Warped (Maurissa Guibord)

than to be alone with her father and his disappointment. Later in the day someone else stopped by the store to lend a hand. A fit-looking older man with short, stubbly gray hair arrived, wearing running shorts that showed one of his legs to be artificial. "This is my brother Ed," Alicia told Tessa.
    "Big brother," Ed corrected her as he tucked Alicia under one arm to hug her. Tessa found out that Alicia was inspired to go into prosthetics because of Ed, who had lost his leg in the Gulf War. So much for her image of Alicia as an over-achieving, money-hungry CEO.
    When everyone had gone and it was just Tessa and her father, they turned on the radio as they sat at the counter, eating from cartons of Chinese takeout. Tessa glanced at her father, who was poking a fork into his container of sesame chicken. He'd hardly eaten anything.
    Tessa looked more closely. He was pale, and purplish shadows tinged the skin beneath his eyes. When had he started looking so worn, so beaten-down? She must have been too busy, or just too self-absorbed to notice. She watched as he stood and walked over to settle himself heavily in the corner chair.
    "Dad?"
    "The rotating racks for the paperbacks," he said. He took a deep breath. "We should put them in the back. For now."
    He was breathing funny too, Tessa realized. As if he had just run up the stairs.
    "Dad, are you okay?" she asked, stepping over to put a hand to his shoulder.
    He shrugged. "I haven't been feeling too well." He rubbed a hand over his face. "Not sleeping these past few nights. Been having these weird dreams. Last night I woke up soaked with sweat. Even had to change my shirt. I think I'm coming down with a bug or something."
    Tessa felt his forehead. "You feel kind of warm. Maybe you'd better call the doctor."
    "Yeah. I will." Her drew back from her touch and nodded. "Don't worry about it, Tessa."
    The next day was Friday. They opened the bookstore back up, and Tessa stayed busy. In the morning she ran the register and dealt with a small but steady stream of customers. In between she reorganized the business cards and messages on the corkboard next to the counter and updated the bestsellers display shelf at the front of the store. At lunchtime when Mrs. Petoskey came in for her shift, Tessa walked down the street to the Moonstone Cafe to get a sandwich. It was weird that she still hadn't heard from Opal. She must have gone away with her folks for a few days during the school break. Still, it was odd that Opal hadn't mentioned anything about it.
    Or maybe she did and I was just too preoccupied to pay attention , thought Tessa. Her head and her heart had been so turned upside down by Will de Chaucy--who knew what had been happening around her? But she needed to talk to Opal so badly. She was supposed to bring the Texo Vita back to Gray Lily tonight, and the prospect scared her out of her mind. What was Gray Lily planning? Opal was the only person who knew what had happened. Maybe together they could come up with a plan and figure out some way to help Will.
    Tessa walked into the bustling, dimly lit coffeehouse. The Moonstone was a popular place to hang out, with free Internet access and good food, and many of the small tables were filled with people hunched over their laptops. Tessa surveyed the choices on the blackboard, trying to decide between a panini and one of the giant ragamuffins the cafe was famous for. She decided she didn't want to eat after all and had just sat down at a table with only a cup of tea when she heard a familiar voice and looked up.
    "Hey, Opal!" Tessa called with a relieved smile.
    Opal stopped and turned with a quick, impatient glance. She was balancing a tray containing a leafy green salad and bottled water. "Yeah?"
    For a second Tessa thought she had been mistaken and called to the wrong person. "Opal?" she repeated, staring.
    This girl's hair wasn't in flyaway wisps. It had been expertly styled into a sleek, tapered fringe with ultrablond highlights that framed her features. She wasn't dressed in a crazy, colorful mix of clothes but in a pair of skintight, low-slung jeans and a clingy Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirt. Opal was also wearing makeup. And a cold stare.
    "Wow," said Tessa warmly. "You look amazing. New look, huh? I've been trying to call you." She pointed to where her tray sat. "I just got this table. There's plenty of room."
    "You've got to be kidding," said Opal. Her eyes, outlined in a smoky blue, slid up and down Tessa with doubtful