Superior

Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Delaney

I really don't want to talk about that second day at school after the incident. Ever again. Ever.

Let's just say it sucked and leave it at that.

Mind you, that's an understatement.

Long story short, by the time sixth period let out, I was so fed up and ready to leave that I was the first person out the classroom door. I sped past locker 356, glancing at it only briefly before hurrying on. The last thing I wanted was to encounter Caleb, especially since I had never left him a note. I was still uncertain about what to do, and I didn't need Caleb and his charm to come and convince me to agree to something I didn't want to do.

I kept walking, out of the school and onto the front lawn. I tried to keep to the side, avoiding eye contact. It didn't matter, though. Everyone still stared.

People are just so easily entertained.

Just then, my phone began to vibrate. I pulled it out of my pocket and grimaced at the caller ID. Caleb. Of course. My finger hovered in the space between the accept and reject buttons as the device continued to vibrate.

"Hey, Escott! That your boyfriend on the phone?" some guy shouted. I felt my face heat up as I tightened my grip on my phone, keeping my vision trained on the pavement in front of me and refusing to turn around.

I expected him to go away after that, but he didn't.

"Well, is it?" My hands in fists, I kept walking. Maybe avoiding the situation would come across as cowardly, but it beat giving that idiot the satisfaction of a confrontation.

"Leave her alone, Jett," a girl's voice said. My head snapped up immediately. Lizzy was standing to my left on the school's front lawn next to a boy I didn't recognize; that "Jett" guy, most likely. She refused to meet my eyes.

As I passed them, I realized that my phone was still vibrating. Accept or Reject? it demanded. Sighing, I turned off my phone completely and shoved it deep into my backpack. Caleb and his project weren't problems I was in any mood to deal with at the moment.

I mean, yeah, I was curious. But I was fed up with what people were saying about me. And anyway, there was still over a week left until the Choosing. Caleb could wait for a few more days. Or maybe he couldn't; but he wouldn't have a choice.

As I proceeded down the sidewalk that led to my house, it suddenly occurred to me that I was in almost complete control of the situation. Caleb was helpless without me, and wouldn't have a choice but to go by my schedule.

The taste of power was a sweet relief. For once, I had the upper hand. Caleb had no idea what I would do, or what went on in my mind. Despite being a Popular, I knew that he had a conscience, and that he wouldn't try to force me into anything. That could definitely be used to my advantage.

And with that, an idea came to me. An idea of how to satiate my curiosity and mess with Caleb a little bit in the process. It would require a bit of acting on my part, but nothing I couldn't handle. I froze in the middle of the sidewalk and dug out my cell phone again, waiting for it to turn on before voice commanding Caleb's number. Then, smirking smugly to myself, I called.

Caleb

I sat tensely in the driver's seat of my car, one hand on my phone, one resting pointlessly on the steering pad. As the automobile maneuvered its way through the afternoon traffic, I told my phone to call Delaney's number and waited as it rang. A red convertible blurred past my window, its passengers howling along with the too-loud radio blasting from the speakers. It disappeared around a corner a moment later.

It wasn't until moments later, when I looked down, that I realized my call had never gone through. My phone still sat silently on my leg, its screen telling me that it had been disconnected. When I tried again, an automated voice informed me after a single ring that the number was currently unavailable.

The car pulled up in front of my house, the ignition automatically turning off. Both of my parents' cars sat in the driveway, but I didn't go inside right away, knowing that they wouldn't mind either way. After the outcome of Carlie and Dina's visit, my parents suddenly became cold and aloof. I knew that they were disappointed, but their sudden change in attitude didn't bother me at all. It meant no more nagging, no more lectures, and no more parties, at least for the time being. Carlie was my link to the social scene, and with her out of the picture, Mom and Dad didn't seem to care anymore.

My peers, however—they were another story.

Throughout that day, I'd been followed around by half the school's gossips, all of them trying to grill me for details on the breakup. Though I'd tried to deflect their attempts as effectively as possible, that didn't stop others from overloading my phone with texts and calls. My Chatterbox was filled with information-hungry messages.

It was overwhelming, but I knew the chaos would be over by the next day. People got over gossipy things like that in a heartbeat. Five seconds of fame, then it'd all die down with nothing more than a whimper.

I wasn't sure, however, if Delaney knew that. I'd checked my locker multiple times that day, but there were no notes from her among the scattered books and loose papers. And now, she was ignoring my calls.

I had to speak to her soon, before she completely lost interest. What I needed was something to pull her back in again, to reignite her curiosity. And something that would prove to her that I was serious, and not planning an evil for my own nefarious Popularity purposes.

I needed to tell the truth.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, my cell phone suddenly began to ring. I frowned and checked the caller ID, and it was...Delaney.

I swiped it up immediately.

"Hello?" I said, rather breathlessly.

Silence. Then, "Caleb. Hi."

It was several seconds before she spoke again, and for a moment, I thought she had hung up.

"I just wanted to tell you"—pause—"that I-I'm not going to continue with...this."

"What?" I asked, not comprehending. She sighed, then tried again.

"I mean, I'm done. I'm not going to help you with your...project."

I stared out the front windshield, disbelieving, before realizing that I hadn't responded. "What?" I repeated, this time louder. "Why?"

"Because... Look, Caleb, it's not important. I can't do it, and that's that."

"You can't, or you won't?"

Another pause. "Both."

A thousand thoughts ran through my head in that moment, every one of them filled with shock and horror. "Delaney, this isn't a joke!"

"I'm not laughing."

"You don't get it," I muttered. "This is serious, okay? My"—I stopped, took a breath—"my brother was Chosen. Three years ago."

She laughed bitterly. "Okay. And?"

"And I never saw him again," I said quietly. "Delaney, you don't understand. In three years, I haven't had any contact with my brother. At all, whatsoever. I don't even know where he is. Please—you have to understand why this means so much to me. I don't want to end up like him...wherever he is."

For a long moment, Delaney didn't answer. Then, finally, she sighed. "I'm sorry, Caleb. Really, I am. But I can't help you."

"Delaney, please!" I shouted. No response.

"Delaney? Hello?"

Silence.

"Are you there?"

But she wasn't. She had hung up the phone.