Page 135 of Stardusted

Imagination,I told myself.Stress.

The product of too much caffeine, too little sleep, and far too many glowing alien objects. I hunched my shoulders against the chill and picked up my pace.

First, I needed to survive this midterm.

ThenI’d take on the Enil.

One thing at a time.

I climbed into the SUV and buckled in. Sky’s music spilled from the speakers and wrapped around me, a slow, glitchy melody that sounded like outer space dreaming. That tugging feeling of danger settled deeper in my chest.

Maybe it wasn’t foreboding. Maybe it was inevitability.

Or maybe it was the understanding of how much everything had changed.

The memory of that bloody handprint drifted back. I focused instead on Oasis disappearing out the window before turning my attention to the road ahead.

Chapter 32

BEAM ME UP, ANXIETY

Murmuringvoices and bursts of laughter echoedthrough Kepler Hall. I wove through the commotion, bag secured to my shoulders. The afternoon classes were always more crowded, which made the common area busier. So many people.

I felt twitchy. So twitchy, my skin itched.

I resisted the urge to glance back at Sky. I knew he was there, following me past the hallway openings, scattered tables, and cushioned benches. Somehow, his quiet presence made it a little better. He was quickly becoming my personal alien safety blanket.

I needed to get it together. This anxiety wasn’t going to help me pass this test. And I’d need all the help I could get.

I paused at the corner by the elevator and took a deep, steadying breath. The scent of baked pretzels wafted from the tiny snack shop, reminding me I’d only consumed a handful of Hula fries and too many cups of coffee today.

I didn’t trust my stomach, though. It hadn’t been quite right since this morning.

I lifted my phone and checked the time. I still had fifteen minutes until my midterm. Fifteen minutes to calm down. Swallowing hard, I tightened my grip and glanced around.

Everything was too bright and loud. Movement and echoing voices. A man walked past, earbuds leaking tinny music. A janitor pushed a mop bucket through swinging doors across the way. A group of people at the next table dissolved into cackles so suddenly I jumped. My heart gave an extra thump, and I shoved my phone back into my pocket with more force than necessary.

It was all so…normal.Gripping my bag’s straps, I dug my nails into the fabric. How could they all act so normal?

I supposed it wasn’t hard without garbled voices, strange lights, or creaking, chrome-plated death robots lurking in the shadows.

This was ameproblem.Ifelt out of place inside this normalcy. I’d felt that way all day. At work, in traffic. Now here.

It felt like…like I didn’t belong. Like the world was suddenly too big and ominous, and danger?—

“Are you all right?” Sky asked—and I jolted, barely biting back a gasp.

Definitely a me problem.

Willing myself to calm down, I looked up to find him peering at me from beneath his ball cap. It was the first thing he’d said in a while. He’d seemed lost in his own head on the drive here, and he’d been just as quiet since we’d made it inside.

Now, though, he was watching me like he could see I was barely holding it together. His brow furrowed in concern. Like he saw it andunderstood.

He was also waiting for an answer, so I made myself nod. It must’ve looked as unconvincing as it felt. He narrowed his eyes, shifting his body to block out some of the people, the lights.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, more quietly.

Normally, I would’ve laughed, because where did I even begin? Did he want a list?