11

“I thought you weren’t talking to us,” Cole said when Parker approached him and Drew in the hall after class.

“It’s important,” Parker said.

Drew looked a little more concerned than Cole. “What’s up?”

“It’s Caroline. I heard her talking to Jennifer Kelly earlier today. She’s mad that Ms. Frasier thinks Yuan’s doing a good job, and I think she’s worried she’s going to lose more roles to her in the future.”

“So?” Cole said, opening his locker and grabbing a textbook. “Caroline’s always been like that.”

“I think she’s going to try to pull something on opening night.”

“Something like what?” Drew said.

“I don’t know. Something that could get Yuan hurt.”

Drew and Cole’s jaws clenched at that. Parker watched as they shared a look before visibly pushing aside their concern.

“What’s going on?” Yuan came up behind them. She didn’t bother to acknowledge that fact that Parker had avoided the three of them for the last few days.

“I think Caroline’s gonna try to sabotage your performance on opening night.”

Yuan’s mouth dropped slightly open in surprise. “Are you sure?”

“I heard her say that she was planning to make sure you had some kind of ‘accident.’”

They all stared at one another in silence for a moment.

Then Yuan said, “Why don’t we talk about this over lunch?”

“Assuming you don’t mind sitting with us again,” added Drew. Cole nodded agreement.

Parker felt his face creep into a smile. “Yeah.” The bell rang. “I’ll see you guys there.”

He kept his word. Instead of sitting alone, he ate with his friends that day. They avoided talking about his ability or anything related to it. It was like a little vacation from his worries. When Parker looked at the clock and saw there were only five minutes left of lunch, he blurted out, “I’m sorry I blew up at you guys the other day.”

Drew shrugged. “We shouldn’t have pushed so hard, and you were right, we don’t know what it’s like to be able to do . . .” he paused, waving a hand in Parker’s direction, “that.”

“We’re all sorry,” Yuan said. Cole nodded as she spoke.

The conversation quickly shifted to Caroline and what she might be planning.

“To be honest,” Yuan said, “I can’t really picture her trying to sabotage me. She’s always been the kind of person who has to get what she wants. But I have trouble believing that she’d actually do anything that would hurt a performance.”

“I didn’t get the sense that she’s worried about this show,” Parker said. “I think she’s worried about the next one and the one after that. She doesn’t like the idea of competition for the lead roles.”

“Yeah,” Drew said. “That sounds like her.”

“Let’s see what we can find out and take it from there,” Cole suggested as the bell rang.

For the rest of the day, Cole and Drew tried to find out if Caroline had anything planned, but it didn’t seem as if Caroline had confided in anyone else. Parker mentally reviewed everything Caroline had done during rehearsals. Aside from her usual passive-aggressive comments and a few snide remarks, he couldn’t think of anything suspicious.

Opening night was tomorrow. Parker tried to imagine how Caroline might sabotage Yuan. She could steal or damage Yuan’s costume, tamper with her microphone . . . or try to physically hurt her. Parker pictured Caroline tripping Yuan onstage, or pushing her down the stairs. It seemed extreme, but it also seemed like the easiest way for Caroline to put Yuan out of commission.

If she tries something like that, Parker thought, maybe I can use my ability to keep Yuan safe. But he didn’t know whether he was willing to use his ability again. He was still rattled from the dodgeball incident, and he saw his power as dangerous now. What if he tried to help Yuan and instead ended up hurting her—or hurting someone else?

But if something happened to Yuan and he did nothing to stop it, would he ever be able to forgive himself?