Page 67 of Jinxed

What if Jinx tried to get a message out to me? There’s no way he could. I’m totally out of reach – I have no phone and no baku. I wish I hadn’t recycled my old phone, smashed-up screen and all.

ThenI remember. Idohave a baku. On a shelf in my locker.

‘Mom – I’m going downstairs. I’ll be back later.’

‘Honey, are you sure? I don’t think you should be alone right now...’

‘Mom, I’m okay.’ I give her a quick kiss on the cheek. ‘I promise you I will tell you everything. There’s just one thing I have to do for school first.’

Her face searches mine, and then she nods.

I race downstairsand when I leave the lifts I see Paul walking towards his locker.

‘Paul!’ I cry out.

‘Oh, hi, Lacey!’ He must catch sight of the look on my face, because his brows furrow. ‘Are you okay? What’s wrong?’

I can’t help it – I burst into tears again. I turn into a snivelling, sniffling mess in front of him, my chest heaving with sobs. ‘It’s Jinx... he’s gone.’

‘Gone? What do you mean?’

‘Taken.He... he was special. Different. Someone wanted to destroy him, and I delivered him straight into the wrong hands.’ It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud to anyone except Zora. I can’t hide it any longer.

He doesn’t ask me any of the questions I expect – like whether I’ve contacted Moncha security. He doesn’t even seem surprised by my statement. Instead, he stares at me with his intensegaze. His lemur does the same. ‘He wasn’t a normal baku, was he?’

‘No,’ I say, but the words are just a whisper.

The feeling of Jinx being gone is a suckerpunch to my gut.

‘What are they up to in that fancy building of theirs?’ His words trail off as he stares into the distance.

‘Paul?’

He blinks a couple of times and comes back down to earth. Then he puts one hand on my shoulder. ‘I knowlosing Jinx might feel like the end of the world. But your future isn’t decided just by your baku, Lacey. It’s up to you.’

I smile weakly and squeeze his hand in thanks. But he doesn’t understand. ‘I’d better continue...’

He nods and lets me pass. But before I go, he says one final thing: ‘Listen, Tinker. You fixed that baku from nothing. I’ve never seen anyone work harder than you did thissummer. Whatever Jinx is... he is because of you. Don’t let anyone takethataway from you.’

‘I won’t,’ I whisper back. I hadn’t realized just how closely he’d been watching my progress. My heart swells to know that he does know how much this means to me after all. ‘Thanks, Paul.’

‘And if I could give you once piece of advice?’

I nod, waiting for him to continue. ‘Contact Monica Chan. Thissounds like something she should know about.’

‘But... how do I do that?’

He shrugs. ‘If I knew that, I would tell you. Good luck, Tinker.’

Contact Monica Chan.Paul is right. Destroying a baku... even a rogue one... doesn’t sound like something Monica would want her company to do.

But I need to get myself a working baku first. I let myself into my locker, not even bothering to turnon the light. I open the box containing the scarab beetle. ‘Well, hello old friend,’ I whisper to it.

I wipe down the front of the box with my hand, removing some of the film of dust. He really is a beautiful little creature, even if he isn’t very powerful. He has an emerald green carapace that glitters purple in low light. His legs and pincers are a glossy obsidian, little slices of companioneeringperfection. I slide him out of the package, gently using the pads of my fingertips to pry him from his plastic enclosure. He sits on my palm, almost covering it completely, and I can feel the little rubbery pads of his fingers that will give him incredible flexibility and strength. He’ll be able to cling on to my skin, no matter how much I shake him around. He’s a brilliant little companion– for someone.

‘I’m sorry,’ I whisper again. I should have been happy to have him. I almost feel unworthy now, that I looked down on him so much. He’s not only what I deserve; he’s what I could afford.

I should be okay with that.

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