Josie opened her mouth to argue, but then she frowned, considering.

“I saw some of what you were working on,” I said. “At Christmas. It’s really good, Josie. And you made it that way. I think you should dance in it.”

Josie still didn’t say anything. She switched off the radio and stared out the window. It was deadly quiet in the car as I turned into the Eagle View parking lot, found a spot, and turned off the ignition. Josie gathered up her backpack and put her fingers on the door handle.

“You might have a point,” she said.

Now it was my turn to blink at her in surprise. “Really?” I said, recovering. “I mean, yeah. Just think about it.”

“I will.” She opened the door, giving me a small, hesitant smile before stepping out of the car and joining a group of her friends in front of school.

I took a second before getting out, my mouth stretching into a smile, too. Things weren’t all the way better between Josie and me. It was hard to know what that would look like for us, honestly. But the conversation had made me feel good. And combined with the strength I was carrying from the road trip with Colleen, I walked into Eagle View with more confidence than I’d ever had before.

I got to homeroom, ready to talk to Margot. But she wasn’t there. I fidgeted in my seat, looking up every time someone passed by the doorway, but she never came.

As soon as the bell rang, I rushed to the senior lockers to try to catch Ethan, but he wasn’t there, either. When I walked into English, he was already in his seat, fiddling with his pen and staring out the window. I looked at my desk, and at Paul sitting behind it. He put his hands together and bowed.

I stared at Paul’s smirking face and the fire inside me sparked, blazed. Why the hell had I accepted this? So what if I’d sat here on the first day and written my name on a stupid seating chart? Why should a piece of paper tell me where to sit?

“Hey, Ice Pri—”

I strode over to my desk, but instead of sitting down, I grabbed the sides and dragged it across the room. The desk made pretty horrendous scraping noises against the floor as I maneuvered it between Ethan’s seat and the window. Then I sat down.

Everyone in class was staring at me, including Ethan. A surprised smile was spreading across his face.

Jake smacked Paul on the back. “Denied!” he yelled gleefully.