She stood, but kept her head down to avoid their eyes as she hurried to the bathroom. Anywhere to hide from their mocking laughter. So much for kindness bringing you everything you deserve. Being brave and standing up for yourself got you even less. She hoped the diary didn’t see her hit Lacy. She’d been provoked, but she wasn’t certain how the luck thing judged. These feelings though were what worried her. Anger like this was never good. When she lost her temper, bad things happened.

Upon arriving home after school, she rushed to her room to check the diary. Sure enough Lacy’s entry, with a little minus, was there, written in the neat child’s print style the book had been using since she’d first discovered it. The word Cruelty had appeared beside the words.

Still smarting and filled with angst and pain from what had happened earlier, Nem picked up a pencil and wrote by the name:

Mean Lacy deserves to get sick and die.

Then she paused, staring at the page as her lips twitched from side to side. Then she thought better of it and crossed out and die.

* * *

School wasn’t much fun after that, but if she was one thing, she was adaptable. So what if she had no friends? Then she would be safe. Friends were dangerous.

The girl was just a mean, stupid show-off, not a criminal. The anger had faded and ever since the argument she had ignored Nem. She must have imagined that turning her into a non-person would hurt more than teasing.

For a week or so, Nem even worried how ill Lacy might become from the diary entry. She kept seeing those words on the page crossed out but prayed that in erasing them, all would be okay. Writing in the book had been a silly reaction and she told herself to never do that again, to just be normal and walk away.

Every day she searched for her ex-friend as she entered the classroom, then exhaled in relief when she found her at her desk. Lacy looked as healthy and happy as ever and was still her loud-look-at-me persona, as always.

Of course, she’d be happy. School broke soon for two months over summer, and who wouldn’t enjoy a European vacation. She was a loved princess and Nem was a nobody, not even worthy of teasing.

She didn’t examine the book again for a while for fear of discovering terrible things. For she’d regretted writing her own comments against Lacy’s name. The luck thing worked on emotions and that made her additional notes dangerous. Very dangerous. From that day Nem learned something, thanks to Lacy.

Once a name appeared in the diary, it was impossible to remove. Like a death sentence. Literally.

Poor Lacy. Poor, poor Lacy.

22

When William opened his eyes, he surmised instantly he hadn’t died.

A lamp he didn’t recognize glowed gently by his bedside. That didn’t bother him nearly as much as the sense somebody else was in the room. In the dim light, he realized a person sat in a corner chair hidden by the shadows. He thought he recognized the intruder, but decided his imagination had gone to hell and come back to terrorize him.