"Where do you think you're going?"
Miren froze in place, feeling Jeno's glare burn against her back. Fuck.
Before she could even think of fleeing, he already had a hand on her shoulder. Double fuck. He narrowed his eyes.
"If I have to suffer here, so do you."
Miren sneered. "Why don't you think about why I don't want to go up there?" she said, averting her gaze from the stage. To be fair, most of the nominees were too hyped to be paying attention to them, but they could be. And that was enough for her.
"Just calm down," Jeno said, leading to the risen platform. "No one's going to expose you except yourself. It's not like they were nominated for a Nobel Prize."
"Nice to see you're adjusting well." Miren spun around, realizing it was Parker who said this. Her eyes widened until she realized she had no reason to be alarmed. So she nodded in acknowledgment, but the gesture came out like an awkward head jerk.
"Um...yeah," she offered, composing herself. "Jeno's been a lot of help."
The curly-haired boy smirked at his competitor. "I didn't know Jeno was capable of liking anyone."
Jeno rolled his eyes. "Why don't you go humor your girlfriend? I'm sure she can stop ruining other people's lives long enough to force a laugh."
They exchanged a charged staring match until Wallace butted in. "If you keep staring at each other like that, people are going to think you're gay lovers."
They scoffed in unison.
"Anyway, Penelope said she wants to take a picture with you," Wallace said, tilting his brother in the witch's direction. "I wouldn't keep her waiting."
"Alright," Parker said. "Tell Miles not to spend too much time with Jeno, or he'll wake up with a permanent frown."
She sighed as he walked away, hoping it would expel the inner tension surging insider her. But something didn't seem right. The way Jeno and Wallace were now associating so casually with each other in her presence...
"You know that he knows?" Miren said to Wallace. He nodded.
"He asked me during the Shadowing. Figured you would have either needed his help or mine to enroll here," Wallace informed her. She nodded hesitantly. It's not like he spilled her secrets to a new soul. But she still felt a tinge of betrayal. "And by the way, I completely agree with his plans." Wallace's eyes were on Penelope now.
Miren had no idea what the extent of these plans was. But that answered another a question. "So I guess you're using each other to avoid briefing me?"
"Yes," Jeno answered. "You're still unstable."
Unstable? She released something that was the combination of a snort and a huff. A snuff. "Seriously? How helpful can I be if I have no idea what's going on?"
"Very," Jeno assured her. His eyes then fell to the headmasters walking toward them. "But we can't talk about this right now."
"Congratulations, students," Headmistress Castro said, clasping her hands. Miren fought the urge to scoff at the woman's gesture. She was playing nice now, but she was almost worse than Penelope. "Before you're released, you each have to sign a contract stating that you'll be present for all of the important meetings for homecoming. Have them in by Monday. If you have to miss them in the case of sports or extracurriculars, you'll need a letter from the supervisor of the particular organization. Homecoming is October 24th. Don't do anything stupid until that then." She paused. "Don't do anything stupid. Period."
With a nod, Sister Francesca handed the group their contracts of doom. "Come on, girls." And just like that, half of the party was gone. But Miren found little relief in the Rosemunde girls' absence.
"Artemis and Parker are trying to find Miren," Jeno whispered to her as Headmaster Edsel began to lead them back to Rinzen. "Are you aware of that?"
Miren frowned, realizing why she still felt anxious. "Painfully."
She knew Parker was oblivious, but it was only a matter of time until he found out, wasn't it? And now she had to spend time with both him and Penelope. A shiver ran through her spine as she watched the gates of Rinzen come into view.
**
After stapling another Missing: Miren Eze poster on a lamppost, Parker came to Artemis' side. She was in a heated argument on her phone with Soren.
"You okay?" Parker then asked. When she didn't acknowledge him, he took the phone from her hand.
"What's your deal?" she tried to wrestle him for the device, but he towered over her.
"You're stressing yourself out," Parker replied, ending the call. "You and Soren never fight. Miren wouldn't want you to."
"She also didn't want Penelope to harass her, but I didn't help that." She shook her head. He was right, and it also wasn't right to offend the only person helping her. But what good was his help? Or even her efforts? Three weeks of searching and the only thing that was certain was that she had nothing. Zip. Nada. Zilch.
It was Friday. The two of them were just elected on Homecoming Court, one of the highest social honors any student could ever hope to achieve. And here they were, out on the streets. While others were celebrating. Or at the very least, having lives.
Parker pursed his lips, trying not to let the dispiriting look in Artemis's eyes bring him down. Someone had to be motivated. "I know we'll find her."
"Really?" Artemis said with mock conviction. "Because I haven't seen anything that indicates that we will." Her fists were clenched as her eyes, as intense as fire, met his. "All because of your bitch girlfriend."
Parker just shook his head, refusing to come to her level. "Look, chillâ"
"You chill!" she screamed, completely maverick. "What the fuck do you even see in her?" she asked, her voice blunt and aggressive. "Or is she so desperate to keep you that she puts out? Just a bitch and a whore..."
To this, Parker's eyes widened, his nose flailing. "You don't know what you're talking aboutâ"
"Oh, I don't?" she said with a snarl. "Then why don't you enlighten me? Tell me why it had to come to this? Searching night and day for a girl that could very well be dead. Meanwhile, Penelope doesn't even give damn. What about you? Do you even care about anything other than your fucking reputation?" she said, heaving to regain her breathâher composure.
"She really liked you," Artemis continued, her voice calming, lowering to almost a whisper. "She never told me upfront, but I could tell." Her eyes were sharp against his. "It's just a shame that you were too much of an asshole to do anythingâ"
"SHUT UP!" He was fuming. His usual optimistic temperament was gone, with his eyebrows arched aggressively, like his snarl. Her eyes widened, but they were still sharp against his.
It didn't matter that Parker exploded. She said what she had to say. Maybe it was too muchâuncalled for even. But she wasn't taking it back.
Parker's face refused to soften. "Just because you're mad at Soren doesn't mean you can take out your frustrations on me. You don't think I'm mad? I've been out here everyday, haven't I?" he said. Artemis looked away, her harsh gaze hitting the sidewalk.
"I'm not proud of how I acted before. But that doesn't mean you can trash out Penelope or me. Just because she's not out on the streets doesn't mean that this doesn't affect her. No one's completely innocent in all of this," he said, shaking his head. "Not even Miren."
His last comment caused a ripple to tear through Artemis' heart. She knew that he was Penelope's boyfriend. She just thought...that with his redeeming search efforts, he wouldn't be so quick to say something like thatâsomething that Penelope would say.
Artemis sighed a heavy sigh, taking everything in. "Then who is?"
He just looked at her, his lips pressed in a contemplative line. His silence answered for him. Artemis combed a hand through her hair, as if to brush away this altercation. The anger in her eyes evaporated into the sky, leaving her with a look of forced indifference.
"Whatever. Having an argument in the middle of the street isn't going to solve anything," she decided. "Let's get back to work."
Parker gave a reluctant nod, his gaze casting over a few bystanders gawking at them. "Show's over," he said, swatting them away like the flies they were.
They stood in silence at the street corner, in front of Orange Swish, a popular smoothie hangout for local teens. Artemis thought about looking in there, until she saw that a couple of her posters already graced the glass window of the establishment.
"It just doesn't make sense," Parker said after a while, rubbing his chin. "Where did she go? I don't think she has a car."
Artemis lifted her shoulders. "She could have easily taken the bus," she considered. "But I checked the school records; she's an emancipated minor. There's no way she would have gotten far, considering the fact that she doesn't have friendsâ" Artemis stopped herself, trying not to feel bad. Friends. She could have been Miren's friend.
She cleared her throat. "I don't think she left school very often. Probably just to the local drug store or something every once in a while."
The two rival academies rested on a slightly unleveled, grassy valley. There were tall evergreen trees in the far horizon that acted to frame the relatively secluded institutions, with the nearest establishments, small convenient  stores and random specialty shops, about a ten minute walk from the gates of either school. To get into the city, where Artemis and Parker were now, or other places that teens actually wanted to go, it was about a fifteen-minute drive.
The location made the two schools seem like their own separate societiesâkingdoms that constantly fought for social superiority. So maybe it made sense that Miren ran away; there was nothing for her here.
Parker wrinkled his nose as a feeling of hopelessness washed over him. "Maybe we're going about this all wrong."
"You think?" Artemis said sarcastically. Parker shot her look.
"But seriously," he began, folding his arms. "We've searched practically every part of Gloveria. Can you think of anywhere we haven't?"
Artemis looked up at the dimming blue sky, trying to generate thought. She slapped her hands against her sides in defeat. "I can't."
He nodded. "It reminds me of something Coach Lancaster says. If you put the ball on top of the opponents head, they'll never find it."
Artemis arched an eyebrow. She appreciated his analogy, but she didn't quite see how lacrosse related to this. "I don't think I follow."
"Exactly." There was a new determination in his eyes. "We've been looking where we think she is. When in reality, she could be hiding underneath our noses."
Artemis rolled her eyes, unsatisfied by his tired conclusion. "If you're suggesting that we're going to find her in some dungeon in St. Rosemunde, I strongly doubt that."
Parker shook his head. "I'm not saying that. But people say things. People know things that we don't."
"Like who?"
Parker bit his lip. Things were easier said than justified. "Like..." he snapped his fingers a few times, hoping to yield an idea. Then he had one. "...Like that Miles kid we saw today. He was over Chara's house once with Wally and me. I think he was trying to say something about Miren then..."
Artemis perked up. This could be the revelation they were looking for. "Did he say something significant?"
Parker inhaled, trying to think through this. But that encounter was a while ago and thinking honestly wasn't his strong suit. "I can't remember. But he was saying something about her being troubled like him. He was bullied at his old school. I guess he was telling me not to condone bullying."
Artemis tried not to look deterred. "He seems to have grown close to your brother, though. What does that say?"
Parker scratched his head. "Don't know. But I guess it could mean everything." Everything but where Miren was. "Wally could tell us if we asked."
Artemis's eyes widened. That was it. Well, it wasn't it. But it was a step in the right direction.
"Wait," she said, lost in contemplation. "Isn't he a computer genius or something?"
Parker shrugged. However, a smile peaked on his lips. His brother was bright and that was something to be proud of. Especially now.
"You could say that," he said. "Just don't call him one. Irks him."
Artemis nodded. "Either way, he could be very helpful in this investigation. Maybe he could uncover her debit card record or something and find out the last place she was. Anything."
"Sounds like a plan." They started for his car. He opened the passenger's door for her. But she just stared at him.
Parker cocked his head. "What? Is this a feminist thing I'm imposing on? I can shut it, and you can reopen it. No worriesâ"
"No," Artemis said, dismissing his words with a wave. Her gaze was soft on his, her eyes radiating with a level of hope that had been absent for days. Weeks. "Just thank you for everything so far. I know you didn't have to help. You could have acted like the others."
Parker smirked. "Well, it just so happens that I'm extraordinary," he said playfully. "And don't worry. We'll find her, and she'll be fine," he said. "Promise."
Artemis offered him a half-smile before hugging him. His eyes widened. It was too soon to make promises, but she was grateful for his support. They would find Miren. No excuses.
But they would also find some other things - things they would never be prepared for.