With the way my skin is itching and a sharp retort is sitting on my tongue, I know it’s better not to reply right now. I don’t want to say something I’ll regret to Anam.

Instead, I turn my phone off. It’s not like Rosie is going to call me at this rate anyway.

“Let’s go,” I say, gesturing for Linli to come with me. I look back at the room, all the club members’ faces reading of concern, and I turn to Grant. “Take over until I get back?”

Grant’s eyes widen but he nods. “Yeah. Of course.”

At the same time, Emmitt comes up to my side. “Do you want me to come with you?”

I shake my head. Emmitt still doesn’t know the school building well enough to help. “Stay here with Grant. I’ll be back.”

I grab Linli’s hand and head for the door. She takes the lead once we’re in the hallway, leading us past a row of sea-foam-green lockers until we reach the stairs.

“I think she’s near her locker,” Linli explains, as we climb up to the third floor. “Or at least that’s what it looks like according to the Snap Map.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I say, though my eyes are quickly scanning every hallway we pass for any sight of Rosie’s red hair.

When we finally reach Sofia’s locker, there’s no one there.

I slump my shoulders in defeat and resist the urge to start ripping my hair out. This is so ridiculous. Even if Sofia doesn’t know how important it is for us to win the Golden Ivy student film competition, Rosie does.

Her admission to NYU depends on the scholarship that comes with it, the same way I depend on my parents’ funding my admission on the basis of our win. So how can she treat it like it’s no big deal, like we can just miss meetings without even telling each other?

“Maybe we should—”

Linli’s sentence is cut off by the sound of someone—a boy?—yelling.

We both slowly turn in the direction of the sound, giving each other bemused looks. Could this day get any worse?

36

The voice is deep, somewhat familiar, though I can’t place it.

“Why are you lying?” the person says, and Linli’s eyes narrow into slits. A sense of foreboding runs through me. “I’m sick and tired of your bullshit!”

“That’s Matt,” she says, moving forward immediately, and I follow her. I didn’t recognize it at first since I haven’t spent that much time with Matt, but now that I’m listening, it’s obviously him.

“Do you think Sofia is with him?” I ask, tugging on my braid.