Adventures in Funeral Crashing (Complete Novel)

Chapter 18: Suspecting

CHAPTER 18: SUSPECTING

I woke up exhausted the next morning. I had spent the whole night tossing and turning between nightmares. I guess that figures when you're in the middle of a murder investigation. I checked my Facebook before getting ready for school, but there was no response from Jenna and definitely no voicemails or texts from Troy. I had practically slept with my cell phone waiting for him to call me back. Then again, I didn't blame him. Ethan had made a terrible enough impression on him for the both of us.

It was going to be a long day at school. I was so tired and the day seemed endless even as I got off the bus at eight in the morning. Still, I was surprised to find Ariel waiting for me at my locker. It wasn't a good surprise by any means, but since I needed a book for my Spanish class out of my locker, I was going to have to face her.

"So, what's going on with you and Ethan?" Ariel asked before I had even reached my locker.

Hadn't we gone through this, days ago? "Nothing."

"Uh-huh," Ariel watched as I turned my locker combination. "Is that why he practically tore that guy Troy's head off for making a move on you?"

I turned to look at her, incredulous, "Ariel, if you're suggesting that Ethan likes me, you're nuts. You have a way better chance with him."

"Oh, is that why as soon as you left with Troy and I was making my move, Ethan practically pushed me out of the booth to run after you? I told him you were in the bathroom. And, he assumed with Troy. Do you know that he busted into the women's bathroom looking for you? He scared the shit out of some old lady peeing in a stall before he decided to check the arcade," Ariel was looking at me matter of factly.

That was interesting. It was kind of fun thinking over what it might mean that Ethan was so frantic to find me that he burst in on an old lady peeing.

"Hi, Kait!" Dave Rickerson said, walking by, making me remember where I was.

Even Mike Finnegan, who was walking with him, waved. That was surreal, but I waved back anyway. Ariel looked at me incredulously.

"So, Ethan's friends are saying hi to you for no reason at all?" Ariel asked.

"Why are you telling me all this, Ariel?" I asked, ignoring her question.

"Because I think you're both idiots," Ariel started and I knew there was more. "And, if there's something going on with you and Ethan, I wondered if you might be interested in hooking me up with Troy?"

"What?" I was incredulous. Twenty-four hours ago she had been all about Ethan.

"What? He's cute," Ariel shrugged. "He's in college and he has super huge muscles. Hot."

"But you don't even like art," I managed.

Ariel looked at me like I was an idiot, "When you look like me, art is the last thing on any boy's mind."

I didn't know what to say. As much as Ariel had gone from being my best friend to becoming my arch enemy, I could not in all honesty set her up with Troy at this very moment. Troy was not clear of murder suspicion, despite what I thought of him. And, even if he wasn't murdering the girls himself, he most likely had some part in all of it. I could not have my ex-bff's murder on my hands, arch enemy or not, so I just said, "Gotta go to Spanish. Bye..."

Then I sprinted for my Spanish class. I took off at a full run and everything. Otherwise, I knew Ariel would have followed me, asking a barrage of Troy questions and annoying me until I had to give her his number. I was only delaying it, since I knew this wouldn't be the end of it. Once Ariel set her mind on someone, she would not let up, especially if that someone was a hot guy.