"Hey, El ie? Can you come here for a minute?"

I stopped dead. My heart thumped like crazy as I went into her office. She looked up when I entered.

"Hey, sweetie," she said. "How was school?"

I shrugged. It took effort to behave normal y instead of like a complete lunatic. "It was okay. I'm doing a little better in econ. I stil don't real y get it, though. So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh, yes!" she said. "The dealership final y cal ed. They can take your car in now. I guess they had a real y busy few weeks. We can drop it off tonight or Sunday night, if you'd like. Are you going to the movies again?"

That's right. We were taking my car to get the scratches and dents cleaned up and repainted. "Yeah. You know, we might as wel just wait until Sunday to drop it off. They won't start working on it until Monday anyway, and I'd like to use my car this weekend."

"Sounds good."

"Okay. Wel , I've got to work on some econ homework before I leave. Talk to you later, Mom."

I jogged up the stairs and found Wil standing by my desk looking at some photographs of my friends and me. "Are we hunting tonight?" he asked.

I frowned with a twinge of disappointment. "Yeah, I guess so. Tonight's Movie Night, remember?"

He groaned and turned toward me. "I forgot." He paused.

"Do you real y have to go to that?"

"Yes," I said firmly. "I want to try and stay a normal teenage girl."

"But you're not."

"Wel , then I'd like to maintain the facade."

"I'm real y sure if that reaper from earlier doesn't track you tonight, another wil , like Ragnuk. I don't think you should be going places with your friends without me, especial y at night."

I remembered my conversation with Kate from earlier.

"You could . . . come with me." My voice lilted hopeful y at the end.

He didn't answer at first, and my heart sank. "I can't real y think of a better way to keep a close eye on you."

"Then you're coming. Have you ever been to a movie theater before?"

"Of course I have," he said. He sounded offended. "I don't live under a rock."

"Could've fooled me," I said.

Wil sat down on the edge of my bed, leaning forward lazily. "What are you seeing?" he asked, looking up at me.

"Kate said something about a comedy."

"Like what?" He seemed nervous.

"Are you saying you don't have any suggestions?" I smiled slyly.

"Just because I've seen a couple movies in the last hundred years doesn't mean I'm savvy about Hol ywood these days."

"I was just curious. I didn't think you would be. Are you cool with seeing a movie? I'l pay." I walked over to my vanity to put on some eye shadow and mascara. I peeked at Wil 's reflection in the mirror.

"I'm not going so I can enjoy myself," he grumbled. "I'm going to make sure Ragnuk doesn't snap your neck on the way out the door."

"Eww! Why are you always so graphic?" I stroked my lashes with the mascara brush.

"I like to get my point across."

"Apparently." I turned back to him and stepped up to where he sat. "Anyway, I think tonight wil be good for you. You shouldn't be so moody and brooding."

"I'm not moody or brooding," he insisted.

I looked down at him quizzical y. "Oh, you are."

"Are we sparring first?" he asked, choosing to ignore what I had just said. "Maybe we should go for a run."

"No," I said. "I don't want to get al gross and have to shower again. How about after?"

"That's fine," he said, his voice grim. "If you ask me, I don't think you're taking your duty seriously enough."

I offered him my sweetest smile. "Wel , I didn't ask you, did I?"

He flashed the slightest glimmer of a grin up at me. "But El ie, I real y need you to understand that this is probably a very bad idea."

I narrowed my eyes. "A trip to the movies isn't dangerous. I'l be fine."

"You can't guarantee your safety."

"Neither can you."

He smiled, ever so slightly. Then he reached up and touched my earlobe, looking at it careful y. "When I saw you last," he said softly, "your ears were pierced with little pearl earrings."

I almost laughed, not because the memory was funny, but because of the sweet fondness in his voice as he recal ed it. It surprised me. "You have a real y good memory."

"Pretty good." His smile grew a little wider--that dazzling smile I hadn't seen him show al week. It made me happy.

"You're the same person, yet you're someone new."

"Is that a good thing?"

He shrugged a little. "It's like a new start for you. I guess it could be a good thing."

"Why has it been so long?" I asked.

His smile faded and I instantly regretted asking the question. "Since you were alive?"

"Yeah," I said. "Why did it take so long for me to be reborn?"

"I don't know." The sad expression on his face made me feel even sadder.

"Is it weird that I'm different every time?" I asked. "Does it bother you that I have a different name?"