10

It was a major case of déjà vu. The morning was exactly the way she remembered it. Kids were dressed the same as they’d been the day before. They said all the same things.

When Jenae scrunched her nose and read the menu board at lunch, Mari knew she was going to say, “Marvelous meat loaf? It’s the last day of school. They could at least serve pizza!”

As usual, they sat with Nic, Aaron, and Annalise. As they discussed the bonfire, Mari predicted every word uttered by her friends. When Nic teased her for wanting the world to hug trees and kiss fishes, Mari knew that was her cue. She turned and looked at the precise spot she knew Evan would be sitting. The sight of him made her palms instantly sweat.

“You have to go to the bonfire,” Nic was saying for the second time. “Everyone’s going to be there.”

“Yeah. And everyone’s going to have a date. Except me.”

Once again, her friends encouraged her to ask Evan out, and once again, Mari agreed to do it.

But this time was different.

This time she really would.

She’d been given a second chance—and she wasn’t going to let it slip through her fingers.

* * *

After lunch, Mari headed to Evan’s locker. It didn’t surprise her one bit that he wasn’t there. She found herself glancing up at Aaron’s locker, number 721. She bit her lip and looked around. She was the only person in these halls who knew what was inside that locker. No, she silently corrected herself, someone else knew. The person responsible for the dangerous prank.

Remembering her fall, she reached up to rub her left shoulder. She almost laughed as she realized it didn’t hurt. Of course it didn’t—she hadn’t injured it yet! She lifted the shoulder up and down, telling herself to enjoy the pain-free range of motion while it lasted.

She walked over to the poster advertising the bonfire. As she stared up at it, she thought about second chances. Did her do-over just apply to asking Evan out? Could she change other parts of the day? Could she maybe not fall on her butt and make a huge fool of herself?

Just then she saw Chelsea and her friend walking down the hallway. They approached the drinking fountain.

Last time, Mari had stood in line behind them and eavesdropped on their conversation. Now she knew what they would say. And she wanted to experiment.

She hurried toward the fountain, reaching it just before the two girls. She bent and took a long, slow drink. Behind her, Chelsea told her friend about the outfit she’d chosen for the party. This time, Mari had a picture-perfect image in her mind of the red blouse with the scoop neck and peekaboo sleeves.

This time, when the shorter girl told Chelsea to “chill,” they were still waiting for their turn at the fountain. Mari delayed, taking as long as she could. Finally, she straightened. Instead of walking away, she turned to Chelsea and said, “Bless you.”

One second later, Chelsea sneezed.

As Mari continued down the hall, she heard Chelsea’s friend say, “That was weird.” She kept walking, wanting to be out of the danger zone when the balls tumbled out of Aaron’s locker. A short distance away, she leaned against a wall as though waiting for a friend. Her eyes scanned the crowd. She was looking for Evan, but if anyone asked she’d say she was meeting up with Jenae.

Finally, she saw Evan approach.

A thrill went through Mari. Like she was watching a movie, anticipating a jump scare. In her mind, the soundtrack was speeding up. This time, she was at a safe enough distance to enjoy the show.

She watched Evan put in the combination on his lock and swing open the locker door. There was a slight hint of a smile on his lips.

Mari’s insides quivered. She remembered poor Mr. Motoyama being tended to after his injury. Suddenly she wondered, Should I have tried to stop the prank? But there was no time. Aaron had nearly reached his locker. Mari couldn’t prevent it from happening, so she settled for trying to spot anyone looking guilty or suspicious in the crowd.

Evan turned then, jolting Mari back to the present. He was looking at Aaron, who’d just reached up to his own locker. He’d probably said, “Hi, dude,” or another Aaron-like greeting.

Then the avalanche of golf balls rushed from Aaron’s locker. They hit the floor and bounced in all directions. Mari watched Aaron closely this time. He really did look surprised. His mouth fell open and his eyes were wide.

Someone yelled, “Pranked!” and Evan doubled over in laughter.

Mari watched as Chelsea teetered and tried to right herself. Then she fell backward, landing on her butt in the middle of the hallway.

Kids pointed and laughed. She couldn’t help but laugh too—and then instantly felt ashamed. She wasn’t behaving any better than Chelsea and her friend had when their roles were reversed.

Chelsea’s face turned a bright red. Her friend reached down to help her up.

The warning bell rang, and Mari started toward the gym.

“Hurry up, Maribel,” a voice called as she rounded the corner. “Or you’ll be late for class.”

“I will.” She cast a glance over her shoulder and saw Mr. Motoyama, the science teacher, emerging from a classroom.

Mari’s stomach lurched at the memory of the teacher leaning against the wall with a bloody rag in his hand. He’d needed stitches for a deep gash on his forehead.

If she didn’t act quickly, history would soon repeat itself.