I turned and was surprised to see Perfect Boy standing there with a cute, pet.i.te blond girl beside him. Not Fruity-Smelling Girl, thank goodness. Someone else. She gave me a small, almost-welcoming smile.

Perfect Boy towered over me, giving me the opportunity to let my eyes graze as they traveled up to meet his. He wore scuffed sneakers, faded jeans, and a Woodbridge Lacrosse windbreaker. It wasn't really cold enough for a jacket yet, but it was probably a matter of pride to him.

I finally found my voice. "I am."

"I'm Kane Woodward," he said. "And this is my sister, Ellie."

"I'm only a soph.o.m.ore," she said softly, like she wasn't worthy of speaking to me because I was a senior.

"Very nice to meet you." I extended a hand and smiled to put her at ease.

"Do you play any sports?" Ellie asked.

"No." I squinted at Kane's jacket, pretending I hadn't already noticed it before. "So you play ... lacrosse?"

"Yeah," he beamed. "You a fan?"

"I honestly don't know much about it. My old high school didn't have a lacrosse team."

He held a hand over his heart in mock distress. "How tragic!" Ellie laughed, but not in a mean way. Not at me. She nudged her brother with her elbow, then said she was off to meet some friends.

As she walked off, I gave a shrug and looked back up at Kane. "It was a small school."

"Well, welcome to Woodbridge, Jade. If there's anything I can help you with ..." Kane paused a little too long and was staring a little too much. What for, I didn't know, but I felt a familiar p.r.i.c.kly sensation on my neck.

Most people have the ability to hide it when they are embarra.s.sed or feeling a particularly strong emotion. At worst, a little pink may rise into their cheeks. I, on the other hand, have been struck with this problem where my neck turns bright red and splotchy. There's no hiding it. Unless I wear a turtleneck every day. And I could feel it happening right now. My hand involuntarily rose to the pendant on my neck and fiddled with it in an attempt to cover up my red Neck of Shame.

"Um, I need to find Alexa Palmer," I said.

"Yeah, I know her. She's in a few of my cla.s.ses."

"AP cla.s.ses?" I must have creased my forehead or made some sort of surprised look because he raised one eyebrow and tsked at me with his finger.

"You a.s.sumed I was a dumb jock."

"No, I didn't!" The splotches started tickling my neck again.

"Yeah, you did," he said, smiling. "Just admit it."

"Well, not dumb," I b.u.mbled. "But I didn't expect you to be ..." I stopped and couldn't find any way to put this into words that didn't make me out to be a big jerk.

"It's okay," he said, smiling. "I'm only messing with you. I don't mind. I make a.s.sumptions about people all the time. It's human nature."

I really wanted to know what a.s.sumptions he'd made about me, but he pointed over my left shoulder. "There she is, in the corner."

I looked and saw Alexa hunched and scowling over a laptop.

"Thanks," I said to Kane. "See you around."

I made my way past a cl.u.s.ter of tables. Had Perfect Boy ... ahem ... Kane been flirting with me? Or was he just being nice and welcoming? I was like a traveler without a map in this place.

I pa.s.sed by Fruity-Smelling Girl and a friend of hers sitting at a table. They seemed to be arguing about something. Fruity-Smelling Girl made a point to stop, midconversation, and give me the hairy eyeball as I pa.s.sed. She hadn't exactly been scrambling to be my friend before, but there hadn't been hate in her eyes until now. Something had changed.

But before I could ponder that, I reached Alexa's table. I sat down and placed the box in front of me.

"I'm glad you're here," she said. "I'm tearing my hair out on this and need a two-minute break."

"Wow, two whole minutes?" I said, laughing. "What's got you so frazzled?"

She groaned. "My application essay to MIT."

"Wow, MIT, huh? Impressive." Schools like that weren't even on my radar. In fact, I hadn't even started my college applications. That was number five on my top ten list of Stuff That Was Giving Me Anxiety this week.

"Both my parents went there," Alexa said. "So it's sort of expected for me to go. No pressure," she snorted.

"Well, you're a double legacy, then. Plus, you have perfect scores and perfect grades. You have nothing to worry about."

"They don't take legacy into consideration." Alexa wrung her hands as she talked. "And even with my numbers, it's no guarantee. I think I came across as cold in my interview. And I don't play sports or have much for extracurriculars. And this essay is super important."

"What do you have so far?" I turned her screen toward me. It was blank.

"Nothing," she said, throwing her hands into the air. "A big fat nothing. This essay is going to be the death of me. It's all I think about lately. And I'm just blocked. It counts for so much and I can't even write one word."

"Just relax," I said, though those words to Alexa were about as useful as spit on a forest fire. "There's no right or wrong answer in an essay."

"That's why I hate it!" she yelled, drawing two dirty looks and one shush from the other tables. "I like things to be black-and-white. Right and wrong. That's why I love math and science. There are concrete answers. Things that can be tested and proven."

"Okay," I told her. "Sounds like you do need a break." I opened the top of the box I brought and grinned at her. "Want to see my collection?"

She dragged her hands through her hair. "Please tell me it's not rodent skulls or something because I don't want it to be that weird."

I looked through until I found one of my favorites. I held up the sliced crystal. It was one of my loose gems, not set into a jewelry piece.

"This is watermelon tourmaline." I turned it around in the palm of my hand so she could see the contrast of pink enfolded in green. "It's supposed to help you see the silver lining in every situation." I replaced that one and pulled out my red ruby earrings. "Rubies are useful against psychic attack. They're supposed to darken when danger lurks." I gave a little smile at her raised eyebrows.

I pulled out a pendant and let it dangle from my fingers. "This is bloodstone." It wasn't hard to figure out how they came up with that name. The stone was dark green with a spattering of red spots. "It also goes by the much less cool name heliotrope. This was used to banish evil and control the weather."

I went through and held up a few more of my favorites, explaining the meaning of each. Yellow sapphire attracts wealth. Aquamarine protects against drowning. Amethyst keeps you sober.

I avoided the one I never touch.

"Do you really believe in all this?" Alexa asked warily.

"Not really, no." I gave a tiny shrug. "It's just a hobby." I didn't want to go into the real reason behind my obsession with the stones. Not now, anyway.

"That's kind of cool," Alexa said, and I knew she meant it.

"So ... you still want to sit with me?" I asked, my voice laced with teasing sarcasm. "Now that you know how weird I am?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get the point," Alexa said, the side of her mouth lifting. She reached in and pulled out a ring. "What does this one do?"

"That's marcasite. It helps with memory and clear thinking."

"Maybe that will help me write my essay!"

We laughed until we were shushed back to whispers. But I was glad the air was cleared. Yeah, she's weird. I'm weird. Who cares? If people showed the honest versions of themselves instead of the scrubbed, toned-down versions, we'd all be a little more interesting.

Fruity-Smelling Girl and her friend stood and began packing their things one table over. "Who is she?" I whispered and aimed my eyes toward them.

"Ugh, that's Faye Bettencourt. She's much less wonderful than she thinks she is."

I smiled. That little description seemed spot-on.

"I'll let you get back to work," I said, scooping the box into my arms. As I pa.s.sed Faye, she held her hand out, stopping me. "You know, my mom's a realtor and she told me that it should be on the disclosure statement."

I blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Faye's friend giggled from behind her, but Faye just looked me in the eye. "Look at the paperwork from the sale of your new house. Then you'll know why everyone's talking."

The empty driveway told me Marie and Colby were out. I wasn't sure which Mommy and Me cla.s.s they were at today, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that I'd have the house to myself.

I had some snooping to do.

As I headed up the front walk, I saw a dark form in the window of the brown house next door. I knew an older man lived there. I'd seen him puttering around his yard a couple times. But he'd never come over to say "hi" or "welcome to the neighborhood" or anything like that. Seeing him standing there in the window, unmoving, obviously staring at me as I hiked my backpack up higher on my shoulder, gave me the creeps.

I let myself in the house, and the sound of the door slamming echoed in the quiet.

"h.e.l.lo?" I called out, just to be safe.

No one answered, so I dropped my bag on the floor and bounded up the stairs. My dad used the fourth bedroom as his office. I hadn't spent any real time in there yet. He had a stack of boxes piled up in the corner, stuff from his old office he'd probably never need. The house papers wouldn't be in there, though. They were recent, only a couple weeks old, so they'd be somewhere handy.

I started with the top of his desk. There were bank statements, a few change-of-address papers, but nothing related to the new house. My eyes were drawn to the desk drawer.

It would be in there, I thought.

And a shudder ran through my body. I stiffened and listened hard, holding my breath. I was suddenly sure that someone else was home.

And they were watching me.

I ran over to the doorway and looked both ways down the hall. Nothing. Other than the muted ticking of the grandfather clock drifting up from downstairs, there was silence. But still ... I felt someone there.

I stepped back into the room and took a deep breath. It was probably only my guilty conscience. Here I was in my father's office, searching through his belongings. It was just wrong. And that was why I felt this palpable antic.i.p.ation in the air. It was guilt, that was all.

I slid open the drawer and found a manila file folder labeled 6 SILVER ROAD - CLOSING. That was it.

An icy breeze traveled past me, slightly lifting my hair. I glanced at the window. It was closed. But there was definitely a draft coming in from somewhere. Goose b.u.mps rose on my skin, but I couldn't stop now. I felt something urging me on.

My shaky fingers opened the folder. The feeling in the room changed slightly, from antic.i.p.ation to satisfaction, as I saw the paper on top. The t.i.tle, DISCLOSURE STATEMENT, glared up at me in all caps. Exactly what that girl Faye had told me to look for.

And there, at the bottom, was what she had wanted me to find.

I closed my eyes tightly, the paper trembling in my hand. I didn't want it to be this. Anything but this.

I reopened my eyes, but the words remained the same.

Death by unnatural causes.

I was living in a murder house.

It's time for a new school year. I feel like I should have something exciting to say, but there's really nothing. I am so ready for college. Parties with the WHS crew are boring me to death. Sigh. Only two more years.

Junior year starts tomorrow. We'll see what that brings.

My phone's been buzzing nonstop. All the girls want to know what I'm wearing for first day. d.a.m.n, 14 sent me over a dozen texts herself. 14 has her nose so far up my b.u.t.t, it's hilarious.

I'll have my pick of the boys this year. Who should I snap up? 18? 13? The obvious 7?

Or maybe it's time for a new acquisition ...

Death. Death. Death.

In my house.

Dad and Marie knew. And they hadn't told me. They deliberately made the choice to keep it a secret. This was how we could afford the house. It'd probably been heavily discounted because no one wanted to live where someone had been killed.

I stayed upstairs in my room all afternoon, pacing. Getting through dinner was torture. I wanted to confront Marie and Dad, but wouldn't do it in front of Colby. He was having enough trouble transitioning as it was. So I plastered on a smile and pretended to be interested in my dad's stories about the awful lady he had to sit next to on the plane. All the while, inside, I was screaming.

After Colby went to bed, I entered the living room, fists clenched at my sides. Dad and Marie were cuddling on the couch, getting ready to settle in and watch a show.

"We need to talk." My voice was authoritative and serious. It barely sounded like me.

Concern fell over Dad's previously tranquil face. My father had the body of a basketball player, almost comically tall and skinny, like he'd been made of clay and stretched too far. His job had him gone more than home, but he always had a smile for me. No matter how bad his own day might have been, he compartmentalized and never brought work frustrations into the house.

I hated being mad at him. Marie could be manipulative when she had to be, to get something she wanted for herself or Colby. I guessed the secrecy had been her idea. But Dad had obviously agreed to go along with it, so I couldn't lay my anger all on Marie. They'd both earned it.

I crossed my arms. "Were you ever going to tell me that we're living in a murder house?"

Dad's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Marie straightened and spoke up quickly, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Don't even lie to me." I held my hand up, palm out. Tears threatened to spring to my eyes and I closed them for a moment to regain control. This was why I hated confrontation. I couldn't stay unemotional.

I took a deep breath and reopened my eyes. "I know the truth."

"It's not a murder house," Marie said, slowly enunciating each word.

"Well, they don't know for sure if -" my dad began but was interrupted when Marie snapped his name. "Lawrence! We don't need to go into the details."