Page 74 of And They Were Roommates

Blaze pauses drawing a foreboding symbol on his shoes. “What?” squeaks from his pale lips. Usually, his hypothermia look would be a cause for concern, but I’m 90 percent sure his newfound twelve-year-old hobby is dabbling in effects makeup. He clears his throat and lowers his pitch. “What ho?”

From his binder, Robby pulls out a brown horse trading card. “The academy has Hackneys. Those are the worst horses you could’ve accidentally let out. They’re the best breed for carriage driving, harness events, and long-distance sprints. They just keep running.” Robby worriedly looks down at the card in his hand. “I know they’re okay, there’s plenty for them to eat and take shelter under, but I’m not sure how we’ll get them back.”

“You hold no evidence this was my blunder,” Blaze shouts back.

“I do, but first—” Robby points to where I stand on the very left side of the crypt, then Jasper on the very right. “Wearestarting the meeting, right?”

I don’t dare look at Jasper. He arrived before me, so, naturally, I stood as far away as possible.

Xavier and Blaze shift unnerved looks between us. The tension is palpable.

“Yes,” Jasper finally says, his tone strangely coarser than usual. Still, I don’t look. “Carry on, Robby.”

Before starting, Robby readjusts his dress shirt collar flipped upward despite him usually being put together. The stress of being a Rank Two and STRIP’s admin personnel is catching up. “Blaze delivered letters yesterday evening. The announcement was made this morning. No one, to my knowledge, was there in between those two time stamps. So, he must’ve left the equestrian center unlocked.”

“The doors always automatically lock,” I say unsurely. “There’s a code.”

“Thebuildingdoors lock,” Robby says. “Not the gate to the horses.”

The rake I knocked over. That hit the gate when we left.

Is thismyfault?

“Even if this wasn’t Blaze, he’s on their suspect list now,” Xavier says.

“Maybe all of us,” Robby says. “We’re the only ones who have such an easy way of entering their campus.” He points to the gold number-two pin on his blazer. “All we do is show this. They never write down our names. But that also works in our favor. Blaze, if they ask you anything, deny it, okay?”

Blaze salutes.

My heart sinks deeper as I debate coming out with the truth.It was me. Not Blaze.

But Blaze is twelve. And one of their own members, through and through. Forgivable. If this is my fault—an Excellence Scholar who’s expected to excel in all areas—there’s no way STRIP would react with the same forgiveness. Maybe that would be for the better. When I first arrived, I did promise myself not to talk to anybody too much.

But everything has changed. Xavier helps me with training. I’ve gotten to know other students at tutoring and one-on-ones well enough to be invited to Frisbee matches. Before this meeting, I thought I was prepared to lose STRIP. Only now, as I’m faced with the fate of this hundred-year-old organization resting in my hands, do I realize I shouldn’t leave.

Not yet. Not until I fix things.

Xavier sighs so miserably that everyone looks his way. “The mixer is only a month away, but we can’t risk sending any more letters from this point on, right?” His misery turns to a weak laugh. “Even if we wanted to, I guess we can’t since we’ve lost contact with the top five girls now. Jasper, how many mixer letters have been sent?”

“None,” Jasper announces from his corner. “Blaze’s last delivery was our usual couple correspondence.”

“What?”

“I have beenworkingon the mixer letters. But I prefer those specifically be delivered all at once so no one feels left out. I was waiting to pass them to Blaze.”

“If worse comes to worst,” I say, “can’t people just ask each other out at the mixer without our help?”

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” Jasper says.

I still don’t look over. I pick at my nails. “Hear what?”

“Losing our connection to the sister side isn’t only about the mixer. It’s about what comes after. Before. Between. Couples need to stay together all year-round. We’re their glue.”

I scoff under my breath.

“Our biggest issue isn’t any of this,” Robby announces from the tome table he stands on. “It’s getting shut down by the student body.”

“What?” I say in sync with Xavier.

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