Page 6 of What Happened on Roslyn Street?
“Forget about Jun!” There’s stress behind her words. “Why are youhere, Tobey? It can’t be just to bother me, and I refuse to think you’re followinghimaround, waiting for him to give you the time of day. He’s a notorious jerk. He dates everyone, and?—”
“Oh, my God! Stop! I’m not here for him!”
It was a funny joke, but if I can spare the lecture she seems to be cooking up… I’ll do it.
“Thenwhy?” she asks.
I don’t know! I don’t even know where I’m going, ambling aimlessly through the hallways.
If it weren’t for Margaux, I would be distracted by our surroundings. There are intricate paintings of hideous scenes on the walls—of battles, of vampires with crimson eyes, and of indescribable, haunted things. The chandeliers drip diamonds—are they real? Marble statues line the halls. It’s beautiful.
I hate every moment of it.
Unlike Margaux, I have never chased opulence. I chase truths, something she could never understand.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I say.
It’s a feeble retort.
No matter our history, I can’t trust Margaux. Why would she take my side over her kind? I can’t let her know what I’m doing, even if the answer is ripping at my chest, begging to break free.
“Yes! Iwouldlike to know!” She grabs my arm, stopping me in my tracks. I know she has considerable strength, but she touches me as if I’m soft, wheeling me around to look at her.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she says. “Even a human like you should know what this place is.”
“I know.” I tilt my chin higher. “What? You think you’re the only magical one in our group of friends?”
“Yes,” she says in a deadpan voice. “Until proven otherwise, that is exactly what I think. Now, it’s a matter of how long it will take for the others to realize you’re a fraud.”
“You wouldn’t tell?—”
“No! Contrary to what you may think, I don’t want you to die.”
It’s often hard to tell whether Margaux is genuine or displaying her usual dramatics. In this case, I have a feeling it’s the former. There has already been more than one death linked to this school, and something tells me they wouldn’t be opposed to adding another to the list.
“Is that what’s at stake here?” The blood drains from my face. “If they find out I snuck in, you think they’ll…”
Margaux looks at me with a grave expression. “Yes. They will, especially if you… do what you usually do.”
“And what is that?” I ask, feigning ignorance.
She lets out a bitter laugh. “If you stick your nose where it doesn’t belong! That’s when you’ll anger them.”
Them? I don’t know who she’s talking about, but my pulse thumps loudly in my ears.
She doesn’t say it like a possibility,no—it’s a fact. I’m putting my life on the line but I don’t care. Poppy is already gone, and I won’t leave until I know three things: who, how, and why?
“I… told them I’m a shapeshifter.” I lower my voice. “A werecat, if that matters to you.”
“Oh, my…” Margaux drops my arm and shakes her head in disbelief.“Of all the reckless, stupid things you have done in your life… this has to be at the top of the list.”
She walks forward, and I follow. Just like old times.
“I haven’t done that many stupid things,” I say.
“Yes,” she says firmly, “you have, but this? Do you know how rare werecats are in Maine? I’ve never met one.Not asingleone! And that’s only one of the many holes in your plan, Nancy Drew. This is worse than the time you stole your neighbor’s tortoise!”
“They weren’t taking care of it!”
