She was so focused on her phone that she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and walked smack into someone moving fast in the opposite direction, catching a flash of gray and orange.
“Uh, sorry, Karl,” she muttered awkwardly, but Karl Hunt just grunted, moving on, heading for the back of the gym.
More gray and orange caught her eye in the bleachers; Maia Walsh and her debate team boys. They’d won their debate this afternoon and were celebrating with hot dogs bought by Maia’s excessively proud parents. Each year a different parent sponsored the team, and each year the uniforms became more ostentatious. Last year had been head-to-toeNASA, courtesy of the Walshes. This year, Matt Hunt, Karl’s dad, had sponsored the team, with striped polo shirts that looked like they were straight out of a maximum-security prison, the words HUNT TECH blazoned across the team’s backs. Hideous and mortifying. Ana had taken her uniform off and buried it at the bottom of her backpack the second the debate ended.
Maia was waving her over, but Ana pretended not to notice. The debate team weren’t the most sociable group, and Ana wasn’t up for trying to make awkward conversation. Better to leave them to it. She kept her eyes down and walked on.
“Banana!”
And there he was. The man himself. Danny had appeared at the back of the gym, looking a heady mixture of shifty and self-satisfied.
Ana grinned, she couldn’t help herself (even though he was the single most irritating human being alive), and walked in his direction.
She had only made it a few feet when it started. The smell came first. It was distinctive—not a woodsy campfire smell. More of an acrid chemical odor, the kind that sets alarm bells ringing in your mind. Something was on fire that wasn’t supposed to be.
Maybe it was just a bonfire outside. The old gym building didn’t have any ventilation, so smoke was probably blowing inside and getting trapped. Probably nothing.
“Hey, banana brain.” Danny grinned at her. His usually tan skin looked a little red. That’s what he got for kissing random, unshaven boys in locker rooms. “You’re not leaving, are you?”
“Where have you been? You ditched me.”
“Yeah, sorry, sis. Isaiah had something in his locker he wanted to show me.” Danny grinned so widely that Ana laughed. Another boy. Another love. Another head-over-heels, passionate drama. She wantedto hug him. He lived on a different planet from the rest of them—a rolling, free-falling joyride. No fear. Just fun.
The fun twin.
“I think I’m going to head out. I’ve got a stack of homework,” she said half-heartedly. She already knew she’d be staying. Danny wouldn’t let her off a night out. Not for something as unimportant as homework.
“Aw, don’t go yet. It’s early. Let’s grab some food and find Alex.”
A few people were coughing now. The burning smell was getting stronger.
Ana looked around. Was it her imagination, or was it looking a little hazy in here? There was a faint halo in the air around the lights.
She wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. There was a wave of muttering in the crowd. Ellis had stopped playing and was standing at center court, ball in hand staring towards the back wall. The scoreboard was flickering.
“What’s with all the smoke?” Danny asked, his smile fading a little.
“No idea. It just started.” There were no fire alarms or sprinklers going off, but there was definitely a cloud of smoke building up in the rafters. Uneasy laughter broke from the bleachers behind them. No one wanted to be the first to react. It had to be nothing, didn’t it?
A few shouts broke out from the seats near the back of the gym. People were standing and pointing to the wall. Tendrils of dark smoke were curling through the air vents. A fire alarm gave out a half-hearted series of chirps before falling ominously silent.
Ana stood still, watching things play out around her. There was a disconnect somewhere in her head. It didn’t look real somehow, and yet there was no question, the fire wasinsidethe building and growing by the second. A deep creaking, moaning sound could be heard beneath the voices, as though the old building itself was shifting.
Suddenly the scoreboard cracked loudly and went out in a shower of sparks.
It was as if a switch flicked. Simultaneously, everyone knew it was time to get out. Not panic, not run and be laughed at for the rest of high school. Just a swift-but-cool exit, joking about how stupid this was on the way out. Teachers shouted orders, bags were gathered, phones filmed the drama. A heightened, fake-jovial atmosphere filled the gym as people hustled towards the front doors. This was so stupid. But just in case…
Ana looked at Danny. They shrugged. Better go.
“Let me get my bag. I left it in the locker room,” Danny said, heading towards the back of the gym. Ana followed him, even though it didn’t feel right—everyone was heading the other way.
They got as far as the back door when it happened.
The wall behind the scoreboard exploded. Fire streaked into the gym; bricks crashed down around them. A searing, roaring heat lashed out across the roof and through the air. Flames burned viciously like a living beast, writhing in fury.
All sense left. Screams and horror replaced the nervousness of moments before.
Big things happened, one after the other. A swell of people broke free, running for the front doors. A row of high windows shattered, one after another, raining shards of glass over everything. A bank of spotlights swung down wildly across the court, suspended at one end, flames streaking behind it.
