Private (Private 1)

Apparently he was so eager to drown his sorrows that he couldn’t Would they turn me around and send me right back? The possibil-even wait for me.

ity made my stomach feel weak, but I had no alternatives.

“We should get going,” Josh said. “You ready?”

The moment my digital alarm clock clicked over to eleven, I

A lump had formed in my throat.

whipped my sheets off and stuffed my feet into my sneakers. I

“Yeah,” I said finally.

grabbed my denim jacket and the flashlight from the emergency kit

“Follow me,” Josh replied. “And stay close.”

my father had insisted I bring to school. Constance, deep sleeper Josh whipped up the hood on his gray sweatshirt, crouched low,

that she was, didn’t even stir as I opened the door and tiptoed out.

and took off across the quad. I ducked and did the same, cursing Outside, the night air was cool and crisp. There wasn’t a sound myself for not thinking to wear a hat or hood as well. It made

on campus except for the thousands of crickets that blanketed the perfect sense. The more one was covered, the less likely one could grounds. Thomas was nowhere to be seen.

be picked out of a lineup.

I took a deep breath, held it, then whispered. “Thomas?”

By the time we got to the edge of campus, I was out of breath. Not Instantly a figure stepped out of the shadows. I nearly jumped

from the run, but from the certainty that at any second floodlights were out of my skin. Especially when I registered the awkward move-going to flick on and the entire faculty and staff would be waiting to ment, the slightly bulky frame. This was not Thomas.

arrest us. But nothing happened. The campus was as quiet as a tomb.

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K A T E B R I A N

P R I V A T E

191

“This way,” Josh whispered over his shoulder.

“Want a beer or something?” Josh asked, touching the small of

We stuck close to the tree line, walking up the hill and then

my back.

along the end zone of the football field. Right behind the score-

“No, thanks,” I said.

board, which loomed up against the star-filled sky, Josh hooked a He smiled and loped off toward the fire. I turned toward Ariana left and cut into the woods. My heart pounded as I followed, and and the others.

the practical side of me suddenly realized that I was following a