Turning my back on her, I burst through the carved wood doors into the game room before I lost my nerve. Six heads swiveled, and they all stared, their eyes masked by AMPs. Everyone stood around the pool table. Jax was shooting while Bryce looked on, leaning on his cue. Lil and Kylie were sipping pink champagne. Adam had his arm draped around Deena’s waist but immediately dropped his hand, inching away from her, shifting his weight uncomfortably.

Good. I hope I make him sweat.

“There she is,” Deena said, plastering a wide smile on her hollow face. “The birthday girl! Put your headset on, silly. Come into the real party.”

“Why? You can’t face me in reality?” I picked up a VR headset and pulled it on so I could see what they were seeing. The room transformed into a carnival of flashing lights and sound. Everything was black and white, from the fortune teller’s striped tent to the game booths, with the exception of the game pieces. And us. The pool table was black, but the balls glowed neon. Beyond the distant Ferris wheel, its lights cast in vivid color, I sensed we were encased in glass—a snow globe or a crystal ball—trapped.

“Oh, Ella, let’s forget the past,” Deena said, her avatar coming to my side and resting her head on my shoulder. “I’m willing to start over if you are.”

“Why? What’s in it for you? I’m Network poison.” Sidestepping her, I digested their reimagined forms—Deena was curvier, Lil taller—and landed on Adam.

There was an apology in his stare that I took for guilt, and I steeled myself against him.

Liar.

“Ella! We missed you is all.” Kylie threw her arms around my neck. “I promise.”

“Have some champagne,” Lil said. “We have so much to tell you.” Her words slurred, and she’d clearly had too much already. Pouring me a glass, she let the bubbles foam over the sides. In the virtual world, they looked like oozing lava.

I didn’t know why they were being nice to me. Maybe being miserable for two days is too much to handle so they popped some extra pills. Whatever the reason, it was fine with me. I would play along with anything in order to escape.

Putting on a happy face, I squeezed Kylie back. “I totally missed you guys, too. Savannah was the loneliest.”

“It looked like you worked a lot,” Adam said, focusing on the shot he was lining up.

“You were paying attention?” Accepting my glass from Lil, I tried to sound coy, but I couldn’t keep the edge from my voice. “I thought you were too busy to notice I was gone.”

“He was pretty busy.” Bryce snorted and drank from the glowing purple guitar he wore strapped across his chest.