THE last bell didn't give Karyn as much vigor as she desired, but she was grateful for it. She dragged her feet down to her locker where she met Elowen and Marcela in a conversation.

It was only after Marcela had concluded with Elowen and bade them goodbye that her best friend asked, "How was your class with your tourists?"

Elowen then moved to rest her shoulder on the locker as Karyn perused through hers.

"They ended up being partners for music class."

"I thought you were having a theory class today?" Elowen asked. Her best friend had some knowledge of how their music classes worked.

"Yeah, but Zack made Mr. Brian excited when he said he wasn't there just for extra credits, so he made this class practical."

"Typical. Did he set them together?"

"No, he allowed them to choose, and Zack chose Gema."

Elowen's brows rose. "And what do you think about that?"

She shrugged and cleared her throat to avoid her voice going a pitch higher as she said, "There's nothing... peculiar about it."

Despite her words, she couldn't ignore the uneasy feeling that Zack's sudden interest in Gema had sparked. Was it simply because they shared a passion for the same musical instrument, or was there something more?

The questions he asked and the underlying tones she had yet to decipher all made her feel there was more to it. She wanted to dismiss it as nothing, but talking with Elowen was making her think about it.

"If you ask me—"

"And I didn't."

"I think," Elowen continued, ignoring Karyn's quip. "Zack has an interest in Gema. He seemed so fascinated by her during lunch."

"Good for him," she said and closed her locker with a little more force than necessary.

"What's wrong? Does that thought bother you?" Elowen tilted her head with a smirk.

She couldn't deny it, because she knew Elowen would see through it. So she asked, "Why would it?"

Elowen was quick to tease. "Because you find him attractive, and the mere fact he could have an interest in someone else kills any... dreams."

"That's—"

"I mean it's fine. I find him attractive too. But I know my chances diminish every time you're with him," Elowen said and giggled.

She narrowed her eyes at Elowen, who knew of how much the uncharacteristic giggle grated on her nerves. But she cast it away with a smile when she caught sight of Elowen's teasing blue eyes and wide, toothy grin.

"I've only known him for a day. I can't even call him a friend yet."

Elowen scoffed in disagreement. "Ever heard of infatuation at first sight?"

She groaned. "No, I've not, because there's nothing like that. And I am not infatuated with him."

"Okay, I'll believe you for now because I know you don't do dark and broody boys, given how Luke is anything but that."

At the mention of Luke, her smile flattened. She moved to rest her head back on her locker, giving Elowen a view of her side profile. "Speaking of Luke, he had lunch with Maria today."

"Maria, as in SAC-President Maria?" Elowen asked, and she nodded. "I thought they were rivals?"

"The elections and campaigns must have brought them closer."

"Are they dating now or what?"

"Not yet, according to him."

"Well, that's... good for him."

She could hear the restraint in Elowen's words and could understand the position her best friend stood in. If this was any other boy, she knew Elowen would highlight their not-so-handsome features if it would make Karyn feel better. But this was Luke, and they were all good friends.

"Yeah, it is. I just hope she feels the same for him."

"Oh, come here."

Elowen pulled her into a hug, which she relaxed into. Her shoulders sagged and her eyes closed as she basked in the serenity of her best friend's hug. The softness of Elowen's shirt added to the comfort of the moment, and she couldn't help but let out a contented sigh. It was only after Karyn had had her fill that they bade each other goodbye.

As she headed to her bike, her mind drifted to the new students. What were they here for? She shook her head at how silly the question sounded. Yet something told her there was more to it.

Was she becoming like her sister and having the feels?

She chuckled to herself at her sister's words before she rode home. Unknown to her, Zack had been watching her ponder from some blocks away as he rested on his motorcycle.

She got so wrapped up in house chores that she didn't realize it had been a while since she'd seen her sister. It was normal for Kara to spend her day somewhere while she was at school, but her sister was always around whenever she got back home.

It wasn't until that night when she opened her closet to get her clothes for the next day did she see Kara. Despite the tight space, Kara's translucent figure sat cross-legged with trembling shoulders.

"Kara?" she asked. Had she been there all this while?

Wide, translucent eyes peered up at her. "You can see me?"

♛ ♛ ♛

TWO trials were enough for Karyn to know she didn't like Kara passing through her. It felt like an unnatural wind had wrapped itself around her skin, clutched onto the tiny hairs on her arm, and snatched something she couldn't identify from her with it.

She hated the feeling, which became the reason the sisters agreed not to try it again. Plus, she liked to treat her sister as though she were alive and living people didn't walk through other living people.

She shifted as Kara got up from her crouched position and floated out of the closet.

"It was after one of your classes when a page fell from your book," Kara started, as she sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "I knew you wouldn't be able to respond, but I expected you to pick it up when I told you about it. I asked for a sign you could hear me, but you gave me none. It felt like you couldn't see me, and it was horrible," Kara said before breaking down in tears.

It was at times like these that she wished she could have some sort of physical contact with her sister. Had Kara ever even felt a genuine hug?

She sat beside her sister. "I'm sorry, but I thought about you if that can make up for it. I didn't worry because I assumed you would be at the library. You know I would never ignore you."

"I know, but what could have caused it? You saw me when I called Zack hot, right?"

She nodded.

"Do you think he saw me when he looked at me?" Kara then brought her translucent thumb to her lips and gnawed on the nail.

"I... I don't know. But there's something different about him."

Silence lingered before Kara threw her arms around Karyn's shoulders and said, "I'm so glad you can see me now."

There was that unnatural air again, but this time, instead of stealing from her, it only hovered around.

♛ ♛ ♛

THE next day, the shrill buzzing of her alarm woke her up. That should have been a good thing, right?

No.

The words the faceless hooded figure with red lips always said had become a part of her night, like the breeze that came in from the only square window in her room. Now having completed a full night without those words, Karyn couldn't shake off the worry that came.

It couldn't be a coincidence that the moment four new students arrived was when she stopped having this dream. But why would this figure warn her about them? Were they dangerous? Much worse, were they here for her?

"Your alarm woke you up today," Kara started. "So it has to be him."

She frowned. "Him?"

"The hot new guy."

"Well, he's part of them. Their arrival remember," she reminded her sister.

Kara folded her arms and raised her chin. "So you agree that he's hot?"

"What—"

Kara turned her head sideways, her lips curling into a smirk that oozed of false pride. "I still stand with my theory that it could be the love of your life."

She groaned. "Even if that is true—which I'm sure it's not—I need to find out why they're here, and why now. They have to be here for something other than school. Why else would The Faceless have warned me for about a month?"

"And how do you plan to do that?"

Her voice was firm and her gaze was hard when she said, "Questions. One way or the other, they'll give answers."

By the end of the week, her determination had nearly vanished as she trudged to her next class with Zack, her footsteps heavy and her mind filled with memories of her futile attempts to uncover more information about Gema, Jamie, and Marcela.

At first, she started subtly, asking questions at random. How was their previous school? Where had they lived and studied? How hard was it to always be on the move?

Then she moved on to ask if they planned to stay and what would be the reason for them to move again.

Nothing about their answers suggested that the trio of new students had any ulterior motives. However, by the time Friday's lunch rolled around, Karyn had lost it. There were nine people at the table, but only four spoke. To any passerby, it would have appeared as though Karyn was interviewing the newcomers. Her questions had rushed out nonstop, not giving anyone else the chance to interject.

She was about to ask the group outright why they were here when Jordan asked, "What's this about?"

The resulting silence hung heavy over them, thick with tension.

She'd laughed it off with a flimsy excuse and settled into contemplative silence for the rest of lunch. It wasn't until Elowen asked the same question after lunch that she realized she hadn't been subtle.

Though the new students hadn't questioned her and answered every question, she didn't want them to think she was onto them. If they were hiding something and realized her ploy to figure it out, who knew what they would do to her? And she didn't want to find out.

She simply wanted to know if their reason for being here had anything to do with her. If it did, she knew she would have to protect herself. How she would do that, she didn't know. She had never slapped someone or been in any situation where she had to defend herself physically.

"Karyn!"

She jerked to see Zack had placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Huh?"

"Are you so worried about why they're here?" he asked.

She scoffed. "What? No!"

He couldn't know why she was so interested. She wasn't even sure she could explain it to Elowen, either.

Then he let out a deep chuckle as his hands slipped from her shoulders. The sound, rare as it was, seemed to make his eyes shine and sent a tickle through her chest. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be the one to make him laugh every day, as a small part of her wanted to hear it again.

"You're cute, trying to hide your motives when all your actions do is reveal them. I guess you're just too honest to be deceiving, even if you try."

She blinked and swallowed past the dryness the sight of his alluring smile brought upon her throat. "Well, thank you. I am too honest, but I'm not so bothered about them."

At this, he crossed his arms and raised a brow at her.

"I'm serious!" she whined and continued walking, making him do the same.

He let a beat of silence pass before he spoke.

"I don't know why you've been more... curious for the past few days. Maybe you want to be sure of who you keep in your circle, but if it makes anything better, I think they're looking for someone."

Her feet turned to rocks, glued to the ground by his words.

He stopped in the next moment and turned back to her, his eyes holding a question.

She cleared her throat. "You've only known them for a week. What makes you say so?"

He shrugged. "I can be observant. Now c'mon, we have a class," he said and took her hand in his like it was the most natural thing in the world, sending a wave of warmth through her fingers as they headed off to class.

Her mind soon suppressed the tickling in her chest with more questions. How was he able to deduce that from simple observation? Her worry shifted from the new students to the boy, whose hold on her hand sparked a pleasant mix of excitement and nervousness within her.

She had been so focused on the new students that she forgot Zack was new, too. In the short time they had been acquainted, he concluded that she harbored feelings for Luke and that she had a different persona outside the walls of Emerfield High.

She sat with a blank stare on the whiteboard as he recalled the conversation they had just the day before.

~

"Where do you live?" she asked as they made their way to the fields. She took advantage of the free period they had to show him around the sports facilities.

"The Lake House with my grandma." When he saw her wide eyes and parted lips, he asked, "What?"

"I didn't think you would be the type. You need to have a caring attitude to live with an old person. You look like someone who would spend their day holed up in their room, jamming to heavy metal."

His brows furrowed as his gaze rested on her. "How can you 'jam' to an object?"

The gentle breeze carried the sound of her laughter at look of pure confusion on his face. She expected him to break out into a teasing smile but when he didn't, her laughter died down.

"You don't know heavy metal?" she asked, and he shook his head, tendrils of his dark blond hair moving with the action. Her tone was light when she spoke. "It's a genre of music. Its popularity depends on where you live but, how have you not come in contact with it—How old are you even?"

His eyes flashed past her for a second before they returned. "I don't keep track of my age."

She nodded before her eyes rested on the wired fence around the soccer field. "That's fine. Elowen always makes a fuss about my birthday, but there's not much she can do for me, since it's during holidays when I'm swamped with work. Plus, there's nothing special about it. I don't see the big deal people make it out to be."

At this, he frowned. "I don't keep track of my age, but it's still the day I was born. How is that not special?"

She shrugged. "For as long as I recall, there's nothing I've done on it that made it special. My aunt and uncle..." She stopped as she remembered she had long promised herself she wouldn't discuss her aunt and uncle in school.

What happens at home, stays at home.

She had only discussed them once in school, and that was when Elowen had noticed her unusual and persistent silence. Elowen prodded until she poured out her feelings and tears, and told Elowen everything, except the fact that she could see her dead sister.

"I have a conclusion." His voice broke the growing silence.

Her eyes came back to the swirling cool green of his eyes. She raised a brow and flashed a smile. "Let's hear it then."

"The brightest smiles hide the darkest pasts. When I look at you, I see someone who puts walls between sections of her life. Someone who is reveling in all the happiness she can get now because this is the only place she can get it. Sometimes it feels like I'm only seeing a part of you, a part you choose to show. A mask that hides your truth. Am I right?"

She stood, held captive by his green eyes and his stinging words. Eyes that swirled with an understanding of how she lived her life as if he did the same. Words that held more truth than she had ever told herself. Even she hadn't concluded that was what she had been doing until he mentioned it.

What way could she react that would tell him he was wrong? She could either get defensive or simply tell him he was right. Whichever she did, he would know he was.

"I guess we're all entitled to keep certain parts of our lives in the shadows," she said, wondering just how dark his secrets were because she knew he certainly had them.

♛

ITNC: At detention, Gema reveals to Karyn and Zack the real reason she's here with Jamie and Marcela.

♛

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The Sparkling Authoress,
Mis. A
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