The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting Page A

you in the parking lot.”
    â€œNo. No. Now’s good.” He ran his hand through his hair in a discouraged gesture. He took a deep breath, but his voice was still shaking when he spoke. “I…I was wondering…” He looked Violet right in the eye now, and suddenly she felt very nervous about where this might be going. She was desperately wishing she hadn’t let Jay leave her here alone. “I was wondering if you’re planning to go to Homecoming,” Grady finally blurted out.
    She stood there, looking at him, feeling trapped by the question and not sure what she was going to say.
    The bell rang, and both of them jumped.
    Violet was grateful for the excuse, and she clung to it like a life preserver. Her eyes were wide, and she pointed to thedoor behind her. “I gotta…can we…” She pointed again, and she knew she looked and sounded like an idiot, incapable of coherent speech. “Can we talk after school?”
    Grady seemed relieved to have been let off the hook for the moment. “Sure. Yeah. I’ll talk to you after school.”
    He left without saying good-bye, and Violet, thankful herself, tried to slip into her classroom unnoticed.
    But she had no such luck. The teacher marked her tardy, and everyone in class watched as she made her way to her seat beside Jay’s. Her face felt flushed and hot.
    â€œWhat was that all about?” Jay asked in a loud whisper.
    She still felt like her head was reeling. She had no idea what she was going to say to Grady when school was out. “I think Grady just asked me to Homecoming,” she announced to Jay.
    He looked at her suspiciously. “The game?”
    Violet cocked her head to the side and gave him a look that told him to be serious.
    â€œNo, I’m pretty sure he meant the dance,” Violet clarified, exasperated by the obtuse question.
    Jay frowned at her. “What did you say?”
    â€œI didn’t say anything. The bell rang and I told him we’d have to talk later.”
    The teacher glanced their way, and they pretended not to be talking to each other. Violet decided that she didn’t need to get in trouble for not listening, especially after being marked late, so she made an effort to pay attention to the lecture. It was nearly impossible to concentrate, though.
    She had thought about going to the dance even beforeGrady had asked her, and she’d hoped, probably in vain, that Jay might ask her to go with him, even if it meant they only went as friends. She would rather spend an evening in his company, even innocently, than in anyone else’s. But now that she’d been asked by Grady, she had to at least consider the possibility of going with him. Why not? She and Grady had been friends for almost as long as she and Jay had been, and as long as he understood that was all they would be, it might be fun to go with someone else.
    When class was over, Violet practically had to run to keep up with Jay, who had left the classroom so fast she barely had time to put her books away. She hurried after him, frustrated that he was making her chase him.
    By the time she caught up to him, Violet didn’t bother to hide her annoyance. “Why are you in such a hurry?”
    He started to say something, and then he seemed to change his mind. “No hurry. I just don’t want you to make me late too.”
    Violet shook her head as she watched Jay disappear into the crowd, irritated that he’d left her feeling like she’d done something wrong. Between Grady and Jay, she was more than a little confused about guys in general.
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    When school was out, Violet wondered if Jay would still want a ride home. He’d spent the entire day snubbing her. That’s what it felt like anyway. He even ate his lunch with some of his guy friends instead of sitting with her and Chelsea. She thought about leaving him at school without waiting to findout what was up with him, but she