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Dean’s been going through a lot: the stress of final exams, the stress of witnessing a crime…” Her eyes glossed as her voice trailed off. She turned her head and wiped her eyes again, leaving fresh smudges on her face.
    Though she had mentioned it before, it only just hit me that Lisa had witnessed the explosion firsthand. Seeing something like that would have to be difficult to come back from. I wanted to reassure her that things would be okay, but the words just wouldn’t come. After the past few days, I wasn’t sure things would be okay.
    Luckily, Colin picked up the slack. “Everything’s going to be fine,” he said unconvincingly. “Don’t worry, we’ll help Dean sort out…” He and Lisa both glanced at me for a fraction of a second before looking away.
    Great. Now my friends couldn’t even talk or look at me without wondering if I was a freak. “It could all be just some bizarre coincidence,” I offered.
    â€œIt has to be,” Lisa said, mostly under her breath.

Chapter 11
    Â 
    The hospital was at a level of chaos I couldn’t have imagined. Ambulances lined up one behind the other, waiting their turn to drop off an injured student, only to leave with their sirens on, no doubt going back to the school. Inside was even worse. Droves of parents clogged the nurses’ station, desperate to know the condition of their children.
    â€œWe’re never going to get any information there,” Lisa said, pointing to the crowd.
    Colin placed his hands on our backs and pushed us forward, through the crowd and toward the elevator. “We don’t need to wait,” he said. He punched the UP button. “There’s a nurses’ station on every floor. And each floor can tell you what you need to know.”
    Colin certainly wasn’t the sharpest kid you’d meet, but if he said something about hospitals, I believed him. He had broken more bones than anyone I knew, and over the years, I’d visited him dozens of times. Usually he ended up in the hospital after doing something stupid—last time he’d broken a couple ribs falling out of a tree while chasing a squirrel. The time before that, he thought it would be cool to try riding his skateboard while wearing roller blades.
    We stepped off the elevator at the second floor and squinted against the harsh lights reflecting off the polished linoleum. The area seemed utterly deserted compared to the floor below. Colin wasted no time and walked straight to the nurses’ station. “Excuse me, ma’am.”
    A middle-aged nurse stood up from behind her counter. She had short, boy-cut hair and wore purple scrubs. She peered down at the three of us. Concern flashed across her face when she saw Lisa’s soot-covered face. “You kids must be coming from that school explosion. Are you okay?”
    â€œWe’re fine, ma’am.” Colin leaned against the counter. “We’re just trying to find out if our teacher is okay. Her name’s Mrs. Farnsworthy. We would’ve asked downstairs, but it’s just crazy down there.”
    The nurse nodded. “I’ve been down there.” She looked off to the left and sighed. “Those poor parents must be terrified.” She turned to her computer and tapped a few keys. “That’s nice of you kids to come see how your teacher is doing.” She tapped a few more keys. “Mrs. Farnsworthy, you say?”
    Colin nodded.
    A moment passed while the nurse read whatever was on her screen. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing in my computer yet—they’re busy down there; it might not have been entered yet. Don’t you worry, though, I’ll bet your teacher will be fine.”
    She smiled, and then when she looked at me, her eyes widened.
    â€œWait. You’re that boy.” She shuffled some papers on the desk and held up a copy of the Abbotsford Gazette . “That’s