20. Piper

20

PIPER

JANUARY 2, 3:40 P.M.

The Diet Coke thumps to the bottom of the vending machine, and I slide it out, waiting for the bubbles to settle so I can finally take a pull of aspartame to quell the headache that's been pounding all day. Normally, I love the first day back at school—the routine, the regimented schedule, even the smell of Beaumont's freshly cut grass in the morning. Today, though, I feel like I've just spent the past seven hours dodging land mines.

Probably because I have, in a manner of speaking. I haven't talked to April or Vivian all day, and I intend for it to stay that way, maybe until graduation.

I twist the cap of my Diet Coke, letting a long sip burn down my throat, but the dull throbbing at the back of my skull doesn't stop. Maybe I should consider that the headache isn't caffeine-related at all.

As if on cue, my phone lights up with a new message, and a silly part of my brain hopes that maybe it's the Maids.

Instead, the contact name is "Arch Nemesis."

Meet at the library in 5?

Aiden. I sigh, starting to type out an "okay" before deciding to throw the message a Like instead. Vivian is still in my head somewhere, smirking about her Pride and Prejudice crap. Whatever. While, despite what Vivian thinks, I don't relish alone time with Aiden Ortiz, this meeting will be a good distraction. We're both in charge of the Senior Week committee, thanks to a unanimous nomination from the student council, which is not as much of an honor as it sounds. Everyone is always checked out by Senior Week—the famously fun-filled week before graduation—and they'd rather enjoy the festivities than actually plan them. I'm pretty sure Aiden and I scored this job simply because no one else is high-strung enough to do it.

At the very least, this meeting means I won't have to run into either of the Maids in the usual after-school exodus.

I hike up my backpack, fighting another stab of guilt as I think of how they both looked at me on the levee. But it's not my fault they're upset, I tell myself as I start toward the library. I made the hard decision, the logical decision. No matter how close we seemed to answers, we were searching for some sort of conspiracy that just doesn't exist. It would only have done more harm than good, even if April and Vivian can't see that. Even if they hate me.

And why do I care? They're not my friends. We were colleagues. Coinvestigators, at best. And it's like it's always been: I don't need friends, at least not more than the surface-level ones I already have. Friends aren't the point of high school. High school is for getting into college, which I've already done. Check. I can worry about friends when I get there.

Aiden is already waiting in a study room, irritatingly on time.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey," I say flatly, sliding into the seat next to him at the table.

"No insults today?" He clutches his heart. "But I've grown so used to them."

"Believe me, I've got plenty." It comes out harsher than I mean it to.

I can feel him looking at me but pretend not to notice, focusing on opening my laptop.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Do I not look okay?"

"That's a loaded question."

"Ha-ha."

Aiden is quiet for a second. When I finally glance up at him, he's frowning slightly.

"What?" I ask.

It's hard to tell, but I think his cheeks get a little pink. He reaches for the pencil in front of him, twisting it between his long fingers. "Do you know if they've heard anything? About Lily?"

I shrug. "Nothing new, I think. Why?"

He becomes very interested in the pencil eraser. "I think maybe you were right that there's something more going on. It's been four days now, right? It feels… I don't know."

I tense, focusing on my Google Doc, even when I feel his eyes on me again. "They'll find her."

"I thought—"

"You were right," I cut him off. "She probably just ran away."

Aiden nods, shoulders slumping a little. He grabs his water bottle, a new item to fidget with, and after a few seconds, he stands.

"I'm going to go fill this up," he says. "Take five?"

"Fine with me."

Aiden bounds out of the study room, leaving me alone. I stare at the blinking cursor on my screen, a weird hollow feeling in my stomach, then shake myself out of it. I need to focus, do something to keep my mind busy. On cue, my computer flashes with a low-battery notification. Shit. Did I forget to plug it in last night? And how did I not even notice? I reach into my bag for my charger, but it's not there. Shit again. I really need to get it together.

Aiden's bag is open. I'm sure he wasn't too distracted to double-check this morning. I don't think he'll mind, either, so I go ahead and grab his charger. That's when I see something else tucked into the laptop pocket.

A folded piece of thick paper.

With a quick glance at the door, I reach inside and pull it out. The paper is heavy, familiar. My pulse thrums under my skin as I unfold it, revealing the sad-clown logo stamped at the top. The message underneath.

His Majesty, King Deus, commands your attendance at His Royal Feast, where we shall welcome our newest brothers to the Krewe. January 2nd, ten of the clock. The Pierrot.

I don't register the door opening again until it's too late. Aiden stands in the doorway, water bottle gripped, eyes locking on the invitation in my hands.