Page 155 of The Silent Note

“Gloria, don’t talk dirty to me in public.” I grin and dance back, narrowly missing a spatula to the head. Laughing softly, I grab an apple. “How do you know about that picture?”

“Have you heard of Jinx?”

I groan. “No, Gloria. Not you too.”

Gloria gestures to the other cafeteria ladies whose busy hands don’t fool me. They’realllistening.

“The girls convinced me to download something on my phone.” She waves it away like she can’t be bothered to learn what an app is.

“Since when do you care about the secrets of Redwood Prep?”

“It’s not just the school,mijo.Apparently,” she looks both ways and beckons me closer, “this Jinx is posting about your father.”

“What?” I grab my phone and check the notifications.

Jinx has several posts today. The one about dad hasn’t gained as much traction as the one about me and Grey heading to school in the same car, but it’s still there.

In Jinx’s picture, dad is dressed in a monkey suit with arms raised behind a podium. The title reads ‘Cross Versus Albertson: can a rock god win outside the stage?’

The story looks out of place against the smoky pictures of me and Grey, the fan video someone took of Dutch walking Cadey to class, and yesterday’s video of Dutch’s car bouncing on the side of the highway.

Why is dad’s campaign getting highlighted here? Jinx even mentions dad’s campaign efforts and highlights him losing momentum in the polls.

Since when does Jinx care about politics?

As I’m navigating the app, my phone buzzes with a text.

Dad: I’m in town. We’ll have dinner tonight at the house.

Another text comes in.

Dad: Come an hour earlier than the others. You and I must talk privately.

I straighten, unease slithering underneath my skin. Knowing that dad’s campaign isn’t going well adds a new level of foreboding to the text.

“What’s wrong?” Gloria asks, lifting flour-dusted hands to my face.

I smile, the one that looks perfectly natural to everyone. Everyone but Grey. “My dad wants to have a family meeting.”

Her face drops. “Did he see yournaglason the internet too?”

If only.

The last time dad singled me out for a conversation, Grey’s brakes were cut and she almost died.

This time, I’m not taking any chances.

I dial Sol’s number as I head to the parking lot.

He answers on the first ring. “Yeah?”

“Keep an eye on Grey for me. Don’t let her out of your sight.”

“We have a lackey for that, Zane.”

I pause and massage the bridge of my nose. “Fine. But tell Hall not to approach her.”

“Done.”

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