Dauntless High School

Chapter 58

SHAUNA

Zeke is quick to grab his phone off the chipped Formica tabletop and quickly opens the message. "It's a text from Four," Zeke says. "He's with Tris. They're hiding out someplace, gonna be stuck for a while."

Uriah clears his throat and winds a straw wrapper around his finger. "So, is Tris pretty good friends with this Four guy?"

Another look between Marlene and Zeke. I narrow my eyes. I've always thought that it was Four and Marlene, and I'm not sure why I discounted Tris. Maybe because it's hard to believe that she and Uriah are really over. It has always been Tris and Uriah, even before it was Tris and Uriah. Even as I consider the possibility that Tris and Four could have something going on, I am ready to dismiss the thought. It is difficult to imagine that Tris could possibly have moved on with someone else while Uriah was in such bad shape and in the hospital.

"Well, he's been helping Tris get caught up on her math and stuff," Marlene says as she slowly tears up her paper napkin. "And I mean, after the accident he kind of made sure that everything was being taken care of... you know, like, getting her homework and stuff. Kind of... coordinating things."

"Yeah, I asked him to do that," Zeke admits. "I had to be at the hospital with you, Uri. I wanted to make sure someone was looking out for her."

Uriah looks at his brother for a long moment, then stabs his pancake with a fork. "It's just weird, I mean, he's only been here a couple of months. You all barely know the guy."

"He's been around since September," I offer. "We know him pretty well by now." Uriah just shrugs.

Familiar faces are filtering into the diner. We plaster on fake smiles for a short exchange with Lauren and her little groupies; one of the second-string linemen hits on me and I am pleased at the way that Zeke puts his arm around my shoulders and gives the guy a look that has him walking away in defeat.

After a half-hour has passed, I try Lynn again and get no answer, and now I'm getting really worried. It's almost two o'clock in the morning, and the longer we wait the more I have to resign myself to the likelihood that she was caught. No one has heard from Christina or Will, either. If Lynn got picked up by the cops, my mom and step-dad will know I was there, too, even if I didn't get caught, and I'll be grounded till I graduate, probably. It's just the worst possible timing, right when something is finally happening between Zeke and me, and now I won't even be able to go out. Then he's going to lose interest and I'll have lost my chance, all because of some stupid fight that got the cops called on a dumb party.

What he hasn't mastered, however, is resisting the impulse to check out other girls as they walk by... at least not if her skirt is short enough, as is the case with a sophomore I recognize from my art class. I kick him in the shin-- not hard enough to really hurt him, but enough to get his attention.

"Ow! What was that about?" Zeke whines.

"Watch where those eyes are wandering," I warn him, my tone of voice failing to match the stern look I struggle to keep on my face.

Before I can say more, I am startled by the trill of my cell phone ringer. I scramble for the phone, but I freeze when I see the name of the caller: Mom. I clear my throat and try to sound innocent and contrite. I don't know what else to do but to play dumb as I answer the call. "Mom? Is everything okay?"

"Shauna." I cringe at the ice in my mother's voice. "Where are you."

"Um..." I abruptly stand, spinning away from Zeke and our friends. Holding the phone snug against my left ear, I plug my right ear with my finger to hear better. I start to wander toward the diner's front doors. "Well, the football team won the championship! Did you hear? I'm out at a diner with some of my friends. Rob said it was OK..."