CHAPTER 21

Maxine's pen stayed suspended above her notebook as her struggles to focus on the lecture were clearly written across her face. Her eyes continued darting around the classroom, searching for just about any sign of Leo, but he was nowhere to be found. Anxiety mounted with every empty seat in the back.

"Where is he? Why isn't he here?" she wondered.

It was almost as if the nightmare was one of the reasons for his absence, some sort of predication by her subconscious. But that couldn't be right, could it? Dreams didn't foretell the future but were rather an assortment of thoughts and fears. Still, the unease gnawed at her, making it nearly impossible to concentrate.

As the class came to a close with the ringing of the bell, Maxine gathered her stuff together and filed out of the room, lost in a swirl of questions. Instead of feeling relief at the last day of school and looking forward to summer break, it felt like a countdown toward something from which there was no escape.

As she made