Jessica was buried in her physics textbook. The last few nights Jonathan had been helping her with the basics while they were together in the secret hour, and she was really starting to understand the equal and opposite reaction business. Bounding around mostly weightless every night had made the laws of motion much more interesting, and having to run for her own life had given her a very real appreciation of inertia. But all the formulas were still giving her trouble, so she’d decided to get some help from Dess.
It took most of the period for Jessica to get up the nerve to tell Dess what had happened at breakfast.
“So, you know the whole snake pit expedition?”
“Yeah, we’re still working on it. Rex and I are trying to come up with a way to get you out there safely,” Dess said. “Anyway, it sounds like you’re having fun avoiding the baddies.”
“That’s true.” Jessica smiled. The ever present danger made her secret hours with Jonathan much more exciting than regular hanging out would be. “But I’ve got news, Dess. I found out at breakfast that I’m not grounded anymore.”
“Really? That’s great.”
“Yeah, I guess so. It was kind of weird, though. My parents were totally ready to lock me up for good. Then this morning my mom gives me this whole speech about making new friends.”
Dess shrugged. “That happens. My parents do it all the time. Last spring, the first time I got busted with Rex and Melissa for breaking curfew, they said they were going to send me off to psycho camp once school was out.”
“Where?”
“It’s like a summer camp for juvenile delinquents. Run by the state and very jail-like. My dad works on oil rigs, and he’s a big believer in hard work to purify the soul. But a couple of days after the bust they completely changed their minds. Since then they’ve been pretty cool. They’ve even started to like Rex and Melissa.”
“Well, my parents weren’t going to send me away, I don’t think. But it was still weird to see Mom backing off like that.” Jessica sighed, rubbing her hands nervously. “So I guess we should try to do that snake pit thing.”
“The sooner the better,” Dess said. “Once we know what your talent is, we can figure out why the darklings are so scared of you. Constanza’s party is a perfect opportunity.”
“I don’t know,” Jessica said. “Mom didn’t say anything about late night parties.”
Dess leaned closer. “It’s the surest way to get you out there before midnight. We have to untangle ourselves from Rex’s dad and my parents. We might have to fight our way out to the snake pit. With you along, that would get hairy. It’s not that we don’t like you, Jess. But you do attract a bad element.”
“Oh, right,” Jessica said glumly. “Jessica Day, disaster magnet.”
“The darklings have been getting worse every night, especially out in the badlands. It’s not like downtown.”
“But once the party freezes, I’ll be alone out there.”
“You’ll practically be at the snake pit. It’s right in the middle of the Bottom,” Dess said. “Just take a walk five minutes before midnight, and you’ll be inside my defenses. Melissa can drive me and Rex to the edge of the Bottom. We’ll walk from there. Without you along, we won’t get swarmed by darklings if we’re late.”
Jessica gulped. The thought of making her way to the infamous snake pit, all alone at midnight, didn’t make her very happy. “We’ll really be safe there?”
Dess nodded. “Absolutely. I’ve been working on protection all week. I’ve got a ton of metal ready to go. Rex and I can set it up after school tomorrow. The darklings won’t be able to get within a hundred yards of the snake pit.”
“Really?”
“We’ll be perfectly safe. Of course, remember to watch out before midnight.”
“For what?”
“The snakes.”
Jessica blinked.
“You know,” Dess said patiently, “in the snake pit.”
“Oh. I thought maybe ‘snake pit’ was just a colorful nickname, not to be taken literally.”
“Well, don’t let the name fool you,” Dess said. “It’s more of a sinkhole than a pit. A sinkhole full of snakes.”
“Great, I’ll keep that in mind.” Jessica shivered, remembering the slithers that second night. The idea of real snakes didn’t make her much happier. “But maybe this party thing isn’t going to happen. I don’t even know if I’m still invited.”
Dess looked across the library at the older girls’ table. “There’s only one way to find out.”
A couple of Constanza’s friends looked up when Jessica came over. She still drew some stares, especially in the lunchroom with Jonathan. Jessica ignored them and knelt next to Constanza.
“About the party this Friday?” she whispered.
Constanza looked down at her. “Yeah?”
“I kind of got, um, ungrounded.”
“Really?” Constanza smiled broadly. “Wow. The police bring you home and you’re partying a week later. Not too bad, Jess Shady.”
“I guess not. So how about that party at Rustle’s Bottom? I mean, I know you’re probably—”
“Great.”
“I mean, if there’s already too many—”
“Sure. Come along.”
Jessica swallowed. “I don’t really know how to get there. And it’s probably too far—”
“I’ll drive you. You can sleep over. That way your parents won’t be freaking when we get home super-late.”
“Oh,” Jessica said, “good idea.” Excuses and bailout lines were still rolling around in her head, but Constanza’s beaming smile silenced them all.
“Come home with me tomorrow from school? We’ll have a great time.”
“Cool,” Jessica managed.
“I can’t wait for you to meet some of the guys at this party. I know you like that Jonathan guy, but trust me, Broken Arrow men are much more fun than the boys from Bixby. Much more mature. You’re going to have the night of your life, Jess.”
21
12:00 A.M.
PEGASUS
Jessica was scared. Jonathan could feel it.
They had made it up to Pegasus in record time, shooting down Division like a stone skipping on water, then gaining altitude from rooftop to rooftop, making a giant obstacle course out of the Bixby skyline. The Mobil Building was the tallest in town, and now they were high atop the winged horse with the darkened city spread out below them.
But Jess had seemed anxious the whole way. She kept looking over her shoulder, not trusting in their speed to keep them safe. Even up here, her green eyes still scanned the horizon. The muscles in her hand were tight, and the connection that Jonathan usually felt when they flew together was missing.
“Are you okay?”
“What?”
“You seem nervous.”
She shrugged.
He smiled. “Like maybe you’re worried about being seen with me.”
Jess laughed, looking out over the dark, empty city. “Yeah, if any slithers tell my mom about us, I’m dead.” She paused, then blurted, “Anyway, you’re the one who’s all antitouching during daylight.”
Jonathan blinked. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Jessica looked away. “I mean, it’s no big deal, but it’s not like you ever put your arm around me or grab my hand.”
“We hold hands all the time!”
“At midnight we do. In school you get all anxious about it.”
He frowned, annoyed and wondering if it was true. “Well, we’ve got to rest sometime. Or we’ll wind up with Nintendo wrist.”
Jess pulled away her flying hand and flexed it. “I guess so.”
Jonathan gently took it back and started to massage the tendons. He felt her muscles begin to relax. “So what are you really nervous about?”