Page 114 of All These Beautiful Strangers

“Dalton,” I said, because I didn’t want him to think what he was obviously thinking. “It’s not like that. We were just—”

“Cool,” Dalton said, cutting me off. “It’s fine.”

He turned and started off down the hallway, and I was about to follow him, to explain, but I saw Ms. Stanfeld two doors down, making the rounds. So I let him go.

The next afternoon, I loitered in the corridor outside the dining hall after lunch. I was waiting for Dalton; I wanted to explain about Greyson and the other night. I could tell he had gotten the wrong idea about the whole thing. He obviously thought Greyson was more than a friend. I had to set him straight.

“Charlie.”

I heard someone call my name and I turned around. It was Stevie; she had her backpack slung over her shoulder and an armful of books.

“I haven’t really seen you around the past couple of days,” she said guardedly. Some of the ice had thawed in her voice since the last time we had spoken.

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ve been busy.” Busy avoiding you and everyone else.

Stevie shrugged. “Well, I was just going to grab a bite to eat. Yael’s in there already. You should join us.”

It was a peace offering and it softened me a little. Drew had been the glue that held our group together, but just because she wasn’t here anymore didn’t mean that I should just let my relationship with Stevie and Yael dissolve. Did it?

“Thanks,” I said. “I, um, already ate, but maybe another time?”

“Sure,” Stevie said. “Hey, if you’re not doing anything tonight, maybe you could come by the dining hall later? The student council is working on the Trustee Benefit Gala, and we could use an extra pair of hands.”

“The Trustee Benefit Gala?” I asked. “I thought that wasn’t until December.”

Knollwood held the Trustee Benefit Gala at the end of the fall semester every year in the banquet hall across campus. It was a fancy black-tie dinner at five hundred dollars a plate that filled the scholarship fund for the upcoming year. My father always bought tickets for me and my friends so we could sit together, and he’d give us each a grand to bid on things in the silent auction. Last year, Drew and I had pooled our funds and gotten a high-end espresso machine for our dorm room. Stevie had bought a private lesson with the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic; Yael had gotten a pair of Tiffany diamond stud earrings.

“Yeah, but there’s a lot of planning to do,” Stevie said. “I could really use your help.”

Just then, the door to the dining hall opened, and I saw Dalton come out with some of his friends.

“Okay, maybe,” I said quickly to Stevie, even though organizing sanctioned school events was totally not my thing. “I gotta go, but I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

I didn’t wait for her to respond. I was already halfway down the corridor, running after Dalton.

“Dalton, wait up,” I called. For a moment, I thought maybe he wouldn’t stop, but he did. He turned around reluctantly, and I could tell by the way his shoulders slumped forward and he kept his hands in his pockets that he was already annoyed with me.

“Yes?” he asked, an indifferent glaze in his eyes.

“Can we talk, please?” I asked. “It will just take a moment.”

I could feel his friends looking at me. Marcus Lansbury and Zachery Fitzpatrick and Leo.

“Ooooh, trouble in paradise,” Zachery singsonged.

“Come on, guys, let’s give them some space,” Leo said, tugging on Zachery’s arm.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Dalton said. “You guys can stay.”

I sighed. Did we really have to do this with an audience?

“What’s up, Calloway?” Dalton asked. His voice was cold and empty.

“I wanted to explain,” I said.

“Explain what?”

“Greyson,” I said. I looked at Leo and his friends standing there and then looked away. Just pretend they’re not there, I told myself.