Naomi Grim (5 page)

“Yes.”

“Then why do you look so
sad?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sad.”

Bram shook his head. “You’ve
known him for less than a week and you like him.”

I brushed past him and went
inside.

The house was quiet. Grims
never stayed up very late. Collecting lives was a full-time job that allowed
for no rest or sleep, even when our Fated nodded off. We had to get all the
sleep we could get when we could.

Up in our bedroom, Keira was
asleep, dead in the middle of the bed so there was no room for me. She had
probably done it on purpose. I grabbed my pillow and a blanket from the linen
closet and slept on the couch in the living room.

Sunday morning we piled into
the car to go to breakfast. Bram took us to a pancake place. We squeezed into a
booth and looked over the menu. Neither Bram nor Keira had spoken to me the
entire morning. A waitress came over and took our order. I ordered French toast
and orange juice.

“Will you two just say something
instead of ignoring me like children?” I asked once the waitress had gone.

“I have nothing to say to
you,” Keira replied.

“Ditto,” Bram said, looking
out of the window.

I gave up. I didn’t think I
had done anything that was so terrible, but nothing was worth having my best
friend and brother mad at me. “Listen, I’m sorry. You guys were right, and I
was wrong.”

“Fine,” Keira said. “But you
need to understand we have rules for a reason. We’re only looking out for the
good of everyone." Bram said nothing. “Anyway,” Keira
 continued.
“We need to keep our eyes open. Focus on the kids who could be responsible for
this. We don’t have much time.”

“Good,” Dorian said.

“Everything okay, Dorian?” I
asked.

He shrugged. “It is what it
is. We won’t be here long.”

“Just keep your head in the
game,” Bram said again. I was tired of him saying that.

* * *

Monday came and I was not
excited about school. I didn’t want to see Hunter. I knew it would be awkward.
I also didn’t want to see Ashley. Surely, she had heard about our date.

“Hey, Naomi,” said a
high-pitched voice.

I cringed. I wasn’t in the
mood for Morgan.

“Hey, Morgan.” She was
wearing all purple today.

“So, I see you survived your
first week. Need anything?”

“No, Morgan. I’m just fine,
thanks.” I slammed my locker shut. I spotted Hunter further down the hallway.
We made eye contact and then he walked the other way. I wanted to follow him—to
make things right. We couldn’t date, but there was really no reason we couldn’t
be friends, or at least cordial.

“Morgan, I have to go. See
you around.”

She looked disappointed.
“Sure. I’m here if you need anything. Did I give you my cell?”

“Yeah,” I lied. “I’ll
definitely call you if I have any questions,” I said, backing away.

I walked briskly down the
hallway, weaving in and out of groups of kids. I spotted Bram leaning against
the wall, with Ashley talking his ear off. She rolled her eyes at me, and I
returned the expression.

Hunter disappeared into the
boy's bathroom. I'd have to talk to him later. I headed reluctantly for my
first-period class. My mind drifted as Ms. G. lectured about the Constitution.

A girl entered class late
and handed Ms. G. a yellow slip. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if she
hadn’t been glowing.

“I saw another one,” I told
Keira during second period.

“I saw five in the hallway,”
Keira said. “I want you to eat lunch with me today. I think I might have a
lead.”
I nodded. She and Bram were right. Although I liked Roxy and Paige, I was
wasting my time hanging out with them.

“Meet me at the at the
picnic tables furthest from the school,” Keira said, then Mr. Bertelli yelled
at us for talking.

* * *

“How was your date?” Roxy
asked as we changed for PE “I hope it was worth it. Ashley’s pissed.”

“It wasn’t worth it, and I
really don’t care how Ashley feels.” Really, what was she going to do to me?

Roxy and Paige exchanged
surprised glances.

Ashley came in and ignored
me. I was fine with that. After PE, the girls headed for the cafeteria. “I’ll
catch up with you guys later,” I said.

“Where are you going,
Casper?” Roxy asked.

“I just have something to
do.” I went on my way before they could ask any questions.

I followed Keira’s
directions to the picnic tables. They were far away from the school—past the
bleachers and the baseball diamond.

There were twelve kids,
including Keira. They fell silent and stared as I approached. Keira sat on one
of the tables, talking to a guy, while another girl examined the silver studs
on Keira’s leather boots.

Keira finally looked over in
my direction. “Hi, Nay. Everyone, this is my friend Naomi.”

Everyone nodded and went
back to what they were doing. Keira stood and led me over to an empty seat at
the end of the table.

“Nay, this is Fox and Lem,”
she said, motioning toward two boys sitting across from us. They both had several
face piercings, wore black lipstick, and dog collars. They nodded toward me.

“So what’d you do to get
sentenced to this hellhole?” Lem asked.

“Nothing, my dad’s job got
transferred. Why do you call it a hellhole?” I asked.

“How long have you been here?”
Fox asked.

“A week.”

“Then you should know.”

Keira was smart for sitting
with these guys. They seemed to hate school, but I believed most kids probably
felt that way. It didn’t mean they were in on planning the massacre. Still, we
needed to learn more.

Keira and I exchanged
glances. “It seems okay to me,” I said. “I’ve met some nice kids.”

Fox scoffed. “Please, you
haven’t been here long enough. Give it some time. The ones you think are your
friends will stab you in the back eventually. All you have to do is breathe the
wrong way and you’ll be an outcast.”

“Oh.” I nodded.

Lem squinted at me. “I’ve
seen you around. You were hanging out with Roxy and them.”

“So, you noticed?”

Lem nodded. “Yeah, you don’t
exactly . . . blend in. I mean, I’m pale, but you and your brothers—I don’t
know what the word is for it. You're pretty, though. That's why they let you
hang out with them.”

I had never seen Lem before,
so I found it strange that he had observed me and known about my brothers.

“Roxy used to be cool,” Lem
continued. “But not anymore.”

“She seems nice,” I said
quietly.

“Trust me, if those girls
can’t mold you into being just like them, you’re out. They're bitches. But
you'll find out soon enough,” Lem advised.

I felt uncomfortable because
I liked Roxy and Paige. “Well, it was nice meeting you guys, but I need to go
grab something to eat.” I stood and slid my backpack onto my shoulders.

Keira followed me as I left.
“So, what do you think?” she asked after we were a decent distance away from
the table.

“I think we’d be smart to
stick with them.”

Once inside the building,
Roxy grabbed my arm without warning, pulling me away from Keira. I hadn’t even
noticed her approach. “Meet me by my car after school. Dance team practice was
cancelled today. We’re hanging out at my place.”

Before I could respond, she
was gone.

* * *

After school, I found Dorian
at his locker, putting books away. “Dorian, tell Bram I’m going home with some
friends.”

He looked at me nervously.
“What? Where are—”

“Just tell him. I’ll see you
later.”

I found Roxy’s red
convertible in the west parking lot as she had instructed me to. She and Paige
were already in the car with the top down. “Hop in, Casper!” Roxy yelled as she
cranked the radio.

I climbed inside, hoping we
would pull off before Bram saw me. Roxy stepped on the gas and we squealed out
of the parking lot. Roxy didn’t drive much better than Bram, but I enjoyed the
wind blowing through my hair. It was less than a five-minute drive to Roxy’s.

She lived in a two-story
mint green and white house with a perfectly manicured lawn. There were no other
cars in the driveway, so I figured no one else was home.

On the way upstairs, we
stopped in the kitchen. Roxy handed me a bag of tortilla chips and a bag of
cheese puffs. She handed Paige three glasses, and Roxy carried a two-liter
bottle of Coke herself.

Roxy’s room was
bright—really, really bright. Fuchsia-painted walls with black and white
furniture and accessories. We plopped on the bed and Roxy turned on the same
blaring music that had irritated my eardrums on the way over. My dislike of the
music must have shown on my face because she turned it off. “Cas, what kind of
music do you like to listen to?”

I thought for a moment. I'd
memorized a list of popular artists, but I couldn't remember any of their
songs, so I opted to be honest. “Bach, Beethoven, Mozart.”

The girls looked at each
other and then burst into giggles. “You are definitely a homeschooled kid,”
Paige said.

Thankfully, Roxy didn’t turn
the music back on. She threw herself across the bed in front of me and Paige.
“Let’s get to the good stuff. What happened between you and Hunter? I asked him
this morning and he said ‘no comment’.”

“Nothing happened. He wanted
a little more than I’m ready for.”

“Ohhhhhh,” Paige said.

“It was only your first
date. That doesn’t sound like Hunter,” Roxy said.

“So, how long would you make
him wait?” Paige asked.

I wasn’t sure how to answer
that question. “How long will I make him wait for what?”

The girls laughed again. I
was beginning to feel stupid.
“What?”

Roxy looked at Paige slyly.
“Cas, have you even made it to first base?”

First base. That was a
sport’s term. Baseball, if I remembered correctly. What did that have to do
with me and Hunter? “I’m not really into sports.”

The girls laughed
hysterically again. “You are adorable,” Roxy said. “We have so much to teach
you.”

Paige went to Roxy’s dresser
and poured herself a glass of soda. “Do you like Hunter?” she asked before
gulping it down.

“Yeah, he seems like a great
guy, but I’m not looking for a relationship. I move around a lot. I probably
won’t even be at this school next year.”

Paige burped without
excusing herself. “So what? It's high school. No one's asking you to get
married. You can have fun while you’re here.” Fun. That was a new concept for
me. I envied how human teens could date and enjoy life without having to worry
about breaking the Covenant and being sent on assignments.

The doorbell rang and Roxy
ran down to answer it.

Paige wouldn’t take her eyes
off me. I grabbed the bag of cheese puffs, wishing she’d stop staring.

“You and Hunter would make
an adorable couple, but don’t tell Ash I said that. Speaking of the devil . .
.”

Roxy re-entered the room
with Ashley at her heels.

“Oh,
she’s
here,”
Ashley greeted me. She put her backpack down immediately and began to fumble
through the cosmetics on Roxy’s vanity. “So, how was your date?”

I shrugged. I thought it
would be best for me not to answer that question.

“It didn’t go well, Naomi’s
not interested, so drop it,” Roxy said with an edge of annoyance in her voice.

Ashley dropped the subject,
but she wouldn’t leave me alone. “I’ve been thinking about you, Naomi. I have
family who lives in Sacramento. What part are you from?”

I didn’t know the answer to
that question. I had been told to say I was from Sacramento, California and
nothing else.

“The east side,” I answered.

Paige began to examine the
nail polish on her toes. “What’s wrong with you, Ashley?”

“There’s something weird
about her. Something that she’s hiding and I want to know what it is.” Ashley
talked about me like I wasn’t even there.

The other girls stared at
me. It was time for me to go. I stood and stretched. “Well, I’m going to head
home."

Roxy looped her arm around
mine. "No, you're not. Pay Ashley no attention." Roxy led me to her
vanity and pushed Ashley out of the chair. "Sit," she ordered, so I
sat. I looked in the mirror as she pulled my hair away from my neck.
"You're a pretty girl, Casper. You just need a little more umpf to your
look." She turned to Paige. "Makeover?"

Paige hopped from the bed,
clapping her hands like a seal. "Yes, yes, yes! I love makeovers."
She immediately began poking and pinching my cheeks.

I slapped her hands away.
"I know how to do my own makeup."

Roxy lifted my chin and
looked into my eyes. "Really? Do you know how hot you would look with a
smoky eye, red luscious lips, and chiseled rosy cheeks?"

Okay, maybe I didn't know
how to do my own makeup. When I went out with Hunter, I had simply slapped on
some purple and pink eye shadow, red rouge, and pink lipstick. Hunter seemed to
like it, although we had spent most of our date in the dark.

Before I could refuse, Roxy
and Paige went to work on my face. Ashley had no interest in my beautification
and read magazines on Roxy's bed.