Page 12 of Little Pieces of Light

Xander

On Friday morning, the students were diverted from their first period classes and funneled into a huge auditorium for a pep rally.

By the time I arrived, the place was packed, everyone stomping their feet and shouting about Royal Pride—the school’s mantra and guiding ethos.

Bleachers had been unfolded from both walls, and the seats were filled with students, about a thousand in all.

The cacophony was enough to make me turn around and leave, but then I heard my name. Dean Yearwood sat on the upper level of one side and waved me over. In the interest of the Experiment and putting effort into making friends, I braved the noise and joined him.

Dean gestured at the small group around him—two guys and one girl.

“Xander, I’d like you to meet Kevin Huang, president of our Math my nerves lit up when she performed a run of gymnastic handsprings on the hard floor.

Someone nudged my elbow. Dean was grinning at me and shaking his head. “Not that one, my friend. Literally anyone but her.”

“Oh, I wasn’t… I mean—”

“I get it. Emery Wallace is a goddess. That is a fact.”

Harper turned around and gave us a dark look.

Dean held up his hands. “Don’t kill me. I’m just pointing out the obvious.” He turned to me and shouted above the pounding beat, “I want you on my crew, Xander, preferably in one piece, so I’m warning you now. She’s Tucker Hill’s girl. Off. Limits.”

His words chafed me—Emery shouldn’t belong to anyone—but I felt protective of her myself.

That instinctual urge to keep her safe hadn’t diminished in seven years, be it from water balloons, tyrannical fathers, or anything else.

It was irrational. Unscientific. But her well-being was my responsibility, and no amount of logic could change that feeling.

The dance ended to riotous applause. Emery ran to the bleachers, where Tucker grabbed her and spun her around. My stomach burned with an unpleasant sensation as he kissed her. After what felt like an eternity, he let her go, raised a fist and bellowed, “Royal pride, let’s go!”

The auditorium answered with more cheers, the band struck up a march, and everyone joined in on what I surmised was the school’s fight song. And Emery…

Emery Wallace was brutally beautiful—exhilarated, flushed, and still out of breath; her skin glistened with a thin sheen of sweat.

While everyone around her laughed and sang, her blue-green gaze scanned the crowd.

I didn’t know who she could be looking for; her friends and boyfriend were beside her…

And then she found me.

At least, I think it was me. She was halfway across the auditorium, but I felt as if her gaze was locked on mine.

Her smile dropped, replaced by an expression I couldn’t read; her lips parted, and her chest rose with a sharp breath.

Her hand drifted to her delicate gold necklace, and she toyed with its charm absently.

Then her little finger lifted and curled—twice. Two tiny motions, and I was paralyzed.

Is she waving at me? Do I wave back? Is she even waving at all…?

A girl grabbed Emery’s arm and swung her around, laughing and talking in her ear, breaking the spell. I jerked out of the warm, hazy moment into the loud reality of the auditorium and felt another pair of eyes on me. Harper Bennett had one eyebrow raised, amused, and a strange smile on her lips.

“It’s sort of like Schrodinger’s pinky wave, isn’t it?” Harper said, gathering her stuff. “She was both waving at you and not waving at you. The only way to know is to ask her.”

I stammered, feeling like I should explain myself, as if I were guilty of some crime. But then the pep rally was over, and Dean was jostling me to get going. By the time I got my backpack on, Harper was gone.