Paul put his palms together and bowed to me. “Ice Princess, you going to Winter Formal?” he asked as I sat down. “You could make it all frigid in there. Really add to the décor.” He and Jake shivered dramatically.

“Mm-hmm,” I said without turning around. My phone flashed in my bag.

Ethan had texted a series of emojis. Two boys, an equals sign, and a pile of poop. I snorted. Another message popped up. Are you sure I can’t tell them off for you? I’d make it good.

Still very sure, I wrote back quickly.

Okaaaaay.

I felt Paul craning over my shoulder, so I lowered my phone to my lap and texted back a heart.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“HMM-HMM-HMM-HMM-HM-HM…” Josie was humming “Waltz of the Snowflakes” in the car on the way to school. Her bus friend Fiona was sick, so I had to take her. “La, la, la, la-la-la, la…” She was full-out singing it now. It was the blessed last day before winter break, so I should have been happy. Instead, I wanted to murder Josie.

“Stop,” I said sharply.

“Sorry, geez.” She held her gloved fingers up to the heating vent. “You know, you don’t own that song. I’m dancing to it, too.”

“Kind of,” I mumbled. Variations was doing its own version of The Nutcracker this year, which apparently mixed Tchaikovsky’s score with “noise music,” whatever that was. I was not looking forward to going but knew I’d have to.

“What do you mean kind of?”

“I’m not talking about this now,” I said, switching on the radio, where “Waltz of the Snowflakes” promptly boomed through the speakers.

Josie cracked up as I turned it off. She was still laughing two traffic lights later.

“I will throw you out of this car, run you over, and go to school like nothing happened!” I yelled.

The rest of the ride was silent.

When I pulled into the parking lot, Josie didn’t even wait for me to turn off the car before getting out and slamming the door. Guilt nagged at me as I walked into school and headed to the choir room to check the rehearsal schedule. It wasn’t like me snapping at Josie was a new occurrence. Though I guess I’d never threatened to run her over with a car before. But whatever. She shouldn’t have been singing that song when she knew it would make me homicidal.

I scanned the schedule, stopping abruptly at January sixth. The first Monday after we came back from break. Only my name and Jude’s were printed there. Our first rehearsal for the Vamp dance. I took a breath. The last time I was alone with Jude, it had ended badly, but it didn’t have to this time. A month had passed since I’d shown him my scars. Enough time to forget about it. At rehearsal, I’d be calm, composed, and completely professional.