Free Extraordinary October by Diana Wagman Page B

on my ass on the ground.
    I heard someone laughing. I opened my eyes and was momentarily blinded by the sun. When I could see again, I was shocked to discover I was back in the front of the school, sitting in the empty quad.
    â€œHave a nice trip?” Jacob snorted as he ran by. “See you next fall.”
    â€œHow original.” I got to my feet.
    The late bell rang. I was so confused. My head hurt. Where was Walker? How had I gotten here? What exactly was going on?
    And then Trevor was by my side.
    â€œThat was quite a fall,” he said. “I think you were knocked out for a minute.”
    â€œI fell?” The last thing I remembered was the wall, and before that those costumed attackers, and before that the crows. The crows.
    He pointed at a stone sticking out of the grass. “You hit your head on that. You might have a concussion.”
    I reached up and felt the bump on my forehead. Great. Just as my crow scratch was going away.
    He brushed the hair off my face and smiled at me so tenderly my knees felt weak. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in his arms.
    â€œI wish I’d been here to catch you,” he said.
    â€œBut I saw you get in your car.”
    He looked at me like I was nuts. He touched the bump on my forehead and winced. “That is really going to hurt later.”
    â€œBut—” I turned to the parking lot. There was his car parked where it had been. And Walker was nowhere to be seen. I was having a definite Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz moment. “But it couldn’t have been a dream. It seemed so real. And Walker was there. And you were. And the crows.”
    â€œWho’s Walker?”
    â€œWow. I really am losing it,” I said.
    I thought about the voice I’d imagined the night before. And then I remembered the rest: that Luisa was missing and that Trevor had asked me to go find her with him and Walker had said some weird things and he and Trevor had fought—over me. That really couldn’t be true. My eyes filled with tears.
    â€œYou hit your head pretty hard.”
    He kept his arm around me as we went up the steps into school.
    â€œWhat happened to you last night?” I asked. “You disappeared when Jeb hit my car.”
    Ms. Tannenbaum appeared out of nowhere. “October Fetterhoff!” she shouted. “Late again?”
    â€œI fell.”
    â€œIt’s always something with you. Detention. Again. Today.”
    I opened my mouth, but she crossed her arms, daring me to object. I said nothing. She watched as Trevor and I split off to our respective classes, Trevor whispering he’d see me in English. Of course she hadn’t given Trevor detention. Only me. What a witch. First Luisa, now Trevor. Tannenbaum obviously hated me.
    I made a quick stop in the bathroom to wipe my tears. I looked at myself in the smeared mirror. I looked good despite the bump on my head, no sleep, a very quick shower, and not doing anything that morning but brush my hair. It was shiny and curled softly around my face. My eyes looked larger than usual and my lashes longer even though I wasn’t wearing any makeup. My leg itched and I pulled up the leg of my jeans and the flower shaped bruise was almost glowing. It was actually pretty, like a sunflower on my ankle. I scratched and scratched and it was warm under my fingers.
    I heard the voice again, but this time it was gentler, friendlier. “You know where Luisa is,” it said. “You know.”
    There was no one else in the bathroom. I shook my head as I sprinted to class. My very loud inner voice was full of crap. Luisa’s disappearance was not my fault and I didn’t know where she was.

8.
    I was surprised when no one in school even mentioned Luisa missing. It was true she didn’t come to class very often, but people liked her when she was there. At least no one was talking about my itch anymore. I went from first period to second and then third and