The news conference has ended by the time I get back. Most of the kids are at their usual tables or on the steps of the stairway, while others mill around the facility. They're not behaving like I missed anything earth-shattering while I was gone, so I doubt the news ended with a bang.
Before I return to my table, I make a detour over to the scared kid. He's sitting pale-faced next to his friends, staring down at the table while they eat breakfast. His eyes are red and puffy. "You okay?" I ask him, wondering if I should have brought Willow with me.
He glances at me and then looks away.
"He's been like this since last night," another boy says with an irritated look. "He freaked out at first because the water in the bathroom went out for a while. He started going on about how we're all going to die of thirst. Dumbass."
"Hey, be nice," a girl with a nose piercing says.
"Why? You're just as sick of listening to his doomsday attitude as I am."
"Yeah, but I'm not acting a jerk over it. You could try being nice every once in a while."
While he snorts, another girl across the table pipes up, "Hey, you're Willow's friend, aren't you?"
"Um, yeah," I answer.
"We're roommates. What's up with her?"
"What do you mean?"
"She goes to the bathroom a lot in the middle of the night."
I blink at her. "So?"
Her face scrunches up in an annoyed way that tells me she was hoping for dirt on Willow. I walk away, shaking my head. What was she fishing for anyway? Yeah, Willow's got a bladder problem. I'll suggest adult diapers next time I see her. Though this might explain why she always looks like she hasn't slept a wink. Maybe she locks herself in the bathroom every night so that she can destress somewhere no one can see her.
We're all screwed up in our own way.
Willow and Alec don't see me as I walk over to them. Right off the bat, I pick up on unmistakable cues of tension: Willow is frowning at the distance, arms crossed, while Alec leans toward her across the table in a clearly aggressive manner. He jabs a finger against the tabletop, emphasizing whatever point he's making.
". . . Ignore this," he's saying. "He's dangerous."
"Just leave it alone. I can deal with him."
"You're doing a fine job of that."
"What's going on?" I ask.
"Nothing," Willow replies.
I think about what Alec said. "Is this about Eli?"
Anger twitches across Alec's face. He stares at Willow before looking at me. "I know what happened in the white room during inspection."
She brushes her hair over one shoulder in a dismissive gesture. "Nothing happened. So what if Eli walked in while we were getting dressed? He didn't say a word to us."
"Only because Janie and her friends were there. What happens the next time you're alone in the shower room or somewhere no one can get to you? What then?"
I've never seen Alec this angry about anything. He's always been lackadaisical in a way, more interested in floating by and getting along with everyone than in ruffling any feathers. Then again, I can see him in the knight-in-shining-armor role.
It's too bad this damsel has no interest in being saved.
"I'm going to check on Carson," Willow says. She slips out of her seat and hurries away before either of us can react.
Alec looks after her, surprise written on his face. He sighs. "I guess I overstepped my boundaries."
The silence that follows is so heavy I can't shoulder it. Thankfully, Alec breaks it when he reaches into his pocket and drops something on the table with a clunk. "I forgot to give you this. Figured you'd be happy to have this back."
My silver case. "Where did you get it?"
"Janie."
I scowl. So she did take the case. "Why did she give it back?"
"She didn't take it. Camille did."
Now I'm genuinely perplexed. "Okay. Why would Camille take it?"
"She was jealous," Alec replies, smiling a little. "She was angry because she thought you were coming between us, but the truth is I never saw her that way."
"I hope you didn't end things with Camille because of me," I say stiffly.
"There was nothing to end."
"You should have given it time."
"If you don't want me around," Alec says, sounding angry, "just say so instead of trying to pass me off to the first girl who shows interest in me."
I glance up at his dark expression and look away again, guilty. He's right; that's exactly what I'm doing. But I can't help hoping he'll take my reluctance as a sign that I'm not the right person for him. He deserves someone better.
"I'm sorry." He slouches in his chair and rubs the back of his neck. "I haven't been interested in someone new for a couple of months now. I guess that makes me a little too eager to get back in the game."
"What happened to her?"
"Her?"
"You said someone new. I'm assuming there was another girl."
"My dad didn't approve. Said she wasn't good enough for me. He wasn't supposed to find out about our relationship, but the moment he did, he put his foot down. It was the only time I ever disobeyed him, but she dumped me anyway."
"You don't sound like you're over her."
"I'm not wasting any tears on it. Her loss, right?"
"Yeah." I give him a small smile. "Definitely her loss."
We spend the next fifteen minutes talking. He does most of the talking, telling me more stories about the regulars at Marcus's table. Like how superstitious Pablo is and how his roommate played a prank involving a sheet-clad ghost waiting in his bedroom when he made a late-night trip to the bathroom. And how Janie almost set the kitchen on fire when it was her turn to cook; in her panic, she tried to put out the flames by beating at the stove with a dish rag. The whole thing could have ended tragically, but the way he mimics her freak-out is so comical I can't stop laughing.
Alec tells me all these stories, but he never volunteers anything about his past. I don't know much about him except that he's book-smart and the son of a CEO. For someone so outgoing, he's pretty secretive.
I'm considering asking him personal questions without having it backfire on me when someone in the cafeteria screams. It's the kind of scream that slices open the air and jolts down my spine like electricity. The quiet bustle of the cafeteria erupts into chaos. I can't see what's happening on the other end, closer to the gym hallway. Too many people are blocking my view and once they start running, it makes it harder to get a good look at the heart of the action.
"April!" Alec snaps when I get up.
I know why he's calling for me and brace myself as people tear past me. A big guy slams into me, sending me careening into the nearby table. My hip bone drives into the metal edge, and the flash of pain blinds me. I hobble around the table and use it as a shield between me and the trampling mass of frightened teenagers.
Their faces are frozen with wild terror. This is the chaos we've feared all along.
When the crowd thins, I see them. The unmoving girl on the floor, blood pooling under her, and the boy standing over her. He's holding a metal rod with a jagged end in his hand, dripping blood. A nearby table is missing one of its legs.
Alec grabs my arm and yanks me back so hard my neck almost snaps, but I have no capacity to process anything except that bloody pipe and the person wielding it.
The attacker's eerie stillness is a contrast to the craze around him. He cranes his neck in an unnaturally deliberate way before turning the rest of his body toward the nearest group. I get a better look at him. There's no expression on his face. It's a blank canvas. His eyes are clouded over by a thick film of white, but that's not what stuns me.
It's the fact that I recognize him. It's the terrified boy from before.