The Headmaster's List by Melissa de la Cruz

Author:Melissa de la Cruz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

TWENTY-ONE

THE LIBRARY IN THE MORNINGS at school was one of Spencer’s favorite places to be. The skylights overhead filtered in the warm morning light, draping the desks in a comforting haze of dust floating in the air. The librarian, Mrs. Patton, with her beaded glasses chain, always greeted her while she was reshelving books, never bothering to check up on her frequently, knowing full well that Spencer was hard at work studying. She would usually sit alone during her free period, catching up on homework or rewriting her notes in neater script, using different colored pens to draw attention to important details, which was what she was currently doing with her right hand.

Even though she’d gotten the cast removed yesterday, her left wrist felt stiff, and she had to keep stopping to rest, opting to use her right hand so as not to break her flow of concentration.

She was shaking out her wrist and rereading her notes when Jackson took his usual seat across from her at the table.

“Hey!” she said, smiling. “Good morning.”

“Morning! Your cast is off!” He put his backpack on the table and took out his textbooks and notebooks.

“Yeah, yesterday. It feels so weird. I’m getting used to having my hand back. When they took the cast off, my hand was all gray and wrinkly, like an old sock.”

Jackson scrunched his nose and laughed, amused and disgusted at the same time. “Gross! I didn’t want to picture that so early in the morning. Thanks.” Seeing him was a breath of fresh air.

Spencer found herself smiling more easily, especially with Jackson around. She bit her lip, guilty of this newfound warmth in her belly, and lowered her gaze to her notebook. Ethan used to make her happy. Sometimes. His spirit infected Spencer’s rigid habits, broke her down to bare desire. She’d wanted to date the hottest boy in school, and she did for a while. Did that make her truly happy, though? She wasn’t sure.

Jackson busied himself with his laptop, tugging at his lower lip with his thumb and index finger, lost in thought, as his eyes flicked back and forth on his screen. She watched him for a quiet moment, admiring the lip-pulling habit of his. Was he even aware of it, or was it just as natural as breathing to him? He looked at her, and she lowered her gaze, feeling like a creep for staring so long. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything.

“So, it took me forever, but I mapped out the entire night’s events at the party. Almost down to the minute.”

“Really? Great job!”

“Thanks! I mean, it’s not really groundbreaking stuff. Mostly drunk kids making out with one another and doing keg stands and stuff, but yeah. It’s all done.”

“What’d you find?”

“It occurred to me that maybe we’ve been focusing so much on recording your movement through the party, it’d be worth a shot looking for anyone else from the car. And … I found something that you might be interested in.”

He spun the laptop around and Spencer saw a video pulled up.

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