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“Tayl —”
Adina cut Tiara off. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason. There’s always a Miss Texas in the Top Ten. My daughters and I run a pool.” Agent Jones tried to smile and managed only a grimace.
“Will your daughters be watching tomorrow?” Adina pried.
Agent Jones blinked and looked away quickly. “Of course.”
For the high school paper, Adina had covered a student council scandal in which the student body president had sold test answers in order to buy himself a new SUV. When she’d pressed him on the allegations, he’d done the same blinking and looking away. It was the tell of a liar.
“And they’re fifteen and seventeen?” she said, deliberately getting their ages wrong.
“Yep. Fifteen and seventeen.”
When she’d busted the student council president, Adina had felt triumphant — it was a “gotcha!” moment. Now, she felt real fear. This man was not to be trusted, but she didn’t know why or how much danger they might be in.
“Sorry. Miss Texas didn’t make it,” Adina lied. “Spider bite.”
“Well. That’s a real shame.”
Adina yawned for effect. “Whoo. I am sooo tired. We should probably get our beauty sleep. Got a big day tomorrow. Nighty-night, Agent Jones.”
Agent Jones left without saying anything back.
“Something’s not right,” Nicole whispered when they were alone again.
“What’s going on?” Tiara asked.
“Not sure,” Adina said. “But we’re going to find out.”
In the fog, the moon was filmy as an onion’s husk. Down by the dock, the lights shone over the black water. Adina, Petra, Tiara, Nicole, Jennifer, and Shanti huddled in the bushes watching the guards, who were, in turn, watching the area around the volcano’s secret door. The girls had been there for twenty minutes, proposing ways of getting inside, rejecting all of them. They were tired and uneasy and had begun to argue.
Tiara stood and smoothed her dress.
“What are you doing?” Shanti asked. “Do you want to get us killed?”
“No. I just want some gummi bears,” she said, and marched toward the volcano.
“Hold up!” The guards leveled their guns at Tiara. “You can’t be here, miss. It’s restricted.”
Tiara smiled and struck a pageant pose. “Hi. I’m Tiara Destiny Swan. Miss Mississippi. I’m real sorry to bother y’all and everything, but there’s only one thing in the world I want — well, besides world peace and free makeovers for everybody — and that’s some gummi bears. And y’all have a vending machine right inside. Can I pretty, pretty please go get some?” She put her hands together prayer-style.
The guards exchanged glances. Tiara danced around them butterfly-style. “Pretty pretty pretty pretty please? Pretty pretty pretty pretty …”
The guards shrugged at each other. “Sure.”
“Oh, yippee!” Tiara jumped and clapped. She motioned to the girls. “Oh, my friends need to come, too. We’re girls. We travel in packs.”
“Unbelievable,” Petra whispered in awe.
The girls emerged from their hiding place. The guard held up a hand.
“I can’t let all of you inside.”
“You have to let Petra come in because she’s my best friend,” Tiara said.
“And you have to let me in because I have my period,” Adina said.
