Uninvited (Uninvited, #1)(46)

“Hey, Sean.” Gil gives a small wave.

I stare, smile a little. As much as I can manage. “Hello.” It’s the first time I’ve even greeted him.

He stares back, his pale eyes missing nothing. Not the hair scraped neatly back from my face. He sees all of me. He hesitates, not taking his usual seat. I feel Gil watching us. Finally, Sean moves forward and takes the seat behind me.

I turn so that my legs stick out in the aisle. This way I can see both boys.

“Hey,” he greets. To both of us, I guess, but he’s looking at me.

Gil’s voice pipes up from my right. “So, you two are friends now?”

I feel my face heat.

“Makes sense, of course,” he adds, motioning to both our necks with a flick of his hand. “You’ve got matching ink and all.”

I could strangle him. My mouth works, at a loss for words, and I’m sure I look like a fish.

Sean laughs low. “Yeah. ’Cause we picked them out and everything, Gil. Like matching T-shirts. Next, it will be wedding bands.” He’s obviously joking, but that doesn’t stop the heat from spreading to my ears.

“Well, you know.” Gil shrugs. “You have something in common now.”

“Yeah,” I murmur, meeting Sean’s eyes. “I guess we do.”





UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers ..................................................................



* * *





To: Mika, Billy, Miguel From: Kevin


2:30! Don’t b late! We gotta do this right Mika

Which mall again?


Srsly? Northchase!

And ur not doing mall ur going 2 stadium I’m picking u up at 1:30, remember?


Mika

Y—got it


Miguel

We’ve only gone over 100x!


Mika

K—gonna roc!!


Billy

Glad ur babysitting, dumbass. U know how 2 shoot, right?


Mika

Screw u!


Cut the crap-stay focused treat us like animals we’ll show them animals Mika

Hear that!


Miguel

Payback a bitch!


Mika

Can’t wait! Gonna blow some shiz up!





SEVENTEEN




MR. TUCCI APPEARS MID-AFTERNOON WITH TWO uniformed campus security officers. I’m slammed with the same sick feeling I got the last time he showed up, but this time there is no Pollock. That makes me breathe a bit easier.

Gil leans sideways in his desk and hisses, “What did you do?”

I’m not sure who he’s whispering to—Sean or me. My pulse jackknifes against my throat as I strain to listen to whatever Tucci whispers at the front of the Cage. It feels like forever before he enters and addresses the group. Everyone swings around in their seats.

“All right, everyone. Listen up. We have a bit of a situation.” He waves his hands in the air like he’s mollifying an unruly mob. “We’re dismissing you all early today. Gather up your things. Security is here to escort you to the doors.”

Nathan and Brian whoop loudly.

Tucci sends them a stern look and waits a moment before continuing. “You’ll all learn soon enough. There’s been an incident.” He clears his throat. “A terrible tragedy.”

“What happened?” This from Gil.

Tension tightens across my shoulders as we all wait for Tucci to answer. He looks to the side, blinking rapidly with obvious emotion, and I know it’s going to be bad. When he does finally speak it feels like all the air is sucked out of the room.

“A mass shooting. At a mall and stadium in Houston.”

A hush falls over the room. No one says anything, but we all look at one another. And I know we’re all thinking the same thing, wondering why we have to leave school early. Escorted by security guards.

Tucci sighs. “The body count is high. Over fifty so far. They have multiple suspects in custody. They’re carriers. All of them. It’s been confirmed. It’s all over the news.”

And it all clicks together. The bottom drops out of my world. This is bad. Very bad. For all of us.

Tucci continues, “We need to hurry. It’s twenty minutes until the next bell.” And, presumably, news of the catastrophe has infiltrated the student population. There’s no way news this big isn’t on everyone’s radar.

For a long moment, no one moves as this sinks in, and then there’s a sudden flurry of activity. I fly into action, grabbing my backpack.

“Do we have to show up to school tomorrow?” Nathan asks as we file out from the Cage.

Tucci looks over his shoulder as he strolls ahead of us down the hallway. “No promises. I need to consult with the Agency. I’m unsure what protocol is in place. Your caseworkers will be in touch with each of you.”

No school tomorrow? What about next week? Will we still graduate? Does that even matter anymore?

Nathan leads the pack, his strides hurried, eager to exit campus. Sean walks ahead of me. I watch his back, studying the play of his shoulder blades beneath the cotton of his T-shirt . . . wondering if he’s as knotted up with tension as I am. Has this affected him? Does anything?