Page 27 of The Debutantes
Piper closes the door behind us and stares me down. “You’re late.”
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Which is late, by most definitions.”
I sigh. “Can you explain why we’re being held hostage, so I can get back to the friend I just abandoned?”
“We need to make a game plan,” Piper says. “I think we should split up to maximize efficiency. We’ll each take one of the Dukes. I can talk to Aiden.”
Maybe I’m just annoyed by the immediate attack of Piper-ness, or maybe I can’t pass up the chance to push her buttons. Either way, I lean against the closed door with a smirk. “Y’all are, like, a thing, right?”
Instantly, she’s almost as red as April gets whenever she speaks.
“No.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” I shrug, and you know what? Maybe I like watching her squirm. “I saw y’all argue aboutPride and Prejudicein class one time, and the tension…” I mime fanning myself. “Way more entertaining than Jane Austen.”
She scowls. “Well, clearly you only read the SparkNotes ofPride and Prejudice,because one: it’sveryentertaining, and two: we are not and will never be a ‘thing,’ so can we please stay on track here?”
Ididonly read the SparkNotes, but I’m not about to admit it. A slow smile spreads on April’s face, instantly disappearing when Piper catches it.
I grin. “Fine.”
“As I wasgoingto say”—Piper gives me a pointed look—“Ithink it makes sense for each of us to take our assigned Dukes. So I’ll talk to Aiden, you’ll talk to Jason, and April can take Milford.”
Now April looks like she might be sick.
“I, um—I’m not the best at talking.”
Piper sighs. “Fine. I can talk to Milford, too. But you have to be our eyes and ears, then. Keep watch of everyone and listen for anything useful.”
April breathes out, relieved. “Okay.”
“Good. So our goal is to find out what they saw onstage and if they know who threw the blood. Got it?”
Like it’s as simple as that. But I guess it’s the only plan we have.
“Got it,” I echo.
“All right,” Piper says. “Everyone, stay sharp.”
With that, she turns and marches out of the office, leaving me and April behind. She’s still sitting in the chair, looking so out of place with that giant camera, and something about it makes me sad. Piper has her little squad of AP girls to hang out with, even if none of them seem to like each other that much. But as far as I can tell, April doesn’t have any friends at Beaumont. I can’t imagine what that’s like, going through high school without people like Sav and Lily to make it bearable. Especially if shedidhave a friend, only to lose her.
I think about asking if she wants to hang out with me and Sav, but before I can, April springs out of the chair.
“I guess we should…”
“Yeah,” I finish, picking up on how much she clearly wants to get out of here. “Let’s go.”
We split up in the foyer, April heading for the dining room and me off to find Sav. I spot her in the living room with Jason,who’s already swigging champagne. Wyatt is there, too, his fist tight around a beer.
My nerves jump, but I try to force them down as I make my way over.Head up, Atkins,I tell myself.Everything’s fine.But just like it has been for the past few months, it feels like a lie.
“Hey,” I say. “Sorry, Piper dragged me away.” I glance at Wyatt. “Your sister is intense about group photos.”
His eyes flick to mine, making me too aware of the exposed skin of my collarbone, the way my hair is falling around my cheeks. I pulled a few strands out of my ponytail to frame my face, and it’s not until now that I realize it’s almost exactly how Lily wore her hair to the ball.
“She’s intense about a lot of things,” Wyatt mumbles over his beer, looking away.
