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"No." He looks me straight in the eye. "To be completely forthcoming, Zara is a girl I met at Lollapalooza. She was joking around when she sent the text."
"Do you like her?" I ask tentatively, not knowing if I want to hear the answer.
"As an acquaintance, yeah." He holds his hands up, as if he's frustrated by my comment. "Can't I have friends who are girls?"
"Yeah," I tell him. "You can. I just don't expect them to flirt with you. She flirts with you." On the tip of my tongue are words I'm holding back... Do you flirt with her?
"I don't know," he quickly says.
I think he expects the subject to be over. It's not.
Not by a long shot.
When our group of friends appear in the hallway, Trey drapes his arm around me. It's a show for everyone, so they don't know that our relationship is in trouble. I hate the show, but I know he doesn't want everyone to know we're having problems.
"Don't ditch us tonight, man," Vic tells Trey. "Or I swear I'm gonna kick your ass."
"Ditch you for what?" I ask, curious. Trey never mentioned he was going out with the guys tonight. Then again, he doesn't share much with me lately so I shouldn't be surprised.
"A prank on Rolling Meadows High," Derek chimes in. He looks around to make sure no teachers are in hearing range. "It's gonna be awesome."
"What's the prank?" I ask.
"It's a guy thing," Trey says, making me feel like an outsider.
I sneer, the insult hitting home as I brush his arm off me. "A guy thing? Seriously?"
"Yeah, like Vic working at Enrique's Auto Body," he says. "It's a guy thing."
I put my hands on my hips. "I could work at Enrique's."
Jet, Derek, and Trey laugh. Vic looks horrified I'd even bring it up.
"You guys are so sexist," Ashtyn chimes in. "Monika can do whatever she wants, including working at Enrique's."
"Yeah," I tell them. "I can work at Enrique's if I wanted to."
Vic grabs his math book out of his locker. "No, you can't."
"Why not?"
Trey drapes his arm around my shoulder again. "Because you're not used to doing manual labor where you might break a nail." He nods to the guys. "Now let's talk about tonight."
My mouth is open in shock. I can't believe he just said that, even as I glance down at my freshly manicured nails.
"Jet's house," Vic says. "Eleven thirty sharp. I'll get the supplies while you guys figure out logistics."
Ash shakes her head. "Don't get caught."
"We won't," Jet says with confidence. "We've got masks."
"Oh, right," Ash says sarcastically. "As if putting on a stupid mask is an assurance that you guys won't get in trouble."
Derek kisses her. "Don't worry, Sugar Pie. It's not the first time I've pulled a prank, and it won't be the last. You girls aren't cut out for pranks."
Ash and I look at each other knowingly.
That's what he thinks.
Chapter Nine
VICTOR
I drive over to Jet's house with my truck, ready for the prank that will kick off our senior year. Derek and Jet are waiting for me in Jet's driveway. We all match each other in black T-shirts and sweatpants.
"We can't show our faces just in case they have cameras," Derek says, proudly picking up four knit black hats. He cuts eye holes in them so we can pull them over our faces.
"Where's Trey?" I ask.
"Yeah, about that." Jet holds up a hand. "I got a text from him. He's not coming. Something about working on college applications or something like that."
Shit.
"Whatever," Derek says, annoyed. "We can do this without him."
I don't want to do this without Trey. I try calling him, but it goes straight to voice mail. I try texting him, but he doesn't text back.
"What's wrong with Trey lately?" Derek asks. "He's so fucking preoccupied."
Jet jumps into my backseat. "He's not even fun to hang out with anymore. I swear he was texting on that fucking phone the entire time we hung out yesterday."
"He's got a lot goin' on," I say, defending my best friend even though I'm pissed at him myself. "Let's just get this prank over with."
Driving onto Rolling Meadows High's property to scout the place out gives me an adrenaline rush. Lucky for us, there isn't around-the-clock security at the school. Still, to play it safe, we park a block away.
"We look ridiculous," Jet says, trying to adjust the eye holes on the knit hats. "My eye holes aren't lined up right," he complains as we jump out of the truck with the spray paint cans. "I can only see out of one eye."
The holes are so wide apart he looks like a Cyclops, but there is no time to fix it because the more time we're here, the riskier it is. I don't plan on getting caught.
We each take a couple of spray paint cans and head to our rivals' football field.
"I can't see with this fucking hat on my face," Jet complains.
"I did my best," Derek says. "Deal with it, bro."
We turn the corner ready to jump the fence when I catch sight of two silhouettes hiding in the shadows. I halt, ready to book it out of here, when the figures come into the light.
No. Way.
"What the hell are you two doin' here?" I ask, shocked to see Monika and Ashtyn standing in front of the fence. My eyes immediately focus on Monika. She's wearing a yellow top and skinny jeans that hug her curvy body.
Damn. She looks amazing.
"We want to help you guys," Monika says.
Jet tries to adjust the knit cap. "Monika? Ashtyn?" he asks, trying to see out of the one eye hole.
"You can't help," I tell the girls. "Go home."
"Yeah, go home," Derek says, pulling Ash aside. "If you get in trouble, your dad'll shit bricks."
"I don't care," Ash says stubbornly.
Monika puts her hands on her hips and sticks her jaw out. The gestures make her look sexy instead of intimidating. "We're helping you guys whether you like it or not. Now you can argue with us and waste time, or you can include us and we can do this fast. Which is it?"
Derek rolls his eyes. "You two are killin' me."
Monika peers around me. "Where's Trey?"
"He ditched us," I say.
She blinks her beautiful sea green eyes. "Oh."
"Come on," Derek says, helping Ash scale the fence after putting his knit cap over her face.
"I'll be with you guys in a minute," I say, taking Monika's arm and urging her aside.
"What?" Monika says, looking at me with such determination and passion it makes me want to kiss her. "I want to do this. You're not going to stop me."
I gather my wits and pretend that I'm not mesmerized by her sparkling eyes or her pouty lips. "Go home, Monika," I tell her. "You're not cut out for this."
What I want to say is that I don't want her here for her own safety. I'd never forgive myself if she got in trouble. Or hurt.
"Not cut out for this? That's so rude," she spits out. Pushing me aside, she starts climbing the fence. Her feet are small and she's too delicate to do what she's attempting.
"Monika, get down," I whisper as loud as I can. Damn, if someone hears us they'll
for sure call the cops. That's the last thing I need.
"No. If Ash can do this, so can I," she says.
Oh, man. "Then let me help you."
"No."
"Don't be stubborn."
"I can be stubborn all I want, Vic. It's my life. If I want to scale a damn fence, then I'll scale a damn fence."
I quickly follow her up the fence, hoping at some point she'll realize this was a bad idea. She's almost at the top.
"Don't fall," I tell her.
"I won't."
But on her way down, her foot slips. She falls the last five feet and lands with a thump. My heart stops.
"You okay?" I call out frantically as I jump off the fence and kneel by her side.
She sits up slowly. "Leave me alone," she says weakly. "I think I'm fine, so just go away."
"You think you're fine?" I ask.
She brushes dust off her knees. "I'm not leaving, if that's what you think. So I fell. It's no big deal, Vic. Stop looking at me as if I just became disabled. I don't want or need that."
I shake my head, then hold my hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Do whatever you want, Monika."
Jet rushes over to us, stumbling from side to side and almost tripping on a misplaced bench because he's still looking out of one eye hole. "Her shirt glows like a fuckin' yellow highlighter, Vic. If she won't leave, give her your shirt and cover that shit up."
"Here," I say, lifting my black shirt over my head and shoving it into her hand. "Put this on and wait here. I'll be right back."
I run to my truck and snatch the fourth knit cap that Trey was supposed to wear, then hurry back to the football field and pull the cap over Monika's face.
"I can't see anything," she complains as she braces herself on the metal fence and slowly stands. She rips the mask off and tosses it to me.
"That's the least of your problems. You hurt yourself," I tell her as she hobbles just a bit before righting herself.
"I'm fine." She snatches a spray can from my hand and walks away. She might think she's hiding the slight limp, but I totally notice it.
When we get to the middle of the field, Derek and Ashtyn are having a loud conversation not fit for a covert operation.
"You spelled it wrong," Ash is telling Derek. "Rebels are numer 1? Baby, you forgot the "b" in number."
Jet laughs. "If I could see out of this fucking itchy hat, I'd have made sure he spelled it right. Derek, when you search "dumb jock" online does a picture of you come up?"
