“It had to be a dream, Sydney.” Emma slammed her locker and snapped the lock.
Sydney tensely twisted a strand of hair around her pointer finger.
“But what about the footprints, Emma?” she asked, her voice rising. “They didn’t vanish the way Jason did. They were there this morning, oozing mud into the carpet!”
“Ssh!” Emma hissed, nudging Sydney’s arm. “You want somebody to hear you?”
Sydney glanced around the hall. Kids were hurrying to the first class of the day.
“Of course not,” she whispered. “But those footprints really freaked me out, Emma. I didn’t dream those footprints. They were definitely real!”
“Okay. They were,” Emma agreed. “And I just realized how they got there.”
“How?”
“It’s easy to explain. We were both out in the muddy woods, right?” Emma pointed out. “So … the footprints were yours!”
Sydney stared at her. “You think?”
“Of course!” Emma insisted. “I was totally covered in mud and gunk when I got home last night. My clothes were a disaster and so were my shoes. Weren’t yours?”
Sydney nodded slowly.
“Plus, you were totally freaked,” Emma reminded her softly. “You weren’t paying any attention to where you walked or stood. You just wanted to get out of those wet, filthy clothes, right?”
“Right. I was practically hysterical,” Sydney admitted. “I don’t remember much, except that I took a bath.” She took a shaky breath. “I guess you’re right. They could be my footprints.”
“They are yours,” Emma corrected her. “I know it was an awful dream, Syd. But come on—we both know dreams don’t leave footprints.”
Emma has to be right, Sydney thought, as she watched her friend hurry to her first class. She has to be right …
“Hey, Sydney.” Tori Johnson smiled as they walked out of English together. “Where’s Jason?”
“He …” Sydney’s heart raced. She felt her face grow hot. “I’m not sure.”
Tori raised her eyebrows skeptically. “You two are always together. How could you not know where he is?”
She stared at Sydney as if searching for the answer in her eyes. Then she gasped. “Don’t tell me you broke up with Jason!”
No. I just helped kill him, Sydney thought.
The image of Jason standing at her bed flashed through her mind again. She shook it away and forced a smile.
“No, we didn’t break up,” she said. “I just haven’t seen him today, that’s all. He must be out sick.”
Tori nodded and sped off down the hall.
Sydney sighed and went in the other direction, toward her locker.
Tori wasn’t the only one who’d asked her about Jason today. It seemed as if the entire school wanted to know where he was and why they weren’t together.
And every time someone asked, Sydney’s heartbeat speeded up and she blushed. She was such a terrible liar. It was a miracle that anyone believed a word she said.
Someone tapped her shoulder. Startled, Sydney whirled around.
Kurt Walters, a guy from her history class, stood grinning at her. “Sorry. Did I scare you?”
“A little.” Laughing nervously, Sydney began walking again.
Kurt fell into step with her. “That history test was really tough, huh? How do you think you did?”
“Probably flunked it,” Sydney muttered.
At least that wasn’t a lie. Everything she knew about the Civil War had vanished from her mind.
“Yeah, well, join the club,” Kurt told her. “Hey, where’s Jason?”
Not again! Sydney thought. Why did I ever come here today? I should have known people would wonder why Jason and I aren’t together.
Kurt stared at her. “So, is he around?”
“No.” Sydney bit her lip and glanced away, wondering if Kurt could hear her heart jackhammering in her chest. “I haven’t seen him. Have you?”
“If I had, I wouldn’t be asking you.”
“Oh. Right.” Sydney forced a laugh. “I think he must be sick.”
“Yeah. I guess.” Kurt gave her another curious glance, then shrugged. “Well, see you.”
“Sure.” He knew I was lying, Sydney thought as Kurt walked away. He could tell!
Sydney sighed. She was the one who told Emma they had to act normal today. But she had practically jumped out of her skin the first time anyone asked her about Jason.
At least the day is over, she thought as she approached her locker. She could go home. Take another long bath.
And try to forget about Jason.
As Sydney opened her locker, something slipped from the shelf and fell to the floor. She glanced down.
At her feet lay a small envelope, folded in half.
Huh? She hadn’t put any envelope in there. Maybe it was a flyer for a bake sale or something.
Curious, Sydney bent down and picked it up.
Her fingers touched something moist.
Mud. A smear of damp mud covered the front of the envelope.
Sydney shivered, remembering the muddy footprints on her carpet.
Get a grip, she told herself. It rained again this morning. Everything is muddy.
Sydney turned the envelope over. Something heavy slid to one corner.
She ran her fingers over the bulge. Definitely not a flyer.
Quickly, she ripped open the envelope and peered inside. Something gold glinted up at her.
Her hands shook as she slid it into her palm and stared at it.
A ring. A Shadyside High school ring, with the owner’s initials carved into it.
J. P.
Jason Phillips.
Jason’s ring, Sydney realized.