Бри Деспейн - The Dark Divine

April's demeanor changed immediately. Her eyes softened, and she brushed her fingers through her hair. "Oh, my gosh. He looked so sad last night when I came looking for you at your house. And then this morning I heard Lynn Bishop--her brother is an Oak Park paramedic--talking about Maryanne Duke in the hall. I heard her say that Jude and your father had something to do with it. But I couldn't tell what she was saying. And these guys in bio were going on about the Markham Street Monster."

I shook my head. "You know the monster's just a story, right? Besides, Maryanne doesn't--didn't--live on Markham." I knew it was just a story--one I hadn't heard since I was a kid--but it gave me chills to hear people talk about the monster again. And I also knew not living on Markham didn't make one immune from strange happenings, either. I hadn't been able to get the memory of my mutilated little dog out of my head since I'd heard about Maryanne.

"Yeah, but what happened to Maryanne wasn't a story," April said. "And why is everyone saying that Jude was involved?"

I glanced up at the window of Barlow's office. Barlow was on the phone, and he looked like he was going to be a while. April seemed genuinely concerned, and I really wanted to talk to someone about what had happened. I lowered my voice so no one else (especially Lynn) could hear, and I told April about how Jude had found the body and how the Dukes blamed my father. I told her about the aftermath, too. How Jude had freaked out and how my parents had fought.

April gave me a hug. "It's going to be okay."

But how could she know that? She hadn't felt how strange it was to eat dinner at the table by myself, or heard the way my parents shouted at each other. But I guess

April would know how those things felt. She moved here when her parents split when she was fourteen, and her mom's work hours had been getting longer and longer lately. I'd invited her to our Thanksgiving dinner so she wouldn't have to spend the day alone.

None of that seemed "okay" to me.

Barlow came out of his office. He dumped a box of empty Pepsi cans on his desk and went to work without any instruction to the class.

"Do you want to go to the cafe for lunch today?" I asked April. "Jude totally wouldn't mind if we just showed up. In fact, I think he could use the change."

April bit her lip. "Okay," she said. "He could probably use some consoling." She half frowned, but trembled in that excited way of hers.

LUNCH

It usually took a lot of coaxing to get April to come with me to the Rose Crest Cafe. And the few times she had come, she'd hung back from the group with Miya, Claire, Lane, and a few of the other juniors who watched the seniors with nervous reverence. April was so like my old dog Daisy that way. She had a lot of yap and spunk when it was just the two of us, but she totally cowered in most social situations.

Except today she seemed like a totally different breed.

We had been there only long enough to order our food before she was the center of attention, talking animatedly about her trip to Hollywood with her dad last summer.

Brett Johnson and Greg Divers were practically drooling at her feet, but when Jude came through the door, she ditched them and went to his side. Within a matter of minutes, they were sitting together in a corner booth. April patted his hand sympathetically as he spoke to her in low, confidential tones.

"Wow," Pete said as he pulled up a chair next to me. "I can't believe April's cracked his stoic shell." He tipped his soda can toward Jude. "I haven't gotten a word out of him all day. In fact, he's been acting strange for almost a week now."

"I know what you mean," I said, and picked at the uneaten sandwich on my tray.

"You doing okay?" Pete asked.

"Yeah. Just tired of being sad." What's weird is that the only time I hadn't felt sad or hurt all day was the few minutes I'd spent with Daniel. But maybe that's just because he's so darn aggravating.

Pete tapped his soda can. "Well, I had fun the other night," he said with a slight upturn in his voice like it was a question.

"Me, too," I said, even though "fun" wasn't how I'd describe Friday evening.

"I plan on calling in that rain check for bowling, you know." Pete grinned. "It'll give me a chance to prove I've got better skills than my ability to fix a car."

"Good." I glanced down at my tray. "But give me some time."

Pete's'grin wavered. "Oh, okay." He started to scoot away.

"Things are really crazy right now," I said quickly. "You know, with Maryanne and Thanksgiving and everything. I just won't have time for a ... uh ... date for a while." I half smiled. "I am looking forward to it, though."

"I'll take your word for it," he said.

"See you in chem." I jumped out of my seat. "I'll let you be my shoulder to cry on when we get our tests back," I said, and went to collect my best friend from my brother.

FIFTH PERIOD

"Jude asked me out for coffee this afternoon!" April squealed as we crossed the street to the school.

"That's nice." I kept walking, my feet keeping pace with the chirping of the crosswalk meter.

"That's it?" April padded up behind me. "You're supposed to freak out and jump and down for joy with me." She grabbed my sleeve. "Are you mad?"

"No." Yes. "I am excited for you." Not. "It's just that..." You're supposed to be my best friend. "Jude's acting really weird lately. Now doesn't seem like the best time for you to try to be his girlfriend."

"Or maybe now is when he needs a girlfriend the most," she said with a trill of excitement. "Come on, Grace. Be happy for me. You went out with Pete, and he's one of

Jude's best friends." She smiled all sheepish and innocent. "And it's just coffee anyway."

I smiled. "Just coffee, huh?"

"Okay, so the best freaking cup of coffee I'll ever have!" April popped on her toes. "Come on, be excited for me."

I laughed. "Okay, I'm excited."

We got to class a few minutes before the bell. Daniel leaned back in his seat, tearing scratch paper into strips and rolling them into tiny wads. I had to pass him to get to my supply bucket. My back was to him when I felt something plink against my head. A paper ball landed at my feet.

"Hey, Grace," Daniel stage-whispered.

I ignored him and rummaged in my bucket. Another paper ball hit my head and stuck in my hair. I nonchalantly dislodged it.

"Graa-ciee," he intoned like a hyena calling its prey.

I collected my supplies and made my way back to my seat. He flicked another paper wad, and it bounced off my cheek. I kept my eyes averted. I wanted to be finished with him. I wanted to tell myself that I'd fulfilled my duty. I'd done what I said I was going to do. But really, I knew I hadn't. Getting him back into this class was just the first phase of my plan. I still had to find out what had happened between Daniel and Jude so I could fix it. And since Jude wasn't going to tell me, I knew I had to get that information from Daniel. But I couldn't face him yet. I still hated the way he'd made me want to forget--even for a moment--who I was.

How could I help Daniel find his way, without losing mine?

AFTER SCHOOL

"So what are you going to do?" April asked as we hiked through the parking lot separating the school from the parish.

I unrolled my chem test and stared at the red D marked on the page, followed by a scribbled note from Mrs. Howell: Please have parent sign your test. Return after the holiday. "I don't know," I said. "Dad usually handles this sort of thing the best, but I don't want to bug him right now. And Mom's all hopped up in Martha Stewart mode, so if I show her this, she'll probably make me drop art next semester."

"No way," April said. "Maybe you should sign it yourself."

"Yeah, right. You know I can't do that." I rolled the test up again and stuck it into my back pocket. "He's here!" April yelped.