Chapter 24: Left in the Dust

The first dust warning of the autumn came down on State University on a Thursday in October.

I was in the student union with forty other freshmen, at a folding table with a stack of orientation forms.

Every phone in the room buzzed at once.

DUST STORM WARNING. SEEK SHELTER INDOORS. VISIBILITY NEAR ZERO.

Through the glass wall, the sky over the quad had gone the color of rust.

At the head of the table stood the freshman class president, with a clipboard and a grin.

He had been elected two weeks ago on a promise that he would make us fun.

"Okay, listen up," he said. "The pep rally starts in ten minutes at the stadium."

"It's a half mile. We can make it before it hits."

"That's a dust warning," someone said.

"It's a little wind. Come on, we'll all go together. Whoever stays behind misses the free pizza."

A few chairs scraped back.

I stood up.

I had my backpack on my shoulder, and my hand was already on the strap.

"Don't," I said.

He looked at me with real surprise, because we had never spoken.

"Who are you?"

"Keira Haverty. I'm in your class."

"Okay, Keira. It's a little wind."

"It's a wall of dust a mile wide, and it will be on that quad in minutes."

"You don't know that," he said.

"I do."

I did not raise my voice.

I walked to the glass and put my palm flat against it.

Out on the quad, a banner had begun to snap in the wind.

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