far away but relieved, too. And I felt so sorry that Horatio had to deal with everything alone. As long as Horatio came out unscathed, that was what mattered most. But what if something did happen to Hamlet? I wasn’t sure how I was going to react. But what could happen at a lacrosse game? A broken nose. A cracked rib. Nothing devastating. With Horatio and a crowd there, Claudius couldn’t have Hamlet kidnapped or shot or anything, so he had to be pretty safe. I hoped. And didn’t.
I went back into the convenience store and wandered the aisles in a daze. I was so preoccupied by thoughts of the game that when I reached the checkout, I realized that I’d grabbed spray cheese, a can of beets, and a pack of beef jerky. The mixture was so unappetizing that I left it all on the counter and walked out with a muttered, “Sorry.”
Back in my room, I checked my phone to see if Horatio had texted. Nothing. I paced the room a few times and checked my phone again. Nothing. I checked to be sure I hadn’t accidentally silenced the ringer. I hadn’t. I checked my phone again. And again nothing. An hour passed. Still nothing. And every time I felt a kick of worry in my stomach, I was completely disgusted with myself because I was supposed to hate Hamlet enough that I wanted Claudius to do something to him. But I didn’t, and that made me feel even worse. Because I was betraying my father by caring about his killer.
Just when I started to consider going back out again for food, the phone rang. “God, that took long enough!” I yelled.
Not even dealing with my rudeness, Horatio said, “Claudius is planning to poison Hamlet.”
I sat on the bed in shocked silence.
“Marcellus met us in the parking lot. Said that if Claudius offers him anything to drink, he has to refuse.”
My mouth worked over a million questions, and I settled on, “How does Marcellus know?”
“Some of the guys in security like Hamlet better than Claudius. Things are falling apart at all levels here.”
“Wait,” I said, “how would Claudius get away with doing it in public?”
Horatio lowered his voice and explained, “They were going to announce that it was a drug overdose, which would explain Hamlet’s weird behavior leading up to this game.”
“God, that’s smart,” I whispered, and hugged a pillow to my chest. “So is Gertrude in on it, too?”
“I don’t know.” He hesitated. “Uh, one more thing.”
My heart sank. I wasn’t sure I could take one more bit of news.
“Your brother’s playing in the game. He and Hamlet are going to be captains of the opposing teams.”
I couldn’t make words get past the tightness in my throat.
Horatio said, “They’re telling everyone that Laertes has been slotted to play for weeks.”
“That’s impossible,” I squeaked.
“Yeah, I know. But either way, he’ll be playing, and the press is making it out to be a big deal that he wanted to come back to help his alma mater, blah, blah. This is so messed up, but I can’t get Hamlet to back out. I tried to prey on Hamlet’s pride by saying that Laertes’s team would beat him. But Hamlet said, ‘I don’t think so. Since Laertes has been in France, my game has really improved.’ Ophelia, I’ve tried everything I can think of to—”
“You can’t keep Hamlet from doing something he wants to do,” I reassured him, wishing Horatio could be spared from being in the middle of this. “You know him better than that.”
“Game’s about to start,” Horatio said.
“I wish I could watch,” I said quietly, sadness washing over me. “I want to see my brother.”
Horatio paused. “I think you can. We’ve got the same model phone, so we should be able to do video chat. But don’t forget: We’ll see and hear each other, but so will anyone who looks my way. Be quiet and keep the lights off and your hat on.”
“Where will you be?” I asked.
“On the sidelines with the spectators.”
A few minutes later, I’d downloaded the right application and we were set up. When he called back, I could see that Horatio was standing dangerously close to the platform on which Gertrude sat. Claudius was at the podium addressing the audience, explaining that today’s match would greatly benefit students who wanted to attend the fine institution but lacked the funds to do so, and he thanked everyone present for their generosity. I wanted to punch