He understands his parents, and I think that makes him understand why they would lie to protect him from some things. He might even think it’s a caring thing. A way you care for people. I don’t know.”
“Oh,” Alexandria said. She closed her eyes. “I’ll check.”
“Check what?” Ryann asked, turning on her side to look at Alexandria. Alexandria’s face was calm, like it had been the last time Ryann saw her sleeping.
“Check to see if my dad’s keeping things from me.”
Ryann hmmed. “Want to do it together?” she asked. “You could blame it on me if we get caught. I’m pretty sure he already doesn’t like me.”
Alexandria laughed dryly. “He likes you. He just doesn’t trust you. And yeah … let’s … let’s check.”
Ryann stuck out her pinkie. Alexandria looked at it curiously for a second, surprised. Then she huffed dryly again, shook her head, and linked their pinkies together.
3 DAYS
On Tuesdays, Ryann had band with Tomas before lunch.
For whatever reason, every year everyone got the option to choose gym or band. Ryann didn’t like that the girls had to wear shorts in gym, so she picked the easiest instrument that was available—the cymbals—and signed up for band.
Tomas, on the other hand, had been playing the cello for eight years and was very talented. However, in true Tomas fashion, he opted to play the upright bass instead this year. The parts were easier and he could lie around slacking instead of actually practicing when they had free-play time.
Today Ryann lay across several chairs in the back of the room next to him while he read something on his phone.
“What did you and Alexandria do after we left the warehouse?” he asked suddenly.
Ryann shrugged. “She told me she was going to check out more stuff about her dad and see if he knows anything about the messages that he might be keeping from her.”
Tomas scrolled in silence for a bit. Then he turned off his phone and looked down at her. “Don’t you think this whole thing is a bit…”
“A bit what?”
“Depressing?” Tomas finished. “Like … it was all exciting and stuff meeting her and that whole thing where she’s basically a B-list celebrity—”
“But then it turned out she’s just a sad girl from a broken home, missing a mom she never met. With no friends, nomading across America, getting chased by the ghost of her birthright?” Ryann interrupted. “Yeah. It’s sad.”
Tomas frowned.
“But we’re all a bit sad,” Ryann continued. She reached up and poked Tomas in the cheek. Tomas smacked Ryann’s hand away and blushed.
“I don’t wanna talk about my backstory,” he mumbled.
“You don’t have to!” Ryann laughed. “I know the whole thing.”
“True, true. Hmm. I want to ask you something—and feel free to say no. But do you think I can come with you guys to listen? At least on this first night since we set things up?”
Ryann drummed her fingers against the side of her cymbals. She liked the quiet of her nights with Alexandria, and she knew that if Tomas became a regular, the others would follow and it would turn into a nightly party.
“I … don’t know. I’m not the one you should be asking,” Ryann said.
Tomas raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing.
2 CLASS PERIODS
Ryann’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she nearly dropped a beaker to pick it up. No one ever called these days, just texted, so it had to be some kind of emergency.
“Hello?”
“Hey.” It was Alexandria and she sounded weird. “Ahmed was right, he was keeping something from me.”
“RYANN BIRD, PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY.”
“One sec,” Ryann said to Mr. Gonzalez, then covered the receiver. “It’s important.”
Mr. Gonzalez frowned. “You have one minute or you’ll have to take it into the hall.”
“Okay, thanks.” Ryann uncovered the receiver. “You have one minute. Go.”
“Right,” Alexandria said. “So, I just learned that my dad used to work for SCOUT. I wanted to wait and look into it with you, but I didn’t want to compromise your ability to visit, so I went through his stuff on my own. We can talk about it later.”
Alexandria hung up.
Ryann stared at her phone in shock.
LUNCH
Alexandria was standing at the back of the parking lot.
The setting sun lit her hair up in a halo around her head as she waited for Ryann to reach her. Her chin was tilted up in that way she did whenever she was making herself brave enough to handle something. Ryann glanced over at James, who was climbing onto Ryann’s bike and looking