floor.
“What if I told you that he”—she jabbed her finger at a short guy in the middle of the photo—“and he”—at the tall blond on the end—“were the two werewolves we took down before you moved here?”
I examined the picture again. Three out of the six guys pictured had turned into werewolves? No wonder Alec had sounded so bitter last night. The kills his crew had made couldn’t have been easy. These beasts were once kids they knew, went to school with, grew up with, but now they were taking them down.
I turned away from the confident, grinning guys in the picture to face Brit.
“Okay,” I said. “So someone’s targeting Redgrave High, that’s obvious. Why hasn’t anyone done anything about it? Paranorm activity or not, the police should be involved by now.”
Brit patted me on the back. “You know, I thought you’d never get there. Well done. And now for the whopper.” She leaned closer, her gaze holding mine as she spoke her next words. “My dad’s a cop on the force and was almost fired for asking those questions. Guess whose father is the chief of police? Wade’s. And he’s pointing the finger at Matt and Alec.”
I pursed my lips. “Oh. That’s ironic. Now you want to blame Wade’s father for the rumors about the Delacroix?” I gave Brit an are-you-feeling-the-irony look. “The same rumors you used to keep me away from Alec? And Wade warned me to stay away from Alec because his family is dangerous.” I crossed my arms. “There’s a lot of finger pointing going on with you guys, and I don’t like being in the middle. I just got to town.”
“Yeah,” Brit said, nodding. “Don’t you think it’s interesting that all this started right before you showed up? Like maybe there’s a reason you’re here?
I frowned. “And what would that be?”
“To help us.” Brit dragged me a bit further down the hall. I let her pull me along, a bit dazed by her logic.
“Here we are,” Brit announced. “Let’s eat before the big reveal. I can’t unload Redgrave’s secrets on an empty stomach.”
My mouth watered on cue.
The weight of grease thickened the air in the crowded cafeteria. My stomach rumbled again, loudly. Brit laughed and handed me a tray.
The long line started way back at the dessert coolers, which was fine by me. I loaded my tray with goodies.
“I hate you,” Brit said, eyeing my chocolate pudding, donut, and huge brownie. “How do you stay thin, eating like that? I’ve been on a diet since fifth grade. Have you seen me in shorts?” She pinched her thighs. “I’ve so-o-o got to get rid of these.”
“I’m sure it’ll catch up with me someday.” I shrugged and shuffled forward as the line advanced. “Oh, look.” I skipped toward the steaming grill behind the coolers. “Cheeseburgers!” My hollow stomach rumbled. Hmm…maybe I had been eating more than usual. Please, not another growth spurt.
All eyes were on us as we weaved through chairs to find a table along a row of windows. I plastered on a fake smile. Shouldn’t there be a time limit for staring at the new girl? We plopped down our trays, and, between my rabid bites of greasy burgers, the crowd went on to inspect some other poor schmuck who thought legwarmers really had made a comeback. I quizzed Brit about everything to do with Redgrave, except its paranormal badness.
“No, we don’t have a recycling program and, yes, I think we need one.” Brit rolled her eyes. “Would you stop trying to distract me?” She drowned a fry in the mountain of ketchup she’d poured on her cafeteria tray and became very businesslike as she fired out the details. “I thought you’d want to know all about the Redgrave situation after last night’s close call. We thought you’d be eager to get more field experience. Banish a few weres. Wage a few battles.”
“Not really,” I hedged. “I’m trying to cut down.”
Brit laughed as she drenched another fry. “Guess what? Diets don’t work. You
“What if I told you that he”—she jabbed her finger at a short guy in the middle of the photo—“and he”—at the tall blond on the end—“were the two werewolves we took down before you moved here?”
I examined the picture again. Three out of the six guys pictured had turned into werewolves? No wonder Alec had sounded so bitter last night. The kills his crew had made couldn’t have been easy. These beasts were once kids they knew, went to school with, grew up with, but now they were taking them down.
I turned away from the confident, grinning guys in the picture to face Brit.
“Okay,” I said. “So someone’s targeting Redgrave High, that’s obvious. Why hasn’t anyone done anything about it? Paranorm activity or not, the police should be involved by now.”
Brit patted me on the back. “You know, I thought you’d never get there. Well done. And now for the whopper.” She leaned closer, her gaze holding mine as she spoke her next words. “My dad’s a cop on the force and was almost fired for asking those questions. Guess whose father is the chief of police? Wade’s. And he’s pointing the finger at Matt and Alec.”
I pursed my lips. “Oh. That’s ironic. Now you want to blame Wade’s father for the rumors about the Delacroix?” I gave Brit an are-you-feeling-the-irony look. “The same rumors you used to keep me away from Alec? And Wade warned me to stay away from Alec because his family is dangerous.” I crossed my arms. “There’s a lot of finger pointing going on with you guys, and I don’t like being in the middle. I just got to town.”
“Yeah,” Brit said, nodding. “Don’t you think it’s interesting that all this started right before you showed up? Like maybe there’s a reason you’re here?
I frowned. “And what would that be?”
“To help us.” Brit dragged me a bit further down the hall. I let her pull me along, a bit dazed by her logic.
“Here we are,” Brit announced. “Let’s eat before the big reveal. I can’t unload Redgrave’s secrets on an empty stomach.”
My mouth watered on cue.
The weight of grease thickened the air in the crowded cafeteria. My stomach rumbled again, loudly. Brit laughed and handed me a tray.
The long line started way back at the dessert coolers, which was fine by me. I loaded my tray with goodies.
“I hate you,” Brit said, eyeing my chocolate pudding, donut, and huge brownie. “How do you stay thin, eating like that? I’ve been on a diet since fifth grade. Have you seen me in shorts?” She pinched her thighs. “I’ve so-o-o got to get rid of these.”
“I’m sure it’ll catch up with me someday.” I shrugged and shuffled forward as the line advanced. “Oh, look.” I skipped toward the steaming grill behind the coolers. “Cheeseburgers!” My hollow stomach rumbled. Hmm…maybe I had been eating more than usual. Please, not another growth spurt.
All eyes were on us as we weaved through chairs to find a table along a row of windows. I plastered on a fake smile. Shouldn’t there be a time limit for staring at the new girl? We plopped down our trays, and, between my rabid bites of greasy burgers, the crowd went on to inspect some other poor schmuck who thought legwarmers really had made a comeback. I quizzed Brit about everything to do with Redgrave, except its paranormal badness.
“No, we don’t have a recycling program and, yes, I think we need one.” Brit rolled her eyes. “Would you stop trying to distract me?” She drowned a fry in the mountain of ketchup she’d poured on her cafeteria tray and became very businesslike as she fired out the details. “I thought you’d want to know all about the Redgrave situation after last night’s close call. We thought you’d be eager to get more field experience. Banish a few weres. Wage a few battles.”
“Not really,” I hedged. “I’m trying to cut down.”
Brit laughed as she drenched another fry. “Guess what? Diets don’t work. You
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