Page 84 of Sweet Ruin

Glancing at the clock, I jolted upright. “What’s wrong?” It was first thing in the morning, and the sun was only just coming up. Something bad must have happened for Cress to be forcing me awake at this hour. I really hoped there hadn’t been another prank.

“Just get up.Quickly.” She raced into the closet, and I scrambled out of bed to hurry after her. She sounded too serious for it to be a prank, and I was starting to get worried, but as I entered the closet, I found her grinning as she slid into her UGG boots.

A little of my apprehension disappeared when I saw her expression, but I still had no idea what was going on. “Seriously, Cress, what’s the hurry?”

“You’ll see. Just grab your shoes, your gloves, and a warm jacket. We’re going outside.” She threw a pair of gloves at me, and I caught them midair.

She hadn’t bothered to change out of her pajamas, so I didn’t worry about it either. Thankfully, I was already dressed in a pair of thick flannelette pants and a cozy top, so I simply pulled on my jacket, shoes, and gloves, and then a beanie for good measure.

When we got out into the corridor, Anna was waiting for us, bouncing up and down on her toes.

“Finally,” she gasped, already starting to walk down the hallway. Cress and I hurried to keep up.

Other girls were emerging excitedly from their rooms, and there was a buzz in the air that was hard not to get caught up in. It was only once we left the building that I finally realized what all the fuss was about.

The flurries of snow I’d seen last night must have turned into a full blizzard because the courtyard was covered in a thick fluffy layer of snow. It glowed in the early-morning light and was so beautiful I barely noticed the biting nip in the air.

“Snowball fight,” a boy screamed from somewhere on the other side of the courtyard, and the serenity descended into chaos as balls of snow went flying. I squealed as one came hurtling for me, but Anna grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me out of the way.

“Come on,” she laughed. “We’ve got to get out of the firing line.”

We raced away from the front of the dorm, laughter surrounding us as everyone in the courtyard joined in the fight. I followed Anna toward one of the benches lining the perimeter of the courtyard, and she ducked down behind it, gesturing for Cress and I to do the same. There was a row of bushes behind us, and it felt a lot more sheltered here than out in the open.

“Here’s what you need to know.” Anna clamped both hands on my shoulders and looked me square in the face. “The first snowball fight of the season is always brutal. Lives will be lost, but they won’t be ours. Our team motto is hit them first, hit them hard, and take no prisoners.”

I might have laughed if she didn’t sound so stern.

The sound of a whistle screeched through the morning air, and the snowballs stopped flying. I peeked over the top of the bench to see Coach August standing in the center of the courtyard. He was still in his pajamas too, but he was also wearing a thick coat and snow boots. Had he decided to stop the fight before it even really began?

“The battlegrounds are contained to this courtyard,” he called out, his voice projecting loudly across the wide-open space. “If you stray beyond it, you’re out. If you get hit, you’re out. No snowballs above the neck, so if you hit someone’s head, you’re out. Are we clear?”

“Yes, Coach.” The answer was loud as everyone in the courtyard responded. It sounded like the entire school was out here.

“Good. Then let this year’s first snow battle begin.” He blew his whistle, and screams and shouts echoed across the courtyard as snowballs started hurling through the air once again.

“Right,” Anna said. “Let’s build up a good base of snowballs so we can defend our fort.”

She and Cress got to work straightaway as they started scrunching together balls of snow in their gloves. I’d never made a snowball before in my life, but it didn’t take me long to get the hang of it. Once we had a few in stock, Anna started flinging them at anyone who ran by. She had surprisingly good aim, and she managed to knock out three kids in a row.

She lifted her arm as two other people dared to make their way toward our bench, but she quickly lowered it when she saw it was Sawyer and Wes.

“Ladies, how are we doing?” Sawyer asked as he crouched behind the bench with us. Wes winked at me and knelt down beside me.

“So far, so good,” Anna said. “We’re three for three.”

“I’m five for five.” Sawyer grinned.

“I didn’t realize this was a competition,” I murmured to Wes.

“With Sawyer, it’s always a competition,” he replied.

“How many have you got so far?”

“Not one.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “I was too busy looking for you. I was hoping you might need protecting.”

I smiled up at him. “Well, it turns out I’ve got two pretty good teammates here. Anna isn’t letting anyone get within twenty feet of us.”

He laughed and leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. “Well, then, I guess I’ll leave you girls to it. Good luck out there.”

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