Nightmare Read Free Page B

breathed in a terrified
pitch.
    The mist dissipated into nothing as floodlights suddenly
came up and the front double doors flung themselves open. The
ride was over.
    Angela and Jill fled out into the safety of the amusement park,
but I stood stock still, the sensations and sounds and sights I'd
just experienced refusing to leave my senses.
    Because the girl's voice I'd heard whispering and the face I'd
seen in the mist for a fraction of a second ... I was certain that
they both belonged to someone I knew.
    Someone I hadn't seen or heard from in months.
    Someone named Jordin Cole.

     

SEPTEMBER 22ND
One Year Ago
    "You're Maia Peters, aren't you?"
    I stopped in my tracks, my shoulders involuntarily clenching up to my neck. I was crossing the courtyard outside Greene
Hall and had almost made it to my dorm in peace when the
intruder called out my name. I knew I was being followed from
the moment I'd left Forensic Science class, but I was silently
praying the whole way to my room that whoever it was would
go away.
    "Yes," I replied slowly, not turning around to see who'd asked.
My eyes danced across the East Campus residence hall entrance,
which was just across the courtyard from Greene, and now less
than twenty feet away. Its brick walls looked an awful lot like
safety and escape just now.

    I really hated when people recognized me. Fame had never
agreed with me. It wasn't my fame they were recognizing, anyway.
I was just famous by association. Or perhaps infamous.
    My Catholic mother and agnostic father-an eccentric pairing if there ever was one-were known all over the United States,
and much of the world. And anyone who knew of them, knew
of their daughter. Me.
    Why couldn't people just leave me be? I didn't relish being a
loner, but it was a lot easier than dealing with every wacko who
wanted to be my friend just because of my famous parents-or
worse, the ones that were only interested in having a good laugh
at my expense.
    "Jordin Cole. We're in the same English Comp class."
    My thoughts froze. Could it be that this girl-a girl whose
name I recognized immediately thanks to Jordin's entirely different kind of reputation, despite having no memory of ever
seeing her in my English Composition class-had no interest in
my parents, or my past? Was she just hoping to copy my notes
from class, or something equally harmless and utterly, blissfully
normal?
    "Mm-hmm," I said tentatively, turning at last but not bothering to hide my skepticism as I sized this girl up. It wasn't that I
meant to be rude, but I'd been down this road too many times,
and it was growing tiresome.
    "I didn't recognize you at first ... I mean, you look a lot different than you did on TV."
    It was true. When I transitioned into the college life, I cut
my hair and dyed it a darker color. I changed the way I dressed,
and had put on a little weight, too. That last bit was a fact I'd
decided I didn't care about. I was more comfortable in my skin now than I had ever been before; being on TV so often made you
obsessed about appearances, and now I wasn't anymore. It felt
good. I didn't consider myself overly attractive, but I wasn't ugly,
either. Looks just weren't a big priority for me these days. Maybe
after graduation I'd feel differently, but for now I was focused
entirely on my studies.

    For her part, there was no getting around the fact that
Jordin was drop-dead gorgeous, without even having to try.
Sure, she wore designer jeans and a stylish top, and was no
stranger to hair or makeup products, but she didn't give off
the air of someone who put a lot of concern into either. Jordin
was naturally blond, more slender than I was, and had a set
of regally white, perfectly straight teeth. She radiated an easygoing, unfussy nature, while simultaneously giving everyone
that passed the two of us in the courtyard a taste of that milliondollar smile.
    I couldn't figure out if her warmth was pretense or not. Either
way, I