“Hi!” Silvia jerked back in her seat as Olivia sat in the usually empty desk in front of her in Chem I.

“Uh, hi, Olivia.”

She gave her a sweet, sly smile. “You don’t sound too excited to be talking to me. Want a Twizzler?” She pulled out an open pack, grabbed a Twizzler, and shoved it between her teeth before offering one to Silvia.

“Um, okay.” Hesitantly, she took one, expecting a trap, but the girl seemed to have none.

“So,” she said midchew, “how are you. We don’t talk much.”

“Yeah, there’s a reason for that. You’re one of Tiffany’s friends.” She really wanted to say lacky but decided against it.

“Was. I was her friend. She’s gone and basically ditched Evie and me. Well, I haven’t heard from her. Anyway, she needed a life. I mean, to get into a fight over Blake and Lucas? She always wants all the attention and candy. It got old.” Olivia offered her another Twizzler, again smiling gently.

Silvia took it. Olivia never really seemed to fit into that friend ground, always seeming too nice.

“Thanks. Uh, why were you friends with her?”

“Oh, you know, sometimes you’re friends with people for so long that you don’t know how not to be. You know, I wasn’t a fan of the things she did. Tiffany, she always put herself first. It sucked. But I didn’t just want to throw away the friendship, ya know. But whatever, I guess she did.”

“So you haven’t heard from her at all?”

“Nope. It kinda sucks. Tiffany wasn’t a good person, but we have been friends for so long. It’s hard not to be sad.”

“That’s—I’m sorry.”

Olivia shrugged but still smiled. “No, you’re not, but that’s nice of you to say. You know, I think I’ll sit next to you.” She grabbed her bag and dropped it into the seat next to her. “You’re nice.”

“Uh, thanks, I guess.”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “Geez, you act like I’m going to kill you or something. Just because I was friends with Tiffany doesn’t mean I’m evil like her. Relax!” Silvia smiled at her as the bell rang.

Halfway through the class, people started looking at their phones. Not one or two, but five, then six. Silvia’s phone buzzed, and she looked around while people whispered before she looked down.

Olivia beat her to it.

“Oh my god,” she whispered.

Silvia’s mind hummed with questions as she opened her phone. The text message was a blaring notification on her phone, making her eyes widen.

Lucita sat with her friend Natalia, listening to the teacher discuss the French Revolution. She was so happy she didn’t have French today due to their rotation schedule. She was trying to avoid Francis and Elizabeth as much as possible.

Then phones began to buzz, all of them, the teachers included. Lucita looked around, wondering what was going on. She watched the teacher look at his phone, then head over to his laptop.

She heard people whispering. She heard words like ‘overdose’ and ‘dead.’ What was going on?

“I have an announcement to make.” Silence fell over the classroom. “Did anyone know a Chris Andrews?”

No. Lucita’s head hot up, and slowly, she raised her hand. Everyone turned to her, staring at her.

“Oh, Luci,” said Natalia, her eyes filled with sadness.

“Well, um, class, as you might have heard, Chris, who was a student here.” Was. Why was he saying was. “He went missing a few days ago. He had been suspended for going to the school Halloween party under the influence. He did return home last night. However, this morning.” He took a deep breath. “Chris was found in his bedroom by his parents unresponsive. It appears that he overdosed. Lucita…I’m sorry.”

No. Lucita sat there stunned. She wanted to scream; she wanted everyone to stop staring at her.

“Lucita?” Natalia gently touched her shoulder, and she flinched.

“May I please be excused?” He nodded, and Lucita grabbed her bag, shoved her books inside, and left.

Eyes burning, she looked around. No place to go, only a place to hide.

Silvia looked around her fourth-period classroom for Lucita. Where was she? She looked over at Natalia, who stared at the entryway.

“Nat, was she okay?”

Natalia shook her head. “No. She left and just vanished. I assumed she would be here.”

“If she’s skipping class, that means she’s hiding somewhere.”

“Yeah, but where?”

Silvia shrugged, worried about her friend. Especially after what Jaon had told her and after what she had overheard. It explained her erratic behavior, her highs, her lows, and the fact that she had chosen to lose her virginity to Matthew, of all people.

And now this. They had all called her selfish, mostly joking. But she had been worried about her friends, and none of them had taken her seriously.

Where was she?

“Let’s just get through this class and get everyone together to look for her. There’s not many places that she can hide.”

At lunch, they all gathered together, even Olivia, who joined, happy to be included. Well, she had included herself, but the more eyes, the better.

However, when Evie arrived alongside Fracis, something in Silvia snapped.

“What are you doing here?”

“Olive texted me saying you needed help looking for your friend Lucita. Apparently, she was really upset that her friend died.” She just shrugged it off, all nonchalantly, as if it didn’t matter. The callousness made even Olivia—Olive—flinch.

“Try to show some sympathy,” said Blake.

“Sorry. I didn’t know the guy.”

“Evie, come on, he’s dead. Please, be a little more respectful.” Silvia watched Olivia and Evie stare at each other as if exchanging secret messages. Evie rolled her eyes, sighing.

“Fine. Sorry. So anyway—”

“Excuse me, are you guys Lucita’s friends?”

The group turned to stare at the new face, eyes red, clearly from crying.

“Yeah. Why? Have you seen her?”

“No. I was—actually, I was looking for her. I’m Samantha.”

“You’re the girl who called her selfish,” snapped Jason. “Who the hell do you think you are?!”

“Dude, chill,” came Blake’svoice.

The girl, Samantha, flinched. “I know what I said; that’s why I’m looking for her. I wanted to apologize. I—she tried to tell me something was wrong and I–I didn’t see what was right in front of my face. She’s not selfish; I am.” The girl was sobbing now, making them all exchange awkward glances. Finally, Silvia stepped up.

“Look, we can’t find her. She’s been missing since the news broke about Chris.”

The girl sniffed, wiping her nose. “I’ll help you look for her. I owe that must, at least. I owe her an apology.”

“Can we get this party on the roll already,” whined Evie. Everyone glared at her. “What? Look, let’s just split up. Francis and Me, Elizabeth and Jason, Blake and Silvia. Rocker chick here—”

“Natalia,” grumbled Natalia.

“Whatever, you can go with the sobber. That leaves Rebecca and Olivia.” Everyone just gaped at her for taking charge. “What? The people who know her best with those who don’t. I’m not just a pretty blond, you know. Now let’s go.”

Where to begin…

“We don’t have time for this,” growled Jason, stomping off. He looked back at Liz, who stood there unmoving. “Liz, come on. I know I’m your least favorite person, but come on.” He softened his tone. “You know what she does to herself; we have to find her.” Her eyes met his, and she nodded, running after him, her steps determined.

Silvia watched Liz take a second to look back at her boyfriend as he vanished with Evie down a walkway back towards the circle courtyard.

“Come on, Becca, you can tell me all about Luci. Maybe we can narrow down where she is.” Olivia pulled Rebecca along after her, in the opposite direction of Evie and towards the front of the school. Natalia and Samantha went East, towards the buildings, leaving Silvia alone with Blake.

They shared a look.

“We have to find her.”

“Agreed. Jason keeps me up to date. Also, I don’t trust Evie.”

“Same.” The pair walked off together towards the PE area.

“So,” began Silvia, looking around. “We have to try to be friends.”

“Yeah, okay. For Becca, I can do that.” They peeked behind the race track. “We have to find Luci first.”

“Yeah.” They walked around the PE area. “Do you find it strange that Evie and Olivia are hanging around us all of a sudden?”

“You know, Silvia, I think your suspicious nature is one of your better qualities.” He gave her a smile, clearly teasing her. “But yeah, I agree with you. It was always a toss-up between Evie and Tiffany on who could be the most conniving. Olivia was always just a follower. Sweet girl, harmless by herself, I think.”

“Do you think this might be related to Tiffany’s plan to get back at Luci?”

“Honestly? I wouldn’t put it past her. The timing is all off. Things between her and Cyrus must have hit a lull.”

Silvia knew he was right, that it was too suspicious, the timing too perfect. Tiffany had to be behind everything.

After about fifteen minutes of searching for Lucita and turning up empty, their phones vibrated. They exchanged looks before pulling out their phones.

Francis found Lucita.

“Shit,” muttered Blake.

Lucita had spent the whole day hiding in the back of the school, in one of the hidden hallways behind the classrooms often used as shortcuts by students. Knees pulled up to her chest, she stared at the art deco cut wall, past the bushes and into the street. People walked on the sidewalk, unaware of her, and no teacher or security guard had come into the hall. It was forgotten. A place for her to hide.

A place she had been hiding in for a little over two hours.

How much trouble would she be in for skipping class?

What would her mother say?

Her eyes tightened. Why was she so selfish, thinking about herself right now. She hated the selfish thoughts and how they coexisted with every fiber of her body.

“Lucita?”

Lucita jerked at the sound of his voice. Francis.

“What do you want?”

“Everyone is worried about you. Natalia said you just vanished.”

“So? Why do you care?”

“You know why?”

His big brown eyes grazed her body as he knelt down, gently grabbing her arm to pull her up gently.

“I’m so selfish,” she said, collapsing against his chest, “you were right!”

“No. No, Luce, I was wrong.” He caressed her face. “I’m sorry. For everything, for your friend, for your loss, for saying everything I said. If you were selfish, you would have never noticed something wrong with Chris. I knew him too, but I didn’t notice anything off about him.”

Lucita’s eyes began to water. “That’s because broken people can see through the façade other people put up.”

“You’re not broken.”

The tears began to fall freely now. “Yes I am. I’m damaged and stupid and broken.” She buried her head into his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him. He smelled like the beach.

“Shh, it’s okay.” He wrapped his arms around her tightly, lightly kissing the top of her head.

Silvia arrived with Blake, taking in the scene. Lucita in Francis’ arms, crying. Evie stood by the wall, looking genuinely concerned.

The doors across the long stretch of the hallway opened, and Jason and Elizabeth walked in. Silvia looked back at Francis, who was telling her to calm down, telling her she had us.

Her eyes widened when she saw it. The look they exchanged, the too-tender way that he held her and touched her.

Looking away from them, she stared at Liz’s clenched fists.

She saw it, too.