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I take the flute fro hard in ton Oh my God How can you stand there and talk to ? You tried to kill ht," Chris proet! "That was you, wasn’t it?"

I pretend to suddenly recover ue about the tingly awareness I feel all up and down my aro of rip hadn’t been unpleasant Not at all

But isn’t that weird? Ias how he’s a killer, and all?

Weird

"I’m fine," he says

He looks fine His tux isthan his father’s Instead of a bow tie, though, Chris wears a regular tie Soht

"Actually, I’oes on "I really hate these things Don’t you?"

"Oh," I say with a shrug "I don’t know It isn’t that bad At least there’s alcohol"

I down the chale s, despite Cooper’s warning about drinking on the job After the shock Chris has givenup on me like that, I feel like I sort of deserve it

Chris, watching hs

"So, who’re are you here with?" he wants to know "Those tickets aren’t cheap Are you one of the student reps?"

I shrug again Detective Canavan had said that in his experience, people who kill are excessively stupid, and I’ht actually be true The fact that I’overnister on hi to be all sneaky and undercover to get him to slip up and confess and stuff Not that I have any idea how I’ to do this, of course

And at least Chris, unlike some people, seeaze stray towardapart in the back and everything is hanging loose I know because I check

The band starts playing a slow tune To my surprise, some couples actually wander out onto the library’stheton lead his wife out onto the dance floor with a sweeping bow that has the trustees laughing and applauding

It’s kind of sweet, actually

At least until Mrs Allington trips on her bell-bottoms and alton whirls her around and ineered on purpose

Which is even sweeter Maybe Chris isn’t as unlucky as I’d originally thought In his parentage, I ain, this ti it down on the tray of a passing waiter "Wanna dance?"

My head whips around so fast to look at hi strand of loss

"What?" I ask, desperately trying to remove it The hair, I rin is slightlyat the New York College Pansy Ball is kind of…well, goobery Still, he wants to let rin of the high school football captain, the handsoood looks that it never even occurs to hiht say No way, Jose to his invitation Probably because no girl ever has