Free Starbound: A Starstruck Novel by Brenda Hiatt Page A

thought I was, but mum says I can only have two bags, so now I have to decide what I can do without for…however long we’ll be there.”
    Normally I’d have commented on that, since everyone had been vague about when we were coming back no matter how much I tried to pin them down. But right now I was way more worried about Rigel and whatever awful thing he seemed to believe. I just nodded and let Molly ramble on about layers and two sets of weather conditions and whatever else was on her mind while I tried again to make Rigel answer me.
    Look, no matter how Trina has managed to convince you, I promise I haven’t done anything at all to make you feel like this. Can you please, please tell me what I’m being accused of, so I can at least defend myself?
    After the way you’ve been shutting me out? Anyway, I can’t, not now. Not with— He jerked his chin toward his shoulder, in the direction of Sean and Trina half a hallway behind us. Or…I might do something we’d all regret.
    I nearly stopped walking to stare at him, remembering just in time that I didn’t want to alert Molly to any of this. So it was something to do with Sean? Something Trina told him I’d done with Sean? I knew he was jealous, and that was partly my fault, but there was still no way he should believe anything like that.  
    “I’ll be there in a minute,” I told Molly when we reached the doors to the lunchroom. I needed to pull Rigel and Sean aside and make Sean tell him that whatever it was wasn’t true. How could Trina think a ridiculous lie like that would hold up once I found out? It seemed stupid, even for her. Not that it made me any less furious with her for upsetting Rigel like this.  
    “Oh, um, okay.” Molly looked curious now but, to my relief, didn’t ask questions before heading off.
    I immediately grabbed Rigel’s arm with both hands. “Stop. You have to—”  
    Sean’s snarl cut me off. “So, now you’ve passed their stupid test you’re not even bothering to pretend anymore?” He stared at my hand on Rigel’s sleeve. “Are you trying to ruin everything? To make me look stupid?”
    Rigel turned and he and Sean glared viciously at each other for a long, tense moment. Then Rigel made a convulsive motion with one clenched fist and wrenched away from me to follow Molly into the cafeteria. Trina was nowhere to be seen.
    “Are you crazy?” I practically yelled at Sean. “Are both of you crazy? What has Trina done to you two today?”
    “She’s shown me what’s really going on.” He glowered down at me from on high. “If Stuart’s that upset, I guess he’s not so proud of what you two have been doing behind my back. How does that make you feel?”
    “Doing—? What are you—?” But he spun away from me before I could form a coherent question.
    More confused than ever, I entered the lunchroom, bypassing the line to go straight to our table, though neither Rigel nor Sean were there yet. Off to one side I saw Trina again, this time talking to Molly and a couple of other cheerleaders. It looked like Trina was showing them something on her cell phone, while her pals Nicole and Amber squealed, giggled, then turned to stare at me.  
    Molly stared too, her expression shocked and upset. After looking again at Trina’s phone for several long seconds, she shook her head violently, then hurried away—toward me. I assumed she was going to tell me what was going on, but as she neared the table, she veered away, not making eye contact.  
    Sick of all the secrecy, I leaped up and moved directly into her path. “Molly, stop!” Like I had with Rigel, I grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at me.
    For a second I thought she was going to pull away, too, but then she jerked to a halt, so upset she seemed on the verge of tears.  
    “You have got to tell me what’s going on.” I used all the Royal persuasiveness I could summon. “What is Trina showing people?”
    Molly blinked rapidly a few times, her lower lip