The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

Author:Paula Stokes [Stokes, Paula]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780062238429
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 2014-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

“KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENEMY’S DISPOSITIONS CAN ONLY BE OBTAINED FROM OTHER MEN.”

—SUN TZU, The Art of War

I dream the same dream all night. It’s the first day of senior year. I’m at my locker when the lights fade and rock music starts to pulse from the intercom speakers. Micah appears in front of me, out of nowhere. He reaches out to touch my hair but it feels all wrong, like an alien has taken over his body. And then I notice he’s wearing Jason’s soccer uniform. I push him away and he floats backward across the hall. Two girls dressed all in black look up from where they’re seated cross-legged on the floor, no doubt copying each other’s homework. Ebony and Amber. Neither of them even go to Hazelton High, but you can’t argue with a dream. Ebony pulls a plastic-looking gun from her purse and points it at me. I recoil backward against my locker as a teal paintball explodes across my chest. “Matches your streak,” Ebony says. She, Amber, and Micah all start to melt into the wall behind them. As they disappear, the lights come back and the music fades. I’m standing in the hallway all alone, covered in paint.

Not real, I tell myself, but the dream starts again. And again. It’s on infinite repeat and no matter what I do, I can’t find my way out of the loop.

Until my phone chimes with a message.

I sit up, relieved to be in my room, relieved not to be covered in teal paint. The previous night plays in my head like a song. The concert. The swirly blue lights. The almost irresistible urge to throw myself at Micah.

And then the dream.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I check my phone to see who saved me. Bianca—of course.

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