Grace Balfe's biggest concern is who's going to ask her to the Samhain Ball. Until she sees something she can't explain. Thrown into a world she never knew existed, she has to race against the clock to save her least favorite friend - and the island she live on.
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My book bag bounced against my hip as we walked across the Commons. I tried to focus on Cassie's story – something about Max Blackwood starting a fight in the middle of physics – but found myself with a hand on my stomach. I was hungry. Achingly so. And I didn't think it could wait until dinner.
Cassie, Lauren, Sam, and Jackie sat on a free bench, making themselves as comfortable as they could.
"I swear, I thought he was going to kill him," Cassie said, catching my attention again while she reapplied some lip gloss. "He slammed John's head off the desk and everything."
"Why did he even start anything?" Lauren asked, tugging at her blonde hair. She was the prettiest of my friends and probably the closest to me – I'd known her since Primary School.
"Someone said that he's doing it for attention. His parents do sort of own the school."
"He's just being a dick, as usual," Lauren announced. The word sounded rough from her mouth, but we all smiled and laughed a little.
"I'm hungry," I said, turning to walk towards the school store.
"Surprise, surprise," Sam said, not even looking up as she scrolled through her messages on her phone. I rolled my eyes and ground my teeth. Sam and I never really saw eye to eye. But she was Lauren's friend, so we tolerated each other. Barely.
"Anyone want anything from the store?"
"Can you grab me a Diet Coke?" Jackie asked, standing up and pulling some spare change from her shirt's pocket.
"Diet?" I said, pulling a face. Jackie was a little bit heavier than Lauren, who was stick thin, but she was definitely lighter than me. I wasn't obese, but I was definitely over weight.
"I'm trying to lose a bit for the Samhain Ball." I groaned. The fancy Hallowe'en party that was not fancy dress. Well, the dress-code was fancy, but not the kind that Hallowe'en should have permitted. I still hadn't been asked. Lauren had ten dates lined up, Jackie had her boyfriend, and Cassie was going with Michael Johns, a Sixth Former. I didn't know if Sam had a date, and I couldn't have cared less.
I sighed and walked off, getting into the line quickly. I started up a casual conversation with Emily Summers, an American student who was in my Sociology class. We chatted about the October assignment until someone bumped my shoulder hard.
"Watch what you're doing," the boy said. I recognised him as a Fifth Former, but I couldn't have put a name to his face, which – unless my overactive imagination was acting up again – was a lot gaunter since the last time I'd seen him. His high-cheek bones were nearly cutting skin, and he was snow-white. He stooped to pick up the bags of crisps he'd dropped and as he rose, I froze in horror when black eyes met mine. Not his. There was... something on his shoulder.
