Free Chasing Shadow (Shadow Puppeteer) by Christina E. Rundle Page B

jostled about searching for the source, which ended with all eyes on Amber. She stood in from of her locker looking like a drowned rat. I should have known better than to stare and I really shouldn’t have laughed.
    Amber’s eyes locked on me. I shoved the letter back in my locker. I’d be guilty by association anyway.
    “Fight! Fight!” The crowd began chanting.
    A few well-placed strides put Amber in my face ready to throw punches. I squared my shoulders and braced my feet, ready to defend myself. She was fast. I pivoted and backed out of her reach. Her fist slammed into the locker just over my head, denting the metal inward like something heavier than a cheerleader’s hand had crushed it.
    I blocked the punch, catching her extended arm and shoving it outward. The vibration of that hit rattled my bones. It felt like I was fighting under water. My movements were stunted and slow. I couldn’t keep this up for long.
    The crowd closed in giving me very little room to maneuver. I dodged another hit, which put my back against the locker. She caught the collar of my shirt and I dug my nails into her wrist. I braced for a blow that never came. A much larger hand caught her fist and pulled her back.
    The chanting gave way to moans of disappointment. It took a moment for the both of us to realize someone else got involved. She tried to jerk free from Rex’s hold, but he wouldn’t let her go.
    “This is between us,” Amber said.
    Rex held her close enough that the whisper should have been private, but I heard it anyway. “Don’t draw attention to us.”
    “We both want the same thing, so don’t think I’m about to bow down to you.” Her voice was equally low.
    Teachers were pushing through the crowd and students started drifting away.
    “You—” She pointed a finger at me. “You better watch your back, whore!”
    Rex pushed her towards her locker, a little rougher than he’d ever been with me.
    This time when Rex whispered to her, it was too low to hear. I held my breath, waiting for him to jerk around and say something equally as mincing to me, but he didn’t. Amber gave me one last stare, before walking away. I didn’t get a chance to tell him I’d lost his note. I’d have to see what he wanted tonight.
    Starr pushed through the crowd with my duffle bag in her hands.
    “Amber deserved that,” she said.
    Despite Amber’s absence, my adrenaline remained high. There would be repercussions. She wasn’t going to let it go.
    “Yeah, but she’s blaming me for something I didn’t do.”
    Since there was nothing I need in my locker, I didn’t bother trying to peel back the badly dented metal. A small spark of fear rushed through me. I’ve been in fights, but no one had a punch that could twist metal like Amber had.
    Starr shrugged. “A little humility is good for her.”
    We past some guys from the poetry club who were dressed in black. If I was part of their crowd maybe I’d see their individuality. At the moment it wasn’t happening, though Bert caught my attention with the black eyeliner on his eyelids.
    “Is Bert wearing eyeliner? Does that follow World Congress regulations?”
    “Stop staring at Bert,” Starr said. She grabbed my arm and dragged me outside. It felt good to be out of the school, but I expected a patroller to be at the entrance waiting for me. “Can you believe what happened to Amber? Bert saw everything from where he was standing. He said the soda blasted like cannons.”
    “How did she get sprayed to begin with?” I asked.
    Starr skipped just ahead of me. “I caught the tail end, but these cans were stacked in her locker and when she opened the door, the tabs flew open and soda exploded right in her face. She never saw it coming.”
    I tried to picture what she said and couldn’t. There was just no possible way. The physics just wouldn’t pan out like that.
    “Someone out there must really hate me.” I tried not to groan, but it slipped out.
    Starr’s laugh sounded