* * *ElodieAfter leaving my meeting with Hollis, my throat was parched. That had taken a lot of energy out of me—for nothing. Well, at least I’d tried. A for effort, Elodie. F for fucking up the whole thing with your temper.

I went in search of some water and ended up in a cafeteria off the lobby of the building. There was complimentary coffee in several urns, along with a couple of vending machines. Spotting a water cooler, I went to the other side of the room.

Just as I was grabbing a paper cup, I noticed a girl sitting down, the contents of her floral Jansport backpack strewn across the table. She was bouncing her legs up and down nervously.

“Hi.” I smiled.

She placed her index finger over her mouth. “Shh.”

I looked around. Did she just shush me?

“Why are we shushing?” I took a sip of water.

“I don’t want anyone to notice me here.”

“Why are you hiding?”

“Because I ditched my after-school program today and got myself into some trouble. And I’m not ready to get yelled at.”

“Okay. Well…what did you do?”

She sighed. “After I walked out of school, I took the bus to Macy’s. I got caught stealing lipstick from the MAC counter.”

Ah. “You really shouldn’t do that. But I’m sure you already know that. Why did you feel the need to steal it? Can’t you ask someone to buy it for you?”

“It’s not the money. I had the money. Had a big pile of cash in my pocket.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I don’t even know why I did it, okay?”

God, it’s like meeting my younger self.

“You steal for the thrill,” I said matter-of-factly.

She blinked a few times. “Yeah. I…I think so.”

I pulled up a seat next to her. “When I was your age, I did something similar—stole headbands and other hair accessories from Claire’s at the mall. Got caught, too. I also had enough money to buy everything.”

“Did you get in trouble?”

“Well, my dad had some issues of his own. I think that might have been one of the reasons I did it—acting out. But the store did call my mother. She obviously wasn’t happy.” I sighed. “How did things go down at Macy’s? And what color did you choose?” I winked.

“It was Ruby Woo Retro Matte.”

“Ah…bright red. Bold.”

“Yeah.” She smiled. “The lady who caught me didn’t call the police. But when I told her I’d left the after-school program, she made me tell her where I went to school, and then she called the principal to tell him I was at Macy’s. I took the bus back to school and then came here.”

I finished off my water. “Okay, here’s the thing… While sometimes it feels good to do something bad, it’s only a fleeting satisfaction. You just end up wanting to do something else, and it never really satisfies the itch for very long. The next time you try something like that, you’ll get into even bigger trouble. Eventually, these things will catch up with you, and the lady at the store won’t be so nice. But I get it. Doesn’t make it right, but I get why you did it.”

“Thanks for not judging me.” She stood up and wandered over to the vending machine. Wearing neon pink Chucks, she looked about ten or eleven. She tapped her foot as she thought about what to buy.

Turning to me, she asked, “You wanna share a Twix bar?”

My stomach growled. “Oh...no. Can’t. I’m on a diet.”

“What kind of diet? You don’t look fat.”

“Well, thank you. I had candy already today, and when I’m not cheating on my diet, I try to eat mostly protein. It’s called Keto.”

Her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth. “Oh my God. Keto? With a K? Nooo!”

I tilted my head in confusion. “Yes, why?”

“Do you have Keto crotch?”

“What?”

“Does your coochie smell like bacon?”

My mouth fell open. “Wha…no! What are you talking about?”

“I heard about it on the news. I didn’t even know what Keto was. But I do know Keto crotch. My friends in school…we tease each other about it. Like, ‘Haha, you have Keto crotch’.”

“Well, I most definitely do not have Keto crotch. I think that’s a myth anyway.”

“Well, that’s good.” She giggled. “Because that would stink.”

“Literally.”

“Yeah.” She snorted.

What has this conversation turned into?

She opened the wrapper and took a bite of her candy bar. “You’re really pretty.”

Taken aback by the sweet comment, I said, “Thank you. So are you.”

“What’s your name?”

“Elodie. And you are?”

“Hailey.”

Hailey.

Hailey?

Oh shit. Hailey.

I froze. Holy crap. How had I not made the connection?

“Your uncle doesn’t know you’re down here?”

“No. Not yet. When there isn’t someone to watch me, I sometimes come here and hang out when the after-school program gets out anyway. But he might not know I skipped today. Please don’t tell him…in case the principal never called. If the principal told him, I’m toast.”