Illusions That May (Court High 2)

She’d been at my sister’s funeral. Birdie said she’d been the guidance counselor at their school for a time.

“Hi,” I said, feeling kind of awkward. I didn’t know her, but she looked at me like she knew me. In fact, her gaze bore over me like we were quite well acquainted.

“I never got to introduce myself during your sister’s service,” she started, but stopped. Her fingers tapping a crystal goblet, she seemed to be considering what to say. “I’m your sister’s old guidance counselor, worked with her a bit her freshman year.”

I figured as much, my sister with a whole mess of problems.

The woman moved her pretty jaw a little. “Anyway, I never got to say hi to you. My husband, Principal Hastings, and I left before the reception.”

“Hi,” I said again, and she smiled, oh so pretty. I normally didn’t notice such things about people, but this woman seriously emanated. That said something in this place.

“She was very special, your sister,” she said. “And I always hoped I’d get to say hello to you. She talked a lot about you.”

My heart moved, melting its thick wall of ice I forcibly put up. “She did?”

I figured she hadn’t. She hadn’t spoken about this place to me, nor vice versa from what I understood. Birdie said she hadn’t even heard of me when we originally became friends.

The woman started to nod, but stopped when her gaze took the crowd. I turned, but didn’t see what she had.

“Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and make sure you got what I sent over. It was your sister’s.”

I turned, the woman pushing her pocketbook under her arm. “I’m sorry. You sent something over? To me?”

She frowned. “Yes, and did you not get it? It’s a journal, something your sister worked in for a time. It’s very private, and I

don’t normally give out students’ things, but in this situation, I felt you might want it. I had your dad give it to you, sent it to his office. He promised he wouldn’t open it, and I thanked him for that, valuing your sister’s privacy.”

I swallowed, thinking.

The package…

“I did get it,” I told her, correcting myself. “Sorry, I’m just…” Freaking out.

My sister had a journal.

Knowing the thing currently sat in a trashcan, my heart beat to get away.

“You’re fine,” the woman said, her smile wide. She put out a hand. “And I’m Lena. I’m not practicing at the school anymore, but anytime you want to talk, about your sister or anything, that’s fine.”

I had been advised to seek out the guidance counselor in school, and though she wasn’t there anymore, it wouldn’t be bad to see her. I watched as she took out a card.

“My office,” she said, handing me the card. She put a hand on mine. “I’m so glad we got to meet. It means a lot. I really cared about your sister.”

Appreciating that, I nodded at her, listening as the music suddenly quieted and someone parted the sea of people. The man stood up near the band, his skin a softened golden brown, and the woman beside him a beautiful blond with thick hair that cascaded down the side of a powder-blue dress. She had her hand on his arm, and the man, I’d been told, was the mayor of Maywood Heights. He’d come to my sister’s service.

Ramses’ parents.

I looked at them, easily seeing a mash-up there. His dad was tall, and his mom was tall too, an Amazon like Birdie and the other female basketball players.

Mayor Mallick grinned. “I welcome you all to our annual Christmas party, and please, eat as much food as you can. We got to get our money’s worth out of that bill.”

The audience chuckled, my friends too, at least the ones I could see. Most of them stood toward the front, clapping after the mayor’s joke. One person I didn’t see was Ramses himself. In fact, I hadn’t seen him since he’d taken the cookies. A quick rotation, and I noticed Royal, LJ, Jax, and Knight weren’t around either, despite their dates being up front as well.

What’s up with that?

The mayor said another joke, but I had other thoughts on my mind. I put my hand out to Lena. “Nice meeting you.”

“Nice meeting you, December,” she stated, her smile warm. “I hope you get something out of the journal. I’m sure your sister would have wanted you to have it.”