A tall girl, thin as a stick bug, spoke first. “We’re so happy that you’re back, Madison. People said you were badly injured.” She paused as if she thought I might contradict her.
“We were all really worried. The police questioned us after what happened,” a black-haired girl added. She looked vaguely familiar; I thought her name might have been Stacey.
“It’s incredible how fast you’ve recovered,” Stick Bug said. Her eyes were eager and curious. They hadn’t come to welcome me back. They had come to gather fodder for gossip. I forced myself to focus on their hands (were they fidgeting?), their body language (were they tense or sweating more than usual?), and their expressions (were they too sympathetic, too kind, like they were trying to compensate for their lack of real emotion?). I filed the info away. My eyes darted to the people who had stayed in their seats. Were they feigning disinterest in order to seem innocent?
Some people were whispering. One boy with blond hair, pale skin, a narrow face, and a haggard body kept his head down. I couldn’t see his hands but his shoulders were tilted toward his ears as if he hoped to disappear into his seat.
Another girl touched my shoulder. “Does it still hurt?” She pointed at my throat and the boy beside her nudged her. What a stupid question. I shook my head.
“Do you remember anything?” A girl who’d sneaked up behind Stick Bug asked. Her hair was dark as coal and so were her eyes. Suddenly everyone seemed to hold their breath. Ana made a sound that reminded me of a growl. “Shut up, Franny.”
The girl flinched before narrowing her eyes.
Mrs. Coleman, the biology teacher, chose that moment to enter the room, as a few late students scurried in behind her and everyone scattered to their seats. She leveled her eyes on me and gave a curt nod before she turned her attention to the books she’d set down on her desk.
“Wow, what a welcome,” I said under my breath. Ana shrugged.
“People want to know the truth. The newspaper has been reporting about the murders for weeks and everyone’s scared. You’re the only victim that survived and people are making up their own theories about that, how you’ve come back from the dead.”
“I wasn’t dead,” I said.
Ana’s eyes turned soft. “No, but you were so still. I was there once, in the hospital. You looked so . . . lifeless.” I remembered the way Madison had looked. So small in the hospital bed, so lost.
I smiled at her. “I’m back.”
Mrs. Coleman harrumphed, seemingly drawing up to twice her height—which wasn’t much—until every gaze settled on her. “Darwin’s theory of evolution.”
I bit back a groan. Evolution was the last thing I wanted to hear about, especially since the way most humans learned it was wrong. They never learned of nature’s slip or whatever you want to call the existence of people like me or Alec or Kate. Variants.
Speaking of Alec. Where the hell was he? I thought he was supposed to arrive at school today and I knew he had biology with me—I’d compared our schedules beforehand. Had he somehow managed to weasel his way out of it? If so, I’d have to have a serious talk with Major. It was unfair that I had to suffer through high school while he did God knows what. Probably having phone sex with Kate. The thought of it made me want to puke up my pancakes.
A knock interrupted Mrs. Coleman’s bland introduction of Charles Darwin. With a cutting glare that would have made me squirm if I wasn’t already used to Major, she turned her attention to the door. Alec—every tall, muscled, self-assured inch of him—entered. The fury instantly vanished from Mrs. Coleman’s face. She blinked at Alec, and his gray eyes held her gaze. She was a goner.
“I’m sorry for being late. I’m new and I had to meet with the principal first.” He didn’t hand her a slip of paper that would have confirmed his statement but she didn’t ask him to. In moments like that, I couldn’t help but wonder if Major wasn’t the only FEA agent with a hidden mental Variation. Or was it really just Alec’s good looks that made people react to him the way they did? Well, that made women react that way . . .
Mrs. Coleman nodded and pointed Alec to the sole free seat—next to Franny, one row behind us. Our eyes met briefly as he walked past my table but his face didn’t show any recognition. I hoped I’d managed the same. My face always seemed to go still when I saw him. Every girl—even Mrs. Coleman—watched Alec as he lowered himself into his chair. That was why being in love with someone like him was such a bad idea. Even if he wasn’t with Kate, there’d still be all the other girls who’d give their right arm to be his.