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still in his leather jacket, slung over a denim button-down shirt with a high, stiff collar, and there was a pair of sunglasses jutting out from his shirt pocket. Magic was wearing one of his signature tie-dyed shirts and his regular cargo shorts, but he’d exchanged his flip-flops for what looked to be moccasins. Both of them were smiling as they suddenly approached Charlie’s table.
    Charlie threw another glance toward the teachers’ table, but none of the authority figures in the room seemed to have noticed the older kids, or the interruption. They were still bending over the laptop, watching whatever was on the screen.
    â€œIs that Finn Carter?” Crystal finally said, breaking the silence. Her brown eyes were wide behind her thick glasses. “And is he coming over here?”
    Before Charlie could respond, Finn and Magic had reached the table. Magic brushed an errant clump ofrice off Jeremy’s shoulder, while Finn glanced amiably at the group.
    â€œHey, guys. I’m Finn, and this is Magic. Charlie, it’s been a while. You have a free minute?”
    Charlie could feel all his friends staring at him. His cheeks were pale, but he tried to sound as cool and collected as possible.
    â€œIt’s recess, so yeah, I mean, I guess so.”
    Finn smiled.
    â€œGood. If we can pull you away from your friends for a bit, there’s someone we’d like you to meet.”
    With that, the two seventh graders headed toward the exit on the other side of the teachers’ table. Charlie watched them go. They left the cafeteria with such audacity and confidence that there was no shred of evidence that teachers would even mind the older students intruding on the lower grade’s lunchtime. Charlie turned back to his friends, who were still staring at him. Then he shrugged.
    â€œI guess I’ll see you guys later.”
    Without another word, he rose and followed Finn and Magic toward the door.

5

    TEN MINUTES LATER, CHARLIE was still following Finn and Magic. The anticipation that had been building since he’d left the lunchroom was slowly being replaced by a more potent sense of annoyance. He’d expected them to lead him down a rabbit hole, but he’d thought it was going to be a much shorter trip.
    He glanced past his two tour guides at the long industrial-looking hallway that extended out in front of them for what seemed like forever. Charlie hadn’t been in this part of the school building in years. In fact, he wasn’t really officially in the school building anymore; the hallway actually bisected an adjunct building the students affectionately knew as Old School, because it had once housed the art and music departments.Since the renovations that had begun with the new gym and had since grown to touch nearly every facet of the school, Old School had gone into disuse. Like with the outdoor waiting area for the lunchroom, there was always talk of how Old School would eventually be restored into everything from a computer center to a theater department, but for the moment the place was pretty much abandoned.
    The carpeting beneath Charlie’s feet, which no doubt was once a brilliant orange, had faded into a nameless shade of yellow, and the wooden, windowless doors that lined either side looked scuffed, heavy, and foreboding. Charlie had to remind himself that he wasn’t being kidnapped, he was voluntarily following the two seventh graders into the depths of Old School—even if he couldn’t exactly say why.
    For their part, Finn and Magic had remained silent for most of the walk. Charlie had fought the urge to ask them any questions. He could tell they were enjoying the building suspense—Finn was as much a showman as his stockier friend. Charlie was willing to humor them for the time being. After what Finn had done to Dylan in the lunchroom, it was the least he could do. And truthfully, he was curious; what did any of this have to do with him? Why had