Emma cut him off before he could give her an I-hate-dances spiel. “We could look into the Twins together. I won’t have to handle everything myself. And it could even be fun. We can dress in goofy costumes, OD on the amazing cupcakes the caterer is bringing, dance—or not dance, if you’re really opposed. We can laugh at all the people who are really into it.”

Ethan’s hands twisted together in his lap. “It’s not that I don’t want to go. It’s that . . . well, I’ve actually asked someone else.”

Emma blinked. It felt like he’d just dumped a bucket of cold water on her head, and for a moment her brain was filled with nothing but static. “Oh!” she said, a few moments too late. “Oh, well, great! Good for you!”

The look that crossed Ethan’s face was comically grouchy, almost petulant. “I mean, you said you just wanted to be friends. You said you weren’t interested.”

“I know! I did!” Emma’s voice took on the annoying chirpy quality it always got when she tried too hard to sound upbeat. “I mean, it would have been as friends. But this is totally for the better. I’m so happy for you! You’ll have so much fun!”

The room suddenly felt too small to fit both of them. Emma leapt to her feet. “Um, I should go.”

Ethan stood, too. “What? Where?”

“I-I should get back to the auditorium.” Emma fumbled for the door. “They’re still holding the party. I should help out. Plus, all my stuff is still there.”

“But . . .” Ethan slung his bag over his shoulder and followed her, but Emma did not want to discuss it any further. She gave him the most carefree wave she could muster. “I’ll call you later,” she promised, even though she couldn’t imagine doing so. She speed-walked into the hall, turned a corner, then collapsed against a bank of lockers.

The hall was quiet, the final bell of the day not yet having rung. Emma could hear her own ragged breathing. A sob rose in her throat, but she quickly swallowed it down. “You had your chance,” she whispered furiously. “You made your choice. It is for the best.”

A cackling sound floated down the hall. Emma froze, listening. There was another sharp exhalation of breath around the corner, a second triumphant-sounding snort. A shadow spread across the floor. Had someone been watching her? Listening?

She sprinted down the hall, but when she rounded the corner there was no one there. When Emma breathed in, she could detect the faintest scent of coconut in the air. And when she looked down, she saw a few tiny, glittering shards of glass on the ground.

She crouched down to touch one of the pieces. The amber-colored glass perfectly matched the glass in the light fixture that had nearly shattered her skull.

Chapter 20 - Service with a Snicker