Privilege 3 - Perfect Mistake (11 page)

Finally, Ariana opened her eyes and rolled over onto her side. She

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blinked and lifted her head. There was something sitting on the edge of her night table: a long, pink velvet jewelry box with gold trim, the kind that usually held a necklace or bracelet. Her heart caught. Had Palmer left something for her? Or was this, perhaps, a trinket from Stone and Grave?

Ariana sat up straight and glanced over at Kaitlynn's table. She had no matching box. Which meant either she'd already opened hers, or this was, in fact, something that had been left just for Ariana.

Holding her breath in anticipation, Ariana grabbed up the box and pried it open. Out slipped a long, thick lock of auburn hair. It fluttered to the ground like a leaf, coming to rest on Ariana's bare foot. Instinctively she kicked it off, her nose scrunched in disgust. Then she crouched on the ground for a better look. It was the exact same shade as her own dyed hair.

Her heart dove into her feet and she jumped up, running for the mirror. A strangled cry escaped her throat. There was a big chunk of hair, much more than what had been stashed in the tiny box, chopped away from the right side of her face. Ariana whirled around, her blood hot with anger now, and grabbed the box again. She turned it over, looking for a clue. Nothing. Then she pried the removable bottom out and a folded piece of paper hit the floor. Ariana stooped and unfolded it. It was a small calendar with the word NoBash written in red letters over the square for next Saturday, September 14. Yesterday's date was crossed out in red. On the bottom there were three words scrawled in red ink.

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NINR FSYD LEFT!

Kaitlynn. Kaitlynn had done this to her while she slept. Ariana hadn't felt a thing. If Kaitlynn could do this to her while she was in her most vulnerable state . . . what else could she do? Ariana stood up, her body quaking, and hurled the box at the wall with a guttural screech, releasing all the anger and fear that had pent up within her chest in the last ten seconds. She imagined herself cramming the box down Kaitlynn's throat, then balling up the calendar and shoving that down there as well. Kaitlynn could not do this to her. She would not let her.

Out in the hallway, a door slammed, and Ariana suddenly realized how much noise she had just made. She looked around her empty room wildly, wondering how many of her floormates had heard. Control. Control was all--important. And she had just lost it.

Just breathe, Ariana.

In, one. . . two. . . three. . .

Out, one. . . two . . . three. . .

In, one. . . two. . . three. . .

Out, one. . . two . . . three. . .

Her heart rate was just returning to normal when a scream split the quiet. Ariana ran out into the hallway and down to Soomie and Brigit's room, where she flung open the door. Soomie was sitting straight up in bed, holding a box just like Ariana's in one hand and a small lock of black hair in the other. Brigit hovered over her, looking horrified.

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"Omigod!" Soomie cried, looking up at Ariana. "Do I look as bad as you?"

She got up and ran for the mirror, but it took a minute for her to find the spot where her hair had been chopped. Kaitlynn had taken an inconspicuous lock on the underside of Soomie's hair. A spot that could easily be hidden.

"Who did this?" Soomie cried, her hand shaking.

"Did you get one, too?" Ariana asked Brigit.

Brigit looked around, confused. "No." "What the hell is this?" Allison shouted.

Ariana exchanged a look with her friends, then rushed down the hall. Allison stood in the center of her room with another box, a blond curl pinched between her finger and thumb. Tahira was nowhere to be found.

"What is going on out here?" Lexa asked, emerging from her room in her robe, freshly showered.

"Someone's gone around chopping off people's hair in the middle of the night," Soomie replied, whirling around.

"What?" Lexa went ashen.

"Allison, Soomie, and Ana all found locks of their hair in boxes by their beds," Brigit explained.

Lexa whirled around and ran back to her room. She emerged a moment later, looking slightly relieved but still freaked. "Maria's gone, but I don't see anything," she said, approaching. She looked over the velvet box in Soomie's hand. "They didn't leave a note or anything?"

Ariana's heart lurched as she thought of the calendar that had been

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stashed with her lock of hair. She hoped Lexa didn't go looking for her box.

"No. Nothing," Ariana said.

"Who could have done this? And why you three?" Brigit asked.

Lexa narrowed her eyes "I don't know, but don't worry, girls. I'm sure it's just a stupid prank. And we're going to find out who's behind it."

Everyone else looked relieved. They all went back to their rooms to get on with their day. Lexa, however, stayed behind. She winced as she looked over Ariana's hair.

"Wow. You got it the worst, huh?" she said.

"I guess so," Ariana replied, inwardly seething.

"Don't worry. Go shower and then I'll help you fix it up," Lexa offered with a smile.

"Thanks, Lexa," Ariana said, touched.

Safely inside her room, she picked up the jewelry box from the floor and placed it carefully on Kaitlynns desk. Her hands were still shaking, but her pulse had slowed to normal. More than anything, she was annoyed that she had allowed herself to feel even a smidgen of fear over something that bitch had done.

For just a moment, Ariana had let Kaitlynn take control. She would not let it happen again.

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SUPER SPIES

"Mr. Pitt?"

Ariana peaked through the open door of her guidance counselor's office. He was kicked back in his leather chair, eating a powdered--sugar donut and reading a well--worn copy of A Brief History of Time. The moment she appeared he sat up straight and coughed, puffing a cloud of white sugar all over his dark blue sweater--vest. Ariana did her best not to wrinkle her nose in disgust. She liked Mr. Pitt, but if he didn't want to be caught slacking--off while indulging in sugar--caked carbs, why leave the door open? This was basic stuff.

"Miss Covington!"

He slapped the book closed, dropped the donut onto a piece of waxed paper, and dusted off his desk with the pinky side of his hand. His gaze was expectant as he rested his thick forearms atop the clutter of his desk.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" Ariana asked.

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As she stepped inside, her hands clutched the strap on her messenger bag. Ever since the hair incident that morning, she'd been clenching her fists or clutching something all the time. She'd been forced to cut her extensions before she even got to Lexa so that her friend wouldn't realize her hair was fake. Then Lexa had shaped it into a new, shorter do that looked pretty shoddy, even though everyone kept telling her it was very now. As soon as she had a free minute she was going into town to get a real haircut.

"Absolutely." He gestured at the chair across from his desk, but she didn't take it. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you had any SAT study guides you could lend me," Ariana said. "I've decided to take the test in October so I'll have plenty of chances to try again."

Although she didn't actually feel the need for study guides, her plan of attack was factual. It was one of the awful drawbacks of starting over-- having to retake the SATs. Three years ago she'd nailed a nearly perfect score, but she'd gotten it as Ariana Osgood. It meant nothing now. As much as Ariana had always enjoyed taking standardized tests--the tiny circles to fill in with perfectly sharpened pencils, the warm vibe of tension and fear permeating the air, the excitement of knowing the answer--she dreaded the idea that she might not be able to improve on her original score.

"Of course, of course." Mr. Pitt got up and wiped his fingers on his brown pants, leaving a white sugar streak on his thigh, which he failed to notice. He bent and yanked open the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet behind his desk, which made a loud squeal, as if it hadn't been

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pried free in decades. Ariana glanced over her shoulder at the door just as Brigit popped through.

"Mr. Pitt! The copiers jammed again," she said breathlessly. "I wouldn't bother you but I need to make copies of this flyer for the first French club meeting before my next class."

Mr. Pitt whirled around, slamming his ankle against the side of the open drawer. Both Ariana and Brigit winced as his face screwed up in pain.

"All right. I'll be right there," he said through his teeth, clearly trying to hold back a groan.

"Thanks!" Brigit said brightly. She didn't so much as glance at Ariana, which surprised her. Ariana had pegged Brigit as the type of coconspirator who wouldn't be able to resist a gleeful glance to acknowledge a plan going well. Ariana was impressed that Brigit had more self--control than that.

"With all the money pouring into this school you'd think that some small percentage could be allotted to updating the guidance office technology," Mr. Pitt muttered, limping around his desk. "Forgive me, Miss Covington. I should be back in a moment."

"Take your time," Ariana said with a smile. All the time you need.

The moment Mr. Pitt was gone, Ariana raced around his desk, sliding past the open drawer. She was about to drop into his chair, but then she noticed all the stains and crumbs and tears and decided to remain standing. He was already logged into the school's intranet, so when she typed Allison's name into the search box, her file popped right up. Moving purposefully, Ariana clicked open Allison's schedule

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and memorized it with one glance. She then opened her final report card from the previous year and smiled.

Allison was a straight--B student, except for one subject. In chemistry, she had received a D for the year. Which would account for the fact that she was taking it again this year. All Ariana had to do was write up a cheat sheet for Allison's first chemistry exam, plant it on the girl, and then make sure it was found. Easy as apple pie. She quickly closed the file and glanced at the open door. The hallway was quiet. No voices, no footfalls. Ariana's heart skipped an excited beat. There was one other person she was curious about, and she might not have an opportunity this golden again. She placed her fingers over the keyboard and typed in Palmer's name.

His schedule popped up. All AP courses, plus college--level electives in government and business. Ariana grinned. She'd known he was ambitious, just like herself. And his grades from last year were straight As. Another file titled College Applications was just too tempting to resist. Ariana double clicked it and scanned the list of schools to which Palmer was planning to apply. Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, Arizona State (she supposed the son of the local congresswoman couldn't ignore his home state), and Princeton.

Princeton. The school Ariana planned to attend. Suddenly she saw the two of them strolling along cobblestone paths on a gorgeous autumn day, their feet crunching through the fallen leaves as they discussed politics and poetry and their plans for the future. It was all so perfect it hurt.

"Not a problem, Miss Rhygsted!"

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Ariana's heart vaulted into her throat. Mr. Pitt's voice was right outside the door. She grabbed the mouse and closed Palmer's file. Then she whirled around and hit the floor next to the still--open cabinet drawer. She squeezed her eyes closed and held her breath. She could not get caught. Could not get expelled because of this. If she did, she was going to come back here and kill Kaitlynn. Kill her using the most gruesome, agonizing method she could devise. After all, if Atherton--Pryce was taken away from her, if Palmer and Lexa and Stone and Grave and the rest of her friends were torn away, if her new picture of her future was obliterated, she'd have nothing left to lose.

"Miss Covington?" Mr. Pitt said.

Ariana's eyes popped open. Right in front of her was the yellow and red spine of an SAT study guide, smiling up at her from the open drawer. Ariana grabbed it and stood.

"Oh, hi! Sorry. Class is going to start any minute so I figured I'd just grab one myself." She held the book up a bit higher to illustrate. "I hope you don't mind."

Mr. Pitt stood in the doorway for a moment. His eyes traveled slowly to his computer, then back to her. Ariana's pulse throbbed frantically. Was he going to call her out? Check his computer's history?

Please, no. Please, please, no.

But then he smiled. "Not at all. Anything to help a Princeton hopeful."

"Thank you," Ariana said with a smile. She kicked the drawer shut and walked around the desk, slipping by him out the door. The cover of the book was slick with her sweat.

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Completely disgusting.

"Anytime!" he called after her.

As she walked down the hallway, Ariana's back was stiff, just waiting for him to yell after her again. For him to discover that she'd searched his computer. But all she heard was the squeal of his chair as he sat down again, and soon she was out the door, basking in the late--summer sunshine.

She slipped the book into her bag and withdrew a tissue on which to wipe her palms. Who was she kidding? The guy had probably gone right back to his donut.

"Hey!"

Brigit jogged up from behind a maple tree and joined Ariana, her many plastic bracelets doing a noisy dance.

"Well? Did you get what we need?" she whispered.

"Got it," Ariana said with a grin, glancing around the circle casually.

"Yes!" Brigit cheered under her breath. "I felt like a superspy or something. So what's next?"

"All I need is a sample of Allison's handwriting," Ariana replied coolly.

"You think you can copy it?" Brigit asked.

"I know I can," Ariana replied. "Remember that time you asked what my thing was?"

"Yeah," Brigit said excitedly.

"Well, it's forgery," Ariana said with a smirk.

"Sweet," Brigit replied, completely unscandalized. "I bet that will come in handy once we get into . . . you know."

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Ariana's step lightened. She hadn't thought of that. "I bet it will."