Beautiful Chaos(57)

It wasn’t fair. The people who were left behind never got to feel that sure of anything.

“I wish it wasn’t.”

“Me too, Ethan.”

“Your time to go. What does that mean, exactly?”

She smiled at me as she rubbed my back. “When the time comes, you’ll know.”

“I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m afraid I’m going to screw things up.”

“You’ll do the right thing, Ethan. And if you don’t, the right thing will find you. The Wheel of Fate is like that.”

I thought about what Aunt Prue said to me. The Wheel of Fate… It crushes us all.

I looked my mom in the eye and noticed her face was streaked with tears, just like mine. “What is it, Mom?”

“Not it, my sweet boy.” She touched my cheek as she began to fade softly back into the warm darkness. “Who.”





10.09





Catfight


A few days later, I was sitting in the good booth at the Dar-ee Keen, which unofficially belonged to Link now. Some nervous freshmen actually cleared out when we got there. I remembered my freshman year when that was Link and me. He was nodding at girls as they walked by our booth, and I was eating my weight in Tater Tots.

“They must be buying a different kind or something. These are actually good.” I popped another Tater Tot into my mouth. I hadn’t touched one in years. But today, they’d looked good up on the grimy menu board.

“Dude, I think you’re losin’ it. Even I never ate those things.”

I shrugged as Lena and Ridley slid into the booth with two malts. Ridley started drinking both of them. “Mmm. Raspberry.”

“Is that a first for you, Rid?” Link looked happy to see her. They were speaking again. I gave it five minutes until the bickering set in.

“Mmm. Oreo. Oh my God.” She stuck the straws into her mouth and started drinking both malts at the same time.

Lena looked disgusted and pulled out a bag of french fries. “What are you doing?”

“I wanted raspberry Oreo,” Ridley mumbled, the straws slipping out of her mouth.

I pointed at the sign over the register that read: ANYTHING YOU WANT, ANY WAY WE GOT IT. “You know you can order it like that.”

“I’d rather do it my way. It’s more fun. What are we talking about?”

Link tossed a wad of folded-up flyers onto the table. “The big deal is Savannah Snow’s party after the game against Summerville.”

“Well, have fun.” I stole one of Lena’s fries.

Link made a face. “Aw, man, first the Tater Tots, now this? How can you eat that crap? Smells like dirty hair and old oil.” He sniffed again. “And a rat or two.”

Lena dropped the bag.

I grabbed another fry. “You used to eat this crap all the time. And you were a lot more fun.”

“Well, I’m about to get more fun, because I scored you guys invites to Savannah’s party. We’re all going.” He unfolded the orange flyers, and there they were: four orange invites, each cut in a circle and decorated to look like a basketball.

Lena picked up one by the corner as if it was actually covered in dirty hair and old oil. “The golden ticket. Guess that makes us the cool kids now.”

Link didn’t pick up on her sarcasm. “Yeah, I hooked y’all up.”

Ridley slurped her malts. She had drained both of them down to the dregs. “Actually, I did.”

“What?” I couldn’t have heard her right.

“Savannah invited the whole squad, and I told them I needed to bring my entourage. You know, for security or whatever.” She put down the glasses. “You can thank me later. Or now.”

“Say that again?” Lena looked at her cousin like she was crazy.

Ridley seemed confused. “You’re my entourage?”

Lena shook her head. “The other part.”

“Security?”

“Before that.”

Rid thought for a second. “Squad?”

“That.” Lena said it like it was a four-letter word.

It had to be a joke. I looked at Link, who was purposely not looking at me.

Ridley shrugged. “Yeah, whatever. Team thingy. I forget the name. I like the skirts. Besides, this gig is the closest I can get to being a Siren, as long as I’m trapped in this lame Mortal body.” She gave us her best fake smile. “Go, Wildcats.”

Lena was speechless. I could feel the windows of the Dar-ee Keen begin to rattle as if a gale force wind was hitting them. Which it probably was.

I crumpled up my napkin. “Are you kidding? You’re one of them now?”

“What?”

“The Savannah Snows and Emily Ashers—the kind of girls who harassed us all the time in school,” Lena snapped. “The ones we hate.”

“I don’t see what you’re getting so worked up about.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you joined the same squad that started a club to get me kicked out of school last year. You know, the Jackson High cheer-slash-death squad?”

Ridley yawned. “Whatever. Tell me something that has to do with me.”

I looked at the windows out of the corner of my eye. They were still rattling. A tree branch flew against one, as if it had been tossed up out of the ground like a weed. I pulled one of Lena’s curls straight between my fingers.