TAEKLEINDO:
Shut up.
JACKOFDIAMONDS:
Yeah, Ev. Love you, too.
When the bell rang a moment later, I wasn’t sure whether I was thankful or disappointed. In fact, the only thing I knew for certain was that I’d wreaked enough havoc on Noah’s email account that he wouldn’t be sending out messages of any kind for a very, very long time.
CHAPTER 17
Code Word: Blend
By the time I got to the Quad, everyone else was already there.
“Hello, Toby.”
One look at the half smile on Tara’s face had me preparing myself for her trademarked understated form of teasing, but Tara didn’t get the chance to say whatever she’d planned to, because the others beat her to it.
“I hear that you love puppies.” Brittany stole Tara’s thunder.
“Yup, Toby just wuvs cute wittle bitty—”
“Shut up, Tiffany. Don’t you guys have something to glitter?” It occurred to me a second after I spoke that encouraging the twins to apply any sort of cosmetic product to anything was seldom a good idea—especially since there was at least a ninety percent chance they’d choose to apply it to me.
“What’s wrong with puppies?” Bubbles asked, mystified. Of all of the girls, Bubbles was the only one whose innerdepths I’d never discovered. I was pretty sure that she didn’t actually have depths. She’d joined the Squad because of a freakish ability to contort herself into odd, but useful positions. It was an incredibly handy skill, and Bubbles was probably the single stealthiest person I’d ever met in my life, but she wasn’t exactly a rocket scientist.
“There’s nothing wrong with puppies,” I told Bubbles, shooting daggers at the twins with my eyes and daring them to say something else. “I’d just prefer it if the puppies of the world weren’t endorsing my candidacy for homecoming queen.”
Bubbles frowned. “The puppies are voting foryou?”
She sounded equal parts confused and offended. Oh, Bubbles.
“Noah just sent this email thing around,” Lucy explained. “It had the cutest picture of a puppy in it. I think it’s sweet that he’s trying to help you, Toby.”
