The Monster Within

“Did they call the cops?”

“Not yet. He’s taken off like this before, so his parents are waiting a bit before they declare him missing,” Beth said.

Ethan crumpled up the wrapper from his meatball sub. “Maybe he didn’t want to go out with that Sha

“Are you kidding me?” Beth’s eyes bugged out. “No one bails on Sha

“Maybe that’s why he’s not in school today. He knows he screwed up.” Ethan dug into his Italian sub, not giving it much more thought. It was strange how he’d seemed to stop caring about other people. Not like him at all.

But I couldn’t dismiss the Trevor issue. Sooner or later, the police would figure out the old man they’d found dead in the doorway was Trevor Davis. And when word got around school, Sha

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE rest of the school day was a blur. I went through the motions of attending class. Kids whispered thoughts about where Trevor could be. There was even a rumor that he ran off with Mrs. Wentworth, the school nurse, who happened to be absent both yesterday and today. I hadn’t met her yet, but I heard she was fifty. If I wasn’t dying inside knowing the truth, I would’ve found that one fu

The end of the day couldn’t come soon enough, and when the dismissal bell rang, I bolted out of history and ran to my locker. I still hadn’t told Ethan about the note I found earlier, and I wasn’t pla

“Whoa!” I jumped. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” He kissed me before wrapping his arm around my shoulders and walking me out of the building to his car. “Was today any better?”

“A little. Getting out of French and into your art class was a definite plus.”

“Yeah, and you seemed to be settling in with the guys at lunch. Beth really likes you. She told me in Spanish.”

“That’s nice.” I tried to keep the worry out of my voice, but Beth was a threat to me. She knew too much about what went on at this school. I’d have to be extra careful around her.

We drove to the diner, and first thing, Jackson asked Ethan to work in the kitchen again. Ethan was delighted to get away from busing tables, and he was becoming quite the chef. Okay, not really. I mean, flipping burgers and making club sandwiches wasn’t exactly a science, but it was good to see him happy. One of us needed to be.

I put my purse behind the counter and tied my apron around my waist.

“How was school?” Gloria asked, slipping me a piece of peach pie.

“Fine. What’s this for?”

“I made it this morning. Thought you might like some since there’s a lull in the crowd right now. I remember what those school lunches were like back in my day. I have a feeling they probably haven’t gotten much better.” Her face scrunched up in disgust.

“Um, actually, Ethan made me a sandwich last night. I hope that’s okay. I didn’t even think, but I should’ve paid for it. I’ll pay for it now.” I reached for my purse.

“You’ll do no such thing.” Gloria took my purse and put it back behind the counter. “I insist you pack your lunch from here every day. You got that? I’m not going to have you get sick eating the mush they pass off as food in that place. I need you here to help me. If that costs me lunch five days a week, then so be it. You can make up for it by taking a few of my tables.”

I smiled. Having Gloria around was like working for my grandmother. She kept me well fed in exchange for doing work around the house—or, in this case, the diner. In a way she made it a little easier to be away from my family.

“You’re the best, Gloria.”

“I know. It’s a curse.” She playfully waved a dishcloth at me. “Now eat. I’m expecting the after-school crowd in about fifteen minutes.”

I ate my pie and brewed a fresh pot of coffee. No sooner had I wiped the counter when a crowd of kids came in.

They sat in a big booth in the back corner, and they were loud. I recognized a few faces, but luckily I didn’t see Sha

“Hi, can I start you off with some drinks while you look over the menu?”

“Yeah, I’ll have a root beer,” the big guy in the varsity football jacket said.

The girl next to him smacked his arm. “Don’t you dare order yet. Sha

I rolled my eyes. Why did people hang out with Sha

“I’ll come back.” I turned and started walking away.

“No you won’t.”

I stopped and sighed. Sha

“I want a diet birch beer, and don’t water it down with a bunch of ice. I only want six cubes. I said cubes, not crushed ice. Got it?”

I turned around to face her. “Sorry, we don’t have diet birch beer. We have regular birch beer or diet cola. Take your pick. And as for the ice, it comes out of a machine. You get what you get.”

She glared at me, and the vein in her forehead twitched. “I want to speak to your manager.”

“Sure.” I smiled and walked back to the counter, leaving Sha

“What are you smiling about?” Gloria asked. “That girl looks like she just gave you a mouthful.”

“Oh, she did. She’s a fun one, and she asked to speak with you. She wants to know why there’s no diet birch beer and why I can’t give her exactly six cubes of ice in her drink. I’m sure she’ll have some choice words about my attitude, too.”

“Snotty little high-school brat,” Gloria mumbled before pasting a fake smile on her face and walking over to Sha

I pretended not to watch as I refilled coffee for a couple near the door, but it was hard not to stare. Gloria started off nice—for about a whole two seconds, because that was all Sha

Gloria let her rant for a minute before she put her hand up. “You can stop right there.”

Sha

“That’s enough. I’m not going to have you come into my establishment, making impossible demands, and insulting my best waitress—”

“If she’s your best waitress, then this place has more problems than I thought.”

“I’m not finished, so you shut your mouth, or I’ll throw your sizezero behind right out that door. I have the right to refuse service to anyone, and right now, I’m refusing to serve you.”

My smile was so wide I could’ve fit an entire slice of peach pie in my mouth. Ethan was peeking through the window on the kitchen door. The kids with Sha

“How dare you, you old hag!” Sha

Without thinking, I stormed over to her, grabbed her arm, and yanked her back. “Don’t talk to Gloria that way. She told you to leave, so leave before I call the cops.”

Sha

Something inside me burst. Maybe it was pent-up anger, maybe it was petty girl-fight instincts, but I lost it. I wasn’t about to throw down with Sha

“I guess when the guy you like dumps you and the entire school finds out about it, the way you get over the humiliation is picking on someone who’s old enough to be your mother.” Really it was more like grandmother, but I didn’t want to insult Gloria. It was Sha