shook her head. “My cheeks are a mess. My chin, too. I need a lot of skin grafts, but you can’t do them all at once. I wasn’t as pretty as you, but I was okay-looking. Popular, even. But not anymore, huh? When I bust out of here, it’s gonna be, Here comes freak show!”
She was trying to sound so brave and tough. Hanna’s heart clenched. How would she treat a girl like Kyla at Rosewood Day? The Old Hanna who’d been Ali’s and Mona’s friend would have been ruthless. But what about the girl she was today? Was this Hanna any better?
She touched a bare spot on Kyla’s arm. “Listen. When you get these bandages off, I want to give you a makeover. Hair, makeup, skin, jewelry, fashion, everything. I’m really good at that sort of stuff, I promise.”
Kyla made a strange noise at the back of her throat. “Why would you do that?”
Hanna leaned closer. “Because you’re the coolest girl I’ve met in a long time. People need to see that, you know? They need to look past some stupid scars and grafts. You’re Kyla, and you’re fabulous. Got it?”
Kyla laughed softly. “Okay,” she said after a moment. “You’re amazing, Hanna.”