Kylie hadn't dressed up for anyone. Yet when Derek looked over from the fae breakfast table, his eyes told her she looked pretty. She found herself smiling and then that smile vanished and she started missing Lucas.
After breakfast, they had Meet Your Campmate hour. Kylie drew Nikki's name, the new shape-shifter, the girl Miranda accused of having a crush on Perry. Kylie had worried that the new camper would pepper her with questions about the glowing episode, but nope. All Nikki wanted to talk about was Perry. Miranda had been right. The girl had a serious thing for Perry. Not that Kylie suspected Perry would play along. Nevertheless, before the hour ended, Kylie had nicely mentioned that Perry was already otherwise committed.
The girl had nicely ignored her, too.
The hour hadn't ended when Kylie debated what, if anything, she'd tell Miranda. Jealousy was an ugly emotion. Kylie was lucky that Fredericka hadn't gone with Lucas to his dad's place, or she'd have been battling the green-eyed emotion herself.
Kylie's first class was English with Della, Miranda, and Derek. Although absent, Lucas was in the class as well. Ava Kane, the new teacher, had an easy teaching style, not that any of the guys noticed anything other than her body. Not a male in the room wasn't mesmerized. Even Derek. Chances were, if Lucas had been there, he'd have been just as taken.
While the boys only had eyes for the teacher, the teacher only had eyes for Kylie's forehead. Was her pattern doing something new? She actually turned to Della and asked. Della assured her that she was still just a regular boring-ass fae.
When the class ended, Miss Kane stood by the door. And when Kylie walked past, Miss Kane leaned down and whispered, "Sorry. I shouldn't have stared, I'm just fascinated by ... you."
Kylie felt her sincerity. "It's okay," Kylie offered, even though she wished it weren't. At least the woman apologized, which was more than what ninety percent of the campers would do.
History class-next in line-was difficult to sit through. As hard as Collin Warren tried to hide his jitters about teaching, they rang loud and clear. His nervousness filled the room like smoke, yet unlike Miss Kane, not once did the man look Kylie in the eyes. Frankly, she wasn't sure he looked anyone in the eyes.
Yet, because of Holiday's request that Kylie take the nervous teacher under her wing, when the class ended, Kylie hung back to offer a word of support. The students all left the room, except for her. She hoped the man would acknowledge her, but he sat at his desk, head down, shuffling his own papers.
She moved to stand in front of his desk. He still didn't look up. Okay ... this was weird. She got being shy, but this was over the top-the kind of shyness for which a person might require medicine.
"Hello," she said.
He exhaled as if unhappy, but looked up. "Can I help you?"
Emotions flowed from him-something more than just extreme shyness. Almost fear, mingled with frustration.
"I wanted to say welcome to Shadow Falls. It can be hard-"
"I ... I need practice." He glanced away. "I'll get better at it."
"I wasn't going to criticize." She sympathized with how he must feel, knowing he'd sucked his first day at teaching. "Practice makes perfect, my Nana used to say."
He looked up. "Do you see her?"
"See who?" Kylie asked.
"Your Nana. Isn't she passed? I hear you have the gift of speaking with the dead."
The question caught Kylie off guard. "Yeah. I mean, she died about four months ago, but I haven't spoken with her."
"But you talk to others, right? The dead?"
Kylie nodded. "Yeah." Unable to read him at the moment, she added, "I know it sounds pretty freaky."
"Not at all. I'd love to be able to ask the dead questions."
Kylie tried to digest what he'd said.
He diverted his eyes. "I mean ... with my love of history. How great would it be to talk to those who lived before us?"
"That makes sense," Kylie said. And it did, but it was still odd. Most supernaturals would never have wanted to deal with the dead, not even for the love of history. She looked to the door. "I should go before I'm late."
As Kylie walked away, she felt him watching her. Okay, Collin Warren was even stranger than she'd first assumed. She really hoped Holiday knew what she was doing when she hired him.
Kylie had just left that cabin and started down the path to her next class when her phone rang. Glancing at the number, a wave of nostalgia hit.
"I was going to call you, too." Kylie sighed.
"The first day of school doesn't feel right with you not here," Sara said.
"I know." Kylie bit down on her lip.
"How are things?" Sara asked. "You still got two cute boys after you?"
"I pretty much decided on one."
"Derek," Sara said.
"No," Kylie corrected. "Lucas."
"Hmm, for some reason, I thought you'd go with Derek, but Lucas is yummy."
Why did you think that? "How are you doing?" Kylie asked, deciding she didn't want to know Sara's answer to the other question.
"Still cancer free," Sara said. "As you well know."
Kylie ignored the comment. "I'm glad."
"When are you coming home next?" Sara asked.
"I think there's a parent weekend in two or three weeks." If she wasn't still pulling stunts like glowing and vanishing, that was.
"Good, because I need a Kylie fix. Agh, there's the bell. I gotta run. I'll call you in a week or so."
A week? There was a time not so long ago when not a day would go by without them talking.
Kylie pushed away the melancholy at how her life had changed. Then, pocketing her phone, she hurried to class. The thought that it was Hayden Yates's class sent a shiver of dread skittering up and down her backbone.
* * *
The second she walked up to the door of Hayden Yates' classroom, Kylie decided that the awkward vibes Collin Warren gave off weren't nearly as unsettling as Mr. Yates's.
The man hadn't even looked at Kylie, yet somehow she knew he'd been keeping tabs on her-that he not only knew she was standing at the door, but he'd been waiting for her.
The question that had weighed on her mind grew heavier. Was he behind Hannah's and the other girls' deaths? If so, did he know Kylie suspected him?
Stepping farther into the classroom, she noticed that everyone was already in their seats. Only one seat remained. Kylie's gut turned into a pretzel.
Fredericka sat right behind the empty seat. The girl smiled, or rather smirked.
Kylie hadn't thought about having to deal with the she-wolf in her classes. Trying not to look at Fredericka, Kylie went and sat down.