“Oh look, Miri, it’s Evil, the Corpse Girl!”

No, no, no, no. My back stiffened, but I kept on walking. I hoped Oren hadn’t heard.

“Oh, Cooooorpse Girl,” Sasha said in a singsong.

There was no way he missed that.

I looped my arm through Oren’s good one, tugging him along as I sped up. “Let’s go,” I urged.

“Who’s that with her?” I heard Miri ask.

“I’ve never seen him before,” Sasha said.

“Don’t ignore us, Evil!” Miri yelled so loudly that no one could possibly ignore her.

Still, I was planning on doing just that, but then the two of them somehow got in front of us, looking smug and…ugh, so mean. Miri had her hands on her hips, her feet spread wide. Sasha’s arms were crossed.

Miri turned to Oren. “And who are you?” she asked sweetly. Sickly sweet, in fact.

“None of your business!” I snapped when Oren didn’t answer. Not that I expected him to.

Miri looked at me. “I’m sure the new guy can speak for himself.”

Uh, no, he can’t, as a matter of fact. I tried to steer Oren away, but they kept blocking us.

“What do you think you’re doing, Corpse Girl?” Miri asked. “Maybe the new guy wants to come hang out with us.”

I glanced over at Oren. Did he? Would he rather hang out with the popular girls who might want to be his friends?

Oren shook his head. Whew.

“Oh, I get it,” Sasha said. “He’s your corpse boyfriend. I mean, look at his face, Miri! She probably dug him up at the graveyard.”

Miri laughed like it was the funniest thing ever. Oren looked shocked. His hand went up to touch the jagged scar on his cheek.

I wanted to tell them what he’d been through so they’d stop. But I didn’t want to embarrass him.

“Shut up!” I said. “You can be mean to me, if you want to so bad, but leave him alone!”

It wasn’t until I saw their faces that I realized I’d yelled my words. I glanced over at Oren. He was looking at the floor.

“Aw,” Sasha said, using that singsong voice again. “That is so cute. Corpse Girl is protecting her zombie boyfriend.”

I snuck a peek at the faded bruises on Oren’s face. I’d gotten so used to his injuries that I didn’t even notice them anymore. He’d gotten the stitches out a few days earlier, but the skin still looked pink and tender.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” I said. Oren looked a bit… something. Wait. Did he think…?

“I mean, not that you’re not, I mean…we’re not even friends…just…ugh!” I was so embarrassed. Now Oren probably thought that I thought he was not boyfriend-worthy. Not that I wanted a boyfriend. But that didn’t mean the girls…ugh! I couldn’t think straight.

Sasha and Miri laughed. “Oh no?” Sasha said. “Maybe he wants to be your boyfriend, Evil. Maybe he likes the smell of rotting flesh.” She leaned toward me and sniffed loudly before she fake-gagged, her eyes rolling back.