He shrugged. “I don’t know. Whatever floats her boat. And you know what they say: Keep your friends close and your enemies’ clothes…. Wait, how does that go?”

I looked at Lena.

This I gotta see.

The windows rattled harder.

The next afternoon, we went to see for ourselves. The girl had moves. You had to give her that. Even if Ridley wore her cheerleading skirt with a metallic tank top instead of the standard gold and blue uniform, you couldn’t deny it.

“I wonder if she’s good at this because she was a Siren.” I watched as Ridley pulled back handsprings down the length of the basketball court.

“Yeah. I wonder.” Lena didn’t look too convinced.

“What, you think there’s some kind of cheer Cast? Is there a Latin word for cheerleader?”

Lena watched Ridley nail another handspring. “I’m not sure, but I’m going to find out.”

We watched from the highest bleacher, and after the first ten minutes of practice, it was obvious what was really going on. The real reason Ridley joined the squad. She was replacing Savannah, in every possible way. Rid was the base, holding up the team during the pyramid. She was leading the cheers and, in a few cases, making them up on the fly, as far as I could tell. The rest of the squad was stumbling behind her, trying to copy her seemingly random moves.

When Ridley cheered, her shouts were so loud she actually distracted the guys on the court. Or maybe it was the metallic tank top. “Give it to me, Wildcat boys! You can be my Wildcat toys! Bounce your balls and shoot ’em high. Ridley’s come to Jackson High.”

The guys on the team started laughing, except for Link. He looked like he wanted to chuck a basketball at her. Only someone else was going to beat him to it. Savannah jumped off the bench, her arm still in a sling, and made a beeline for Ridley.

“I’m guessing that’s not one of their approved cheers.”

Lena put her head in her hands. “I’m guessing, between Ridley and Savannah, we’ll all be kicked out of school by the end of the season.” We both knew what happened when you took on women like Mrs. Snow. Not to mention Savannah Snow.

“Well, you’ve got to give Ridley credit for one thing. It’s October, and she’s still at Jackson. She made it longer than three days.”

“Remind me to bake her a cake when I get home.” Lena was annoyed. “The last time we went to school together, I spent half my time doing her homework. Otherwise, she would’ve gotten every boy in school to do it for her. That’s the only way she knows how to operate.”

Lena rested her head on my chest. Our fingers intertwined, and I felt a jolt. Even though my skin would start to burn in a few minutes, it was worth it. I wanted to remember that feeling—not the jolt, but the touch before it. They way her hand felt in mine.

I never thought there would be a time when I’d need to remember. When she would be anywhere but in my arms. Until last spring, when she left me, and the memories—some too painful to remember, some too painful to forget—were all I had. Those were the things I held on to.

Sitting next to her on my front steps.

Kelting with her while I was lying in bed and she was in hers.

The way she twisted her charm necklace when she was lost in thought, like she was doing right now, while she watched the game.

The nothing-out-of-the-ordinary between us that was so unbelievable and so extraordinary. It wasn’t because she was a Caster. It was because she was Lena and I loved her.

So I watched her as she watched Ridley and Savannah. Until the drama courtside grew louder, and nothing was silent—even though you didn’t need to hear what they were saying to know what was going on.

“Okay, that’s a rookie mistake.” Lena narrated the action for me as Savannah got into Ridley’s face. Ridley was snarling like an alley cat. “See what I mean? You can’t come at Rid like that without expecting to get your face clawed off.” Lena tensed up. I could tell she was debating going down there before things got ugly.

Emory beat her to it, luring Ridley over to the sidelines. Savannah tried to look angry, but she was obviously relieved.

So was Lena. “That almost makes me like Emory.”

“You can’t solve all of Ridley’s problems for her.”

“I can’t solve any of them. I’ve spent my whole life not solving Ridley’s problems.”

I nudged her with my shoulder. “That’s why they’re Ridley’s problems.”

She relaxed and settled back on the bleacher. “When did you get so zen?”

“I’m not zen.” Was I? In the back of my mind, all I could think about was my mom and the beyond-the-grave wisdom that was uniquely hers. Maybe it was creeping into the front of my mind. “My mom came to see me.” I regretted saying it as soon as the words came out of my mouth.

Lena sat up so fast my arm went flying. “When? Why didn’t you tell me? What did she say?”

“A few nights ago. I didn’t feel like talking about it.” Especially not after I’d watched Lena’s mother plunge further into Darkness in the vision that same night. But it was more than that. I was coming unglued—talking to my unconscious aunt in my sleep, forgetting things when I was awake—and the impossibly heavy weight of doom lurking in the back of my mind. I didn’t want to admit how bad it was getting—to Lena or to myself.

Lena turned back to the basketball court. Her feelings were hurt. “Well, you’re full of information today.”