around herself.
Then Lavender let go of me and flopped back into her seat. I grabbed a napkin and pretended to wipe my mouth, hoping nobody had noticed me spacing out for a second.
âFunny, Cass,â Lav said, rolling her eyes. âFine, if you want to play zombie like that, maybe Iâll keep myideas to myself from now on.â She popped a carrot stick into her mouth, looking sulky.
âRelax, Lav,â Megan said. âCassie was just kidding around. Right, Cass?â
âTotally.â I tried to smile and look normal, relieved that Megan had taken my vision space-out for goofing off. âIâm sorry, Lav. Your plans all sound great. I really appreciate the way youâre helping make this party happen.â
âOkay.â Lavender sounded mollified, at least a little. âThen letâs talk about food . . .â
They were off and running again, blabbing on about party details. I tried to pay attention, but it wasnât easy. Because now that Iâd recovered from the surprise of the vision, Iâd realized a couple of things.
For one, it seemed our theory was right. I wasnât wearing the necklace that day, and the vision hadnât been as supercharged as the last two Iâd had. It was clear enough to see what was happening, but the background hadnât glowed with energy like the others, and the colors hadnât been quite as crazy bright.
Still, Iâd been able to see enough to guess wherethe vision was taking place. Meganâs pool. Which meant one thing.
Whatever theyâre all upset about, it must happen at our party! I thought with a chill of horror. What if it has something to do with our visions about Bianca?
My gaze wandered across the cafeteria again. Bianca had actually torn her gaze away from her book and was looking at Caitlyn with a small smile. Was something going to happen at the pool party? Something so terrible that it made even Lavender cry?
But what? Maybe something was going to happen to someone Bianca cared about. Like one of Biancaâs best friends. One of whom happened to be my sister.
Yikes. What if Cait was the reason Bianca was at the hospital? I tried to banish the thought as soon as it came. Maybe it was Liam who got hurt at the party. Bianca would be upset about that, too, right?
But noâLavender wouldnât cry if Liam got hurt. She might be sort of sad or worriedâshe was human, after all. But crying as if her heart was breaking, likeIâd just seen her do in my vision? No way. Not for Liam.
Would she cry like that for Caitlyn? I studied Lavâs face as she talked to the others. Sheâd been much friendlier to me since this party came along, but did she consider me enough of a friend to cry like that if my sister got hurt?
I didnât know, but I wasnât sure I was willing to take the chance. Maybe Mom had been right all along. Maybe it would be better if we didnât have a party this year. It was starting to feel like more trouble than it was worth.
âHey, ladies.â Braydenâs voice interrupted my churning thoughts. Heâd appeared at our table without me even noticing. Which tells you how distracted I was.
âHi, Brayden,â Lavender cooed. âWhatâs up?â
âNot much.â He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and grinned at me. âJust wanted to say thanks for the party invitation, Cassie. Iâll be there for sure.â
âGreat,â I said, feeling my face go hot.
âYeah, the partyâs going to be superfab!â Abby burbled. âLav is picking out the music, and thereâs going to be tons of food and stuff.â
âSounds fun,â Brayden said, still smiling at me.
I smiled back, suddenly not so eager to cancel after all. Besides, my friends were so excited about this. How could I back out now? No, there had to be another way . . .
â. . . SO YOUâRE SURE it was Meganâs pool in the