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whispering through her window. After the nightmare Sky had had the previous night, she was dead tired and fighting to stay awake as much as she desperately wanted to sleep. But no matter what she wanted, her thoughts were awhirl, and not in any hurry to let her rest.
‘The best way to figure this out is to go back through what happened and pinpoint where your version of events first differs from everyone else’s.’
That was what Officer Vega had said to her before she left. Sky had been about to ask the police officer what she had meant about asking her mother what had happened on her birthday – after all, Sky hadn’t actually seen her mum that night after she left her at the party – but
their conversation had been cut short by the sound of Cam’s door opening upstairs. Through some silent communication, Officer Vega and Sky had agreed it would be best if they continued their conversation when they wouldn’t be overheard, even if Sky was probably going to tell Cam everything later, anyway.
But to pinpoint that first divergence – that was Sky’s first task. She thought back to that night, going through every tiny detail leading up to her birthday party, anxious not to miss something which might offer a simple explanation for what had happened. Taking a pen and flipping to the blank pages at the back of her chemistry workbook, Sky began to write.
My party started out exactly like Mum planned it…
Sky’s parents had rented the high school gym for ‘the Big Night’, as Lily Rousseau had taken to calling it. This had led to some heartfelt sighing on Sky’s part, and a good deal of silent eye-rolling on her father’s.
Fairy lights, balloons, glitterballs and streamers – it looked like the mardi gras rejects pile had landed at Blackfin High. The lights twinkled and swayed in a breeze which wasn’t there, but nobody commented on the movement. The Blackfin sky had obligingly darkened at precisely eight o’clock to show off Lily’s decorations, and no silly little thing like the wind was going to detract from the effect.
When Sky cursed her way in, aware of the dozens of eyes on her as she kicked at the long dress her mother had made her wear, she thought she might actually ditch her own party. Sky was sure that half the people from her class had only come because Blackfin was terminally lacking in entertainment. Others had probably been forced by their parents, many of whom shared Sky’s healthy fear of her mother. Everyone who frequented the diner knew from experience that if someone crossed Lily Rousseau, every item on the next day’s menu would have a distinctly bitter aftertaste.
No, ditching was not an option.
‘Your father and I will be back at midnight to get you kids in order, okay?’ Sky looked up at her mum, who was beaming at her in vicarious glee. She was beautiful when she smiled.
‘Thanks, Mum.’
And Lily left, leaving Sky to the party, and the one person she’d really hoped wouldn’t show up. But Randy – the creepiest boy in a town full of creepy boys – was right there, grinning at her like he was imagining things she would rather not know about.
‘Happy birthday, Skylar Rousseau. Dibs on the first dance with the birthday girl.’
His voice had a phlegmy quality that made her shudder. She tried to cover it with a smile before edging quickly past him.
‘I won’t forget!’
You should have just said no .
Sky made a break through the crowd to where Bo and Cam stood waiting near the DJ booth.
‘What’s going on with Randy Skeeve-alert?’ Bo asked, jutting out her chin in Randy’s direction. Turning her back so she could pretend that Randy and most of the other partygoers weren’t boring holes in her with their eyes, Sky explained the situation with the dance.
Bo snorted, loud enough to be heard over the music. ‘Who the hell uses dibs for a dance? Does he think he’s Mister-Bloody-Darcy?’
‘I’d just stay out of his way, if I were you. I mean, you can’t actually dance with