Page 89 of And They Were Roommates

“I lament my involvement,” Blaze says in a dark, deep voice, biting his nails. “My cries attracted the third awakening of the Battle of Arachnid Doom.”

“I don’t think it was you, Blaze,” Robby says. “Maybe the trash bags looked suspicious even from a distance, and someone saw.”

I look toward the church bell tower and sister academy beyond. “Well, if our side didn’t get caught, then the other side did.”

Jasper faces me. “Call Delilah. Now.”

Chapter 32PROMISE

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4

Ms. Lyney leaps out of her chair, her red hair bow flopping against the peak of her head. “Everything okay with your mom?”

I summon my best puppy dog face by the office door, debating the quickest way to dial Delilah. This visit is vital, but it’s cutting into my daily eight-hour study session for finals, and I already have to stay up an extra hour at least to make up for it. “Actually, no. I really need to contact Delilah again about scheduling time off for—you know. The finale of—Um.”

“Gnome in Love.”

“Gnome in Love.Yes.” My attention drifts toward the counter, where a flyer advertises the winter mixer in an orange-and-purple font, bordered by ghost clip art. It’s Halloween in November–themed, apparently.

Mr. Stern pops out of the back room. He points at a shelf of gnomes. “Ms. Lyney, isn’t that your favorite reality show?”

Ms. Lyney swivels to face him. “Why, yes, it is.”

He shakes his head, but a teasing smile peeks through. “Fabricated love. A disgrace to our storytelling ancestors.”

“It’s notfabricated. It’s about a young woman meeting a room of men dressed as gnomes to see which she falls for.”

“You can’t simply shove two people in a room and expect them to fall in love.”

I raise my hand. “Am I allowed to speak with my friend now?”

Only ten minutes pass before I’m handed a phone. Once I’m in the back room, Mr. Stern is gone, and I can tuck myself into a corner.

“That was fast,” I say.

“I was already in the office,” Delilah whispers over the line. “I got caught.”

My blood runs cold.

“No way,” I mutter. “How did they spot you?”

“One of the bags was ripped. Probably some animal. I was kneeling there longer than I should’ve to clean up the mess. A residential retainer saw.”

Ripped.Is that what happened when Jasper and I tossed that last bag over together? His bracelet and my ring tore it apart? How many times can I completely mess everything up?

“I’m sorry, Charlie.” The exhaustion in Delilah’s voice only makes my heart sink deeper. “The mixer is a flop now.”

“Who cares about the mixer?” I say too sharply, the guilt already consuming me whole, but I try to calm down so she doesn’t feel bad for me too. With the awkwardness that’s been clinging to our friendship lately, another issue is the last thing we need. “Are you okay?”

“I talked to the vice principal. I told them I wrote the letters and was just trying to send Xavier a bunch of ooey-gooey junk. They bought it.”

“Really? So you’re not getting kicked out?”

“A week of detention for now. They didn’t want to touch those letters with a ten-foot pole, so they thankfully threw them out before they read them.”

This should be a relief, but I only feel more defeat. Technically,I got exactly what I set out to get. A room to myself. But now STRIP is losing everything they care about.

Jasperis. Our last few months together were for nothing. Every tutoring session. Every argument. Every sleepless night.

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