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Chapter 24

I found Christopher alone in the coI supposed I could have waited for lunch to bringWhen you realize you need to make a connection with someone, you know you have to do it as soon as possible, or you’ll lose the courage to do it at allAnd this was the only way I could think to do it‘Uently, careful not to startle hirossed in (Madden NFL again, I saw a minute later)He turned in his coh I was getting better at doing it myself This time I was in skinny jeans, velvet flats, a maroon cropped velvet jacket, and so many necklaces I rattled when I walked I had only just talked Lulu out of adding a beret That, I felt, was taking things one step too far I was a little bit proud ofHe had on another short-sleeved polo shirt, this one grey His hair was still wet at the back froood I wanted to die‘I broughtthe white laptop from my Marc Jacobs tote ‘You said yesterday you could set up ood tilanced at the wall-clock We had fifteen uess so,’ he said, and held out his hand for the computerHmmm If he had ‘pushed his love’ for ested, he had really pushed it down Why couldn’t I summon up some of Lulu’s awesoood at it, while I was as aard at it aswell, a gawky teen tomboy whose brain had been stuck in a supermodel’s bodyI handed Christopher my laptop and went to sit in the chair beside his He looked down at the glea – and obviously brand nehite co awayI tried to remember what Lulu had told htOnly how? What did Christopher and Nikki Howard have in co Except that they both went to Tribeca Alternative High SchoolOhand Journeyquest Right‘So as your high score?’ I asked hiht,’ he said without elaborationThis shocked lanced at me, startled ‘What?’‘No way did youthere wasn’t any way I could know this ‘How did you ons had incinerated our characters every time we’d approached the us fro it past level forty-six We’d searched the web for clues as to how to get past the aten,’ he explained si? Oh ht of that So you just threw theons were powerless in their lair,’ Christopher said He was really looking atwith me, Nikki Which made sense actually Because what kind of lunatic would look at Nikki Howard and suspect Em Watts was inside her? ‘What was your character’s name? Your Journeyquest character? Maybe I’ve seen you online ’And I realized I’d ive him my online character’s name, because then he’d knoas me, EmBut I couldn’t just make one up either, because it would be too easy for him to check‘Oh,’ I said breezily ‘I haven’t been online in ages And I doubt you’d ever have seen me, I keep really weird hours Besides, I don’t re ’He gave me a sceptical look and turned back to my computer screen ‘Um, yeah,’ he said ‘Sure ’Then suddenly he turned and threw lass of cold water in my face‘But you remembered you played,’ he saidI could have kicked myself‘Y-yeah, amnesia is weird that ay’ I stas But not others Like’And then, just like that, I said it I don’t knohy It was risky It was probably foolishIt was exactly the sort of thing, I realized, that Stark Enterprises had been using tracking software to find This hy it had been installed on Nikki and Lulu’s computers in the first place This hy Stark Enterprises had been so generous with abbing to the wrong people aboutwhat I was about to say, or saying it into a Stark-brand cellphone‘I rean to hammer Yet I couldn’t see aith itselfBut Lulu had said to make a connection This wasn’t the one I’d had in astore grand opening,’ I went onNothing happened I waited But no uns ca panelsWe were safeChristopher just stared at reen around the edges, and riht brown lashes instead of dark – wide and incredulousI didn’t bla with this eitherShut up, Em, my brain directed my mouth Or Nikki’s mouth Or whatever your name is now Just shut up Two ood The dae was done‘You remember what happened that day?’ Christopher asked finallyI looked down at ernails – which were fake, and still painted black – were perfect Just like the rest of me On the outsideToo bad no one could see that on the inside, I was a big old mess‘I remember you,’ I said ‘I remember how you came with your friend The one whodied ’When I said the word died, Christopher looked quickly away froers were frozen on the keyboard of my laptopBut it was too late to turn back I could only move forward‘Thatfor him ‘I meannot like you probably want to reht it up I justI wanted to say so to you about it when no one else was around You know, to tell you how badly I felt about it ’I had no idea if Frida was right about as troubling Christopher About hi Maybe he was just still recovering froht in front of him Anybody would have beenabout Christopher having had any special feelings beyond friendship forat his face, because he was keeping it turned away fro at my computer screen‘I’m just so, so sorry that that happened,’ I went on ‘I can’t tell you how sorry I am What happened was terrible Youhe wasn’t going to reply at all, he didn’t say anything for so longBut then he did He said, ‘Yeah ’And then his fingers started ainA o You’re all set ’And he closed my laptop, and handed it back to meJust like thatI felt my eyes fill with tears I couldn’t help it I couldn’t believe Lulu rong It wasn’t that I’d believed her stupid theory, exactly I mean, how dumb would you have to be to believe that all the boys in the world are a little bit in love with you? Sure, maybe it’s true for Lulu But ould Christopher ever have been in love with me?God, I couldn’t believe how asinine I’d beenI turned around and stuffed the laptop back intothe tears aith‘Thanks,’ I said ‘Well See you in Public Speaking ’I was halfway out the door when Christopher’s quiet voice stopped me in my tracks‘Nikki,’ he saidI froze I couldn’t turn around, because then he’d have seen the tears that had escaped fro down my cheeks‘Uh-huh?’ I said, to the wallHis voice was still qu

iet‘She wasdown my face, which I still kept hidden from him Suddenly I wanted to tell him the truth so, so badly I wanted to run over to hi my arms around him and say, ‘Christopher, it’s me! Em! I’m not dead! I’m in here! I know it’s crazy, but it’s true!’But I knew I couldn’t TwoanyI knew I shouldn’t – but that I also knew I had to – do The thing I toldI’d tried to talk ht of it, and that I would have left without doing, if he hadn’t just said those five little wordsI reached intoout of it, turned around, walked back over to him and slapped it down in front of himThen I turned and ran before he could ask low-in-the-dark dinosaur stickers on his desk