Page 45 of The Bleak Beginning

“I can’t help that everyone wants to replicate these locks,” he says, smoothing his rumpled hair back into place. “I’m a trendsetter, what can I say?”

“Can we get back on task?” Bishop snarls.

“Right, right,” Sylvester says, his tone suddenly serious. “So what exactly are we looking for in her mail?”

Bishop lowers his voice, and I have to strain to hear. “Anything we can use against her. Letters from home, packages, whatever. There’s got to be something we can exploit.”

“And if we don’t find anything?” Camden asks.

“Then we plant something,” Bishop replies coldly. “We already learned she can’t swim, so we have that advantage, but we needas many as we can get to make sure she doesn’t try out for our team for the Altair games.”

“Or better yet, she just leaves,” Camden says.

“Exactly,” Bishop agrees.

Suddenly, Slyvester curses, looking down at the expensive-looking watch on his arm. The buzz fills the quiet room, a low mechanical hum that grows louder with each vibration.

Cursing again, he clicks a button on the side and excuses himself from the room.

“Probably his sister,” Camden says as Bishop enters my code and makes himself welcome in my mailbox.

“Bet he regrets agreeing to wear the watch she got him for his birthday.” Bishop grunts before slamming my mailbox shut with a metallic thud. “Empty.”

“Yeah, all she has to do is buzz that thing and he comes running,” Camden notes.

“It’s not like it doesn’t work both ways with them.”

“Truth.” He snorts.

“We’ll try again next week,” Bishop grunts.

Camden sighs, leaning against the row of mailboxes. “What now?”

A calculating look crosses my shadow’s face. “We’ll have to get creative until we find something useful. Maybe we can sneak into her room, see if there’s anything there we can use.”

“Breaking and entering? Wasn’t messing with the plumbing in her building enough?” Camden asks, though his tone suggests he’s more excited than concerned.

Bishop waves him off. “That building has been decaying for years, ever since her family's betrayal led to students refusing to live there.”

“True…” Camden agrees. “It's become the dorm of last resort.”

“You want to win, don’t you?” Bishop snaps. “We can’t let a traitor like Prescott ruin our chances of success. We’ve worked too hard for this. Our families won’t be mocked again.”

Camden nods, a slow grin spreading across his face. “You’re right. We’ve come too far to let a Prescott ruin everything for us.”

Bishop’s emerald eyes gleam with a dangerous light. “Prescott shouldn’t be back in her room for at least a few days. I say we do some digging. See what we find.”

“Brilliant,” Camden concurs. “Come on, let’s get out of here and find Sly.”

As they turn to leave, I press myself further into the shadows, willing myself to become invisible. Just as I think I’m in the clear, Camden pauses, his head cocked to one side.

“Do you hear something?” he asks Bishop, peering in my general direction.

I suppress a gasp, my hand flying to my mouth.

Bishop glances around impatiently. “It’s probably just a rat. You know the older buildings are usually crawling with them. Come on, we’re wasting time.”

“A rat? I thought that was only a problem in Prescott Dormitory?”

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