think would’ve happened if even one biter got into the party?” Andrew sounded hurt.
“That’s why I had to get him,” Wisteria maintained.
“Leave her.” Rebecca laughed. “We scared her good, and her little boyfriend is going to wet himself.”
“No, Wisteria,” Andrew shouted. This was unusual for him. He never lost his temper, at least never with her. “You were stupid. Any one of those children could’ve been bitten unless you checked them all for bites.”
She hadn’t
“What if one got back to the island? What if one bit David?”
“So, what was I supposed to do? Leave him there? You know if I told my mother she’d overreact.” If Bach had been in Smythe, she could’ve gone to him, but he wasn’t, so she took care of it on her own.
“You could’ve come to me or Rebecca. You still could’ve told Coles. Anything except what you did,” Andrew suggested with a disapproving glare.
Although he was right, she couldn’t imagine a world where she’d leave David to die. “So, if I came to you, you would’ve come out and gotten David?”
He nodded. “I’d also break both of his legs so he wouldn’t sneak out again.” His stern face broke into the more familiar smile.
She shook her head.
“Even if that boy was with you, you shouldn’t have gone,” Andrew said in a low tone, so only Wisteria could hear.
“How could Garfield help her? By cowering behind the smallest little girl he can find?” Rebecca jeered as she headed back to the High Street. “Oh, you mean the immune boy would help you. What was his name? Bart?”
Wisteria knew Rebecca was referring to Bach, but like many people on the island, she didn’t know him that well.
“We should get back.” Andrew gestured for her to return to vehicle.
“This prank of yours was dangerous, too.” She turned to leave. “What if there were biters in there?”
“There weren’t any,” he replied. “Unlike you, we secured this building before going inside.”
CHAPTER THREE
The school day flew by and Wisteria didn’t remember most of her lessons. Not that she hated class; she found school a welcoming distraction from how dire things had become in her world. What she hated were the other students. Aside from Garfield, and on some days Amanda, she had no friends in school. A lot of the other kids tormented her, but today she was too tired to care.
All the children under eighteen on the Isle of Smythe had to earn their keep and part of earning that was attending school as required. The last time she was late, several sliders, guards and even someone from Town Hall stopped her to take down her name. She was reported to Sir Charles Davenport, the head of the Town Hall and Mayor of Smythe, then lost some of her rations.
With the school day finally over, and with no tracker shifts this afternoon, she headed home. Since she was no longer on the same tracker team as her mother, who was working this afternoon, she had a few hours to herself.
“So what’s your mother going to do to you?” Garfield asked as they cycled home.
“Honestly, I’ve tried not to think about it.” She found her mother’s punishments to be psychologically exhausting. “Sometimes, I think it would be better if she just shouted or beat me.”
At that moment, they saw Amanda and David arguing at the end of the street. He seemed to be pleading with her.
Turning away from him, she strode away.
“Amanda, Amanda,” David yelled after her, but the girl rushed toward her and Garfield.
“Go to hell, David,” she called back to him through her tears.
“Come on, Amanda, stop being a baby,” David yelled after her. “There was nothing going on between me and that girl.”
“What’s wrong?” Garfield stopped in front Amanda.
Covering her mouth with her hands, she cried.
“Mandy.” David reached for her.
“Don’t touch me,” Amanda screamed, pushing him away. “Go back to Poppy. I hope you enjoyed her. I hope she was good to you.”
“Mandy,
Krystal Shannan, Camryn Rhys