Page 26 of Save Me

“The trulylamething is the way you keep shooting down our suggestions,” Jessalyn retorts. “Come up with your own idea and spare us your negative energy.”

James straightens up and glances at his notebook. I doubt there’s even a single word in there to do with planning a Halloween party.

“In that case, I suggest a Victorian theme. Weston Hall would be perfect. We could get period plates and cutlery from the time, punch bowls, lace napkins, all that shit. Ideally in black. Have the whole thing lit by candles like they would have then, for a spooky mood. Obviously, we’d have to make sure we didn’t burn the school down, but we can take the necessary fire precautions. The dress code would be decadent but classy, in keeping with the era. And the Victorians loved Halloween games. We could include some of them too.”

Once he’s finished, the room goes silent.

“That’s a…great idea,” I say hesitantly.

His eyes sparkle as he looks at me. “I thought we were just noting down ideas without comment?”

I avoid his gaze and write the suggestion on the board.

“I read that in the nineteenth century, they used to bake cakes with five objects hidden inside them,” Kieran says. “Finding one would bring you good luck. We could update that and give prizes to the people who find a charm.”

“But we’d have to let them know in advance. In case anyone chokes,” Camille points out, wrinkling her nose.

“What kind of music would we play?” asks Jessalyn.

“Classical with a modern twist?” I suggest.

“Not your weird classical-electro-dubstep mashups though,” Lin groans.

“Hey! They’re cool. And they help me focus.” Everyone is giving me a funny look now. Desperately, I turn to Kieran, who generally shares my taste in music. “Come on, Kieran, tell them.”

“There are some great remixes of Victorian stuff. I heard something good by Caplet the other day.”

I smile gratefully and mouth, “Send me a link.”

“So, I’ll sort out a band,” James says. “And we can work on a dance to get the party started.”

A murmur of agreement fills the room, which makes me feel kind of sick. I can’t dance a step.

“OK, so it sounds to me almost like we’ve agreed on a theme,” Lin says, her voice as surprised as I feel right now.

She points to the whiteboard. “But all the same, I’d like to put it to the vote. Who’s in favor of black-and-white?”

Nobody raises their hand.

“Classic chic?”

No one, again.

“How about a sexy vampire party?”

No hands go up.

“What do you say to a Victorian-style Halloween party?” I ask, and before I’ve finished the question, four hands are in the air. For a moment, it looks like James considers himself too cool to vote, but in the end, he does too.

I wasn’t expecting the meeting to turn out this way. I raise an eyebrow at Lin. “Well then, I’d say we’ve come up with the theme for this year’s Maxton Hall Halloween party.”

9

James

Percy’s parked the Rolls right outside the main entrance to the school. He’s leaning against the car, phone in one hand, cap in the other. There seems to be more silver in his dark hair every day. As soon as he sees me, he slips his phone away, puts the cap back on again, and straightens up. Not that he needs to, as well he knows.

I run down the steps, and people are only too willing to scatter out of my way. Apparently, I look about as grim as I feel, thanks to the bloody events committee. I should have just kept my mouth shut, kept my Victorian party idea to myself. The thought of the to-do list the others came up with at the end makes me sick. If I were to throw this party at home, I could delegate the whole thing to our staff, and I wouldn’t have to lift a finger. But in this instance, Iamthe staff, as Ruby’s raised eyebrows made clear.

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