“Don’t worry about me,” I said. “I’ve had months to get used to this kind of thing.”

“That’s what all the hanging out with Saylor was about, huh?” she asked, opening her car door. “The karate stuff?”

I nodded. “I’ll tell you the whole story at lunch, promise.”

We both stepped out of the car and into the bright spring morning. The smell of flowers hung in the air, and the grass sparkled with dew. It was a gorgeous day, and I took a deep breath, feeling a little better. On a morning like this, it seemed impossible to believe that anything bad could happen. I had my best friend back, a new pair of ballet flats on my feet, and a boyfriend heading toward me with a smile on his face and... what appeared to be bowling shoes on his feet.

“Where did you even get those?” I asked as he came up to stand beside me, and he held one foot out, turning his ankle.

“Salvation Army. They’re cool, right?”

They did kind of match his shirt, which I guessed I should consider a win.

I turned to say something to Bee, but she was already heading off toward the school, shoulders held back.

Following my gaze, David nodded toward Bee. “She okay?”

I thought about Bee’s bright smile, how fake it had seemed, and I gave an uneasy shrug. “She’s not not okay, I guess,” I finally settled on, and David nodded.

“Kind of the status quo around here.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

Bee wasn’t in any of my classes that day, which wasn’t a surprise since technically she wasn’t registered for spring semester. Ryan had said he’d meet her at the main office to do the best he could, Mage-wise, to help out with that, but by the time lunch rolled around, I was getting a little worried about Bee. Stepping outside, I scanned the courtyard for her bright hair, but there was no sign of her. Ryan was out there, though, already sitting at one of the picnic tables with Mary Beth and the twins, but there was no sign of Brandon, Ryan’s best friend and Bee’s boyfriend.

Catching Ryan’s eye, I mouthed, “Bee?”

He gave me a thumbs-up, then a little wave, inviting me to sit at his table. Mary Beth glanced behind her, and while she didn’t, like, hiss or anything, I could see her eyes narrow. So, yeah, sitting with them was out.

I thought about going back into the building to look for Bee, but she was a big girl, and if she wanted to handle this on her own, I needed to respect that.