on my face.
I hated myself.
But it was true, wasn’t it? Mindy knew Hoop better than any of us, and she had insisted he’d be okay. Well, she’d been wrong, hadn’t she?
If it crossed my mind that she was probably being tortured by the same exact thought, I ignored it. It was more important now that Mindy go along with the story we’d made up than to worry about her feelings. We couldn’t let her ruin everything.
“Look, everyone knows that Hoop has a temper,” I said patiently, even though what I really felt like doing was screaming. My skin burned fiercely, I was still upset about having been locked in that capsule, and I wanted all of this horror over Hoop to disappear. I didn’t feel like dealing with Mindy. But if she caved in and told anyone the truth, we were all dead. “No one will question our story, Mindy. People have seen him lose his temper too many times.”
I’ll never know whether or not my comments changed Mindy’s mind, or if what happened next changed it for her. Because when we arrived back on campus, the place was crawling with cops. There were black-and-whites lined up outside the administration building, Butler Hall, and a couple of official-looking cars with the state logo on the doors, plus two brown and cream state police cars. Everywhere we looked, there seemed to be people in uniform, on the walkways, on the Commons, going in and out of the dorms.
Bay drove slowly, as we all stared in apprehension.
“I thought Twin Falls had a tiny police force,” Nat murmured.
“They’re not all Twin Falls,” Eli said. “Some are state police, some are campus security, and I think the guys in white shirts and navy blue pants might be arson investigators. It’s a state park, remember? The fire isn’t just a local matter.”
Mindy groaned, and leaning over the front seat again, said quickly, “Okay, okay, I’ll go with that story.”
My stiff, aching body went weak with relief.
The doctor at the infirmary said I wouldn’t blister. She shook her head in disapproval at what she called “youthful vanity,” and warned me away from the tanning salon. As if that was necessary.
She told me I was “a very lucky young woman,” gave me a tube of salve to apply to the most painful spots, and dismissed me.
It was Saturday. I hadn’t spent a Saturday night alone since I’d met Eli, and then Bay and the others. But when we separated at Devereaux, no one said a word about doing anything that night, not even Bay. I could have leaned in through the open car window after I got out and said, “See you tonight?” but something wouldn’t let me. The fire had damaged more than the park and Hoop. It had done something to our little group, too. Our easy, trusting attitude toward each other was gone.
Maybe we were all just too shell-shocked to think about going out and having fun. Whatever the reason, Nat and I got out of the car without saying good-bye. All I said as I left was, “Remember, Mindy, don’t screw this up, okay?”
She nodded, but she looked hurt.
“That was kind of mean,” Nat commented as we went inside. “She already promised that she’d go along with the story.”
“I know. It was mean. But the police are going to be coming around and she’s our weakest link. She can’t stand the thought of lying about Hoop. I don’t like it, either, so if you have any better suggestions that will get us out of this mess, I’d be happy to hear them.”
We rode upstairs in the elevator in silence.
To find two uniformed Twin Falls officers and one state police officer waiting for us in the hall outside our room.
Chapter 8
T HE FIRST QUESTION WAS directed at me. “What happened to your face?” the younger of the two Twin Falls officers asked as we ushered them all into our room. “Looks like you burned it some. How?”
I explained. I didn’t want to. It sounded hopelessly stupid even to me, and I’d been there. But I was afraid that if I didn’t explain, they’d assume my
I hated myself.
But it was true, wasn’t it? Mindy knew Hoop better than any of us, and she had insisted he’d be okay. Well, she’d been wrong, hadn’t she?
If it crossed my mind that she was probably being tortured by the same exact thought, I ignored it. It was more important now that Mindy go along with the story we’d made up than to worry about her feelings. We couldn’t let her ruin everything.
“Look, everyone knows that Hoop has a temper,” I said patiently, even though what I really felt like doing was screaming. My skin burned fiercely, I was still upset about having been locked in that capsule, and I wanted all of this horror over Hoop to disappear. I didn’t feel like dealing with Mindy. But if she caved in and told anyone the truth, we were all dead. “No one will question our story, Mindy. People have seen him lose his temper too many times.”
I’ll never know whether or not my comments changed Mindy’s mind, or if what happened next changed it for her. Because when we arrived back on campus, the place was crawling with cops. There were black-and-whites lined up outside the administration building, Butler Hall, and a couple of official-looking cars with the state logo on the doors, plus two brown and cream state police cars. Everywhere we looked, there seemed to be people in uniform, on the walkways, on the Commons, going in and out of the dorms.
Bay drove slowly, as we all stared in apprehension.
“I thought Twin Falls had a tiny police force,” Nat murmured.
“They’re not all Twin Falls,” Eli said. “Some are state police, some are campus security, and I think the guys in white shirts and navy blue pants might be arson investigators. It’s a state park, remember? The fire isn’t just a local matter.”
Mindy groaned, and leaning over the front seat again, said quickly, “Okay, okay, I’ll go with that story.”
My stiff, aching body went weak with relief.
The doctor at the infirmary said I wouldn’t blister. She shook her head in disapproval at what she called “youthful vanity,” and warned me away from the tanning salon. As if that was necessary.
She told me I was “a very lucky young woman,” gave me a tube of salve to apply to the most painful spots, and dismissed me.
It was Saturday. I hadn’t spent a Saturday night alone since I’d met Eli, and then Bay and the others. But when we separated at Devereaux, no one said a word about doing anything that night, not even Bay. I could have leaned in through the open car window after I got out and said, “See you tonight?” but something wouldn’t let me. The fire had damaged more than the park and Hoop. It had done something to our little group, too. Our easy, trusting attitude toward each other was gone.
Maybe we were all just too shell-shocked to think about going out and having fun. Whatever the reason, Nat and I got out of the car without saying good-bye. All I said as I left was, “Remember, Mindy, don’t screw this up, okay?”
She nodded, but she looked hurt.
“That was kind of mean,” Nat commented as we went inside. “She already promised that she’d go along with the story.”
“I know. It was mean. But the police are going to be coming around and she’s our weakest link. She can’t stand the thought of lying about Hoop. I don’t like it, either, so if you have any better suggestions that will get us out of this mess, I’d be happy to hear them.”
We rode upstairs in the elevator in silence.
To find two uniformed Twin Falls officers and one state police officer waiting for us in the hall outside our room.
Chapter 8
T HE FIRST QUESTION WAS directed at me. “What happened to your face?” the younger of the two Twin Falls officers asked as we ushered them all into our room. “Looks like you burned it some. How?”
I explained. I didn’t want to. It sounded hopelessly stupid even to me, and I’d been there. But I was afraid that if I didn’t explain, they’d assume my
Similar Books
