At lunch I sat with Violet knowing that she, at least, wouldn’t make me move. I sat down next to her and she gave me half a smile. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. I unwrapped my sandwich but couldn’t eat it. I kept saying to myself, Tell them you were joking about Wither, tell them you were joking about Wither. But before I got the chance, Jordyn started talking.

“Did you hear about Cora Landry?” Jordyn asked.

“No, what happened?” Gemma asked in this fakey voice.

“She moved away. Poof! Just up and disappeared.” Jordyn made her eyes wide and frowned, like she was sad. I felt like throwing up.

“I wondered why I hadn’t seen her around in a while,” Kaley said like some big mystery had been solved. “Where’d she move to?” I tried not to cry.

“Probably somewhere with Joseph Wither, you know, because he’s real,” Jordyn said. No one was looking at me. “What about you, Violet?” Jordyn asked. Tears were plopping onto my sandwich, making the bread soggy. “Have you seen Cora lately?”

I held my breath.

Violet looked down at her tray. “No, I haven’t seen her.”

No one talks to me. No one looks at me. Even Violet. It’s like I’m a ghost.

Thomas Petit Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Thomas Petit

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

“I swear, I didn’t do anything to Cora,” Jordyn tells Thomas again after they visit Tess in the skilled care facility. It was a quick visit. Thomas had planned on telling Tess about what happened to Cora at the train yard, but after the upsetting meeting with Cora and her family, Thomas couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Tess didn’t seem to notice anything was amiss. She chatted enough for all of them.

Jordyn buckles herself into her seat. “We were both mad at each other for a while, but we made up. I don’t know why her sister said all those mean things.”

Thomas thinks about this. It’s true that kids argue all the time. Get in little spats here and there. Maybe Cora’s sister was just being emotional, and rightly so. Their family had been through a lot. And wouldn’t Cora’s mom have refused to allow them to visit if Jordyn had treated Cora badly? But then there was the prank that Jordyn admitted to wanting to play on Cora. He doesn’t know what to believe anymore. Besides, Cora seemed genuinely happy to see Jordyn. If Jordyn had been as awful as Kendall said, would she have acted that way?

“I think Cora was really glad you came,” Thomas says as he pulls out of the parking lot.

“Yeah,” Jordyn says but there is no conviction in her voice, only sadness.