“Don’t know that I’d call them allimprovements,” Jane says.
“Okay, yes, the old high school doesn’t need to ultimately become a museum to my grandmother’s memory when she goes back to running people’s lives in Manhattan instead of here, but at least there aren’t any dead animals in it anymore.”
“That you know of,” Willie Wayne mutters.
I nudge him. There aren’t any more dead animals in the school.
Unless someone put more dead animals in, that is.
He slides me a grin.
Tavi frowns at him. “If you’re going to put dead animals in the school again, can you at least put them in Carter’s room? It, like, would totally fit the vibe of his music.”
Jane chokes on her tequila shot. “Okay, that was funny.”
“Good. Don’t expect it to happen again.” Tavi slides her glass to Ridhi. “May I please have a refill? Because I have to talk all of you into something that none of us are going to like, or else I willneverget to leave Tickled Pink, and I think the vodka will help. And trust me, you all want me to leave as badly as I want to leave. It’s not you. It’s really not. You’re all lovely, and, like, the things you’ve put up with, like Gigi, and my parents, and Carter’s quote ‘music,’ and Phoebe taking, like,themost eligible bachelor in the whole town so no one else could have him ... I wouldtoteswant to get rid of us if I were you. But Tickled Pink is awesome. For real. I just have other thingsI want to do with my life, and those things are far, far away from my grandmother. Which I’msureyou all, like,totallyunderstand.”
Willie Wayne shoots a look at me.
I shrug.
Pretty sure she won’t be trying to talk us into the last thing she tried to talk me into.
Which I have permanently blocked from my brain.
She hasn’t blocked it from hers, though. I can tell by the way she ducks me every time we’re near each other, though she hasn’t had any more near misses with a garbage truck or any other heavy machinery since that first time.
So tonight is already interesting.
But her tossing back a second shot?
Jane leans across the table, her brown eyes taking on a glow. “Talk, princess.”
Tavi glances at the pot. “What if I play you for the inside scoop on what’s going on inside the walls of that high school for theTickled Pink Papersif you win and your agreement to cooperate if I win?”
“We already have spies to tell us that.”
“So let’s wager some favors, shall we?”
The four of us who created this secret poker society eyeball each other.
On the one hand, we’re the four best poker players in all of Tickled Pink.
On the other, Tavi Lightly is a wild card.
I like wild cards.
Been a long time since I’ve gone down the path to digging into wild cards, but I’d be lying if I said I gave them up all the way.
Also? Wouldn’t surprise me if Tavicanplay and is losing on purpose to try to gain our trust.
Won’t work on any of us—not in this bunker—but it makes me very curious.
Jane throws her hand down. “I want nothing to do with this.”
I push away from the wall. “I’ll fill in.”
Everyone in the bunker stares at me.
