side of Cat’s jaw flexed as she watched Kendra and Finn together. At one point, Finn turned in his seat and noticed Cat staring. He gave her a warm, welcoming smile, as if he’d been waiting all day to see her and no one else mattered. He even winked, but Cat didn’t wink back. She looked upset. Did she think Finn was flirting with Kendra?
I remembered the conversation I’d overheard in the house and how Finn would tell Cat that he didn’t feel the same way about her that she did about him. And now here he was, winking at her. No wonder she was confused.
Later, when Kendra went to sharpen her pencil, she slowed by Cat’s table. “Give it up,” she said, in a voice loud enough for half the class to hear. “He’ll never be interested in a freaky slut like you.”
Before I could see Cat’s reaction, Mr. Huber called Dan to the front to get his group’s lab assignment. He passed behind Cat on the way back. She looked pale and forlorn.
It’s not true,
I wanted to tell her.
You’re better than Kendra. You’re better than all of them.
But Dan said nothing
What if I’m supposed to help Cat win over Finn?
I wondered.
That could be the way to save her.
The thought tormented me. Finn seemed like a great guy. I could understand why Cat liked him, but how was I supposed to help them be together? Even if I could influence Dan into doing that, why would he? And why would I, since I wanted to be with her myself? It wasn’t fair. Then again, if I was too selfish or jealous to help her, something bad might happen to Cat. Like the wall said, fear of losing her could cause her to be lost.
It wasn’t until last period, during history class, that I got to see Cat again. Mrs. Pepper let Dan go to the library to work on a research project. It was my first time in the library, and the place brightened my mood. The zombie barely looked up, but the room felt airy and open — a pleasant change from the claustrophobic cinder-block classrooms.
Dan leaned over a sign-in sheet on the front desk and wrote his full name,
Dan Franklin,
followed by the time, class, and the reason for his visit. Then he checked the other names signed in, spotting
Cat Slater
a few lines above his.
She’s here!
I thought, sinking deeper into Dan. I focused on urging him to look for her.
Several tables occupied the center of the room, but Cat wasn’t working at any of them. Dan glanced at the sign-in sheet again. She’d only arrived five minutes before, and the “Time Out” column was blank, so she must still be in the library.
Dan wandered the perimeter, checking study carrels while pretending to search for a book.
“Can I help you find something?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, the librarian.
“No,” he mumbled. “I’m good.” He slid out an oversized volume wrapped in plastic and held it up for Mrs. Gilbert to see.
“Take a seat, please,” she said. “This isn’t a gym.”
Dan glanced around the library one last time and shuffled to an empty table near the exit. Smart. Cat would have to walk by him to leave. He leaned back and pretended to read the book he’d chosen.
The Heroes of D-Day.
A black-and-white photo of soldiers charging up a beach graced the cover. He thumbed through the pages, pausing at some of the pictures: young men, packed into boats, looking scared and seasick; soldiers wading through breaking waves, holding their rifles above their heads; other soldiers, crawling over corpses to get a little farther up the beach. Maybe he wanted to be like the men in the photos, risking his life for a cause, and that’s why he’d followed Cat into the house. The soldiers were nearly the same age as him. And like so many of the men in the book, he’d die an early death. Only for what?
More students filtered into the library. They huddled around the sign-in sheet, whispering and snickering. Kendra, Bella, and Laney — three popular juniors I’d seen together in a few of Dan’s classes — were among them. Dan buried his head in his
I remembered the conversation I’d overheard in the house and how Finn would tell Cat that he didn’t feel the same way about her that she did about him. And now here he was, winking at her. No wonder she was confused.
Later, when Kendra went to sharpen her pencil, she slowed by Cat’s table. “Give it up,” she said, in a voice loud enough for half the class to hear. “He’ll never be interested in a freaky slut like you.”
Before I could see Cat’s reaction, Mr. Huber called Dan to the front to get his group’s lab assignment. He passed behind Cat on the way back. She looked pale and forlorn.
It’s not true,
I wanted to tell her.
You’re better than Kendra. You’re better than all of them.
But Dan said nothing
What if I’m supposed to help Cat win over Finn?
I wondered.
That could be the way to save her.
The thought tormented me. Finn seemed like a great guy. I could understand why Cat liked him, but how was I supposed to help them be together? Even if I could influence Dan into doing that, why would he? And why would I, since I wanted to be with her myself? It wasn’t fair. Then again, if I was too selfish or jealous to help her, something bad might happen to Cat. Like the wall said, fear of losing her could cause her to be lost.
It wasn’t until last period, during history class, that I got to see Cat again. Mrs. Pepper let Dan go to the library to work on a research project. It was my first time in the library, and the place brightened my mood. The zombie barely looked up, but the room felt airy and open — a pleasant change from the claustrophobic cinder-block classrooms.
Dan leaned over a sign-in sheet on the front desk and wrote his full name,
Dan Franklin,
followed by the time, class, and the reason for his visit. Then he checked the other names signed in, spotting
Cat Slater
a few lines above his.
She’s here!
I thought, sinking deeper into Dan. I focused on urging him to look for her.
Several tables occupied the center of the room, but Cat wasn’t working at any of them. Dan glanced at the sign-in sheet again. She’d only arrived five minutes before, and the “Time Out” column was blank, so she must still be in the library.
Dan wandered the perimeter, checking study carrels while pretending to search for a book.
“Can I help you find something?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, the librarian.
“No,” he mumbled. “I’m good.” He slid out an oversized volume wrapped in plastic and held it up for Mrs. Gilbert to see.
“Take a seat, please,” she said. “This isn’t a gym.”
Dan glanced around the library one last time and shuffled to an empty table near the exit. Smart. Cat would have to walk by him to leave. He leaned back and pretended to read the book he’d chosen.
The Heroes of D-Day.
A black-and-white photo of soldiers charging up a beach graced the cover. He thumbed through the pages, pausing at some of the pictures: young men, packed into boats, looking scared and seasick; soldiers wading through breaking waves, holding their rifles above their heads; other soldiers, crawling over corpses to get a little farther up the beach. Maybe he wanted to be like the men in the photos, risking his life for a cause, and that’s why he’d followed Cat into the house. The soldiers were nearly the same age as him. And like so many of the men in the book, he’d die an early death. Only for what?
More students filtered into the library. They huddled around the sign-in sheet, whispering and snickering. Kendra, Bella, and Laney — three popular juniors I’d seen together in a few of Dan’s classes — were among them. Dan buried his head in his
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