The Leaving Season by Cat Jordan

Author:Cat Jordan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-01-22T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER thirteen

Haley and I navigated a crowded cafeteria a couple of days later as a team of school council members were decorating the room for Halloween. Black and orange streamers fell in crisscrossing swaths while paper skeletons danced on the walls.

“So you were deep into studying—is that what you’re telling me?” Haley asked as we both dodged glittery black cats made of crepe paper.

“Chemistry,” I said, nearly blushing at the memory of Lee naked in the creek. “So many pop quizzes, you know?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I just needed some more time with the books, so I shut my phone off,” I went on. “Didn’t even see your message till last night.”

Haley slid into an empty chair at our table. I hated lying to my best friend, but I knew it would just make her mad to know the truth. Studying was a better alternative to skinny-dipping with Lee.

“Messages,” she said, emphasizing the last syllable. “Yeah, okay. As long as you’re all right.” She held my gaze for a long moment, scrutinizing me even as she unpacked her lunch. “You look . . . I don’t know . . . refreshed?”

I nodded and quickly glanced into my own bagged lunch before she could read anything on my face. “Oh yeah. Got some extra sleep.”

Haley smiled. “Good. Sleep is good.”

“Hey! Did you see the decorations?” Katrina asked as she sat opposite us at the table. Debra took a seat seconds later.

“I think the giant jack-o’-lantern is new this year,” Haley said as she bobbed her head toward the caf entrance, where a couple of girls were maneuvering a big soft-sided pumpkin. “Cute.”

“Halloween is my very favorite holiday,” Katrina said, although this was not news to us at all.

“Because we celebrate things that are orange? Like your hair?” Debra teased.

“Ha, ha. I’ve been working on the haunted house.” Katrina immediately got down to business, pulling a small notebook out of her purse and opening it to a page filled with blue pen scribbles. She pushed aside her salad to make room for her notes.

Every year she, Debra, and Haley volunteered to work at a haunted house that raised money for local charities. They dressed up as witches and vampires to scare kids and their parents, who paid a few bucks to walk through an old house decorated like something from The Addams Family.

“I don’t want to be a witch this year,” Haley said. “I’d rather be a zombie.”

Katrina consulted her notebook. “Okay, I think we can do that.”

“Oh, me too!” Debra said.

“You can’t both be zombies.”

“Why not?”

“Because I need some witches too. Every haunted house has to have a witch.”

Listening to them gently bicker about costumes and makeup reminded me that this year I wouldn’t be celebrating Halloween like I normally did: with Nate, handing out candy at his parents’ house. Maybe this was the year to try something new.

“Hey, I’ll be a witch,” I heard myself say. The girls turned to me.

“You will?” Katrina asked. When I nodded, she picked up her pen and began jotting notes.

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