‘May I have your attention,’ a hoarse voice said from the intercom. It didn’t sound like Mr. Curtis. Zoe listened harder as the voice continued, ‘The six of you were selected to be here today because you are all hiding something. A secret. One that eats you up inside each day. I’m here to set you free. Life is made up of a series of choices that come with consequences. Today you will all learn that each decision you make affects the world around you. You will each complete a task. One that has to be completed by you and you alone. If you cheat, I will know. And if you inform anyone outside of this room, I will know. The choice is yours.’
The crackling filled the room once again and then the library went silent.
‘What the hell was that?’ Q asked.
‘Who was that?’ Jackie asked.
‘That voice sounded like something out of a horror movie,’ Cece said, drawing her arms against her chest.
‘What did he mean by secrets?’ Teddy asked.
Of course, Teddy had no secrets. He was the most honorable person in the group. Straight-As with the opportunity to pick a college of his choosing. Zoe had no idea what he’d done to get there, but she was sure it wasn’t that terrible. At least not bad enough for someone to want to exploit it.
‘Q, is this your idea of a joke?’ Holly asked.
Q snorted. ‘I’ve been here the whole time.’
‘You could have had one of your friends do it,’ Holly said.
‘What friends?’ Jackie said with a snort.
Q worked his jaw.
‘Yeah,’ Cece said. ‘You’re obsessed with wanting to know why we’re here.’
‘Okay,’ Q said. ‘Now I know you’re full of yourself.’
‘The only one full of himself is you,’ Cece said. ‘You’re annoying and an attention seeker. You know pulling the fire alarm is a crime, right? I’m surprised you’re here instead of jail.’
‘It’s only a matter of time,’ Q said. He sounded proud of that fact.
Zoe tugged on her sleeves again, keeping her thoughts to herself. That voice was seriously creepy. If it was a prank, it wasn’t funny at all. She had no idea what he was talking about.
‘Can we get back to that voice?’ Jackie said.
‘And consequences?’ Cece said. ‘I swear, Q if this is some joke—’
Q cut Cece off. ‘What are you going to do, princess?’
‘Will you two stop bickering?’ Holly said. ‘If someone is messing with us, then we should take it seriously.’
‘We don’t know anything yet,’ Q said. ‘Where are these tasks?’
‘Guys?’ Teddy said, staring down at the table. He pulled out a slip of paper from the pile. It wasn’t like the rest. It was red while the rest were white.
‘What is that?’ Jackie asked.
‘Is that a pinky promise not to drink?’ Q asked with a grin.
‘Teddy,’ Cece said. ‘Your name is on the other side.’
Teddy swallowed hard as if he expected the piece of paper to jump out and bite him.
‘Why does it have your name on it?’ Zoe asked. Her voice cut the air like a knife. It was the first time the others noticed she was in the room. But no one cut her off. They all wanted to know what was going on.
‘There’s more writing on the other side,’ Teddy said, his voice shaking.
‘What does it say?’ Q asked, leaning across the table.
‘Is this part of what that voice said?’ Jackie asked, her voice warbling slightly.
‘Should we read through all of these slips to make sure none of our names are on them?’ Cece suggested.
‘I’m pretty sure there would be another red one,’ Teddy said, licking his lips and swallowing hard.
‘How would you know?’ Holly asked accusingly.
‘Because this person wants us to find it,’ Zoe said. This had to be what the voice wanted. A shiver ran down her spine.
‘You all need to stop being so dramatic,’ Q said.
‘What does it say?’ Holly asked.
Teddy looked around at the group then down to the paper. He read it, his mouth silently forming the words.
‘The suspense is killing me,’ Q said with an eye roll.
Teddy jerked as if he forgot where he was.
‘Read it to us,’ Holly said.
‘Yeah, Teddy,’ Jackie said, leaning forward.
Teddy looked at Zoe for a moment. His face was ashen. What could he possibly be afraid of?
Teddy tore his eyes from Zoe and read the note aloud.
Teddy closed his textbook and was out of his chair before the bell finished ringing. It was the first day of the week, and already he dreaded the rest. All he wanted to do was sleep. He had too much to do, though.
He wasn’t sure how Mom did it. Getting eight hours of sleep between two days made him completely zoned out, while she could go a week with that many hours. But she did what she had to do to make sure Teddy had everything he needed to succeed. At the same time, he worked hard both at school and outside to ensure he’d be able to return the favor to her someday.
Teddy was almost at his locker as his peers entered the hallway.
He picked up his pace.
‘Get out of my way, loser!’
He didn’t need to turn around to know who that was. Everyone knew that voice, even the terrified freshmen and stuck-up seniors.
Teddy glanced over his shoulder to see Jackie’s next victim.
It was Holly. The new girl.
Holly crossed her arms and lifted her chin to Jackie. But with Jackie’s friend’s right behind her, Holly didn’t stand a chance.
Teddy turned around and slammed right into someone.
‘Watch it!’ she said.
Teddy’s eyes locked on a pair of dark brown eyes. Ones that he saw in his dreams sometimes. But in his subconscious, they weren’t as sad. Or in that particular case, pissed off.
The roots of her natural hair were showing through the fading red strands. And her drastic haircut finally started to look somewhat normal.
He had some idea why she cut all of her hair off but never asked.
‘Sorry,’ Teddy said.
Zoe pushed passed him and down the hall.
He hung his head. After every interaction with her, he felt worse. There was so much he wanted to say.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He waited until he got to his locker before he looked at it.
Pick me up at 4.
Teddy spun the combination on the lock. He was about to open it when someone touched his shoulder.
He