Hush Hush hh-1 Page 5

  Vee kicked me under the table. "She'll have a vanilla-cream-filled doughnut. Make it two."

  "So much for the diet, huh?" I asked Vee.

  "Huh yourself. The vanilla bean is a fruit. A brown fruit."

  "It's a legume."

  "You sure about that?"

  I wasn't.

  Jules closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Apparently he was as thrilled to be sitting with us as I was to have them here.

  As Elliot walked to the front counter, I let my eyes trail after him. He was definitely in high school, but I hadn't seen him at CHS before. I would remember. He had a charming, outgoing personality that didn't fade into the background. If I wasn't feeling so shaken, I might have actually taken an interest. In friendship, maybe more.

  "Do you live around here?" Vee asked Jules.

  "Mmm."

  "Go to school?"

  "Kinghorn Prep." There was a tinge of superiority in the way he said it.

  "Never heard of it."

  "Private school. Portland. We start at nine." He lifted his sleeve and glanced at his watch.

  Vee dipped a finger in the froth of her milk and licked it off. "Is it expensive?"

  Jules looked at her directly for the first time. His eyes stretched, showing a little white around the edges.

  "Are you rich? I bet you are," she said.

  Jules eyed Vee like she'd just killed a fly on his forehead. He scraped his chair back several inches, distancing himself from us.

  Elliot returned with a box of a half-dozen doughnuts.

  "Two vanilla creams for the ladies," he said, pushing the box toward me, "and four glazed for me. Guess I'd better fill up now, since I don't know what the cafeteria is like at Coldwater High."

  Vee nearly spewed her milk. "You go to CHS?"

  "As of today. I just transferred from Kinghorn Prep."

  "Nora and I go to CHS," Vee said. "I hope you appreciate your good fortune. Anything you need to know-including who you should invite to Spring Fling-just ask. Nora and I don't have dates…yet."

  I decided it was time to part ways. Jules was obviously bored and irritated, and being in his company wasn't helping my already restless mood. I made a big presentation of looking at the clock on my cell phone and said, "We better get to school, Vee. We have a bio test to study for. Elliot and Jules, it was nice meeting you."

  "Our bio test isn't until Friday," said Vee.

  On the inside, I cringed. On the outside, I smiled through my teeth. "Right. I meant to say I have an English test. The works of… Geoffrey Chaucer." Everyone knew I was lying.

  In a remote way my rudeness bothered me, especially since Elliot hadn't done anything to deserve it. But I didn't want to sit here any longer. I wanted to keep moving forward, distancing myself from last night. Maybe the diminishing memory wasn't such a bad thing after all. The sooner I forgot the accident, the sooner my life would resume its normal pace.

  "I hope you have a really great first day, and maybe we'll see you at lunch," I told Elliot. Then I dragged Vee up by her elbow and steered her out the door.

  The school day was almost over, only biology left, and after a quick stop by my locker to exchange books, I headed to class. Vee and I arrived before Patch; she slid into his empty seat and dug through her backpack, pulling out a box of Hot Tamales.

  "One red fruit coming right up," she said, offering me the box.

  "Let me guess… cinnamon is a fruit?" I pushed the box away.

  "You didn't eat lunch, either," Vee said, frowning.

  "I'm not hungry."

  "Liar. You're always hungry. Is this about Patch? You're not worried he's really stalking you, are you? Because last night, that whole thing at the library, I was joking."

  I massaged small circles into my temples. The dull ache that had taken up residence behind my eyes flared at the mention of Patch. "Patch is the least of my worries," I said. It wasn't exactly true.

  "My seat, if you don't mind."

  Vee and I looked up simultaneously at the sound of Patch's voice.

  He sounded pleasant enough, but he kept his eyes trained on Vee as she rose and slung her backpack over her shoulder. It appeared she couldn't move fast enough; he swept his arm toward the aisle, inviting her out of his way.

  "Looking good as always," he said to me, taking his chair. He leaned back in it, stretching his legs out in front of him. I'd known all along he was tall, but I'd never put a measurement to it. Looking at the length of his legs now, I guessed him to top out at six feet. Maybe even six-one.

  "Thank you," I answered without thinking. Immediately I wanted to take it back. Thank you? Of all the things I could have said, "thank you" was the worst. I didn't want Patch thinking I liked his compliments. Because I didn't… for the most part. It didn't take much perception to realize he was trouble, and I had enough trouble in my life already. No need to invite more. Maybe if I ignored him, he'd eventually give up initiating conversation. And then we could sit side by side in silent harmony, like every other partnership in the room.

  "You smell good too," said Patch.

  "It's called a shower." I was staring straight ahead. When he didn't answer, I turned sideways. "Soap. Shampoo. Hot water."

  "Naked. I know the drill."

  I opened my mouth to change the subject when the bell cut me off.

  "Put your textbooks away," Coach said from behind his desk. "I'm handing out a practice quiz to get you warmed up for this Friday's real one." He stopped in front of me, licking his finger as he tried to separate the quizzes. "I want fifteen minutes of silence while you answer the questions. Then we'll discuss chapter seven. Good luck."

  I worked through the first several questions, answering them with a rhythmic outpouring of memorized facts. If nothing else, the quiz stole my concentration, pushing last night's accident and the voice at the back of my mind questioning my sanity to the sidelines. Pausing to shake a cramp out of my writing hand, I felt Patch lean toward me.

  "You look tired. Rough night?" he whispered.

  "I saw you at the library." I was careful to keep my pencil gliding over my quiz, seemingly hard at work.

  "The highlight of my night."

  "Were you following me?"

  He tipped his head back and laughed softly.

  I tried a new angle. "What were you doing there?"

  "Getting a book."

  I felt Coach's eyes on me and dedicated myself to my quiz. After answering several more questions, I stole a glimpse to my left. I was surprised to find Patch already watching me. He grinned.

  My heart did an unexpected flip, startled by his bizarrely attractive smile. To my horror, I was so taken aback, I dropped my pencil. It bounced on the tabletop a few times before rolling over the edge. Patch bent to pick it up. He held it out in the palm of his hand, and I had to focus not to touch his skin as I took it back.

  "After the library," I whispered, "where did you go?"

  "Why?"

  "Did you follow me?" I demanded in an undertone.

  "You look a little on edge, Nora. What happened?" His eyebrows lifted in concern. It was all for show, because there was a taunting spark at the center of his black eyes.

  "Are you following me?"

  "Why would I want to follow you?"

  "Answer the question."

  "Nora." The warning in Coach's voice pulled me back to my quiz, but I couldn't help speculating about what Patch's answer might have been, and it had me wanting to slide far away from him. Across the room. Across the universe.

  Coach chirped his whistle. "Time's up. Pass your quizzes forward. Be expecting similar questions this Friday. Now"-he sanded his hands together, and the dry sound of it made me shiver-"for today's lesson. Miss Sky, want to take a stab at our topic?"

  "S-e-x," Vee announced.

  Precisely after she did, I tuned out. Was Patch following me? Was he the face behind the ski mask-if there even was a face behind a mask? What did he want? I hugged my elbows, suddenly feeling very cold. I wanted my life to go back to the way it was before Patch barged into my life.

  At the end of class, I stopped Patch from leaving. "Can we talk?"

  He was already standing, so he took a seat on the edge of the table. "What's up?"

  "I know you don't want to sit next to me any more than I want to sit next to you. I think Coach might consider changing our seats if you talk to him. If you explain the situation-"

  "The situation?"

  "We're not-compatible."

  He rubbed a hand over his jaw, a calculating gesture I'd grown accustomed to in only a few short days of knowing him. "We're not?"

  "I'm not announcing groundbreaking news here."

  "When Coach asked for my list of desired characteristics in a mate, I gave him you."

  "Take that back."

  "Intelligent. Attractive. Vulnerable. You disagree?"

  He was doing this for the sole purpose of antagonizing me, and that only flustered me more. "Will you ask Coach to change our seats or not?"

  "Pass. You've grown on me."

  What was I supposed to say to that? He was obviously aiming to get a reaction out of me. Which wasn't difficult, seeing as how I could never tell when he was joking, and when he was sincere.

  I tried to inject a measure of self-composure into my voice. "I think you'd be much better seated with someone else. And I think you know it." I smiled, tense but polite.

  "I think I could end up next to Vee." His smile appeared just as polite. "I'm not going to press my luck."

  Vee appeared beside our table, glancing between me and Patch. "Interrupting something?"

  "No," I said, yanking my backpack shut. "I was asking Patch about tonight's reading. I couldn't remember which pages Coach assigned."

  Vee said, "The assignment's on the board, same as always. As if you haven't already read it."

  Patch laughed, seemingly sharing a private joke with himself. Not for the first time, I wished I knew what he was thinking. Because sometimes I was positive these private jokes had everything to do with me. "Anything else, Nora?" he said.

  "No," I said. "See you tomorrow."

  "Looking forward to it." He winked. Actually winked.

  After Patch was out of earshot, Vee gripped my arm. "Good news. Cipriano. That's his last name. I saw it on Coach's class roster."

  "And that's something to smile about because…?"

  "Everybody knows students are required to register prescription drugs with the nurse's office." She tugged at the front pocket of my backpack, where I kept my iron pills. "Likewise, everybody knows the nurse's office is conveniently located inside the front office, where, as it happens, student files are also kept."

  Eyes aglow, Vee locked her arm in mine and pulled me toward the door. "Time to do some real sleuthing."

  Chapter 5

  "Can I help you?"

  I forced myself to smile at the front office secretary, hoping I didn't look as dishonest as I felt. "I have a prescription I take daily at school, and my friend-"

  My voice caught on the word, and I wondered if after today I would ever feel like calling Vee my friend again.

  "-my friend informed me that I'm supposed to register it with the nurse. Do you know if that's correct?" I couldn't believe I was standing here, intending to do something illegal. As of late, I was exhibiting a lot of uncharacteristic behavior. First I'd followed Patch to a disreputable arcade late at night. Now I was on the verge of snooping in his student file. What was the matter with me? No-what was the matter with Patch, that when it came to him, I couldn't seem to stop exercising bad judgment?

  "Oh, yes," the secretary said solemnly. "All drugs need to be registered. Nurse's office is back through there, third door on the left, across from student records." She gestured into the hallway behind her. "If the nurse isn't there, you can take a seat on the cot inside her office. She should be back any minute."

  I fabricated another smile. I'd really hoped it wouldn't be this easy.

  Heading down the hall, I stopped several times to check over my shoulder. Nobody came up behind me. The phone out in the front office was ringing, but it sounded a world apart from the dim corridor where I stood. I was all alone, free to do as I pleased.

  I came to a stop at the third door on the left. I sucked in a breath and knocked, but it was obvious from the darkened window that the room was empty. I pushed on the door. It moved with reluctance, creaking open on a compact room with scuffed white tiles. I stood in the entrance a moment, almost wishing the nurse would appear so I'd have no choice but to register my iron pills and leave. A quick glance across the hall revealed a door with a window marked STUDENT RECORDS. It too was dark.

  I focused my attention on a nagging thought at the back of my mind. Patch claimed that he hadn't gone to school last year. I was pretty sure he was lying, but if he wasn't, would he even have a student record? He'd have a home address at the very least, I reasoned. And an immunization card, and last semester's grades. Still. Possible suspension seemed like a large price to pay for a peek at Patch's immunization card.

  I leaned one shoulder against the wall and checked my watch. Vee had told me to wait for her signal. She said it would be obvious.

  Great.

  The phone in the front office rang again, and the secretary picked up.

  Chewing my lip, I stole a second glimpse at the door labeled STUDENT RECORDS. There was a good chance it was locked. Student files were probably considered high security. It didn't matter what kind of diversion Vee created; if the door was locked, I wasn't getting in.

  I shifted my backpack to the opposite shoulder. Another minute ticked down. I told myself maybe I should leave…

  On the other hand, what if Vee was right and he was stalking me? As his bio partner, regular contact with him could place me in danger. I had a responsibility to protect myself… didn't I?

  If the door was unlocked and the files were alphabetized, I would have no trouble locating Patch's quickly. Add another few seconds to skim his file for red flags, and I could probably be in and out of the room in under a minute. Which was so brief it might not feel like I'd entered at all.

  Things had grown unusually quiet out in the front office. Suddenly Vee rounded the corner. She edged down the wall toward me, walking in a crouch, dragging her hands along the wall, stealing surreptitious glances over her shoulder. It was the kind of walk spies adopted in old movies.

  "Everything is under control," she whispered.

  "What happened to the secretary?"

  "She had to leave the office for a minute."

  "Had to? You didn't incapacitate her, did you?"

  "Not this time."

  Thank goodness for small mercies.

  "I called in a bomb threat from the pay phone outside," Vee said. "The secretary dialed the police, then ran off to find the principal."

  "Vee!"

  She tapped her wrist. "Clock's ticking. We don't want to be in here when the cops arrive."

  Tell me about it.

  Vee and I sized up the door to student records.

  "Move over," Vee said, giving me her hip.

  She drew her sleeve down over her fist and drilled it into the window. Nothing happened.

  "That was just for practice," she said. She drew back for another punch and I grabbed her arm.

  "It might be unlocked." I turned the knob and the door swung open.

  "That wasn't near as much fun," said Vee.

  A matter of opinion.

  "You go in," Vee instructed. "I'm going to keep surveillance. If all goes well, we'll rendezvous in an hour. Meet me at the Mexican restaurant on the corner of Drake and Beech." She crouch-walked back down the hall.

  I was left standing half in, half out of the narrow room lined wall-to-wall with filing cabinets. Before my conscience talked me out of it, I stepped inside and shut the door behind me, pressing my back against it.

  With a deep breath I slouched off my backpack and hurried forward, dragging my finger along the faces of the cabinets. I found the drawer marked car-cuv. With one tug the drawer rattled open. The tabs on the files were labeled by hand, and I wondered if Coldwater High was the last school in the country not computerized.

  My eyes brushed over the name "Cipriano."

  I wrenched the file from the crammed drawer. I held it in my hands a moment, trying to convince myself there was nothing too wrong with what I was about to do. So what if there was private information inside? As Patch's biology partner, I had a right to know these things.

  Outside, voices filled the hall.

  I fumbled the file open and immediately flinched. It didn't make any sense.

  The voices advanced.

  I shoved the file randomly inside the drawer and gave it a push, sending it rattling back into the cabinet. As I turned, I froze. On the other side of the window, the principal stopped midstride, his gaze latching onto me.

  Whatever he'd been saying to the group, which probably consisted of every major player on the school's faculty, trailed off.

  "Excuse me a moment," I heard him say. The group continued hustling forward. He did not.

  He opened the door. "This area is off-limits to students."

  I tried on a helpless face. "I'm so sorry. I'm trying to find the nurse's office. The secretary said third door on the right, but I think I miscounted… "I threw my hands up."I'm lost."

  Before he could respond, I tugged at the zipper on my backpack. "I'm supposed to register these. Iron pills," I explained. "I'm anemic."

  He studied me for a moment, his brow creasing. I thought I could see him weighing his options: stick around and deal with me, or deal with a bomb threat. He jerked his chin out the door. "I need you to exit the building immediately."

  He propped the door wide and I ducked out under his arm, my smile collapsing.

  An hour later I slid into a corner booth at the Mexican restaurant on the corner of Drake and Beech. A ceramic cactus and a stuffed coyote were mounted on the wall above me. A man wearing a sombrero wider than he was tall sauntered over. Strumming chords on his guitar, he serenaded me while the hostess laid menus on the table. I frowned at the insignia on the front cover. The Borderline. I hadn't eaten here before, yet something about the name sounded vaguely familiar.