Josh dug his phone out of his back pocket, and after taking a moment to collect himself, he accepted the call. “Hey, Manik,” he said. “The house isn’t on fire, is it?”
Everyone nearby kept quiet; I suspected they wanted to overhear as much of this conversation as I did. Why was Manik calling Josh?
“Well, you go ahead and tell Daniel that I haven’t changedmy mind,” Josh said. “When he and I texted this afternoon, I told him they weren’t necessary. We conducted them two weeks ago, right on schedule.” He paused to listen to whatever Manik was saying. “I understand their rooms are probably certified disaster zones,” Josh patiently continued as my pulse quickened. “But, Manik, I always cut the boys a break this time of year. They’re busy studying for exams and packing to go home. It’s fine if loose-leaf paper and laundry litter their floors. It’ll all get cleaned up eventually. We don’t need to sidetrack them with a round of room inspections…”
Room inspections. I not only balked but also wanted to laugh. Daniel was pushing for room inspections so he could tear them apart, hoping to find the yearbooks hidden in someone’s closet or stowed under their bed. He now suspected the freshmen boys.
I couldn’t stay at the party past dinnertime. “No special treatment,” my mom had said. “If Ames gave certain students special treatment, the schools would have no integrity.”
I understood. I truly understood.
Although, Madame Hoffman didn’t let me leave for detention without a paper plate weighed down by a large selection of desserts. “I’ve overseen detention before,ma chérie,” she said. “Your stomachwillstart rumbling.”
Ironically, Bunker was supervising this evening of ennui, checking names off a list and confiscating phones at the science lecture hall’s entrance. “Lily.” He nodded at me when I placedmine in the cardboard box. “I expect your homework is finished, so I hope you brought something to entertain yourself…”
My fellow delinquents were mostly underclassmen; I watched them glumly unzip their backpacks and unload textbooks upon textbooks and binders upon binders. Their laptops too, even though I knew there was no Wi-Fi in detention.This might be in your best interest, the teacher’s pet in me wanted to say.You have no choice but to study for finals.
The large lecture hall was so quiet that I nearly jumped when someone took the seat next to me. “Hey, tiger,” a familiar voice said, and I turned to see Alex smirking at me as he got comfortable in his swivel chair. “How’re we feeling tonight?”
“Absolutely euphoric,” I deadpanned, then asked, “What are you doing here?”
Alex shrugged. He was now focused on pulling the plastic wrap off my plate of goodies. I glanced over at the hall’s doors to see that Bunker had shut them; we were now officially cut off from humanity.
“Do you even have detention?” I whispered.
“Yes,” he muffled through a mouthful of red velvet cupcake. “It’s not strictly in writing, but Bunker said it was possible his list was mistaken.”
I rolled my eyes. “Alex, get real.”
“Oh, this is my favorite.” He ignored me, breaking off a piece of swirled-caramel cake. “You made this for the holiday party sophomore year.”
“Shh!” a junior hissed before I could respond. He sat two rows ahead of us, Microsoft Word on his computer screen. “I’m trying to write a paper!”
“Then you’re sitting in the wrong sector.” Alex gestured across the room, where a cluster of students sat typing like they were being timed. “The laptop club is over there.”
“You’re a terrible person sometimes,” I told him after the underclassman relocated.
“So what?” Alex said. “It’s not like I need his vote or anything.”
I was quiet for a moment, then murmured, “Alex, the election was ages ago. I know how much you wanted to be king of the school, but—”
“I wanted to be thepresident, Lily,” he muttered. “I wanted to be the president so I could make Ames a better place. Rivera only wanted it for his precious résumé, so he could get into Harvard.” He snorted. “I won’t challenge you to name all the improvements he’s made, because we both know…”
The rest of what he said was gibberish, thanks to the lemon bar he’d shoved in his mouth. I assumed it had something to do with Daniel accomplishing virtually nothing as student council president. He had done his duty, but nothing more.
Little did he know that the “more” was upon him.
I said so to Alex, who smiled slyly.
“Yeah, Daniel. Look what you made me do.”
I booped him on the nose. “Karma.”
Alex chuckled and reached for my figure drawing sketchbook. “What’s new in here?”
“Meh, not a lot,” I answered as he started flipping through it. “You know I prefer landscapes.”
“Yeah, but you’re so good at people too…” He trailed off, landing on a certain page. My heart twisted while he stared at it, and I cringed when he glanced up at me. “You still have this?” he asked quietly.
