A Grave Problem

28. A Talk with Carmine

Mia sank into her seat the next morning in math, grabbed her book, and pretended to read. There wasn't a whole lot to read in her math book, so she let her eyes go over the instructions to the word problems she'd done the night before.

Carmine sat down in the seat next to Mia and got out her own math book. Mia didn't look up. Instead, she tapped her pencil on the edge of her desk, pretending to be deeply engrossed in what she was doing.

"So what's your problem with Luke?" Carmine asked, ignoring all of Mia's hints that she didn't want to talk.

"I don't have a problem with him." Mia said as innocently as she could.

"Yes you do – it was obvious. I mean, Anna might not have noticed, but I sure did. The last couple times we've seen him you've been acting weird. So what gives?"

Mia thought for a minute. Part of her wanted to just break down and tell Carmine about Luke and his friends, but she held back for a couple of reasons. First, how could she tell Carmine and leave Anna in the dark? Anna was much closer to Luke and his friends than Carmine ever was. If she should tell anyone, it should be Anna.

The second – and more important – reason had to do with practicality. As it stood, Mia had kept her mouth shut, and no one had tried to hurt her. She wasn't sure, but it was starting to look like maybe she would be safe as long as she didn't tell a soul. It could just be coincidence, she knew. But the fact remained, she was ok. And if keeping quiet was the thing that was keeping her alive, why would she want to change that? A quick glance across the room in Zev's direction cemented the decision in Mia's mind; if she told Carmine, especially here, he was sure to know. There was no way Mia could tell her a secret this big and not have her stare wide-eyed across the room at him. Clearly, the best thing to do was to lie.

"I like him fine." she told Carmine.

"No, you don't. You barely talked to him at all in the courtyard, and I don't actually remember you making eye contact with him."

Mia shrugged; she thought she'd been much more subtle than that, but Carmine did have a point. Too bad Mia wasn't going to be the one to tell her that. Especially now that Zev seemed to be sitting up a little straighter than he was before.

"I don't mind talking to him, or even hanging out with him sometimes. But I don't want him around all the time, and I don't want him to feel like we're friends. He's already getting way too involved in the banshee problem, and I think we should keep him out of it as much as possible."

Mia had been more or less making it up as she went along, but it sounded pretty good to her. Apparently Carmine agreed because she started nodding her head slowly.

"I guess," was the hesitant response. "I mean, he really shouldn't get involved, should he? There's just too much risk of him finding out why we're the ones who're working on this instead of Summer and her group."

"And I won't be telling him that story." Mia said confidently.

"Me either!" Carmine looked shocked at the mere suggestion. After a moment's silence, Carmine asked Mia, "So that's really all it is? You're just concerned about the banshee thing?"

"Of course it is. What else would it be?"

"Nothing." Carmine said. "That makes sense." But she didn't look convinced.

Mia shrugged, trying her best to look like she didn't care one way or the other – like Carmine just didn't know what she was talking about. As Carmine fished thoughtfully in her backpack for a pencil, Mia casually looked over to where Zev sat. He seemed to be busy doing last minute homework, but Mia couldn't quite tell if he'd heard them. They'd been pretty quiet, but Mia knew she would have been able to hear the conversation from that far away without a whole lot of effort. She knew wolves had great hearing, but did it apply to werewolves in human form? She hoped not.

"So what are you doing this weekend?" Mia asked in an effort to change the topic.

"You remember Heath? The one I went to the dance with?" Carmine asked. When Mia nodded, she continued. "I think we're going to try to do something together."

"Really?" Mia had assumed Carmine just took him to the dance as a last-minute thing; she didn't realize they might actually be friends – or more.

"Yeah. Why not?" Carmine shrugged.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Go to the movies, probably."

That made Mia think for a minute. Anna was still hanging out with Luke, and now that Carmine seemed to be spending more time with Heath, Mia couldn't help but be a little jealous. She remembered when she had someone she might plan a trip to the movies with. She glanced somewhat regretfully over at Zev. Even if she wanted to, she was pretty sure it was too late for that. What would she say to him anyway? That she'd thought about it and she was ok with the fact that he'd tried to attack her? Mia couldn't think of a single thing she could say that wouldn't sound ridiculous. She sighed; as jealous as she was, and as much as she was starting to miss Zev, she realized she was going to have to put that little crush behind her.