A Grave Problem

32. A New Perspective

Mia walked down the empty hallway. It was 3:15 and she was just heading home. Normally, she'd already be up in her room by now, but she'd had to stay after school. They'd gotten their tests back for Chapter 12 in chemistry, and apparently the big red D on the top of hers had Ms. Harle worried. She'd studied for hours for that test, trying to teach herself how to balance a chemical equation. But no matter what formulas she used, she seemed to get it right only slightly less than half the time. So today, when she got her test back and she hadn't failed, she was actually kind of happy. Her parents wouldn't be that thrilled, but at least it was better than it could have been!

Her test had come back to her with a note to talk to the teacher after school. Mia had tried to go up to her after class was out, but Ms. Harle told her she had a meeting during the last two classes – Mia would have to wait. She would have liked to tell Ms. Harle that since she didn't have a last period, she didn't want to have to wait around for an extra hour just to talk about her stupid test. But since she wasn't technically allowed to leave school early, she knew that wouldn't work. So, she headed to the library to work on that night's homework while she waited.

She'd had to talk to Ms. Harle for over fifteen minutes about her test. Mia told her about how hard she thought chemical equations were and hoped that would be the end of it. But Ms. Harle had wanted to know why she hadn't asked for extra help or raised her hand during class. Mia promised her teacher that she would ask more questions in class and promised herself that she wouldn't do so badly on the next test. If she did, there was a good chance she'd have to go to tutoring, and that was the last thing she wanted!

Mia walked towards her locker, still feeling annoyed. She'd already finished her math and English homework in the library, so she quickly swapped those books out for the ones she still needed to go over that night. She took off down the hall at a borderline run; she knew she'd be cutting it close, but she might be able to catch the next bus if she hurried. She got towards the end of the hall and was just about to turn the corner when she heard voices. It took less than a second for Mia to recognize them – Zev and Luke.

On any other day, Mia would have ducked her head down and walked straight past the two of them, trying her best not to be noticed as she hurried by. But now, the school was nearly empty, and Mia could clearly hear that no one else was around. The last thing Mia wanted was to be alone with two werewolves – especially two who had already chased her across half the town. And she couldn't even tell herself that there was a chance they didn't know it was her – her comment to Luke had made sure he knew. Mia wasn't sure if she would be able to overpower one werewolf or not, but she knew she had no chance against two. So instead of hurrying past them, Mia leaned against the wall and waited for them to go away. They were blocking her only exit, and she didn't want to take the chance that they might hear her as she hurried to the one at the other side of the hall.

"I tried talking to her. But she's really good at avoiding me." Mia heard Zev say. "And I can't really yell out an explanation across the courtyard, can I?"

Mia caught her breath. They had to be talking about her – how many other girls could there be that ran away every time Zev got near them? Mia crouched low to the ground and slid as close to the corner's edge as she dared. If they were talking about her, she didn't want to miss a word.

"I know. She's actually in my English class now. And she always heads out the door so fast, I never get to say anything either."

"So what do you want me to do about it?" Zev asked.

"I don't know. But we've got about a week and a half to figure it out."

Mia thought for a minute and realized that a week and a half from today would be next Sunday – the full moon! But why would they need to talk to her before the next full moon? Were they planning some kind of trap for her? Or would they just hunt her down if she didn't talk to them by then?