with Star—baggy blue jean overalls, dark eye makeup, spiky hair and all.
“Star!”
Star was obviously surprised at seeing her. “Diane, what are you doing here?”
“Star,” was all Diane could say. She grabbed her and hugged her tightly. She smelled like popcorn. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you.” She held her at arm’s length and looked at her.
“I see that,” Star said. “What’s up?”
“I’ve been looking all evening for you. Frank got in a few hours ago and we’ve both been looking for you everywhere.”
“I was here studying. I have a history test tomorrow.” She looked at her watch. “Today. And as you know, it’s real important that I get a good grade. The other kids are sweating their Hope scholarships; I’m sweating Paris.” She paused a beat. “I wasn’t expecting Uncle Frank until tomorrow. He knows I’d be somewhere studying.”
“I’m so glad to have found you.” Diane hugged her again.
“You know I love you to death,” said Star, “but you are acting really weird.”
It was only then that Diane took notice of a slight, brown-haired girl standing beside Star.
“Are you Jenny Baker?”
The girl nodded and looked as if she was a little afraid Diane might hug her, too.
“Your parents are looking for you. We saw them in the library.”
“The library? They’re looking for me? Why? I just saw them the day before yesterday.” Jenny and Star looked at each other and shrugged.
“What’s going on?” asked Star. “Why are you acting so funny?”
“There was a party on Rose Avenue last night,” Diane said cautiously.
“I know, I so wanted to go,” said Star. “It was supposed to be really cool. But you know, Paris comes first.”
“That’s really nice what you’re doing for Star,” said Jenny. “Shopping in Paris for clothes. Wow.”
“It will be my pleasure,” said Diane.
She smiled at the two of them—so overjoyed to find them healthy and whole—then quickly refocused her attention.
“We need to go find Frank. He’s searching the other side of the building.”
“What’s happened?” asked Star again. “Did the party get busted or something?”
Diane took Star’s hand. She reached over and took Jenny’s, too. Star and Jenny exchanged glances again, Jenny’s expression asking Star, “What’s up with her?”
“Diane, what is it?” asked Star.
“The house on Rose Avenue . . . there was a meth lab in the basement. It exploded while the party was going on and the house burned. Many of the kids didn’t make it out.”
Star sucked in her breath. The two looked at Diane, wide-eyed.
“You mean, they’re . . . dead?” said Jenny. She slipped her hand from Diane’s and put it over her mouth.
“Yes,” said Diane. “I’m very sorry to say that many are dead. When Frank couldn’t find you . . . well, you see why we panicked.” Diane looked at Jenny. “And why your parents panicked when they couldn’t get in touch with you. You need to call them.”
“I really was tempted to go to the party,” said Star. “If I wasn’t doing so bad in history . . .” She let her sentence trail off.
“I knew some of the people who were going,” said Jenny. “Bobby Coleman asked me to go with him,” she said to Star.
Bobby Coleman. Diane hoped her face was impassive. “We need to find Frank. If there’s a pay phone somewhere, Jenny, call your parents. If there’s not a phone you can go outside the building.” As Diane spoke, Star’s gaze never left her face.
“My parents don’t have a cell,” said Jenny.
“Then call home. Someone is probably there waiting in case you call,” said Diane. “Frank and I will be glad to take you home.”
Jenny nodded.
They both looked so young—and fragile.
Diane guessed that Frank was searching at about the same speed as she, so he could be on the same floor. They crossed over to the right side of the building. The problem was that the building had so many wings. Frank was likely to be as hard to find as Star. It was little more than chance that Diane had found her. They went down the hallways, looking into the rooms. Frank would be easy to spot. He looked nothing like the students.
They passed the two young women from the student lounge. Star spoke to them. Their gaze darted to Diane’s face for a fraction of a second as they walked by at a fast clip.
“Well, what’s wrong with those two?” said Star. “They are such snobs. Just wait till I get back from Paris with my new clothes.”