The Mark (24 page)

“Cassie?”

He was right behind me, so close that when I turned, my shoulder brushed his arm, my heart tightening.

“Hi.”

Jack smiled gently. “Hi,” he said. We stared at each other for a minute, our classmates and friends plodding past. He was wearing that same sweatshirt, the one he’d worn the day he walked me home from school after Nan died. I remembered how he’d been then—solid, reassuring. And the way he’d looked at me when we met in Wichita, the way he was looking at me now.

Maybe, I thought. Just maybe.

“You have a good summer in Kansas?” Jack asked.

“It was … interesting.” I smiled so he wouldn’t take it as seriously as it sounded.

“We should get to class, but I’d like to catch up,” he said, direct as always. “We never really got a chance to talk this summer. I don’t know if you’re free … or want to … but maybe we could meet up after school?”

“I’m going to Tasha’s today,” I said. “Can we do it tomorrow?”

“Definitely.” We smiled at each other, neither of us sure what to do next. Maybe in no hurry to find out. Things with Lucas had been intense. I wasn’t ready to jump back into that. Jack glanced at his watch. “We should go.” At the door, he paused. “I’m glad you’re back, Cassie.”

“Me too.” In that moment, I was.

Jack ran up the stairs to his class, but I walked to mine, slower than I should have. The halls were empty and I’d be late, but I didn’t care. I wanted these minutes alone, passing the classrooms where I’d sat when I didn’t even know what the mark meant. Before Mr. McKenzie. While Nan was still alive and I’d been so sure of who she was, of who I was.

I didn’t know if being back here would make it harder or easier to figure it all out. The questions had only gotten tougher, more complicated. Maybe that’s the way life always is.

I’ve learned, though. I know what the mark means now and I know I have the power to use it. Beyond that, like Socrates, the only thing I really know is that I know nothing.

But I’m going to find out.

many thanks to …

• my dedicated and diligent agent, Jenoyne Adams, for your enthusiasm and tireless efforts

• my editor, Caroline Abbey, for your thoughtful guidance and terrific eye, making this story far stronger than it was

• my husband, Joe, for your support, encouragement, and the key suggestion

• my parents and sisters—Ann, Anthony, Caitlin, and Noreen Rearden—who read, encouraged, and always believed

• everyone at Bloomsbury Children’s Books whose hard work transformed
The Mark
from a file on my computer to a real, live book (holy cow!)

• all the others who read some or all of this manuscript—especially Elisabeth West, who is both a great friend and a great sounding board—for your help along the way

• and finally, my sons—Joey, Sam, and Jacob—who taught me the value and brevity of time and inspired me to do more

Copyright © 2010 by Jen Nadol

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

First published in the United States of America in February 2010

by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers

E-book edition published in August 2010

www.bloomsburyteens.com

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Bloomsbury BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Nadol, Jen.

The mark / by Jen Nadol.— 1st U.S. ed.

p. cm.

Summary: While in Kansas living with an aunt she never knew existed and taking a course in philosophy, sixteen-year-old Cass struggles to learn what, if anything, she should do with her ability to see people marked to die within a day’s time.

ISBN: 978-1-59990-431-3 (hardcover)

[1. Psychic ability— Fiction. 2. Death— Fiction. 3. Fate and fatalism— Fiction. 4. Philosophers— Fiction. 5. Orphans— Fiction. 6. Kansas— Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.N13353Mar 2010      [Fic]— dc22      2009016974

ISBN 978-1-59990-607-2 (e-book)