EIGHT YEARS EARLIER

Jade and I are supposed to be meeting at the library in the school, and of course, once again she’s late.

I stand by the entrance to the library, sipping on the remainder of

my peach iced tea. When we were in trigonometry last period, Jade promised we would meet after school to study. The school library is open until five, so I thought that would be a good place to do it. No excuses.

And apparently, no Jade.

I finish the last of my drink and toss it in the garbage by the entrance to the library. I check my watch. It’s three-thirty, which means most kids and teachers are already gone except for a few afterschool clubs running. Jade is probably gone too. Or out back, smoking pot. I was stupid to think she might actually show up this time.

I should just go home.

Except I need her help. My mom tried to help me last night, and that was a joke. She was even worse at understanding the material than I was. The two of us both ended up frustrated and shouting at each other. She promised that we would get a tutor, and I finally cracked and agreed to it. Still, the midterm is a lost cause.

But on the plus side, I haven’t seen that little girl anywhere today. “Amy!”

Oh my God, it’s a miracle—Jade is dashing down the hallway in the direction of the library, her backpack slung over one shoulder. She’s waving frantically at me. “So sorry I’m late, Amy!”

“That’s okay,” I say.

When she gets close, I do detect a whiff of marijuana, but it’s not as strong as yesterday. Hopefully, she can still do math while slightly baked. Jade is somewhat of a math prodigy, so I’m sure it will be fine.

“You ready?” I ask.

She bobs her head. “Yes! Oh my God, we are going to do so much math today. Like, you have no idea how much we’re going to do. We’re going to study for the next eight hours. I’m telling you, eight straight hours of doing math. You are going to be vomiting up sines and cosines by the end of this!”

I laugh. She doesn’t seem like she’s on pot right now—she’s like a ball of energy. “Okay… so let’s get started.”

“Yes! We need to get started right away.” She starts to walk into the library but then stops herself. “Oh, wait! Stupid me, I forgot my textbook in the classroom. Let me just go grab it, okay?”

I make a face. “Jade, you know all the classrooms are going to be locked up by now. We can just use my book.”

“Use your book? No, that’s silly!” She laces her arm into mine. “We’ll just get the janitor to open up the room. Come on. It will just take a second.”

Before I can protest, Jade is dragging me down the hallway toward the stairwell. Her hand gripping my arm has an angry circular red mark in the fleshy part between her thumb and forefinger. It almost looks like a burn. I wonder how she got that. But if I ask her, she’ll just make up some crazy story.

When we get to the stairs, Jade is sprinting up them two at a time, and I have to race to catch up. Mr. Riordan’s classroom is all the way up on the fourth floor, which is usually deserted by now except for the cleaning staff. Sure enough, when we get there, there are no traces of any students or teachers—just a middle-aged man pushing a mop across the floor in front of the lockers.

Jade goes right up to the janitor, smiling with her bright red lips. “Hi there!”

The janitor slowly lifts his eyes from the bucket on the floor. “Yes?” he says in an accent I can’t quite identify.

“I forgot my textbook in room 428,” Jade says cheerfully. “Do you think you could let me in?”

I can’t help but notice that as she makes the request, Jade sticks her chest out. The janitor’s eyes flicker down to her breasts briefly.

“It’ll just take a second,” she adds. “I really need the book to study for my test tomorrow. I would be so grateful.”

After another hesitation, the man nods. He reaches into his pocket for a keychain that contains an impossible number of keys. We follow him down the hall to room 428, and for some reason, my heart skips slightly as the lock turns.

“Thank you so much!” Jade gushes. “We’ll just be a minute.”

The janitor nods and goes back to his mop and bucket. I step into the classroom with Jade, holding the door open while she goes to grab her book. But to my surprise, she pushes me out of the way and shuts the door behind me. She presses her index finger to her lips.

“You keep watch,” she tells me. “Let me know if anyone is coming.” “What?” I say. “Watch for what? What are you talking about?”

To my horror, Jade walks over to Mr. Riordan’s desk and yanks open the bottom drawer. Her eyes light up. “Score!”

“Jade…”

“It’s all the copies of the test for tomorrow!” She pulls a small stapled document out of the drawer and holds it up. “This way we don’t even have to study for eight hours! All we need to do is solve these problems, and then we’ll both get a hundred. Aren’t I smart? You are so lucky I’m your best friend.”

“I’m not doing that!” I glance out the window of the classroom to make sure nobody is looking in. “Jade, you have to put that back. This is cheating. We could get in a lot of trouble.”

“Oh my God.” She rolls her eyes. “You are so freaking dramatic, Amy. It’s just one test! It’s not even a big deal. When are you ever going to use sines or cosines in your life ever again?”

I had no idea this was what she was planning. This is so stupid. I don’t know what is worse—the idea of cheating or the possibility of getting caught for cheating. Yes, the fourth floor is mostly empty now, but that doesn’t mean someone won’t see us. I look out the window of the classroom one more time, searching for someone who might rat us out.

And that’s when I see her. The little girl.

She is standing right outside the classroom, her blond hair curling around her face. Staring at me.

“Jade!” I rip my gaze away from the window. “We’ve got to get out of here. Right now.”

Jade stuffs the copy of the exam into her backpack, then she joins me at the door. When we get back in the hallway, the only person there is the janitor. No teachers, no students. No little girls.

Jade wiggles her fingers at the janitor. “Got my book! Thanks again!”

She grabs my arm again and starts pulling me toward the staircase while I’m internally freaking out. I thought we were going to have a study session. I had no idea that this was what she had in mind.

“Jade,” I hiss at her, “I’m not looking at that test.”

She pulls me into the stairwell and then stops, folding her skinny arms across her chest. “Why not? You want to do well on the midterm, don’t you?”

“Yes, but not like that!”

She lets out an exasperated huff. “Don’t be stupid, Amy. You have zero idea what’s going on in this class. We can’t fix that by tomorrow morning. The only way you’re going to pass this midterm is with a copy of the exam. Otherwise, you’re totally screwed!”

She’s right, of course. Without help, I’m going to fail this exam. Even an eight-hour study session wouldn’t be enough to save me, and I doubt Jade is willing to do that with me.

But I don’t care. I’m not cheating. I would never do something like that. Never.