Dead Is Not an Option (12 page)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Ryan came up
to me after Mr. Bone had left.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Mr. Bone is convinced they've captured the leader of the Scourge," I explained.

"That's great news," he said. "Now let's enjoy the rest of the night. We need to have memories to hold on to when we're apart."

"You're right," I said. "C'mon, let's dance."

After all the excitement, it was nice to go back to pretending that a dance in Nightshade could be normal. As Ryan whirled me around, I vowed to let go of my cares and just enjoy the moment.

We danced until almost everyone else had left. It was very late, but I didn't want to budge from where I was.

Ryan brushed a stray curl out of my eyes and said, "I could stay like this all night."

I didn't notice when Slim came into the tent, but he cleared his throat and said, "It's closing time, kids."

I looked up at Ryan and gave him a wry grin. "Apparently we're overstayed our welcome."

Ryan and I pulled apart reluctantly and went to find Sean and Sam. They weren't in the tent, but we eventually found them in a booth in the restaurant, splitting a sundae.

"Are you guys ready to head to my house?" I asked them.

"We'll be right behind you," Sam said.

As Ryan and I headed for the door, Lil started a new song, "Mistaken Identity" by Kim Carnes. I ignored it at first, but then she followed that quickly with "Wrong" by Depeche Mode and then "The One That Got Away" by Bon Jovi. Lil was definitely trying to tell me something.

I turned to Ryan. "I think Lil's trying to tell me that someone else is still out there."

She repeated the songs while we stood and listened.

Finally, Ryan said, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That there's still another member of the Scourge on the loose? Yes."

"Not only that," he said slowly. "But it sounds like Lil doesn't think Trinity is the leader."

"Then who is?" I replied. The whole way home, I pondered Lil's clues.

My parents were in the family room. There was a bowl of popcorn between them and a movie in the DVD player. They were waiting up for us and pretending not to.

Dad yawned and stretched unconvincingly. "How was the dance?" he asked.

"It was fun," I said. I hesitated. "Except—"

Mom cut me off. "Ryan's dad called us and told us what happened."

"I've already been to the precinct to identify her," Dad reassured me. "I recognized her voice."

"So she was the one who drugged you?" I asked.

He faltered for a minute. "I still don't remember that part," he said.

Ryan and I exchanged glances. I shook my head. I didn't want to tell my dad about the jukebox's clue until I'd had time to process Lil's message. Besides, Dad looked like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

Dad could barely restrain his glee. "They're finally out of my life for good."

"That's great, Dad," I said.

"Now I think it's time for bed," Mom said.

I remembered something. "I invited Sean and Samantha to watch movies with us. It's okay, right?"

Mom nodded. "I always sleep better when I know you're in the house. Why don't you see if Samantha wants to sleep over?"

"There's not much of the night left," I pointed out. "A bunch of us are supposed to meet at the Donut Hole for breakfast at six a.m."

"Well, see if she wants to stay over anyway," Dad said. "Spenser is out of town."

"He is?" I was surprised. I was certain Sam said he'd given her the earrings
today.

"He's been gone for over a week. Book tour stuff," he replied. "Can you believe it?"

I couldn't. Mr. Devereaux wasn't telling the truth about the book tour. If Sam had seen him today, he must be in town, but he wasn't going to work for some reason.

My dad gave me an odd look, and I realized I'd been lost in thought. He was still waiting for a reply.

I shrugged. "Sam didn't mention it."

My parents said good night. Ryan and I settled in on the couch and were enjoyably engaged when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Ryan said. He came back with Sean and Sam.

"You haven't put the movie in yet," Sam said.

Ryan blushed revealingly. "We were waiting for you."

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" Sean said.

"What do you guys want to watch first?" I asked. "We have
Alien,
all the
Terminators,
and old-school
Planet of the Apes,
"

I fell asleep halfway through
Terminator 2,
and when I woke up I was wrapped in Ryan's arms, on the couch. He was dreaming—I could tell by the way his eyelids twitched. I glanced over at the other couch. Sam and Sean were asleep, scrunched up in the love seat.

I stayed as still as I could and relished the feeling of being held safe in my boyfriend's arms, until Sean let out a loud snore and shattered the moment.

Out the window, I could see the first pink rays of dawn. I tried to go back to sleep, but the puzzles dancing around in my brain wouldn't let me. I finally gave up and carefully slid out of Ryan's arms and tiptoed to the kitchen to make coffee.

The smell of brewing coffee must have woken everyone up, because one by one they staggered into the kitchen.

I handed Ryan a cup and then the sugar bowl. He had a sweet tooth, but not in an eat-every-donut-in-sight doppelganger sort of way.

"Do you feel like heading for the breakfast thing?" I asked.

"Why not?" he replied.

"I'm always up for donuts," Sean said.

"I'm a mess," Sam said. "I need to go home and shower first."

"Take one here," I suggested.

While Ryan and Sean went next door to clean up at Sean's house, Sam and I freshened up. After her shower, Sam dug into her tote bag for a change of clothes.

More new clothes, I noticed. Even the bag was new. She got dressed and then slipped on a thick gold bracelet.

"Is that from Sean?" I asked.

"Daddy brings me back something from every trip," she said. "And he's been gone a lot lately. But I don't mind a few guilt presents." For a minute she sounded like the old Sam, my nemesis and total stuck-up cheerleader.

"So, everything's going well ... financially?"

She shrugged. "I guess so. Daddy never tells me anything. Now, get in the shower or we'll be late and all the good donuts will be gone." That was definitely the Sam I knew and loved. Snarky Sam would never have eaten a donut, let alone admitted that she was looking forward to it.

Some of our classmates were already there. We waved to Jordan and Rachel and their dates through the window. They'd put a bunch of little tables together to form one enormous table.

Ryan and Sean went to place our order while Sam and I joined the group.

I sat next to Lilah. She wore spanking-new UC Santa Barbara sweats, and her hair was still wet, probably from an early-morning dip in the ocean.

"Nice sweats," I said. "Is that where you're going?"

"Yup," she said. "They have a great art program, and it's practically on the beach."

"Are you going to sing?" I asked without thinking.

Brian Miller looked up at our conversation. "Sing?" he said incredulously. "Lilah?"

Lilah gave me a little wink that no one else caught. "Daisy, everyone knows I can't sing a note."

Not unless she's in mermaid form, that is,
I thought. She had a voice meant to lure sailors to the sea. If Brian ever heard her real voice, he wouldn't know what hit him.

My question started an avalanche of conversation about college plans. Everyone chattered away about it while I sat in silent misery. I was the unwanted one, going nowhere, doing nothing.

"What about you, Daisy?" Rachel asked.

The question was well-intentioned, but it brought a lump to my throat. I could practically see a neon Loser sign flash above my head. I pushed away my donut and mumbled something about a culinary-arts class, which, compared to their plans, sounded about as glamorous as being a professional file clerk.

It was the sympathetic looks that really got to me. Obviously, everyone had already heard that I hadn't even gotten a reply from a single college. I got up from the table. "I need to check my work schedule," I said in a tiny voice, then fled the donut shop without looking back.

I took refuge at Slim's, which was right across the street from the Donut Hole. I sat at the counter, and Flo took one look at me and made me a giant vanilla latte topped with a mountain of whipped cream.

"What's the problem, Daisy?" she asked.

"I'm a loser," I said. I took a sip of my coffee and nearly burned my tongue. "See? I can't even drink coffee properly."

"Why do you think you're a loser?" she asked.

"Because I'm going nowhere. Everyone else is leaving for college and I'm stuck here."

"I know how you feel," she replied.

"You do?" The surprise was apparent in my voice.

She raised an eyebrow. "Did you think I always wanted to be a waitress at a diner?" she said wryly.

"I guess not," I said. Truth be told, I hadn't thought about it much at all. Before now.

"What happened?"

"Our parents died and I felt compelled to stay in Nightshade with my brother," she said. "It was the right thing to do, and I don't regret it. Sometimes you have to make the hard choice, Daisy. But make sure you're the one doing the choosing."

"Thanks for the coffee, Flo," I said. "And the talk."

Ryan met me on my way back to the donut shop. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I lied. "I just needed to check the schedule, that's all."

He picked up on the fact that I didn't want to talk about it and dropped the subject.

"Jordan's having a party next Saturday night. Want to go?"

"What kind of a party?" I said suspiciously.

"No big deal," he said, a bit too casually. "Just an 'I got into Dartmouth' party."

"I have to work," I said. I had no idea of my schedule, since I had forgotten to look, but I'd volunteer for that shift if I had to. "But you go ahead without me."

"I don't want to go without you," Ryan said, but he didn't sound completely sincere. Who could blame him? It was senior year, and I knew he wanted to experience everything it had to offer.

"Go," I said. "Maybe I can meet you after work."

He took me home, and I collapsed into bed and slept until the sun went down.

At school on Monday, I was still groggy from lack of sleep and had a steaming mug of coffee from home. I sat at one of the tables outside and stared at a wall.

Ryan's voice calling my name finally brought me out of my fog.

"Daisy, I've been calling you and calling you," he said. "You were really zoned out."

"Just tired, I guess," I told him.

"I think I have a solution to your college issue," he said. "Why haven't you called to find out what's going on with your applications?"

"Honestly, I haven't had much time," I replied, but a tiny spark of excitement flared at his suggestion.

He gave me a skeptical look.

"Okay, I'm afraid," I admitted. "What if no one wants me?"

"I want you," he said. "Always."

I leaned in and kissed him.

"You're right," I said. "I'm going to give the UC Nightshade Admissions Office a call. It's almost eight. Someone should be there." I grabbed my cell and dialed.

The woman at the other end was courteous but ultimately couldn't help me. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I can't pull up your record right now."

I just couldn't get a break. "Why not?"

She lowered her voice. "I'm not supposed to say."

"I'm desperate," I told her. "I haven't even gotten a letter, and I've been waiting forever."

"I don't know that the information will be of any help," she said.

"Please," I begged her.

"Our computers were hacked into," she said. "Information was compromised on thousands of students, including those applying for the fall. It's a mess." Then, in a louder voice, she said, "Our systems should be up and running again in a few days. Please call back then. Have a good day."

Then she hung up. I hoped she wouldn't get into any trouble.

"At least I tried," I said. "But why would anyone want to hack into a university database?"

Ryan thought for a minute. "I would guess that at least fifty percent of the students at UC Nightshade are paranormals. Do you think the Scourge could be behind it?"

"I don't know what to think," I said. "But it's worth letting Nicholas know. He can tell the rest of the council."

I was boycotting council meetings. They probably didn't even notice, but I was still peeved that they'd let Circe off while Lily still languished in the jukebox and Balthazar remained in a pig.

CHAPTER TWENTY

It turned out
that I really did have to work the Saturday night of Jordan's party, which eased my conscience a bit. My mood improved at the thought that it was a huge computer error and not some personal flaw that accounted for my lack of acceptance at UC Nightshade.

Still, it didn't change the fact that I didn't know what my plans were for the fall.

I did know, however, that I was becoming this whiny self-obsessed person, and I didn't like her very much. I vowed to shape up and quickly.

Which is why I didn't say no when Sam approached me about the senior talent show. The talent show was a tradition, and the date of the performance was always announced a mere forty-eight hours before the actual event.

Everyone in the senior class was supposed to participate, but the rules were that you couldn't do something you were really talented at doing. So Sam couldn't boss people around, and I couldn't bake a cake. And we weren't allowed to practice more than once before the show. People broke a few of the rules sometimes, but the idea was to be as spontaneous as possible.

"Want to do something together?" she said.

"Wouldn't you rather perform with Sean?" I asked.

"He's doing an act with Ryan. Very hush-hush," she said.

I remembered my vow to try to get into the spirit of things.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Can you sing or dance?" Samantha said.

"No," I said.

"Perfect," she said. "Then that's what we're going to do."

I smothered a groan.

"You already said yes," Sam reminded me. "Besides, all those years of gymnastics have to be good for something."

After a couple of hours of debate, we finally agreed on a song, "I Love Rock and Roll," which was definitely done better by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

"Do you have any leather pants?" Sam asked me.

"No," I said. "And I don't intend to buy any." Sam had the body for tight leather pants. I did not.

"Do you think Nurse Phillips would let you borrow a pair of hers?" she said.

I sent her a horrified look. "Poppy has a leather jacket I can borrow," I said. "I am not, under any circumstances, appearing in front of my classmates in leather pants."

Forty-eight hours later, we were backstage at the talent show. Sam had chosen to go the full black-leather route. She wore skintight black leather pants and a short leather jacket over a red shirt.

I did my best tough-girl impression in cheetah-print leggings and a black T-shirt. My hair was curling wildly about my face. Poppy had teased it until it added about six inches to my already-tall frame.

The faculty advisor put a bunch of numbers into the hat to decide what order we would perform in.

Sam reached in and pulled out a number while I prayed we wouldn't have to go first.

"Seventh," she said. "That's lucky, right?"

I started stretching, my body protesting as I used muscles that I hadn't even thought about since I quit the cheerleading team.

Penny and Tyler were the first to go on, but judging from their laughter, it didn't seem to bother them. Penny was dressed as Sandy in
Grease,
after the big makeover, and Tyler was wearing something very similar to what he wore to prom—black jeans and a black T-shirt. They were obviously going to sing "You're the One That I Want." We heard the music start and then Tyler and Penny began to sing. I was right about their song choice. Penny was a little pitchy at first, but she ended strong. They finished to a burst of applause.

Then a couple of the football players threw lit batons in the air and caught them.

"That's cheating a little," Ryan said. "Brian Miller's sister is a twirler for marching band."

The next performers were Jordan and Rachel, who did a comedy routine that had the crowd in stitches.

"Don't look so nervous," Ryan said. "This is supposed to be fun."

He and Sean were wearing matching white shirts with black vests and black pants.

"What are you doing for the performance?" I asked.

He only smiled and said, "You'll see."

I bit my nails while I was waiting for our number to be called. There was a time when I was used to performing in public. As a gymnast.

Then it was Samantha's and my turn. I put on Poppy's black leather jacket, took a deep breath, and followed Sam as she strutted onto the stage.

When the music started, I took a deep breath and waited for my cue. The good thing about the song we'd chosen was that it needed to be belted out, so I really used my lungs as I sang.

The crowd started to sing along, and suddenly, I felt freer than I'd felt in months. While Sam sang the last few notes, I launched myself across the stage and went into a handstand and then down into a split as the song ended.

The crowd shouted its approval, and Sam and I took a brief bow, then ran offstage, sweaty and exhilarated.

"That was fun," I said. "I'm so glad you talked me into it."

She linked arms with me. "Let's slip into the audience so we can watch the guys."

We found seats at the end of a row near the front.

I noticed quite a few strangers in the audience, which was a little unusual. The talent show was open to the public, but I couldn't imagine wanting to sit through it unless you either were a graduating senior or knew and loved one.

There was a woman sitting next to Mr. Devereaux. They seemed to know each other quite well and whispered to each other during the performances. She wore a white trench coat, scarf, and huge sunglasses that made her look a little bit like a bug.

I nudged Samantha."Is that your father's new girlfriend?"

"I don't know who that is," she said, dismissing the woman with a glance. "But Daddy dates a lot of women."

We sat through three other acts before Ryan and Sean came onstage. Reese and Andres joined them, and the four broke into a song I'd never heard of called "Girl of My Dreams." I was happy to see that the animosity between them seemed to have disappeared.

"I would never have guessed a barbershop quartet," I said.

"I didn't even know Sean could sing," Samantha admitted.

After that, we sat in silence, mesmerized by their voices. Halfway through, all four boys left the stage and walked down the aisles, singing as they went. They were obviously searching for specific people. Sean and Ryan stopped in front of Sam and me. Ryan took my hand and knelt in front of me just as the last bars of the song faded away.

I looked around and saw that the other three boys had done the same thing. Sean was next to us, kneeling in front of Sam. Andres was kissing Lilah's hand, and Reese had Jordan in a low dip.

The crowd jumped to their feet and gave the guys a standing ovation.