Page 29

CHAPTER 28

HOLO ISN’T STUPID; he knows the other kids think he’s weird. He takes his shoes off and walks barefoot down the halls sometimes. He doesn’t talk enough.

And he definitely stares too much.

But that’s what animals do: they watch things. They stay alert to threats.

He’s been trying to act more normal, though. He wants to be accepted by the herd. So when he sits down at an empty lunch table—Kai’s nowhere to be seen—he doesn’t lift his head and look around constantly, the way a grazing deer does. The way he used to. He pays a lot of attention to his sandwich instead. The menu said it was turkey, but he’s never seen a turkey in a round gray slice like this. And the white, greasy smear on the bread—what the heck is that ?

He’s so busy inspecting this soft, almost colorless food that when the lunch tray goes flying up and away from the table, he doesn’t react right away. He’s too surprised.

Then Logan says, “Whoops, you dropped your lunch. Freak. ”

Holo’s furious at himself. He let his guard down and allowed Logan to sneak up on him. But he stays calm. “Why did you do that?” he asks. He’s still trying to understand human ways.

Logan’s cheeks and ears are red. His big fists are clenched. “Because I don’t like you.” He steps closer.

Holo stands up. The top of his head barely comes to Logan’s shoulder. He sees what looks like a fading bruise on Logan’s cheek.

Someone hurt him , Holo thinks. And he doesn’t want to be the lowest-ranking animal, so now he’s going to hurt me.

“I said I don’t like you,” Logan repeats. “And I don’t like your sister. You don’t belong here. What are you going to do about it?”

Holo’s pulse quickens. He says, “What do you think I should do about it?”

“I think you should crawl back into whatever forest hole you crawled out of,” Logan says. “You fucking freaks.”

Holo scratches his head. He doesn’t really like his short hair. He thought it’d help him fit in, but he was wrong.

“You gonna growl at me now?” Logan taunts. When Holo doesn’t say anything, Logan shoves him hard in the chest. “You gonna bite ?”

Holo takes a deep breath. He feels the blood rising in his veins. Never be the weakest in the herd. “No,” he says quietly. “I’m going to do this.”

He tucks his chin, lowers his head, and charges. He rams Logan in the guts with his skull. Shocked, Logan goes reeling backward, arms swinging wildly as he tries to catch his balance. He can’t do it. He falls onto his back with a thud. Lands on Holo’s turkey sandwich.

Holo stands over him, quiet but furious. “You wouldn’t last a day where I come from,” he says through gritted teeth. “You’re weak. You’re nothing .”