Chapter 8
By the following week, things were starting to get back to normal. The school corridors were crowded once more, and it seemed like the bug that had taken everyone down had mostly run its course. I still counted myself as one of the lucky few who avoided it completely.
I hadn’t seen Veronica since our encounter on Saturday, but I was intrigued to see if anything had changed between her and Noah.
When I’d overheard her phone conversation in the kitchen, it really had seemed like she wasn’t all that into their relationship.
But when Monday morning came, she was still sitting at his side during breakfast.
Nothing was different, and I had to wonder if she’d only said those things to her mom and to me because she’d been in some kind of sickness-induced delirium.
Still, I found myself keeping a closer eye on her.
I wasn’t sure why she’d opened up to me, but I was beginning to realize there was more to Veronica Cordeaux than I first thought.
It was probably silly, but I started noticing her more in class.
I began to analyze her interactions with other students.
I found myself wondering what she was thinking.
It felt like so many questions had been raised on the weekend, and I couldn’t let it go until I got some answers.
Veronica was like a little puzzle box I needed to solve.
She wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary though, and I wondered if perhaps I’d lost my mind and had imagined our entire conversation. I was questioning her every move—I really needed to get a better hobby.
But, even on Tuesday, when she was slow to pack her books up at the end of math class, I was asking myself why.
She seemed to be waiting for something and kept giving surreptitious looks around the room as she watched everyone leave.
Was there a reason she wanted to be the last person out the door?
What was she waiting for? Or was I just searching for answers in places there weren’t any?
Once Veronica had finally left the room, I gathered my stuff. But as I went to leave my desk, I tripped over the leg of my chair, and my books went sprawling across the ground.
I swore under my breath and knelt to pick them up. Maybe this was my karma for turning into a stalker.
“Hey, Isobel, do you need a hand?” I glanced up as a guy bent down to help me. He hadn’t been in math with me, so he must have just entered the room for the next class.
“Thanks, uh…”
“Eric.” He introduced himself with a grin. We’d never spoken before, but when I looked at him properly, I realized I recognized him from my economics class. He was quiet and studious, and he always seemed to have the answers when called upon.
“Sorry, I probably should have known that. I’m still learning everyone’s names,” I said as he helped me pick up my books.
He gave me a wonky smile that pulled a dimple from his cheek. He was cute when he smiled, and he had kind eyes. “That’s okay,” he said as he ran a hand through his shaggy dark hair. “You’ll get to know everyone eventually. I guess I’m one less person now.”
“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 alarms buzzed 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.
“Isn’t this fun?” Anna whispered.
“I guess so, but we still don’t know what we’re doing,” I said.
“Oh, yeah,” Anna replied with a laugh. “Gather round. Veronica is about to explain.”
Anna led us through the group of waiting girls until we reached the front.
Veronica was standing before the crowd next to two large boxes.
When she cleared her throat, everyone turned to listen to her.
It seemed she wasn’t just the queen of our school; she had also delegated herself as the captain of our revenge team.
“Okay, listen up, everyone,” she said, keeping her voice low. “It’s time to give the boys a taste of their own medicine.”
She pointed to one of the boxes. “All these alarm clocks are set to go off at the exact time the boys woke us up—4:00 A.M. That gives us plenty of time to sneak into their dorm, hide as many of these alarms as possible, and get out before they go off. The clocks might look small, but trust me, they’re loud, so you don’t want to be nearby when they go off, or you’ll be caught for sure. ”
Veronica sounded like she was preparing a bomb disposal unit for a dangerous mission rather than a high-school prank.
As murmurs of approval vibrated around the group, I was distracted by the other box next to her.
On second glance, I realized it was larger than the other one and covered by a dark sheet. What could she be hiding in there?
As if she could read my mind, Veronica stepped closer to the mystery box and picked up a corner of the sheet.
“If any of the boys don’t get woken up by the alarm clocks, Barry will take care of the rest,” she said before she whipped away the covering to reveal a metal cage.
Inside was the biggest rooster I’d ever seen.
“Barry…is a rooster?” I whispered to no one in particular.
“Yep,” Anna laughed. “Hopefully, he’ll give the boys an even ruder awakening than they gave us.”
“It’s brilliant,” I agreed. “But…he’s called Barry? Really?”
“Well, I didn’t name him.” Anna shrugged.
“Where did we even find a rooster?”
“From the kitchen garden,” she explained. “The school keeps chickens down there. And Barry, of course.”
“Of course,” I replied with a shake of my head. Was there anything this school didn’t have?
Veronica snapped her fingers to put an end to our conversation. She was really serious about this whole thing. “Okay, let’s go,” she ordered “Get your alarm clocks, make sure you hide them somewhere those boys will never think of looking, and don’t get caught.”
She waved us toward the dorm like a commander leading her troops into battle. One by one we all hurriedly plucked an alarm clock from the box and followed her. A few of Veronica’s friends picked up Barry’s cage and carried him inside.
“Veronica sure did go to a lot of effort for our revenge prank,” Cress said as we made our way up the stairs. “There must have been a hundred clocks in that box.”
“Uh, have you met Veronica?” Anna scoffed. “I’m pretty sure revenge is her middle name.”
“True.” Cress laughed. “I guess I’m impressed. Do you guys know where you’re going to hide your clocks?”
“Outside the twins’ room for sure,” Anna immediately replied.
“Yeah, those boys need some payback,” I agreed, grinning as Anna lifted her hand to give me a soft and silent high-five.
“I’m going to put mine outside Kaden’s room,” Cress said. “He’s down this way, so I’ll find you guys after.”
“Okay, good luck,” I said.
“Don’t get caught,” she added before taking off down one of the corridors.