Free Midnight Runes (The Bestowed Ones) by Celeste Buie Page A

paranoid person, yet I couldn’t deny what I felt.
    The thoughts swirled around until they blended together and became background noise. I turned my attention back to studying.

CHAPTER 13
    T he next day, I ran late, but I made it to my first hour seat just as the bell rang.
    Mr. Lewton organized us into groups of six for mini-Socratic seminars. Our assignment was to discuss a random topic and then write about how much, if any, our views changed during the conversation. It was always interesting to hear other sides of an issue I might not have considered.
    My history quiz went as expected, and I was grateful my focus had returned last night to study the notes.
    Elyse monopolized the lunch conversation with her latest family drama, which was fine with me. We had a float-planning meeting after school, so the more she got out of her system, the better.
    Student council met in the library again. We were a step ahead of the other grades because we had already sketched our design. Our biggest tasks were to divvy up the items needed and assign sponsors to contact for donations.
    The meeting was only a half-hour, thanks to Adrienne’s organization. Elyse, Adrienne, Lauren, and I teamed up to find child- and adult-sized mannequins and the clothes to fit them. Adrienne tasked another group with finding the building materials, boxes, and Styrofoam. The last group took on the challenge of gathering all the details for the finishing touches: paint, gadgets, and they had to figure out what to use to seamlessly blend each section of the float’s floor together.
    After a few nights of calling around after school, our donated items were ready for pickup at the end of the week. Elyse and I managed to wiggle our way out of that task. The float would be assembled at Emilee’s house—big surprise—and we knew we’d spend more time there than we desired, so the fewer trips we took driving over there, the better.
    Friday arrived fast after a busy week. The day flew by and I found myself with Elyse at her locker after school.
    “I am so ready to go to the cider mill tomorrow! Who’s driving with us?” I asked. The cider mill outing was another yearly tradition.
    “I’m not sure of driving arrangements yet. I told everyone to meet in the parking lot here, and then we’ll head out. It’s a forty-five minute drive, and we can go as one caravan. I found a new place that will let us go out and pick our own apples. Blake’s Big Apple Orchard in Armada. They also have a pumpkin patch, corn maze, and haunted hayride at night.”
    “And cider and donuts? And caramel apples?”
    “Naturally. I took your requirements into consideration when deciding. I didn’t want you freaking out on me.”
    “Good. How big of a group do you think we’ll have this year?” It had started out with just a carful of us, but it had grown each year.
    “So far, around thirty. I’ll pick you up early. We’re leaving at 4 P.M. ”
    “I can’t wait.”
    “Me either. See you tomorrow.”
    • • •
    Elyse came over around 3 P.M. Because she was the main organizer, she wanted us to be the first ones there. I made sure to text the address to one passenger in each car so they could GPS it in case we separated.
    The rest of the gang arrived early, but we still didn’t leave on time. Elyse seemed to stall. Finally, she hesitantly announced it was time to leave.
    I knew the ride out would be entertaining with her and Zach. We talked about teachers, ideas for Homecoming Week, and sang along to the radio. Elyse and Zach were the gossip twins. It was amazing how they knew so much about everything going on at school. Apparently, the pranks on teachers were in full swing. I didn’t know what genius thought of setting the clocks ten minutes ahead, because teachers only released us when the bell rang.
    “Landon has a tattoo,” Zach announced during a conversation lull.
    “A tattoo? Are you sure?” Elyse challenged. Behind her doubt was interest.
    “Of course. I