Sirenz Back in Fashion by Charlotte Bennardo Page A

would I say if anyone asked me where she was? Shar was in my Calc and Lit classes and had other friends besides me. I decided to go with yesterday’s plan—Shar had a family emergency and left, I assumed, for her parent’s house in Bronxville. Hopefully no one would want me to elaborate. Thus armed, in I went.
    The first bell rang just as I got to the second floor. Kids in the hallway started moving left and right, into the empty classrooms. Girls and guys turned to me as they passed. The girls smirked; I was a walking wreck. The guys stared a moment, some of them smiling slightly, before moving on. I wanted to demand that someone—anyone—say they’d seen Shar.
    I slipped into the room past Mr. Lazarus, who was sitting at his desk taking attendance, checking off names in his grade book as people came in. A few people looked my way but said nothing. Once I was settled, I kept my eyes glued to Shar’s desk and tried not to swallow my tongue when Maddie Harris plopped herself down into it; she usually sat behind Shar. My eyes shot to Laz, who was particular about people keeping their seats, but he made no move to correct anything.
    Don’t freak out. It’s just a seat.
    Then he got up from his desk and started babbling an intro to the day’s Calc lesson. I bent my head to my notebook and scribbled something, anything, to look busy. It was bad enough that Maddie was sitting in Shar’s seat and that Laz said nothing about it, but without lifting my head, I felt sure the dozen or so guys in the class, in between taking notes, were glancing my way.
    With a shiver I remembered the rules of the Siren game. Males will be drawn to you , Hades said. And they had been, even before our deal was renewed. Thanks to Shar and the mini-makeover she gave me—a sharp, sleek haircut coupled with an acceptable dose of color—I felt a new confidence. Whatever the reason, Siren superpower or revamped look, I’d been handling the attention I was getting. But now I had to be on guard; my powers were back, and even though they weren’t as strong without Shar around, I’d have to be careful and use them only for the assignment.
    The assignment! I was so consumed with Shar that I hadn’t given a thought to Paulina Swan-whatever. I’d have to deal with that later. Right now I had to get through Calculus and avoid entrancing any of the males that crossed my path: classmates, teachers, janitors. Unless I engaged them with my voice, they’d leave me alone and I’d have no reason to bother with them.
    Laz droned on and on, writing problems and page numbers on the board. Dutifully I jotted them down, gripping my pencil hard and digging it into the page. The point snapped under the pressure and I let out a small but exasperated sigh.
    Laz turned around, caught sight of me, and smiled for a second before going back to his blackboard. I dropped my gaze quickly and carefully folded the flap of my messenger bag back to get another pencil. My hand was deep in one of the pockets when I heard a soft plip . As I straightened up, a neatly folded note was resting on top of my open Calc book.
    I slowly slipped it off the desk, flicking my glance between it and Laz. Unfolding the paper as quietly as I could, I read:
    Me, Jordan & Sarah r going 2 Starbucks @ 3:15,
can u come?
    Jordan. Sarah. There was only one other person in that trio—Trey Addington-North. Cautiously, I lifted up my head and turned to the right, only to see him staring at me from the next desk, a hopeful expression on his face. I raised the note a little, and he grinned and raised his eyebrows as if to ask, Well?
    I stifled a laugh behind my hand. Blond, perpetually Bahama-tanned, and status-conscious Trey of the hyphenated last name was asking me if I would join him and his pals for their daily latte slurp at Starbucks? I wondered how Jordan and Sarah would feel about that ? My guess was not too happy, since they’d