The Divide Page 0,13

are your parents?"

"My mom passed away," Scarlett said abruptly, like she wanted to get that information out of the way as fast as possible.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"She grew up here," Scarlett continued. "That's why I wanted to come to New Salem, to kind of reconnect with her, and my past." She looked away then, perhaps afraid she was oversharing.

Cassie searched her mind for the right thing to say. "I think that's great. I mean, I think that's a really brave thing to do. Even if it's painful."

Scarlett nodded. "I guess I'm just looking for a new start."

"I know what you mean," Cassie said.

"So tell me something about you."

Cassie's mind raced. She wanted to change the subject to something less heavy, but it occurred to her that every good and exciting thing she wanted to tell also involved the Circle, so she was left speechless. For the first time since she moved to New Salem, she understood why being friends with an Outsider could be such a challenge.

"Well," Cassie said, "that's my mother over there selling raffle tickets." But when she pointed her mother out, she also caught sight of Adam and Diana off in the corner, sharing a vanil a ice-cream cone. They were laughing because Adam had gotten ice cream on his nose and chin, and the more he tried to wipe it away, the more ice cream he smeared around.

Cassie felt her stomach drop. But why? It was only an ice-cream cone. A shared snack between friends was nothing to get upset over. She would just join them. She led Scarlett their way and then noticed Faye approaching from the opposite direction.

Faye was wearing a sheer black dress that fit her like a corset. A few paces behind her was Max, who, even in his casual polo shirt, still looked like he'd just stepped out of an Abercrombie catalog.

Adam and Diana stopped laughing and regained control of their ice-cream situation once they noticed Cassie and the others heading their way.

Faye introduced Max and then sized up Scarlett. "Who are you?" she asked.

"This is Scarlett," Cassie said. "She's new to town, just like you, Max."

Max gave a nod to Scarlett, but his focus was clearly on Diana. "I saw you at the assembly on Friday," he said. "You were the only one paying attention to my dad's boring speech."

Diana appeared flustered. "You saw me?" she said, and then added, "It wasn't boring."

"No? Are you sure?" Max stared at her roguishly until she cracked.

"Okay, maybe just a little."

"Thank you for your honesty." Max reached for Diana's hand and squeezed it between his thick fingers. "Now we can be friends."

Diana blushed, and Cassie noticed Adam shift uncomfortably.

"My dad's here somewhere," Max said, still addressing only Diana. "If you find him, you should let him know what a great orator you think he is."

Faye was clenching her jaw so tightly, Cassie feared her head might explode.

"I'll do that," Diana said. "But if you'll excuse me for right now, we were about to go cheer for our friends." She gestured toward the egg-toss competition.

Max looked a little disappointed. "Yeah, I should go find my dad," he said.

Faye made a move to follow him, but he stopped her. "I'll see you later," he said, and then disappeared into the crowd.

Adam, who'd been deathly silent till now, had a look of disgust on his face. "Well, that was weird."

"Adam," Diana scolded. "He was just trying to fit in.

That's what people do when they're new. They'll do anything to impress you."

Scarlett looked down, assuming that was a knock at her.

Cassie opened her mouth to say something, but before any words came out, Faye stormed off.

"Max wasn't working so hard to impress her," Adam said.

"Faye's been sexually harassing him since the moment he got here," Diana said, raising her voice. "He doesn't have to try for her."

Cassie wished Scarlett wasn't witnessing this strange moment of tension. It was actually embarrassing, how petty her friends must have appeared.

"Let's go," she said to Scarlett. "They'll catch up." Together they crossed the square. "Diana and Adam aren't usually like that," Cassie said. "You just happened to catch them in a weird moment."

"I get it." Scarlett smiled. "Couples get jealous; they fight." Suddenly Cassie felt sick again. "Adam's my boyfriend," she said quietly. "Not Diana's."

"Oh." Scarlett bit her lip. "That was stupid of me, I didn't realize - "

"No, it's fine. I can see why you'd think that. It's kind of complicated."

When they found the rest of the group clustered at one