“Yeah,” I said, feeling defeated. I moved on to something else. “Did I tell you our building got sold? Rent is going up for the shop and the apartment, again.”

“Damn. What are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know.” There were a lot of things up in the air and I was worried about what would happen if we couldn’t bring in some more money. Everything was a mess.

A voice came screeching through the phone. “Gabby! You didn’t take the chicken out the freezer?”

“Shit,” Gabby said. I knew that ring of terror in her voice. Her mom, Miss Lindy, didn’t play when it came to food. If she told Gabby to take out the chicken and she didn’t, it was gonna be a problem.

“You better get the hair dryer or something.”

“Mommy, I’m sorry! I’m taking it out right now!”

“I’ve been at work all day, and you couldn’t take out the chicken?” Miss Lindy said in the background.

“Gotta go, Briseis,” Gabby said, and hung up.

I lay across my bed, feeling the beat of my heart and listening to myself breathe. Maybe the poison hadn’t gotten into my cut; maybe it was such a small amount that I wasn’t affected. I looked at my thumb. The gash was oozing through the Band-Aid.

I thought back to when I met Gabby and Marlon. Our gym teacher, Mr. Cates, put us in the same group for relay races around the blacktop. We all pretended to be injured after the first lap and spent the rest of class sitting on a bench in the cool fall air, talking about our favorite movies and roasting Mr. Cates because he wore gym shorts that were way too small and his knees and elbows were forever ashy. The trees that crowded the gated outdoor area were leafless, preparing for the winter—all except the one we were closest to. It bloomed as we laughed together. Gabby was the first one to notice. She clapped her hand down on Marlon’s shoulder and pointed to the trees. Their eyes were wide and fearful. If they were scared of the trees, they’d be scared of me too. I knew right then I’d have to hide what I could do.

I hated it. I should have let it all go and made the trees green or made the grass grow and owned it. Maybe that would’ve been better than pretending. I wanted to know what it would be like to be myself, fully, right from the jump. No secrets, no hiding.

But it was too late for that. My friends were pulling away from me, my parents were worried about me, school was a mess, and this power squatting inside me was trying to break free. How much more of this could I take before I reached a tipping point? Before I did something I couldn’t take back?

CHAPTER 3