“What does that mean?” Maria whispered. “Does that mean Delilah’s—”

“Shh.” Lily tilted her head toward the office. Maria got the idea and leaned in too, trying to hear.

The woman beckoned to the other officer to join them. The three of them spoke in hushed tones. Maria could only hear a few snatches of conversation. “Parents on their way . . . outcome is uncertain . . . criminal charges.”

At that last one, Maria and Lily locked eyes. Lily was biting her lip. It was the first time all night Maria had seen her look nervous.

Finally Ross came to stand in the middle of the room.

“Hey, folks,” he said to the silent group. Everyone sat up. The people who were asleep were nudged awake, rubbing their eyes.

“We’re probably not going to know anything more tonight.” Ross looked around into each student’s face. He had such kind eyes. “I know you all care about Delilah, but you might as well go on back to your rooms.”

Caitlin raised her hand, the same hesitant way she did in class. Instinctively, Maria turned to Lily—they always rolled their eyes at each other when Caitlin did things like that—but Lily was still watching Ross. Her face had gone back to the same immobile expression she’d had ever since Maria had found her washing her hands in the bathroom.

“Has she woken up?” Caitlin asked.

Ross shook his head. “She’s still in surgery. Even if she comes out of the coma, she won’t be awake for several hours at the earliest.”

God. Maria had sent someone into a coma.

“I don’t want to go yet,” Tamika said. She was crying. Crying because of what Maria had done. “Can’t we wait until you know something more?”

The cops shrugged and turned to Ross. The three of them muttered together again.

Rain pounded against the windows. That sound usually made Maria sleepy. After tonight, she couldn’t imagine ever sleeping again.

She kept her eyes on the cops. A pair of handcuffs was tucked into the man’s back waistband. When they found out what she’d done, would she be led away in those? Stuck in a cell with gang members and prostitutes? God, what would her mother say?

“How long do you think we have to stay down here?” Maria whispered to Lily.

“Shh.” Lily’s eyes darted around the room, but no one was watching them. “We stay as long as everyone else stays.”

“They make me nervous. Those cops.”

“Yeah, well, stop looking at them. You’re acting suspicious.”

“What if Delilah wakes up and tells them what happened? We have to do something. I just can’t think of what. I can’t think at all.”

Maria’s mind was swimming. Thoughts looped around each other in useless circles.

She wanted to move backward, not forward. But she couldn’t do that. She could only cover up what she’d done.