“Yeah, so?” She tucked in her blouse where it had started to come undone. The side of it was smudged with dirt.

“You should change,” I said.

“Nah. This is fine.”

I wasn’t so sure, but at least it was better than the jean shorts. Eddie did leave to put on his uniform and never came back for breakfast. I knew he liked his breakfasts, and since he was a guy, he could change clothes pretty quickly. My guess was he was sacrificing food to stay away from Angeline.

I heard my name called as we entered the cafeteria and caught sight of Kristin Sawyer and Julia Cavendish waving to me. Aside from Trey, they were the two closest friends I’d made at Amberwood. I still had miles to go in ever being socially savvy, but those two had helped me a lot. And with all the supernatural intrigue my job involved, there was something comforting about being around people who were normal… and, well, human. Even if I couldn’t be fully honest with them.

“Sydney, we have a fashion question for you,” Julia said. She tossed her blonde hair over one shoulder, her usual sign that what she was about to say was of utmost importance.

“A fashion question for me?” I was almost ready to glance back and see if maybe there was another Sydney standing behind me. “I don’t think anyone’s ever asked that.”

“You have really nice clothes,” Kristin insisted. She had dark skin and hair, as well as an athletic air that contrasted with Julia’s more girly nature. “Too nice, actually. If my mom were ten years younger, cool, and had a lot more money, she’d dress just like you.” I didn’t know if that was a compliment or not, but Julia didn’t give me a chance to ruminate.

“Tell her, Kris.”

“Remember that counseling internship I wanted next semester? I scored an interview,” Kristin explained. “I’m trying to decide if I should wear pants and a blazer or a dress.”

Ah, that explained why they were coming to me. An interview. Anything else they could have pulled from a fashion magazine. And while I could admit that I probably was the authority on such practical matters… well, I was kind of disappointed that was what I’d been summoned for. “What color are they?”

“The blazer’s red, and the dress is navy.”

I studied Kristin, taking in her features. On her wrist was a scar, the remnant of an insidious tattoo I’d helped remove, back when Keith’s shady tattoo ring had run rampant. “Do the dress. Wait… is it a dress you’d wear to church or to a nightclub?”

“Church,” she said, not sounding happy about it.

“Dress for sure then,” I said.

Kristin flashed a triumphant look at Julia. “See? I told you that’s what she’d say.”

Julia looked doubtful. “The blazer’s more fun. It’s bright red.”

“Yeah, but ‘fun’ isn’t usually what you want to portray at an interview,” I pointed out. It was hard to keep a straight face with their banter. “At least not for this kind of job.”