Page 111 of And They Were Roommates

Jasper winks. “That’s the story you tell.”

“If any faculty walk up and ask for candy?” Robby asks unsurely.

Jasper yanks peppermints out of his pocket and tosses them at Blaze’s sheeted head. Blaze grunts. “He has spares.”

“And I always come prepared to cause a distraction,” Delilah says, patting the chain of a handbag slung over her shoulder. What she means by that is an enigma—possibly those sparklers she accidentally set oak trees on fire with at summer camp, or even homemade poison.

“Ladies,” Jasper says, turning to the three, “you’re the only ones who can match sister academy student names to faces. Direct Blaze in the right ways, please?”

“Simple enough,” London says. The other two nod.

“Anything to make everyone trust us again,” Xavier says. “I don’t want STRIP to die. Or to get kicked out either, but, you know.”

The words resonate deep within me, reminding me just how much this is all my fault. The knocked-over gate; the ripped bag. Maybe I have to leave Valentine, but if everyone else suffers the same fate, I’d never forgive myself. And they’d never forgive me.

Lately, I’m losing so much. I can’t lose them too.

Tonight, I’ll fix this once and for all.

“We’ll fight until the end,” Jasper says to everyone except me. “Ready?”

Chapter 41DADDY-LONG-LEGS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14

The ballroom is full of spiders.

Plastic spider rings are piled on every cocktail table, surrounding taper candles burning in centerpiece sconces. Tablecloths are patterned with cartoon spiders. Polyester webs are stretched across the ceiling. Even a massive spider sculpture made of plastic cups hangs from the ceiling by two strings like a marionette.

We go still in the doorway.

Blaze slams into my back. He starts to readjust his ghost sheet to see through the eyeholes. “Wherefore did we stop walking—?”

“NO,” Xavier shouts, and Robby lunges to cover Blaze’s eyes.

I lean closer to Delilah’s ear. “Don’t let Blaze see the spiders.”

Delilah nods despite her confusion.

The ballroom’s décor can’t compete with the strange behavior of our classmates. They huddle on either side, boys on one and girls on the other, pointedly—and irritably—avoiding eye contact. It feels dramatic until I remember the brother academy never received responses to their letters, and the sister academy believes they were never invited. On the best night of the year, everyone feels rejected.

Even more, failed by STRIP.

Without the support of the student body standing before us, this hundred-year tradition ceases to exist. Just like that. It’s happening right before our eyes.

We have to save this tonight.

Xavier frowns. “They don’t know what to do after relying on us for so long, huh?”

“Both sides must be angry and confused,” Robby surmises like I did, surveying the ballroom. “Xavier, you’ll distract Ms. Nallos on the left. P.M. has a few occupied too.”

“He’s here?” Jasper looks every which way for him.

I do too. He’s easy to spot, even among the crowd of instructors laughing with him. His suit may be black, but the slim stripe pattern and light pink tie are almost as bold as Jasper’s suit.

“Jasper should talk to his aunt,” Robby says. “She’s already herded tons of other instructors. Charlie and I will cover Mr. Stern—”

We turn to look at him; he’s standing at one of the cocktail tables bordering the walls. He hands a stuffed gnome to Ms. Lyney, whose face matches her red gown in color.William Sternis etched on the gnome’s belly.

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