Laughing at her, I nudge her toward the cooler. “Come on, let’s at least act like we belong here.”

“You don’t think it’s weird? Lucie’s best friends know nothing about her wanting to leave town. I mean specifically. Where does Lucie want to go? What does she want to do? Surely those are things that her friends would know?” Hazel asks as we head to get a can of…something.

“Sure, but I don’t think they’re going to tell us anything since you didn’t exactly make friends back there.”

She scoffs. “Whatever.”

“Do you think anyone here knows anything about the runaways?”

“I bet they do.”

I stop walking. “Ooh, maybe some of them are involved in human trafficking? Or doing some creepy, cultish sacrificing?”

“Calm down with the horror movies, Piper.”

“You never know,” I grumble.

Hazel reaches down and grabs us two Cokes from the cooler. “I’m bored of this now. It was a mistake, it’s not fun. When can we leave?”

“I just got here!”

She turns her nose up, her curly hair bouncing in the breeze. “That’s your problem. I’ve already been here for ten minutes. The only people I’ve spoken to are those girls, who are super-hostile, and this guy who thought it was appropriate to kiss me.”

“Someone kissed you?”

“He tried.”

Yeah, we’re definitely not going to make friends here.

“This is a bust,” she says.

“I did mention we wouldn’t be solving crimes by being stereotypical teenagers, if you recall.” Not a total bust, though, because I did get to meet the cutest guy on the way here. Why haven’t I told Hazel? She would relish the thought of me talking to a guy, even if I never see him again. Because I’m too young to go out with Caleb, but Hazel would try to convince me to do it anyway. I haven’t had a boyfriend in a year, and I can’t really call him a boyfriend since we were together five days and I only got a peck on the cheek. Apparently, I was too boring for him. I could have saved him five days if he’d just asked me if I was an exciting person at the start.

“We should Facebook stalk Lucie’s friends,” I suggest. And also maybe check to see if Caleb has found me on there yet. If he even bothers to look me up at all. He wouldn’t be the first guy to say something and not follow through.

“You know Lucie?”

I turn to the owner of the voice. A guy, probably our age, glares at us. From the dark look in his eyes, I think it’s safe to assume he heard every word I just said.