Wicked Hunger

Wicked Hunger Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Almost Dying

I must have shocked him pretty good, because Noah doesn’t follow me into the room right away. He’s a good fifteen or twenty seconds behind me. There are two empty desks on the opposite side of the room. Those should be his goal, but Noah surprises me by slipping into the desk next to me. He doesn’t say anything, but he does look over at me when he sits down. A few more students file in, and class gets started. I find it completely impossible to focus with Noah looking over at me every few minutes with his crisp green eyes. Eventually, I settle for hunkering down in my chair and pretending I can’t see him.

Normally, I’m pretty happy to get out of math class, since algebra isn’t my favorite subject, but as I watch the clock wind its way toward the bell, a nervous flutter starts growing in my stomach. What is Noah going to say…or do? His possible reactions are all I can think about as the last few seconds tick by.

When the bell rings, I stay seated half a second longer than everyone else. It feels like I’m moving on autopilot when I finally stand and sling my bag onto my shoulder. The sound of Noah’s voice almost makes me jump.

“What do you have next?”

“PE,” I say, risking a look at his expression.

He seems disappointed. “I’ve got history.”

“Okay.” I’m not really sure what he expects me to say to that. I’m not even sure why he’s still talking to me.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

I stare at him, confused. “Really?”

“Yeah,” he says, and heads for the door.

It takes me a minute longer to start walking. That was so weird. I have no idea what was going on inside his head. Did he not believe me? I spend the next class thinking about him. He seems to be stuck there. Even Zander notices my preoccupation as he drives me to the dance studio after school. He tries to ask me what’s wrong, but I shrug off his concern. I’m not actually sure anything is wrong.

When we roll to a stop in front of the studio, I hop out still thinking of Noah. My confusion over him sticks tight until I hit the studio door. That’s when my focus shifts completely. I can’t think about Noah and his odd behavior. Ivy will be here tonight. I spin back around to look for Zander’s truck. I have to warn him not to come in, but he’s already gone. My phone is in my hand as I hurry into the studio.

My thumbs start tapping out a message, but I pause, not sure what to say. If I come out and say Ivy will be here, that might pique his interest and draw him in. That would put him and everyone else in danger. There would be witnesses if anything happened. Witnesses mean Zander being taken away from me. I decide against mentioning Ivy. The message I send simply says that I might be getting out of class late and he should just wait for me in the truck. That should keep everyone safe. I stuff my phone in my bag and rush to get set up for my first class, thoughts of Ivy stomping around my head.

This will be my chance to find out what happened yesterday. Ivy is smart, and sly. It’s going to take all my focus to get her to slip up. If I’m right about Ivy, exposing her could mean everything for Zander. It could mean his sanity, his freedom, even his life.

My first class passes quickly, a hurricane of miniature tutus bounding around the room. It always seems like they don’t actually learn anything during classes, because they’re always more interested in being silly and playing with each other than doing what I say, but they always surprise me the next class by remembering the new steps I taught them.