The Darkness Rises by Stacy Stokes

Author:Stacy Stokes [Stokes, Stacy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2024-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

22

I arrived at the rec center fifteen minutes early, but Penny had already beaten me there. Which figured—she treated on-time arrivals with the same competitive spirit she did just about everything else in life.

She was in the far corner of the mirror-covered room, her nose pressed to her knee in a stretch. My stomach twisted. It was hard to imagine that this girl I’d grown up with—no matter how much we hated each other now—might have something to do with what happened to Gams. Still, I couldn’t be sure. And I wasn’t leaving here until I had answers.

“Good, you’re here.” She sat up. Her voice had an exasperated edge to it, like I’d kept her waiting.

She shoved a stack of papers marking formations in my direction and motioned for me to join her on the floor. These days, most people asked how I was doing, or at least offered half-hearted condolences about Gams. But not Penny.

“I thought we’d start by running through formations,” she said, barely looking at me. “Then I can record you doing the routine from a few different angles so I have it for reference.”

“Okay.” I took a seat beside her on the floor and spread out my notes.

We walked through the formations while I studied her face, looking for clues that she was hiding something.

She shoved a page covered in tiny X’s at me and jabbed at the transition notes. “Don’t you think the front line should stay in the front? I really don’t like the idea of moving the weaker dancers too far forward. It lets the judges key in on our flaws.”

“Or it shows them that you don’t have any flaws. All the other teams will keep the same dancers in the front row. If you move the lines around, you show them that the entire team is strong.”

Penny made a hmm sound, then jotted down a few notes. The determined look on her face reminded me of when we used to perform together as kids. Before we’d go onstage, she would squeeze my hand and say, “You’ve got this, Whitney,” with such unabashed confidence that it melted my nerves. When did things between us sour so much that I’d be able to suspect her of stalking me?

“What?” she asked, brows furrowing together.

“Nothing.” I shook my head and tried to shake off whatever hesitations I was having. Until proven otherwise, Penny was still a suspect. Which meant Penny could still be dangerous.

I plastered on a smile and launched into my questions.

“So what other classes are you taking? Did you manage to get a study period like Marissa? I feel like I’m the only senior without last period free.” I made a face, like this was the worst possible thing I could imagine. Like I wasn’t probing into her schedule to find out if she had any flexibility to leave school.

“I’m an office aide last period.” She smirked, unable to miss an opportunity to brag. “Which is basically as good as getting an off-period.”

“Wow, you’re so lucky,” I said.

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