wait for a few minutes?"
He grumbled an affirmative, and I thanked him again and exited the cab, taking a deep breath on my way toward the school's front doors. The clock on the meter had read twelve twenty. Lunch ended in ten minutes.
Enough time to get in and find Charlotte.
I peered around the corner, making sure Mrs. Burns was distracted before I snuck by. She would ask where I'd been this morning. After wading through crowds of children, I made it to the upstairs hallway. It was packed and noisy, but there were no ridiculously tall, blond girls anywhere in the crowd, and they weren’t at their usual place by the lockers.
My heart sank. I should have spotted Amy and her crew by now.
Pushing into the crowd, I shouldered my way past groups of people. Someone poked me in the back—one of the shaggy skater guys who'd called us clones.
"Hey, where’s the rest of your Barbie friends? They playing hooky today?"
"Screw off," I muttered and turned away, determined to find Charlotte if she was still there.
"That's not nice, Barbie.” He smirked, trailing behind me. “Can I be your Ken doll? C’mon. Why are you walking away? Too good for normal people?"
He grabbed my arm, and I jumped, my pulse spiking. A chill zipped up my arm so fast it startled me.
Skater guy wheezed in surprise. His breath came out in a puff of white, and he jumped back, teeth chattering. "What the hell ?"
I stumbled and then kept moving, pushing through the students, feeling sick. I shouldn’t touch anyone. I was too upset.
The door to the English classroom was open. A lone figure sat on the couch, bright-blond hair drooping over her eyes as she stared at the sandwich in her lap.
"Charlotte!"
When she saw me, her face lit up. "You’re here! I was so worried."
I threw myself onto the couch beside her and grabbed her in a hug, and she squeaked in surprise.
" You were worried? I was worried! You didn't answer my text this morning."
"Oh, that. I think someone stole my phone. Or maybe I lost it. I'm not sure which." Her expression turned grave. "Do you know what's going on? Amy and Stacy—none of them showed up today. The principal phoned their parents because he thought it was weird. He thought they might all be playing hooky, but I overheard him talking on the phone—they can't find them ." Her eyes were wide.
"I almost didn't show up, either," I said grimly. "Someone tried to kidnap me yesterday."
"What?" Her eyebrows shot up. “What happened?”
I paused, trying to figure out how to explain. It sounded insane. But I was practically bursting, and I had to tell someone.
Maybe if I left out the craziest parts, didn’t talk about the jotun…
So I told her everything—the two men in the van, and Loki, and how I ran away from him—hardly stopping to breathe.
Her eyes grew wider with each detail.
"This is going to sound really weird, but you know how Amy thought that we might all be related or something?"
"Yeah. Wait, we are ?"
"Sort of." I struggled to explain without bringing the frost giant thing up. She would think I was crazy. "We were like a genetic experiment, and now, they want us back."
"But not me." She almost sounded sad.
"Be grateful."
"Can't you go to the police?"
Right. I could only imagine trying to explain to them about the jotun and the fact that I was worried about freezing people.
"I think this might be bigger than the police."
Charlotte's drew her knees up to her chest, her shoes leaving dirty indents on the couch as she shifted. "Like...government stuff?"
"Um, something like that. I just had to make sure you're okay, but now, I have to go. I'm going to catch a bus." I suddenly felt awkward. "I have a taxi outside, but they took me in my pajamas, so I don’t exactly have any money…”
“Oh, of course!” Charlotte, bless her soul, dipped into her purse without question, her face filled with concern. "Where will you go?"
"I don't know. I have friends—" I stopped myself from telling her about California.
He grumbled an affirmative, and I thanked him again and exited the cab, taking a deep breath on my way toward the school's front doors. The clock on the meter had read twelve twenty. Lunch ended in ten minutes.
Enough time to get in and find Charlotte.
I peered around the corner, making sure Mrs. Burns was distracted before I snuck by. She would ask where I'd been this morning. After wading through crowds of children, I made it to the upstairs hallway. It was packed and noisy, but there were no ridiculously tall, blond girls anywhere in the crowd, and they weren’t at their usual place by the lockers.
My heart sank. I should have spotted Amy and her crew by now.
Pushing into the crowd, I shouldered my way past groups of people. Someone poked me in the back—one of the shaggy skater guys who'd called us clones.
"Hey, where’s the rest of your Barbie friends? They playing hooky today?"
"Screw off," I muttered and turned away, determined to find Charlotte if she was still there.
"That's not nice, Barbie.” He smirked, trailing behind me. “Can I be your Ken doll? C’mon. Why are you walking away? Too good for normal people?"
He grabbed my arm, and I jumped, my pulse spiking. A chill zipped up my arm so fast it startled me.
Skater guy wheezed in surprise. His breath came out in a puff of white, and he jumped back, teeth chattering. "What the hell ?"
I stumbled and then kept moving, pushing through the students, feeling sick. I shouldn’t touch anyone. I was too upset.
The door to the English classroom was open. A lone figure sat on the couch, bright-blond hair drooping over her eyes as she stared at the sandwich in her lap.
"Charlotte!"
When she saw me, her face lit up. "You’re here! I was so worried."
I threw myself onto the couch beside her and grabbed her in a hug, and she squeaked in surprise.
" You were worried? I was worried! You didn't answer my text this morning."
"Oh, that. I think someone stole my phone. Or maybe I lost it. I'm not sure which." Her expression turned grave. "Do you know what's going on? Amy and Stacy—none of them showed up today. The principal phoned their parents because he thought it was weird. He thought they might all be playing hooky, but I overheard him talking on the phone—they can't find them ." Her eyes were wide.
"I almost didn't show up, either," I said grimly. "Someone tried to kidnap me yesterday."
"What?" Her eyebrows shot up. “What happened?”
I paused, trying to figure out how to explain. It sounded insane. But I was practically bursting, and I had to tell someone.
Maybe if I left out the craziest parts, didn’t talk about the jotun…
So I told her everything—the two men in the van, and Loki, and how I ran away from him—hardly stopping to breathe.
Her eyes grew wider with each detail.
"This is going to sound really weird, but you know how Amy thought that we might all be related or something?"
"Yeah. Wait, we are ?"
"Sort of." I struggled to explain without bringing the frost giant thing up. She would think I was crazy. "We were like a genetic experiment, and now, they want us back."
"But not me." She almost sounded sad.
"Be grateful."
"Can't you go to the police?"
Right. I could only imagine trying to explain to them about the jotun and the fact that I was worried about freezing people.
"I think this might be bigger than the police."
Charlotte's drew her knees up to her chest, her shoes leaving dirty indents on the couch as she shifted. "Like...government stuff?"
"Um, something like that. I just had to make sure you're okay, but now, I have to go. I'm going to catch a bus." I suddenly felt awkward. "I have a taxi outside, but they took me in my pajamas, so I don’t exactly have any money…”
“Oh, of course!” Charlotte, bless her soul, dipped into her purse without question, her face filled with concern. "Where will you go?"
"I don't know. I have friends—" I stopped myself from telling her about California.
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