Into the Shadows by Karly Kirkpatrick

Jason.
    “We’re going to some Halloween party tomorrow.”
    “Oh, is it Amanda Montoya’s party?” Her heart
fluttered.
    “I’m not sure. Probably. Melissa just told me we
were going as Hansel and Gretel.” He sounded a bit angry.
    Paivi laughed.
    “We’re going, too! You sound less than enthused. I
don’t understand why! Lederhosen are one of the more attractive
costumes a guy could wear!” She poked him in the side and
snickered. “I haven’t quite picked out what I’m wearing just
yet.”
    “I just don’t like being told what to wear and what
to do,” he snapped.
    Paivi smiled inside. Maybe there was trouble in
paradise. Her mind flitted to the thought of dancing with Jason at
the Winter Dance.
    “Oh, on Sunday, I guess I’ll be watching the debate.
Maybe we should have a Debate Party. I’ll call Crystal and a couple
of the others. We could order a pizza or something,” she
suggested.
    “That sounds cool. Just let me know what’s up. Dude,
I’m starving.” He patted his stomach with both hands. They were
entering the cafeteria, their nostrils bombarded by the smell of
burgers, fries and cookies. “I’ll see you later!”
    Paivi headed over to her table and dropped her bag
onto her seat. She felt good today. It was Friday, which meant two
days to sleep in. As an added bonus, she would get to see Jason two
extra days. She was also excited because basketball tryouts were on
Monday. Not that the practices were all that exciting, but the
games would be great. She felt the good day warranted a nice big
chocolate chip cookie. They served them hot in the lunch line, the
chocolate still gooey.
    “Are you going to get anything Mick?” she asked and
grabbed a dollar from her wallet.
    Michaela dug through her backpack and pulled out a
small purse.
    “Let’s go. You’re in a rather good mood today,”
Michaela said suspiciously.
    “Yeah, I know! How could you not be! It’s Friday,
we’re going to a Halloween party and basketball starts Monday.” She
tried to pull the doofy smile off her face before it gave her
away.
    “By any chance is Jason going to be at the party
tomorrow?” Michaela asked casually, one eyebrow raised.
    “Yes, but so is his girlfriend, so it’s not like
he’s coming because of me,” Paivi said with a pout. “But he seemed
less than happy about the costumes Melissa wanted them to
wear.”
    They shuffled a few feet forward in line. Paivi took
a quick look around to make sure neither Jason nor his friends were
around.
    “She wants them to go as Hansel and Gretel!” she
whispered loudly.
    Michaela snorted. “Well, I don’t even know them very
well, but I’m beginning to think they’re not going to last very
long!”
    Paivi smiled. If only she could tell Michaela what
she knew.
    “And I invited him over for Sunday because we are
supposed to watch the presidential debate for class. I’m going to
invite Crystal and some others from class too,” she added.
    “Nice move! Ah, finally.” They had made it to the
front of the line.
    Paivi followed Michaela through the lunch line,
noticing the tater tots had arranged themselves into her name.
    PAIVI
    The green beans were apparently trying to get her
attention as well.
    I KNOW
    She didn’t even flinch at the sight of them this
time. She continued with Michaela down the line, paid for her
cookie and they headed back to their table.
    In the weeks since Homecoming, Paivi had seen
numerous messages and her feelings about them had moved from fear
to mild annoyance. She saw the words spelled out in her colored
pencils in her locker and in chalk dust on the chalkboards in her
classes. On her way to and from school on the bus, she witnessed
signs rearrange themselves as they passed. It had even appeared in
her morning Cheerios from time to time. The words were always the
same.
    PAIVI
    I KNOW
    In fact, not only was she annoyed; she was getting
more and more angry. She still kept receiving the icy stares from
Christian Nelson day after