Midnight Games(15)

I trotted down the long, empty hall. My footsteps echoed against the tile walls and banks of metal lockers.

I turned the corner and gazed down another long hall. No sign of Ada.

How did she disappear so fast? I wondered.

And then I let out a scream as someone grabbed me hard from behind.





13

I spun around. “Nate! What are you doing here?”

He grinned at me. He has a cute, lopsided grin. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Yes, you did,” I teased. “You like to make girls scream, don’t you?”

His grin grew wider. “Maybe.”

“So why are you still here?”

He shrugged. “Shark and I had detention. Don’t ask.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Nate, I thought you were a good boy.”

He grinned again. “I can be very good.”

I could see he liked me teasing him like that, coming on to him. Did I have a crush on him already? My mind was spinning.

Stay away from him, Dana. Ada already hates you. Don’t make it worse.

“So? What’s up?” I asked. I started walking to my locker.

He hurried after me. “These guys . . . uh . . . they’re having a skating party Saturday night. On Fear Lake.”

Fear Lake. I hadn’t thought about that lake on the other side of the woods since I was a kid. My family used to have picnics on the shore. And my dad would drag a canoe there and we’d paddle around for hours.

The memories rushed back to me. Fun times. Before we moved away. Before it all turned bad . . . .

“Is the lake frozen already?” I asked.

Nate nodded. “Yeah. It’s been so cold this fall.”

“I’m not a great ice-skater,” I said. “Weak ankles.”

He raised his eyes to mine. “You’re probably better than me. The last time Shark and I went skating, I fell on top of a six-year-old girl. It was totally embarrassing.”

I laughed. I stopped at my locker. I stared at the lock, trying to remember the combination.

“So . . . you want to go?” Nate asked. “You know. With me?”

I turned back to him. “What about Ada?”

His smile faded. “I told you. She doesn’t own me.” He pulled down the neck of his T-shirt. “See? No leash.”

I pictured Ada and Whitney staring at me so coldly. “Well . . . ”

“I like you,” Nate blurted out. “You’re interesting.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” I said. “Okay. I’ll go.”

That brought the smile back to his face. But I immediately regretted it.

What did he mean, I was interesting?

Was Nate interested in me? Or was he interested because he thought I could tell him stories about the Fear family?


I had to talk to Jamie.

I needed advice on what to do about Ada. And I needed advice about Nate.

My first day at Shadyside High, and already I felt in the middle of something. Maybe Nate was someone I could really be into. Maybe he was someone I could trust, someone to rely on.

Or was he someone I should stay away from?

Jamie would tell me.

I hurried home. The sun had already lowered behind the trees. I hate winter. I hate when it gets dark so early.

I looked for Jamie in her room. I saw her backpack and her bag tossed on the floor by her bed, so I knew she was home. But no sign of her.

Jamie’s mom—my aunt Audra—was in the den. She looks like an older version of Jamie, with wavy, black hair and creamy, white skin. She had classical music on the stereo. She was lying on the couch, doing a crossword puzzle.

“Jamie is in her studio,” she told me. “You know. In the garage. Ever since the accident, that’s where she spends her time. Doing pottery she never lets me see.”

Did I detect a little bitterness there?

I thanked her and headed to the back of the house.

“Dana, how was your first day?” Aunt Audra called after me.

“Great!” I shouted back. No sense getting into it.

I closed the kitchen door behind me and stepped onto the driveway. A gusting wind had come up, shaking the bare trees in the backyard. A shutter rattled at the side of the house.

I was still wearing my down jacket from school. I pulled up the collar as I trotted to the garage.

The single, pull-down door was shut. The door had no window, but I could see yellow light pouring out at the side of the garage.

“Hey, Jamie!” I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth. “It’s me!” I listened hard. No reply. “Hey—Jamie?”

I bent down, grabbed the garage door handle, and started to hoist up the heavy door.

I had it raised a foot or so from the driveway when I heard the loud shriek from inside:

“Stay OUT! I mean it! STAY OUT!”