Including me.
I’d had a massive, massive crush on Lance ever since the first time I saw him walking across the quad last year. And to my amazement, he had seemed to like me too. We’d had a couple of classes together last year, and he was always volunteering to be my lab partner in chemistry or to work with me on other projects. He had even started asking what movies and music I liked, as though he was thinking about asking me out. But then all the bad stuff with my parents had happened, and my dreams of dating Lance had vanished like a cloud of smoke.
Lance realized that he’d run into me, and he actually smiled, revealing the two perfect dimples in his cheeks. “Hey, Rory. I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you standing there. How’s your first day back?”
It took me a moment to quit staring and answer him. “Um, fine. How are you?”
“Good.” His smile widened. “Really good now.”
My heart picked up speed and started pounding in my chest. Unlike all the other kids, Lance didn’t mock or berate me for what my parents had done. All last year, he had still waved at me whenever he saw me walking across the quad, and he had even talked to me a few times too. His kindness had made me like him that much more.
“Hey, Lance!” Kylie, a cute Valkyrie with sleek blond hair, called out. “Over here! We saved you a seat!”
But Lance kept staring at me, his face still crinkled in that adorable smile. “Maybe I’ll see you around this week.”
My heart beat even faster. “Sure, that would be great.”
Lance winked at me, then moved off to sit with his friends. I watched him go, wishing that I could join his table, but of course, Kylie shot daggers at me with her eyes, clearly telling me that I was not welcome. So I sighed and moved on, still searching for an empty seat.
And I finally found one—at the Viking’s table.
He was sitting at a table in the corner, and he wasn’t alone. A beautiful girl with perfect blond curls perched next to him, leaning in close so she could whisper to him and hang on to his every word in return. I snorted. Of course he had a girlfriend. Gorgeous guys like him always had a girlfriend. Sometimes two or three at once.
But theirs was the only table with an empty seat, so I headed in that direction. I didn’t even ask if I could sit with them. There was no point in it, since they would tell me no. So I marched over, plopped my tray down, and scooted the empty seat as far away from the two of them as I could get and still be sitting at the same table.
I dropped into the chair across from them, and they both practically jumped out of their seats. I had startled them out of what seemed to be a very private, very intense conversation. The Viking frowned, recognizing me from before, but the girl smiled and nodded at me. She had to be a new student, like the Viking was. No Mythos kid who knew anything about me or my parents would ever give me such a warm welcome.
“Hey,” she said. “What’s your name?”
I sighed, not wanting to make any sort of polite chitchat with them, but it would be totally rude not to answer her. “Rory.”
The girl smiled at me again. “Hi, Rory. I’m Amanda, and this is Ian.”
So that was the Viking’s name. I grunted in response, and so did he. Amanda looked back and forth between the two of us, wondering what was going on, but I didn’t say anything else, and neither did Ian.
I put my head down and reached for my tray. Instead of digging into my salad, chicken, and mashed potatoes, I grabbed my sundae, sank my spoon into the melting ice cream, and shoveled it into my mouth as fast as possible without choking or getting brain freeze. The sundae was delicious, a perfect mix of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, but I still wanted to eat it and leave as soon as I could.
Especially since the happy couple looked so cozy.
Ian leaned over and murmured in Amanda’s ear. Her blue gaze locked with mine, and her eyes widened with surprise. My heart sank. I knew that look. I had seen it a hundred times before. Ian had told her about my Reaper parents.
Amanda wet her lips, glanced away from me, and scooted her chair even closer to the Viking’s. I rolled my eyes. As if I was going to attack them in the middle of the dining hall in front of the entire school. Please. My parents might have been Reapers, but they weren’t stupid—and neither was I.
I thought they might start whispering about me, like some of the kids at the surrounding tables were doing, but the two of them ignored me. Like totally ignored me. They didn’t even look at me. Instead, Ian pulled out his phone and thumbed through some screens until he found the one he wanted. Then he and Amanda both bent over the phone, their heads close together, completely absorbed in whatever they were staring at.
For a moment, disappointment filled me. I had been looking forward to snarling some insults at the Viking, since he had gotten the better of me on the quad this morning, but I got over it. Being ignored was much better than being gossiped about, and besides, I still had more than half of my sundae left. So I tuned them out just like they had done to me and focused on my food again, eating much more slowly and taking the time to enjoy every single delicious bite of ice cream.
Sadly, it was the nicest, quietest lunch I’d had in the dining hall since before everyone learned the truth about my parents.
Chapter Three
Ian and Amanda were still staring at his phone when I finished my food, got to my feet, and grabbed my tray. I expected them to keep ignoring me, but Amanda looked up and waved at me.
“It was nice meeting you,” she called out in a warm voice.
“Yeah. You too.” My tone was far less genuine and much more surly than hers.
Ian opened his mouth like he was going to make some snarky remark and call me cupcake again, but I stared him down, and he apparently thought better of it. Chicken. I rolled my eyes, turned away, and left the dining hall.
But once again, the rest of my day didn’t get any better.
More classes, more homework, more kids gossiping about me.
Even gym class, my second-favorite class after myth-history, was a total bust. Coach Wanda, one of the few teachers who had always treated me fairly, even after the ugly revelations about my parents, had been replaced. Our new teacher was a man in his early thirties, with black hair, dark brown eyes, and a charcoal-gray tracksuit that highlighted his lean frame. A silver whistle hung around his neck, and a clipboard dangled from his hand.
“My name is Coach Takeda,” he said.