Sabrina lets out a little laugh. “You know, historically, the people vying for a lead in a play couldn’t be friends. We’d be rivals.”
Ugh, like I need the reminder aboutOthello. “But wouldn’t it be so much more fun to not hate each other?”
To be good rivals, you have to be working toward the same goal. Sabrina wants to be the lead to impress Sutton, which tells me her heart isn’t actually in it.
I want to be the lead to prove to myself I can do it, even after everything. That selling out didn’t mean relinquishing my passion and talent.
We’re not really the same.
Or maybe we are, and I’m oversimplifying things to make them easier to digest. I suppose that’s possible too, given my own history.
“All right,” she says finally. She extends a hand, cocking a thin brow. “Friends then.”
When I take her fingers, she gives them a squeeze I feel in my stomach. Then we turn back to Lexington, who gives me a strange look.
“Do you almost kiss all your friends?” Lexington asks, handing me a beer.
“Just the ones I find attractive…sometimes.” I glance at him and Percy as the latter returns with more drinks, then take a sip of my original champagne. “Don’t worry. You two are safe.”
33
ELLE
Eventually,the sexual antics of the party grow redundant, and the four of us look for something else to do. Sabrina gets a mischievous glint in her eyes and leads us into the stairwell through a different side exit.
“My dad used to tell stories about the tunnels beneath the school,” she tells us. “Said if you followed them long enough, you’d reach one of the caverns where Death’s Teeth holds its gatherings, and I heard they might be having one to celebrate the arrival of spring. Wanna see what they’re all about?”
I hesitate. “That sounds like a terrible idea.”
“You wanted lore, right? What better way to get it than to head right into the belly of the beast?”
Even though my brain is saying not to listen, my curiosity wins out. As long as we can peek in and not be noticed, it shouldn’t be a big deal.
Right?
The spiral stairs seem to go on forever; we wind around and around until I start to feel dizzy, bracing myself against the wall when we’ve reached the bottom level.
It’s even darker down here, and the walls are damp. Textured. They stretch into long earthen halls that my heartbeat echoes down.
We’re no longer in the Apollodorus basement butunderneathit.
Dread pricks at my skin. “I’m not sure about this.”
Sabrina’s mouth flattens. “What’s with the weird expressions? You asked for something fun to do.”
“We asked forfun,” Percy says, scrubbing a hand over his blond hair. “Not to be led to our deaths.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be such a baby. It’s just a little tunnel.”
“Spoken like someone without claustrophobia,” Lexington mutters.
“God, you all are so annoying.” She lifts her phone toward the tunnel, illuminating the immediate area. “Don’t come then. Makes no difference to me.”
“What happens if we get caught?” Percy asks. “This is aDeath’s Teethmeeting we’re talking about.”
Lexington nods, holding his phone up high. “Yeah, even if the rumors aren’t true, we’ll definitely get into trouble for trespassing.”
“Oh my God,shut up.” Sabrina reaches back, taking my hand. “You don’t hear Elle whining, do you?”
