Melissa Darnell - Crave

“Here’s her stuff,” I told Anne, holding out Savannah’s backpack and books.

Anne’s eyes narrowed as she snatched them from me then set them in Savannah’s lap.

Savannah’s head never lifted from the seat’s headrest.

I waited until the car exited the parking lot. Then I turned and started for the field house.

“Hey!” Anne’s voice stopped me, but I didn’t face her as she caught up with me. “Why’d you do that?”

Unsure what to say, I settled for a shrug.

“You know, if you’re trying to make people think you’re nice, it usually works better to have an audience to see it.”

“Whatever.”

She muttered something that sounded like “egomaniac.” Man, Savannah had the worst taste in friends lately. I rolled my eyes and walked away.

Tristan

I looked for Savannah at lunch the next day, even trading seats with Dylan so I could have a better view of her friends’ table. But she never showed up. Wednesday, I traded seats with Dylan again, thinking she’d have to be back by then. But she was nowhere in sight, and her seat stayed empty. She didn’t show up for algebra that afternoon, either.

Algebra had never been so boring or lasted so long.

By Friday’s lunch period, Savannah was still missing. Which didn’t exactly put me in the mood to deal with Dylan’s latest show of attitude.

“Hey, man, trade seats with me again,” I told him, keeping one eye on the cafeteria doors in case Savannah walked through.

Dylan didn’t move, staying slouched in his seat. “Why should I?”

“Because your spot’s got the better view, and I need to watch out for … something.”

Dylan smirked. “Trying to check out the chicks, huh?”

It was as good an excuse as any, and basically true. “Yeah. Now are you gonna trade or what?” I tried not to show my impatience. Otherwise he’d take twice as long to move just to mess with me.

“And what if I don’t? You gonna call Daddy and have him and the other elders spank me at the next Clann meeting?”

I glared at him. Man, he could be such a pain sometimes. It was just a chair!

He snickered. “Okay, okay, don’t get your panties in a wad. I’m moving.” Slower than a resident at the local elderly home, he peeled himself out of the chair, then made a big show of bowing over it. “Your throne, Prince Tristan.” Letting out a long, slow breath, I sat down. He took his time making the four short steps around the table to my old seat. Once in it, he proceeded to sit and stare at me for the rest of the lunch break, sorely tempting me to punch him.

What was with him lately? We’d been best friends growing up. But something about starting high school this year seemed to have set him off. All year long, I’d been getting more and more attitude from him. Like he resented me because my father led the Clann or something. Or maybe it was because my family wanted me to be the next Clann leader? Except that didn’t make sense, either. Dylan knew better than anyone how much I just wanted to be normal and live my own life, not the one my parents wanted for me.

So why the sudden attitude from him all the time? Whatever. Dylan’s issues with the Clann and its leadership weren’t my problem. Right now, my problem was figuring out what was wrong with Savannah.

No way was it normal for her to miss a whole week of school. I couldn’t remember a single day when I hadn’t been able to catch at least one glimpse of her in the halls between classes. She’d always been around somewhere, just waiting to suck the air out of my lungs and hit me with that ache in my chest and gut every time I saw her. I needed information. Fast.

I waited till algebra ended, then followed Anne to the outer walkway. “Hey, Anne. Wait a minute.”

She looked over her shoulder at me, huffed, then walked away faster.

Fighting back a snarl, I jogged to close the distance. She never stopped walking even after I caught up with her. Not that it was hard to keep up with her short legs.

“Listen, I….” Okay, how should I ask for updates about someone without giving the wrong impression?

With a sigh, Anne jerked to a halt. “You know, your sense of self-entitlement really knows no end, does it?”

Huh?

She glared at me. “Right. Too many big words. Moving on. I suppose you’re trying to be nosy and ask about a certain sick person?”

Surprised she’d already guessed what I wanted, I nodded in silence.

She hesitated, as if thinking about what to say. “I’ll tell you, but you’ve gotta tell me something first.”

“Okay?”

“Why do you care?”

“Uh …” Now how was I supposed to answer that one? “Let’s get something straight, Coleman. Savannah is really nice.”

“I know.” She’d have to be to pick you for a friend, I added silently.

“So she deserves someone nice. Not a player who just sees her as some sort of challenge.”

Was that how Savannah thought of me, too … as a player? I shrugged off the question for now. “Aren’t you kind of laying it on thick here? All I’m asking is if she’s okay. Nothing more. No big deal.” I tried my smoothest smile on her, the one that even won over the dragon ladies in the front office.

“Fine. In that case …”

My heart missed a beat.

“She’s not dead.” She turned and walked away.

Something hot and furious that had been building in my chest all week exploded. I yelled to her, “That’s all you’re going to tell me?”

“Yep. That’s all you get, Coleman,” she yelled back without stopping or turning her head. “You want more information, go buy it from somebody else.”

Unbelievable.

It took a few seconds for me to calm down enough to see straight. When I could, I stomped off toward the main hallway and my locker. Too bad it was the off-season and we were mostly focusing on weight and cardio training. Otherwise I could have at least hit something during football practice.

In the main hall, I spotted one of Savannah’s other friends. Michelle something. She was an office aide during first period every day and was a whole lot nicer than Evil Anne.

I took a chance, leaning against the locker beside Michelle’s. I gave her a smile and hoped it worked better this time around. “Hey, Michelle, how’s it going?”

She turned pink, always a good sign, and giggled. “Fine, and you?”

“Good.” Switching strategies, I tried not to show any personal interest this time. “Listen, some of the girls at lunch were talking about your friend Savannah Colbert. They said she’s missed a lot of school this week, and they’re pretty worried about her. Sounded like they were thinking about sending her a get-well card or something. I told them I knew you and would ask how she was doing. You wouldn’t happen to have any updates I could pass along, would you?”

“Oh! That’s nice of them. I heard she’s doing okay. I’m not sure when she’s supposed to be back at school, though.”

That wasn’t the kind of news I wanted to hear. “Huh. Sounds like she caught something pretty serious, then. Did you get to talk to her?”

“No, just her grandma. You know, Mrs. Evans didn’t actually say what was wrong with Savannah, now that I think about it.” Her smile turned hesitant. “If you want, I could call them again tonight and find out more details.”

Her head tilted to the side like a bird’s as she inspected my expression. She was getting too curious. Not good. “Aw, it’s no big deal. I’m sure the girls were just a little worried about her. I’ll tell them she’s okay.” I straightened away from the lockers. “But hey, let me know if you hear any updates?”