Gideon exhaled, and their footsteps paused. “No, Alli. I’m just stressed about something at work.”
Megs’ heart leapt into her throat as she inhaled the musty stalks.
“What about work? You can tell me, you know?” Alli’s voice was terse.
“It’s not—I don’t really want to talk about it.”
Of course he didn’t. Who would want to admit that one of their students kissed them on campus?
“You never want to talk about it,” Alli muttered, and her voice moved a few paces past where Megs was listening.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“What I said, Gideon. You never talk about yourself. I’ve been trying so hard to get to know you again, and—”
“There was a complaint filed against me, okay?” Gideon didn’t snap at her, but his voice was pulled tight.
Megs was sweating now despite the chilled night air.Had she heard him right?
Alli retraced her steps. “What kind of complaint?”
“Someone filed a complaint for misconduct.”
Alli scoffed. “Misconduct? Like . . . what kind of misconduct?”
Gideon sighed. “I don’t know the details. I have to meet with administrators on Thursday.”
There was a pause, and Megs’ mind reeled.Someone filed a complaint against him?Who would do that? She thought back to that moment when the lights went out. There was a window in the door, and it hadn’t been that long since class had ended. If someone came back to ask a question or forgot a cord like she had—
Her stomach twisted, and Megs dropped into a crouch. Gideon could lose his job over this. If someone saw them kissing, they wouldn’t know that she’d been the one to instigate it. They wouldn’t know that Gideon had done everything he could to set boundaries, and she’d been the one to push them.
Gideon’s voice drifted away as he and Alli walked further into the maze, but Megs couldn’t move. She squeezed her eyes shut and hugged her knees until a hand landed on her shoulder.
“Hey.” Oscar’s voice was soft as he pulled her up and held her against his chest. “I’m so sorry. You ran, and there was this fork in the maze, and I took the wrong path at first, and—”
“It’s fine,” Megs murmured. She appreciated his concern, but she wasn’t even thinking about the ghoul anymore.
Oscar pulled back and looked at her. “Are you okay?” Megs nodded. “I’m really sorry.”
Megs stepped back and Oscar dropped his arms. “I did tell you I didn’t like corn mazes.”
Oscar pursed his lips. “I know. I didn’t listen.”
At least he was willing to admit it. Megs blew out a breath. “Can we just find our way out of here please?”
Oscar nodded. “This way.” He grabbed onto her hand, and Megs didn’t mind. They raced down the aisles and witnessed a few other jumpscares, which meant the characters weren’t in place to terrify them when they passed.
“Are you ready for the final audition?” Oscar asked.
Megs laughed, out of breath. “I hope so?”
“Do you think all of this helped?”
Megs considered his question. On the one hand, ‘all of this’ was a lot to go through for an audition. On the other hand, she did feel more passionate about Oscar’s story because she knew him. Because she’d seen where he envisioned the scenes taking place. “Yes. I think this audition will be more authentic.”
“Well, I’m excited then, because your first reading was phenomenal.”
“Your assessments don’t matter, remember?”
