Marc turned pink and shrugged one shoulder. "I ate a kernel."
Everyone laughed and I let myself bask in the total peace and tranquility of the moment. For the
first time in so long I felt normal. I felt social. I felt warm. Over by the tree, students were lining up
to add their gifts to the pile, which was now overflowing into the aisle between tables in both
directions.
"So, who did you get in the gift thing?" Astrid asked me.
I gla
nced at Marc, who looked quickly away. "I'll never tell," I replied.
"Oh, rubbish! It's over now. You have to tell," Astrid wheedled.
I blushed and shook my head. The last thing I wanted was for all my friends to be watching Josh
when he opened his present. "Nope! Never!"
194
"God. I wish I had been there," Sonal whispered behind me.
"Been there for what?" I asked, tuning in and hoping to distract Astrid.
Sonal looked at Diana and Shane as if she had been snagged.
"When they dragged Ivy off," Shane answered for her. "Did you see anything?"
I glanced around to see if anyone was listening in, then took a step closer to Sonal, drawing the
entire group into a tighter circle. I had never been big on gossip and rumors, but for once there
was a story I was dying to spread. If only because this story might finally prove to everyone that I
was innocent.
"Not much," I admitted. "But Sabine and I heard the whole thing. It sounded like they were pretty
convinced she had something to do with Cheyenne's death."
Of course, I'd heard nothing of the sort. But I knew what I knew.
"The girl is definitely guilty," Sabine put in. "You could see it all over her face."
"You must be freaking out, Reed," Constance said. "I mean, Josh is dating her."
"I know," I replied, my heart sinking.
I looked over my shoulder again and immediately found Josh in the mingling throng. I had been
paying attention to his whereabouts all night. He had been sticking close to his usual crowd, Trey,
Weston Bright, and the other guys from Ketlar--and seemed to be having a good time, considering
his girlfriend was in police custody. Was it because he couldn't care less about Ivy, or because