Before She Was Found. Heather Gudenkauf

       When Mr. Dover told Jordyn to work with us on our project she didn’t seem all that happy about it. She was like, “You’re really going with the Pop Rocks and Coke thing?” and she said it all snotty.

       Violet and I looked at each other, both of us not sure what to say. I wanted to tell Jordyn to go find another group if she didn’t like our idea but of course I just sat there. “Listen to what Deanna and I were working on.” She looked around to see if anyone else was listening.

      I rolled my eyes at Violet and she gave me a look that said, I know, she’s ridiculous. Jordyn leaned in so close that I could smell the tacos from the lunchroom on her breath. “Joseph Wither,” she whispered, like we were supposed to know what she was talking about.

       I’ve heard of Joseph Wither. I knew he was supposed to be some kind of ghost but I didn’t really know why everyone was supposed to be afraid of him. Thankfully, Violet was the one to speak up and ask who Joseph Wither was so I didn’t feel quite so dumb.

       Of course, just as Jordyn was going to tell us, the fire alarm went off and we had to spend the next fifteen minutes standing outside. By the time we got back to the classroom, the bell rang and Jordyn didn’t get a chance to tell us what his deal was.

       But get this! When Violet, Jordyn and I were going to our next class Gabe started walking with us. He made a point to walk between me and Violet. Jordyn was NOT happy. Gabe asked Violet how she liked Pitch so far and she blushed bright red and said it was okay. Then he said, “See you at lunch,” and I swear he was looking right at me! Jordyn huffed off and ignored us for the rest of the day, which was perfectly fine with me.

       Whenever Violet comes over, she lets me use her phone to text back and forth with Gabe. I try not to spend too much time on her phone, though. I mean, best friends don’t ignore each other because one of them has a boyfriend. Okay, maybe Gabe isn’t my boyfriend yet, but I think he might ask me. That’s if Jordyn doesn’t get in the way. I’ve never had a boyfriend before and Gabe is perfect. Things are looking up! It’s going to be a good school year. I can feel it.