The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe

whirl to see Garnet Descarteres stomping my way. I’ve barely had time to gulp when she halts before me, raises her hand, and moves to slap me. I just duck out of the way—to the hoot of that strange, unseen girl outside the gates—but, even still, I feel exactly what Garnet wanted me to: embarrassment, pain, intimidation.
    “Take it easy,” I say and dodge around her.
    That’s not gonna happen. She tugs my arm until I can’t help but face her again. Anywhere else, a teacher would be fired for touching a student like this; here, it’s a dog-eat-dog world, and I’m going to need to bite back to survive.
    “What?” I snap at her.
    “He’s mine .”
    “I’m not going to fight over a guy. Not with anyone, least of all you.”
    “What does that mean, least of all me ?”
    “It doesn’t mean anything! Look, I’m sorry—”
    “You’re gonna be sorry.”
    “Shouldn’t you be inside with the rest of the Guardians, Garnet?”
    “Shouldn’t you be making out with my boyfriend somewhere? He’s not going to fight for the Big V because of you! Do you understand that, you selfish cow?”
    She pushes her enviably pretty face toward mine, and waves her fist near my face, so close I see the faintest shadow of a shackle on her wrist. It throws me. I’ve barely had time to process the fact that she surrendered her soul for this time with Ben.
    “If you had a heart, you’d force him to be with me, Merchant. Without me, he’s dead. You know that. But you sit quietly while he slowly kills himself.”
    “No one’s stopping you from helping him! You could be inside right now getting the scoop on whatever Dia’s telling all the other Guardians.”
    She flinches like she hadn’t thought I’d see things so clearly. Rather than arguing the point, she pushes me hard in the chest. She might have kept pushing, and that pushing might have led to an actual fight, if we weren’t interrupted. Behind us, all at once, a stampede of Guardians tramples out the doors and down the steps. Like a herd of wildebeests, they race around us; they envelop me and Garnet. I check to see if they’re being chased and hear my name just as I spot Pilot, who’s calling for me. Sidestepping the throng, Pilot reaches for me, yanks my arm, and drags me away from Garnet and total pandemonium.
    “Anne, it’s incredible!” he gasps, his perfectly straight teeth dazzling. Behind me, the last of the Guardians stream out noisily, letting the massive oak doors fall shut behind them. I turn to see them dartonto the path others have stomped into the grass and whiz away— until Pilot tugs me back to him. Garnet has fled with the crowd. “You and me, we’re gonna get serious about the Big V now, Annie.”
    “Don’t call me Annie . That nickname died when you did.”
    He tries to catch his breath. “K. Fine. Walk and talk?”
    Reluctantly, I turn toward the quad with him. The pack of Guardians has dispersed; a few that have found their students are whispering with them in little pairs next to Valedictorian Hall, in the middle of the quad, near the dorms, by the cafeteria, outside of the Rex Paimonde building and Heorot Hall—everywhere. A conversation finishes and a duo high-fives; another finishes and a Guardian and student actually hug.
    “Anne, listen, I know we’ve had our differences.”
    I laugh.
    “But I want you to know that I’ve always, deep down inside, been fully committed to seeing you win the Big V. I was just doing what Mephisto told me to.”
    “Sure.”
    “Hey, you weren’t exactly a good friend to me, either.”
    “This world is doomed if you’re giving lessons on how to treat people.”
    “I faked a friendship with you—and I was only partly faking, Annie. But I didn’t kill you.”
    “You faked a friendship with me so you could live while I died. You would have killed me. I just killed you faster.”
    “You’re in a coma! You wouldn’t have died.” He can see I’m not buying it. “Look, I’m ready to help you