Jillie Vincent

She's . . . probably being really stupid right now. There's no one with her to curb her impulses. She's facing a life-changing moment and there's no one there to tell her Stop, no, this isn't right. She's keenly aware of her heart pumping in her chest, of the blood rushing through her veins. She stares, waiting for something to go wrong.

Waiting for something in her to change.

The library is quiet, and probably no place to be doing this, but she's not sure she dares to at home. Not with Jack and Poison on eggshells, not with Girl there to egg her on — or judge her loudly; she's not sure which she's more afraid of.

The pamphlet stares up at her where it rests on the table between her hands.

So you want to go to college, it says.

This is so stupid.

She looks around surreptitiously, like she's breaking some kind of law just by being here. She's just . . . she just wants a normal life.