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When his hand was atainst each other as he led the way He pulled me closer than I was co that not so long ago I had wondered what it ainst Max With Paris, it was just the opposite; I was repelled by his touch, , his hands insistent, and he leaned in close

I glanced around, trying not to feel nervous as his alcohol-laced breathwith thewith it, only half dancing, and only half following the beat I wondered how far into the song we already were, and how soon I could make an unnoticeable escape

"You have pretty eyes," he coainstto re enough to noticemy head away fro the song would hurry up and end already

But it wasn’t a pause in theI wasn’t prepared for So I could never be prepared for

The roar of the sirens exploded as if the sound was echoing froht These weren’t the bleats of the curfew

I felt frozen in place,out around h I could scarcely hear the shoved froainst one another in an effort to escape the park, to seek cover To find refuge

I searched for Brooklynn I had just seen her! But now I couldn’t locate her amid the confusion and the press of bodies

"Brooklynn!" I yelled out, but my voice was lost in the coe, fell to the ground in the crush to get away Aher square in the head She tried to get out of the way of the others, crawling across the ground toward the edge of the path, her fingers clawing at the dirt beneath her, but she couldn’tdazed as blood trickled down the side of her face

The nized her

It was Sydney, the Counsel girl from the Academy who taunted us e passed on our way to school each day The one who had coht andI couldn’t understand what she’d said

Before I could telltoward her I was jostled B Ajostled and buet to her, each individual on a mission to save only themselves

By the time I reached her, I alainst body, and I was nearly swept past her