sketch pad. We start each day with a pen and ink sketch of an object on the front table. Today it’s a stuffed owl. “If you were awake, why didn’t you answer?”
I blink at her. “I uh—well, I had my phone turned off.” I pick out a good pen, averting my eyes. “You know they suggest turning off all screens when you’re having a problem sleeping? The light is bad for you.”
“Mmhmm.” She starts drawing the owl at the beak. Syd isn’t a bad artist—she’s just kind of sloppy and rushed. Much like she is with everything in her life. “That’s weird, though.”
“What’s weird?”
“That your phone was off. Because I was scrolling though the location feature of ChattySnap and your phone was…well, here.”
“Here?” I’m unsure if it’s an accusation or a question or what. Maybe Syd has been paying more attention than I realized.
She turns to look at me. “Yeah, here. And interestingly, it wasn’t the only phone showing up on campus. Emory. Aubrey. Caroline…” She watches me intently. “Even Reyn.”
“That’s, uh, really weird.” Screw ChattySnap and its stupid tracking features! “Because there’s no way I’d be on campus in the middle of the night.”
“That’s what I thought. Especially with Reyn—who, you know, is not allowed to be near you.” This isn’t actually true—not anymore—but I don’t bother to correct her. She adds an eye and some details. “But then I thought about it some more, and you’ve been distant lately. And not in that ‘too much Oxy’ kind of way, either.”
“Shhhhh!” I glare at her before making sure no one overheard. Our table is to the side of the room, but Syd’s voice has a way of carrying. “What the hell, Syd?”
She puts down her pen, turning to me, and through the firmness in her eyes, I can tell there’s also some hurt. “No, Vandy, what the hell is going on with you? You’ve been ditching me at lunch, blowing me off for getting our nails done, and something is obviously up. I’m not stupid. It’s not the first time I’ve noticed your phone isn’t where you say it is.”
I gape at her. “Are you seriously stalking me now?”
“No. I’m trying to figure why my best friend is keeping secrets from me.”
“I’m not.”
She laughs and rolls her eyes, “Yeah, okay. Sure.”
I push past the panic I’m feeling. I need a way out of this. She can’t know about the Devils or Reyn or any of it. “I’m just…having my own life for once. I’m not sitting at home alone and feeling sorry for myself. I’m…” I glance around the room, buying time. “I’m working on something for the newspaper.”
Her eyebrow raises. “Your article?”
“Yeah,” I admit, my pulse thrumming. “I got a lead on something and I’ve been following up on it.”
She leans forward, demeanor shifting from stiff to eager. Syd can’t resist juicy gossip. “What is it? What did you find out?”
I shake my head. “I can’t say. Not yet. No one knows.”
She’s quiet for a moment, and I can see the gears turning. Her eyes widen. “Does it have something to do with Reyn? Is he in trouble again? Or your brother? I love Emory, but he’s got a history of not making the best decisions.” She bites her bottom lip, eyes pensive. “You know, I had a feeling something was up. Things have been weird lately. Afton’s more aloof than ever. Suddenly Tyson’s hanging around all those former Devils…”
I freeze, panic blooming even more fiercely. Shit. Sydney is a nosy, selfish bitch, but she’s right. She’s not dumb. “Look, I can’t say, Syd, but hopefully one day I’ll be able to reveal it—the right way—in a big flashy exposé in the school paper.”
“Okay,” she says slowly, looking down at her sketch. “I wasn’t trying to stalk you, I was just...”
I shrug. “No, I get it. You’re used to me sitting at home all the time doing nothing. It’s a change.” She probably doesn’t miss the bitterness in my voice.
She sighs. “It just sucks that you’re never around anymore. I miss you, you know?” The words sound so sincere that, for a moment, I feel guilty. She’s right, we used to be joined at the hip. And it’s not like I don’t think about her, too. Having all of this stuff, these feelings and new experiences bottled up inside me and not being able to tell her is hard. For a moment, I really miss her.
She turns to me, eyes sparking in delight. “I can be your partner