“Wow, honey.” Greg leaned over to give me a fist bump. “You nailed it. You and Trey weresmoking.”
“He really can sing,” I admitted, picking up my script to follow along.
Greg waved a hand. “Sure, he’s technically proficient, but I was referring to the fact you two burned up the stage. Your chemistry together isel fuego. It’ll melt the panties and jocks off everyone in the audience. I’m surprised the curtains didn’t catch on fire.”
“Gush much?” I lifted my head long enough to see Trey settling into a seat on the other side of the auditorium next to Ayaz. He caught my eye with his intense expression, and a fresh wave of heat rolled up my neck. “If you like him so much, you should ask him out.”
“I don’t think he’s got eyes for anyone else,” Greg winked. “I can see why you won’t agree to go out with Quinn. Why choose one when you’ve got all three wrapped around your pinkie finger?”
The next scene started, so I wasn’t able to tell Greg that real life didn’t work like that. No one got to have three boyfriends, especially not someone like me. None of those guys would settle for being one of the many, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted any of them after the things they’d done.
Instead, I spent the rest of rehearsal dreaming about all three of them kissing me, touching me. Lips and hands fought for dominance as they lay me down in Ayaz’s big bed and…
Dr. Halsey announced that rehearsal was over, jolting me out of my fantasy. I rubbed my warm cheeks as I went down to my room and changed into jeans, Dante’s basketball tank, and my leather jacket.Stop thinking about them. You’ve got revenge to enjoy.
I laced up my boots, slid the glass shard and the skeleton key into my pocket, and picked up my bag of tricks.
It’s showtime.
I locked my door behind me and sat down on the metal stairs, just out of view of anyone in the dormitory above. Doors slammed, students laughed and joked with each other, and footsteps clattered back and forth over the marble floor. “You coming, Courts?” I heard Tillie yell.
A door slammed. “Right here. I couldn’t get my hair extensions to behave.”
“Lucky you had your mom send you those last year. You lookfierce.” That was Amber. “I’m going to have to keep wearing this hat until it grows out.”
“The gutter bitch is going to pay,” Tillie swore. “I can’t believe the way the boys are fawning over her, like her gaping pussy is fucking magical or something. Come on. If we get there early, we can grab the best seats.”
Their heels clapped against the marble floor, growing fainter as they headed over to the dining hall. A few minutes later, the corridor was mostly silent. Anyone who was anyone at this school would be at the movie night.
I bolted out of my hiding place. Upstairs, I walked quickly through the empty dormitory, scanning the corridor for stragglers. I knew I looked hella guilty, but there was no one here to see me. I made my way to Courtney’s door and slid the key into the lock. I let out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding as the lock clicked and the door swung open.
I slipped inside and shut the door behind me. Courtney had left all the lights on – rich girls never had to worry about how to pay the power bill – and the place blazed like a Fourth of July show. Her room was everything I’d imagined – an enormous four-poster bed hung with gauzy drapes, a closet that was larger than my entire Philly apartment, a kitchenette filled with wine bottles and mason jars filled with weird health foods. Everything in shades of white and lilac – it could have been a magazine photo shoot if not for the tornado of makeup and clothing and candy wrappers strewn across the room.
I resisted the urge to riffle through Courtney’s things and headed straight for the bathroom. A line of bath products lined her shower caddy. All the students used the same fancy bath products – I guessed the school ordered them in bulk or something. That made my job easier. I swiped Courtney’s shampoo, conditioner, and body wash into my tote and replaced them with three I’d brought along, making sure to tip a little from each down the sink so she didn’t notice a change.
As I shut Courtney’s door behind me, my gaze fell to her notice-board. Each room in the dormitory had a notice-board beside it so students could pin photos and knick-knacks and notes to each other. Courtney’s was mostly covered with old valentines and pictures of her mother’s collections cut from fashion magazines. My finger traced the edge of a note in Quinn’s handwriting, feeling a blush creep over my cheeks as I read the contents.
My stomach did an awful clenching thing that had nothing to do with jealousy. Nothing whatsoever.Never forget that Quinn slept with Courtney.
Behind the note was a photograph. I recognized a young Courtney, probably about twelve years old, grinning madly at the camera as she showed off a shimmering gown in a lilac color that perfectly accentuated her feline features. I couldn’t even imagine Courtney smiling like that now.
I flipped the picture over. A handwritten note on the back read, “My beautiful Courts. You’re going to be a star one day, just like your mother. Love, Dad.”
Hmmmmm.I wondered if I was holding in my hands the key to undoing Courtney. This picture was her weakness. I just didn’t know why. Before I could change my mind, I unpegged it and shoved it into my tote.
Tillie’s room next. Her room was pink – pink walls, pink sofa, pink bed, even some kind of weird pink stone for the kitchen countertop. I replaced her toiletries and got out as quick as I could, before the pink seeped into my pores.
Amber was last. Her room was mostly navy blue, and smaller than the others. I swapped out her toiletries as well, and quickly locked her door.That hadn’t taken long at all.If I hurried, I might not even miss the opening credits.
I paused in front of the last door – Loretta’s room. I never intended to make her part of this prank – she didn’t deserve any punishment. But maybe there was something I could doforher, if I could justunderstand.
She had been through whatever horrors the god inflicted when it took her soul. I knew she wouldn’t talk to me about it, but she used to keep that diary. Perhaps she wrote something down.
I stared at the key in my hand, then at the door. The notice-board beside Loretta’s door was empty, apart from a nondescript wooden cross hanging from a single nail.
My heart hammered in my chest. I shoved the key into Loretta’s door and pushed it open. The room was dark. Of course, Loretta had grown up poor like me. She’d never leave lights on.
I stepped inside and clicked on the light, illuminating a beautiful room decorated in a soft cream and cream and lilac furnishings. It looked like a junior version of Courtney’s room, which was both comforting (that Loretta wasn’t chained to a wall) and disturbing.
