Summary:Â You donât ever want to be the main character. In your town, thatâs deadly. Someone has to warn the new kid.Â
Someone has got to tell the new kid in town the Rules.
The new kid looks up at you. Heâs sitting at his desk in the back corner of the classroom, right next to the windows. Itâs a chilly day, but heâs got the window open so that the breeze ruffles his curly, black hair. âWhatâs up? Fern, right?â
âDonât call me by my name,â you snarl. Then, realizing what youâve done, you look over your shoulder. The other teenagers are still looped around the teacherâs desk, trying to get Ms. Slauson to move the test date so they could organize a welcome part for the new kid. âI need to talk to you. Privately.â
The new kid leans back in his chair and studies you. You know what he sees â a completely average high school girl in jeans, a sweatshirt, and a ponytail. Thereâs nothing remarkable about you. He tilts his head. âYou donât look like a bully.â
You frown. âIâm not.â
âYouâre being awfully threatening,â he says in a drawl.
The accent is going to be a problem. Itâs southern and sounds really cool. Honestly, it might be too late for him already.
But you still have to try.
âMeet me on the rooftopâno!â You press the heel of one hand against your eye. Fight it, you tell yourself. Fight it! âMeet me at the supermarket on Western Street. The dairy aisle. After school.â
You spin on your heel, head throbbing. Meeting on the rooftop is against the rules. You glance up at the ceiling uneasily. Youâre not usually affected by the compulsion so badly. Are you being targeted?
If you were smart, you wouldnât show up to the meeting. Youâd just let the guy get sucked into the madness on his own.
But you also really need to buy some milk.
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