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head as I listened to the leaves brush against one another. The warming weather glided across my skin, and birds were actually outside today. It’d only be a few more months until school ended and summer came. Normally, I’d look forward to the prolonged freedom that came with summer, but this time I’d be too busy training to have any free time.
    I peered down at the outside cafeteria. Students were everywhere, yet I didn’t see my new lab partner. Maybe I was a little harsh . I fiddled with my headphones and put them on, but kept the music off. She hadn’t associated my dad’s madness with me—but, then again, she had pried into my life, and I didn’t like that. And she wasn’t the nameless shade.
    I thought about the night before. The girl was so innocent, so oblivious to everything, and she was afraid. I would have to be careful around her. I needed her to trust me, not to turn against me, and if she really was abandoned, she needed my help.
    The idea of being raised outside the Dark community intrigued me. If I had been separated from the Dark, the prophecy would be different. I wouldn’t be Shoman. I would be Eric. Just Eric. And no one could tell me what I was expected to do.
    “Shoman . ” Camille’s voice dimmed my thoughts, and my eyes popped open. “Turn around.”
    I took off my headphones and spun my torso toward the valley. A girl with short black hair waved as she trudged up the hill toward me. “Teresa?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”
    “That’s a nice way of saying hi,” she said, leaning against the willow with her arms crossed. She laughed lightly, and her eyes darted across the valley, staring over the entire town. Willow Tree Mountain, even though it was a hill, was the tallest point in Hayworth.
    “Nice view,” I said. “Do you remember watching the fireworks up here?”
    “The willow tree was smaller then,” she said, running her hand across the bark. “It was healthier, too.”
    “It’s almost been twelve years,” I said.
    “I know.” She pushed off the tree and pointed at the nearest street. “We have to go.”
    “But—” Was I seriously arguing? “I still have school left.”
    She waved a piece of pink and yellow paper. “I already got you a pass.”
    “I can’t argue that,” I said, grabbing my bag and taking the pass. “Let’s get out of here.”

Jessica
     
    “I told you he was weird,” Crystal said as we walked to lunch.
    Robb rested his arm on my shoulder. “Your grade is over, Jess.”
    “No,” I said, glaring at Eric’s back as he rushed outside. “My grade is going to be perfect, whether he likes it or not.”
    After all, my grades needed to be perfect, if I had any chance at finding my biological parents. I didn’t care if Eric Welborn had a rough life or not. His problems weren’t mine, and I wasn’t going to let him impose them on me.
    “Good luck with that, Jess,” Crystal said, looping her arm through mine as we walked outside. Strangely, it was nice out, and we sat at the first table we passed. The outdoor lunchroom was squared-in by brick walls. On one side, the front of school teased our desire for freedom, while the other side stretched into a large hill.
    The hill was huge, and an enormous willow tree loomed over the side. As the wind blew, branches swayed, sprawling dancing shadows over the dying grass. The tree was remarkable—breathtaking even—but it was secluded, aside from the boy leaning against it.
    Crystal rolled her eyes in his direction. “He always sits up there.”
    “By himself?” I asked. She nodded, and I bit my lip, unable to look away.
    Eric Welborn, with his eyes closed and his headphones on, leaned against the tree as if he were a part of it. His brown hair matted against the bark, melting into the color, and his eyes fluttered as he opened them, staring at the shadows. Even from a distance, I could see his shoulders tense, and I fought the urge to go to him.
    For the first time, I actually felt