Page 27 of Sweet Ruin

“I guess you are.” I smiled. He passed me the books he’d retrieved from the floor, and I gathered them in a pile in my arms as I stood up. “Thanks for your help. I’m not normally so klutzy.”

“I tend to get butter fingers after math too.”

“Maybe it’s a universal condition.”

“Oh, I’m sure of it.”

I laughed. “Okay, well, I’ll see you around, Eric. It was nice to officially meet you.”

“You too, Isobel.”

I left the class with a smile on my face. Eric seemed sweet, and given how difficult I found economics, he probably wasn’t the worst person to have met from that class. I guessed my Veronica stalking hadn’t been a total waste of time.

* * *

That night,right before light’s out, Anna came to our bedroom. She cracked the door open and poked her head in. “It’s happening tonight,” she whispered.

“What’s happening?” I asked as I lay on my bed.

Anna checked up and down the hallway before she snuck into the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

“Why are you acting so stealthy?” Cress asked.

“Because it’s happening,” Anna repeated. “Operation: Revenge Prank is on tonight.”

“Really?” Cress sat up a little straighter in bed.

“Yep. So, set your alarms for 3:30 A.M., dress in black, and be ready to meet outside at 3:45. Then it’s revenge time.” Anna’s eyes were dancing with anticipation.

“That’s so early,” Cress groaned.

A little of Anna’s enthusiasm dimmed too. “I know, but it’ll be worth it.” Anna started to open the door again. “Remember, we’re meeting outside the boys’ dorm at 3:45. Don’t be late.”

“Okay, but what’s the actual plan?” I asked.

Anna simply smiled though. “Just be there,” she replied before dashing out into the hallway.

Cress and I turned to look at each other before we shook our heads and laughed.

“Why do I feel like Anna gets a kick out of being mysterious?” I asked.

“Probably because she does.”

“What do you think the prank is?”

“No idea,” Cress replied. “But if we’re waking up at 3:30 A.M., there’s no time to worry about it. I need to get some sleep.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Whatever it is,” she said as we turned out the lights, “I just hope it gives those boys the payback they deserve.”

* * *

When our alarmsbuzzed at 3:30 A.M, Cress and I forced ourselves to climb out of bed and dress all in black as Anna had instructed. Cress was moving about like a zombie, and I wasn’t doing much better. I’d always been a morning person, but this was too early even for me. I sincerely hoped we became a little more alert before the prank. Whatever the plan was, I felt certain we’d need our wits about us.

We crept out of our room and made our way along the hallway and down the stairs, staying as quiet as possible so we wouldn’t risk waking up our dorm mom, Lisa. When we got outside, we could just about see the group of girls huddled by the entrance to the boys’ dorm. It was dark out, but as we got closer, I realized how many people were involved in this prank. It wasn’t quite every girl in the senior class, but it couldn’t have been far off. The boys had clearly made a lot of enemies with their prank this year.

Anna bounded over to us as we reached the group. She was brimming with excitement. Now I was outside in the fresh air, I was much more awake, and I found I felt the same way.

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