“Once,” I say. “Okay—twice,” I clarify. Jackson opens his mouth in that “aha” look of understanding, although he’s obviously confused. I explain to him what we heard and the receiving signal we may be inadvertently sending out. He nods along, maybe a little bothered at the idea of our brains being the equivalent of girl GPS systems. When I’m done talking, he exhales.
“Actually,” he says, “this kind of ties into why I’m here.”
“That’s not good,” Annalise murmurs around her next bite of pizza.
“I got a call from Quentin earlier,” Jackson says. “He went by Innovations Academy to check on things. He sort of took over my post.”
“He did?” Annalise asks, her voice softening.
“Well, yeah,” Jackson says. “I mean, he’s worried about all of you too.” This makes Annalise smile, even as she tries to hide it.
“Anyway,” Jackson continues. “He saw a couple of fancy cars parked out front. He was concerned, but then he saw several girls being ushered outside. And honestly, neither of us had seen a single girl before that. But there they were.”
“How did they look?” Brynn asks, her eyes welling up.
“Fine,” Jackson says, sounding a bit confused. “Pretty, I guess—they were dressed up. They were with that other woman.The killing one.”
“Leandra,” Marcella says. Jackson nods.
“But there was something else,” he continues. “Something that stood out.”
“What?” I ask.
“There … There were no men,” he says. “No teachers. No headmaster or whatever. It was just Leandra and the girls.” He looks around. “Quentin wondered where she was taking them.”
“Maybe she got the others out,” Brynn suggests. “Just like she promised.”
“Without calling us?” Annalise says. “No, she would have contacted us. And besides, with Anton sending signals, something’sstill going on at that school.” Her expression clouds. “Something horrible, I’m sure,” she finishes under her breath.
Sydney takes my hand, but I notice Raven shifting uncomfortably in the chair.
“We have to find our girls,” Brynn says worriedly. “They’re probably wondering where we are.”
“I agree,” I say. “But first, we have to take care of our mission. We’re so close now. Then … Then we’ll find the others.”
I wait until we all agree, and then I rest back on the couch. We have to finish this.
“There’s also Ridgeview,” Sydney says, licking a drop of pizza sauce from her fingers. “We need to deal with those boys.”
“Speaking of,” Raven says, looking from me to Sydney, “I heard what happened to you both at school today. It’s total bullshit.”
“Yeah,” Sydney agrees. “But I’m not mad that I’ll never see the place again.”
“Wait,” Jackson says, turning to me. “What happened at school?”
“I got expelled for breaking a lunch tray over a boy’s head,” I tell him.
He pauses. “Oh.”
“To be fair,” I add, “he was harassing a girl in the cafeteria. I had to stop him.”
Jackson smiles a little. “Good for you, then,” he says. “I hope you knocked him out.”
We go on to tell them the details, the horrifying realizations about the school and the vice principal. The invite from Lyle togo to his party later with the promise that Garrett won’t be there.
“The entire school culture is out of control,” I say. “If we don’t stop these boys from behaving badly in high school, what are they going to become later in life?”
“Supreme Court Justices,” Marcella mutters across from me.
