Spiral (Spiral Series) by Maddy Edwards Page B

competitive. You wanted a good lunch day, and we had it. Mostly seniors ate first, so there wasn’t a long time between breakfast and the next time we got to eat. On Tuesday there had been no sign of Jackson, even though I had texted him to ask where he was. As had become common over the past few weeks, he hadn’t answered. If he kept this up I had every intention of cornering him and making him tell me what was going on.
    Even though I was mad at him when he slipped into a seat next to mine on Thursday, I couldn’t help but smile a little.
    “Hi,” I said. “How are you?”
    He glanced at me and shrugged, the tension clear in the set of his shoulders. “Fine,” he said. He didn’t seem fine, and Maxie had been insisting that in addition to whatever else had been bothering him, he wasn’t happy about Pierce. I didn’t know how she knew it, but she was convinced.
    “Jackson,” said Maxie. “You’re still one of the cutest guys at school. Don’t worry. Pierce is just in a category of his own.”
    Jackson rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Maxie. Now I feel better.”
    “You’re most welcome,” said Maxie, grinning as she took a big bite of her sandwich.
    “It’s great having the gang all together,” said Jill, looking around the table. “We don’t have many more high school lunches like this.”
    It was a rare sentimental moment for Jill, and I knew she was right. I didn’t like change, but I had also spent the week confused and stressed.
    I had had another dream the night before, and it had been the worst yet. It had consisted of blackness pressing in on my face and nose while I listened to the brown-haired girl’s screams and the slithering laugh of the Snake Man. I had awakened in a cold sweat and stayed awake the rest of the night, not daring to move.
    “I don’t know why he’s just showing up here and acting like he owns the place,” Jackson grumbled. Pierce and I didn’t have any lunches together, which was probably a good thing. I could barely handle it when he said hi to me every time we passed in the halls. Seeing him at lunch too, surrounded by a pack of senior girls, would have been too much for me.
    I returned my focus to my three best friends and tried to enjoy the little time we had left together, because I had a feeling that everything was about to change.
     

Chapter Ten - Natalie
     
    I tried to ignore Pierce at school, mostly for Jackson’s sake, but it was impossible. Maxie had decided that we were all going to be friends, and she invited Pierce anywhere we went.
    For classes, I had only one with Pierce: history. I wasn’t sure I could have concentrated if I’d had any others. My eyes flipped to his dark hair and pale skin more than I wanted to admit. I had noticed at the romance slam that he was attractive, but people in Siberia would have noticed that. Now that I saw him every day it was harder to ignore the flutter in my stomach.
    On Friday, waiting for history class to start, I realized that for once - now that it was almost time to graduate - I was glad to be in school. The weather outside was nasty, with rain lashing the windows and trees. Periodically there was lightning, followed by very loud thunder. Even Haley looked upset by the noise.
    “This weather sucks,” Maxie whispered to me. I liked this class, because all my friends were in it. I also disliked this class because everyone - read Haley - was in it. Without her it would have been bliss.
    “Don’t get me wrong,” Maxie went on. “I like picking out rain outfits as much as the next girl, but seriously.” She was wearing dark blue rain boots with pink kisses all over them. She had a lot of pairs of boots, so I knew that she had deliberately matched up these particular ones with dark wash jeans and a black top. She also had a white rain jacket and an umbrella - also dark blue with kisses.
    “Think about me yet today?” Pierce asked, sliding into the seat in front of me and grinning.
    “Yes,” I said. I kept