Night Shift (Book 1, the Night Shift series)

Chapter Eleven

Mary shook the keychain again.

Most likely.

And again.

You may rely on it.

Then... My reply is no.

"Ah, well," Daniel said, snatching up the keychain. "That proves the future is always changing, impossible to predict."

"Sure. It's only a toy, right?" Mary kept her eyes on him. When she spoke again her voice was soft. "Earlier, at dinner, you said you hadn't sat down for a meal with anyone for a while."

"I've been on my own." He rubbed a smudge off his new shoe with his thumb. "I didn't think it showed."

"You're lucky," she said. "I never get any privacy."

"Trust me, the novelty wears off fast. I wouldn't choose it to be this way." He took in the fake landscape with the perfectly straight tents. He didn't realize how long he'd been quiet until he noticed she was staring at him. Her concerned expression melted into a shy smile.

"Penny for your thoughts," she said.

Daniel let go of the gloominess. She had this sweet kind of nostalgia that was sort of nerdy but completely endearing at the same time. He'd never figure her out, but he knew he wanted to keep trying. Talk about a mystery, he thought. "Um...the tents and outdoor stuff," he said, "remind me I haven't been camping for years."

"Really? What's it like?" she asked.

Daniel looked at her, unbelieving. "You've never been camping?"

"I'm a city girl," she said. "So, what's it like?"

"It's great." He smiled a bit. "Cooking over the fire, hearing all the soft animal noises at night, the stars, the ghost stories..."

"I thought you didn't believe in ghosts," she teased.

"You do when you're camping!"

"All right," she said, lying on her side with her head propped up in her hand. "So it's great. Anything you don't like about camping?"

"Burning food over the fire, hearing animal noises at night, and ghost stories."

She laughed. "But the stars are still good?"

"The night sky in the country is amazing. As a city girl you're really missing out."

She picked at the fake grass. "Tell me about it."

"I'm kidding! You live in the most incredible city on the planet." He turned toward her. Their toes were almost touching.

"I don't get out much. I'm homeschooled." She began to make a list with her fingers. "I work night shifts, and the boy I spend most of my time with is an eleven-year-old prankster." She took a quick breath. He thought she was going to speak again, but instead she sat up and hugged her knees.

Daniel had a feeling she was holding back. Maybe he wasn't the only one with a secret. He waited for her to continue, but she turned away and sniffed.

"Are you crying?" he asked.

"No." She sniffed again.

He reached into his back pocket. "Here," he said, passing her the white handkerchief.

"Sorry, I'm not usually this pathetic," she said, patting her eyes. "I feel like I've been doing the same thing forever, you know?"

"Yeah," Daniel said, flipping through his memories of airport lounges. "I know the feeling." She ran her thumb over the blue initial embroidered on the corner. The handkerchief remained perfectly white. Mary didn't wear makeup.