The Gay Teen's Guide to Defeating a Siren_Book 2_The Siren

by Cody Wagner

  “I can’t believe I never thought of that,” Roze said.

  Cassie shrugged. “I thought they were on computers somewhere.”

  “Me, too,” I said. “And I know nothing about hacking.”

  “What can we do about it?” Roze said.

  I began pacing in a circle. I’d been thinking about exactly that for the last half hour. After walking around Cassie and Roze twice, I stopped. “I think I have a plan.”

  Twelve

  The Pumpkin Bash II

  The first step of my plan started a couple days later, in mid-October, when a massive pumpkin appeared on the exercise field. It was four or five feet across, and a family of clowns easily could have fit inside.

  A few new students from my dorm circled the pumpkin before gym. I smiled when I saw their faces. Last year, I was just as confused and awestruck. A pumpkin in the middle of an exercise field was about the most random thing ever. So were the two lines drawn on either side of it. One was red, the other blue, and they were about thirty feet from the pumpkin.

  All in all, it was pretty freaking odd.

  Last year, I spent hours trying to figure out what was going on. Now I knew: the pumpkin was part of an amazing, campus-wide game. This year, it would also play a role in my getting Jimmy’s files from the Admissions Building.

  I approached the new students. “We’re meeting tonight in the lobby. Seven o’clock sharp.”

  That was all I said, and they looked at each other, wide-eyed, as if they were being recruited into a cult.

  Those were the looks I received all day as I called for a dorm-wide meeting. I refused to tell newbies the truth, though, as it was all part of the ritual that new students remain in the dark.

  The signs that went up in the cafeteria before dinner didn’t help ease their minds:

  Campus Clean-up Day

  Saturday, October 23th @ 8:00AM

  Gloves and trash bags will be provided

  Attendance is Mandatory

  On the surface, there didn’t seem to be a connection between Campus Clean-Up Day and the giant pumpkin. But all these weird things were upping the newbies’ suspicions. All through dinner, I could see groups of them huddled together, whispering. Just then, a senior walked past a table where two new girls sat. He leaned down and said, “You’re dead,” before walking off, laughing. Then a junior strolled past and drew his thumb across his neck.

  “What’s going on?” the girl said.

  I smiled. “Dorm lobby. Seven o’clock tonight.”

  * * * * *

  By seven o’clock, the lobby was full of students. All the newbies bunched together as if surrounded by sharks. The returning students, still in the twelve-to-fifteen dorm, grinned at each other.

  “OK, so what’s going on?” A new guy said.

  Everyone single person looked at me.

  A flushed crept up my face. I guess it kind of made sense I lead everything off. After all, I did single-handedly win the contest for us last year. It didn’t come without a price, but it was worth it. That night, I was a real bad-ass.

  I stood and began walking, hands behind my back, like a general. “What I’m about to tell you sounds crazy. But trust me, it’s true. We all went through this last year. The quieter you are, the easier it will be to get it all out.”

  Silence.

  I nodded, feeling important. “Campus Clean-Up Day actually goes with the Pumpkin Bash.”

  “Pumpkin Bash?” a new girl asked.

  Someone shushed her, and I continued, “On Saturday, we all go out and clean the campus. It’s a lesson in teaching us to be more environmental or whatever.”

  “And your point?”

  I turned, looked at the guy who’d spoken, and smiled. “The point is, when we’re done cleaning, all the garbage—and by garbage, I mean dead animals, rotten food, and moldy gym clothes—goes into the pumpkin.”

  That shut him up.

  A girl whispered, “No way.”

  “That starts the Pumpkin Bash.” I spun on my heels. “From Saturday night until Halloween, if the pumpkin is pushed over the red line, it’s destroyed, and we have to clean the mess.”

  “Who is we?” Cassie said.

  I smiled at her. Cassie didn’t care about the Pumpkin Bash, but she played along because it was connected to Operation: Get Jimmy’s File.

  “By we,” I said, “I mean our dorm. It’s the younger dorm versus the older dorm. If we push the pumpkin over the blue line, we get to break it, and they have to clean it up.”

  The entire room broke into chatter before some guy said, “You’re so full of it.”

  A pang of guilt hit. Last year, Jimmy told us about the Pumpkin Bash, but no one believed him because he had a habit of lying. The whole thing turned out to be a mess for him, and I admit I didn’t really help. Admittedly, I’d sided with the nonbelievers. But he and I bonded in the aftermath of the Pumpkin Bash, and I focused on that.

  A few returning students stood before I could respond. “Every year we go through this crap,” a girl said. “Why would we just make this up? Did we put the pumpkin there just to mess with you? Or the flyers about Campus Clean-Up Day?”

  “So we can just push the pumpkin any time during that week?” someone else asked.

  “Yes,” I said. “Any time at all.”

  “Even the middle of the night,” Cassie said, frowning at me. I blushed and turned away from her. Last year, I’d put winning The Pumpkin Bash over schoolwork, staying up almost all night sometimes to guard the pumpkin. Cassie wasn’t thrilled about it, especially when I interrupted her studies with my worrying.

  A guy raised his hand. “We’re all expected to sit around the pumpkin twenty-four seven, so the older students don’t win?”

  “The school would never allow that,” a girl responded.

  I shrugged. “The school gives us a lot of leeway here. Why? Because it’s fun. And it’s not like we’re going to die or anything. But it would be stupid for all of us to sit around the pumpkin. That’s why we assign guards. Two people at a time sign-up for shifts.”

  “Around the clock,” a returning student said.

  “And the older dorm has guards, too?” a new girl said.

  “Yep.”

  “Aren’t they bigger than us?” she said. “Couldn’t they just overpower us?”

  I pointed at her. “Good question.” Resuming my pacing, I said, “The pumpkin is freaking heavy. Two people would take forever. And even if they tried, the school places a bell at the pumpkin. If someone rings it, everyone comes running.”

  “This is insane!” someone shouted.

  I grinned. “Yes, it is. And that what’s makes it so awesome.”

  “This is all great,” a girl said, “but what do we do?”

  “Yeah,” a guy said. “Do you have a plan?”

  At that, I clasped my hands in front of me. “As a matter of fact, I do.” And if everything went according to plan, we’d win and I’d get Jimmy’s file from the Admissions Building.

  * * * * *

  Rain fell in sheets the following morning as Cassie and I headed out the door to class. Luckily, she pulled an umbrella from her backpack, and we stood under it while waiting for Roze. She emerged from the cafeteria at 7:45 and huddled with us as we inched our way to the Classroom Center.

  “So?” I asked.

  The rain was so loud, Roze had to lean in. “I hate this.”

  “I know,” I said. “But I can’t think of another way. Can you?”

  Roze stared at me and finally shrugged. To Cassie, she said, “You’re sure the teachers came outside last year?”

  Cassie nodded. “Yes. Even Principal Wolcott was there watching the insanity after Blaize broke the pumpkin.”

  “And it was all the teachers?” Roze asked.

  “It doesn’t have to be all of them,” I said. “We just need a way into the Admissions Building undetected. In all the craziness, they won’t see me sneak inside.”

  Roze kicked a pud
dle, sending water spraying forward. “I really hate this. So much.”

  I totally understood her frustration. She was going to betray her own dorm by giving us information on their plans. It sucked, but we had to know exactly what they were going to do, so I knew when to plot my breaking and entering.

  I stepped over a small stream of water. “They won’t know it was you.”

  “That makes me feel so much better.”

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “Whatever,” Roze said. “Let’s just get this over with.”

  “What?” Cassie said. “You already have information?”

  Roze stared at us for a minute. Clearly, she didn’t want to be the Benedict Arnold—thank you, American History—and screw her dorm. Last year, someone in the younger dorm gave our plans to the older dorm, and we were so pissed. Seriously.

  But we had a real need this year.

  Finally, Roze sighed. “Every year, the older dorm waits until late in the week to strike.”

  “To drag it out and have fun with it,” Cassie said.

  “We already know this.” I went to huddle farther under the umbrella, when water rolled off it down my arm, causing me to shake like a wet dog.

  Roze watched me, expressionless. “God, I don’t want to tell you this. Even if it’s for what Cassie calls the greater good.” Suddenly, she spoke a million miles an hour, as if she were blurting government secrets. “After what happened last year, with Blaize winning and all, our dorm is striking early.”

  I slowed. “How early?”

  “The night of the cleaning,” Roze said.

  “The first night!?” I stopped and fell out of umbrella range as rain blew into my face. I ignored it; Roze’s information was way huger than some water.

  “Yeah,” Roze said. “After their plan failed last year, they want to make a statement.”

  “Who are they?” Cassie said.

  “Darrin and his group.”

  We plodded on in silence. I was so not expecting the older dorm to strike this fast. Last year, they showboated for days, threatening and taunting the younger dorm. I guess they didn’t care about flaunting this year. This year, they cared about winning.

  “Anything else?” I asked.

  Roze shook her head. “That’s it for now.”

  “But when you know more?”

  “I’ll tell you,” Roze said. Her voice was frustrated. “Now what about your dorm?”

  I wiped my face. The wind was blowing so hard, our umbrella became useless. Everyone walking to class was soaked. As we finally approached the Classroom Center, I said, “Nothing. We were waiting for you before doing anything.”

  Roze gave me a look that said, That’s it? She raked her hands through her wet hair and stared at the ground.

  “We’re the only ones who will ever know,” I said.

  Cassie nodded and held the umbrella more over Roze’s head than mine. A flood ran down the side and into my ear. Yelping, I shook my head and danced around. Roze laughed and said, “You deserve that for this stupid plan of yours.”

  I made a face at her and looked at Cassie. I was about to ask if she’d done that on purpose, but her guilty expression gave her away. Then she and Roze shared a quick smile that, once again, made me suspicious about their relationship.

  * * * * *

  Now that we knew when the Pumpkin Bash craziness would go down, it was time to focus on phase two: reconnaissance. That meant a trip around the Admissions Building to peek into the Records Room, which we’d learned sat next to Wolcott’s office. I volunteered for this one for the sake of nostalgia. Last year, when we’d suspected Jimmy of being the Seeker, I spied on him, following him all over campus, including the Admissions Building. Doing it again felt like a sort of homage.

  This time, though, I didn’t want to be alone in case I pulled a Blaize and missed some important detail. Honestly, I wanted Roze with me on the off chance we needed to run and hide. While there was technically wrong with our espionage, I imagined we were on Mission: Impossible, sneaking around for government secrets. Roze was the perfect accomplice.

  Unfortunately, her mission included keeping Tracey busy, which left me with Cassie.

  Racing across the field with Cassie flailing to keep up was awkward. She kept tripping over her own feet and letting out little shrieks every time. How undercover. The fact the ground was still wet made things worse. Once, she slipped in mud, and I had to catch her before she collapsed. After that, she held onto my arm as we plowed forward. A group of students saw us and said, “Awwwwww,” as we walked by.

  “At this rate, the entire world is going to be watching us!” I hissed.

  “So?” Cassie said. But she let go of me.

  “Why do we have to do this during lunch? On a Wednesday?”

  “Because we won’t stand out. People are everywhere.”

  I grudgingly agreed as we arrived at the Admissions Building and made our way around back. Luckily, we didn’t see any teachers, and I ducked down and counted my way past windows. Cassie tried mimicking my crouch, and she looked like Quasimodo. I couldn’t help but laugh because she was so tiny, she probably could have walked upright.

  “What?” she said.

  “Um . . . Nothing. We’re here, I think.”

  I stopped under a window and pulled myself up using the ledge to peek in. Sure enough, the walls were lined with beige file cabinets. A square wooden table and four chairs sat in the middle of the room. I pictured Tracey sitting around it with her parents and Principal Wolcott. That must have sucked.

  “So now we wait?” Cassie asked.

  “Yep. Hopefully, someone will go in soon.”

  We crouched in silence a few minutes. Cassie pulled out her phone and snapped some pics of the room. I was glad it was still cloudy outside. Otherwise, she might have just gotten a reflection.

  “How often you think people go in there?” I asked.

  Cassie lowered her phone. “I bet pretty often. Parents call all the time checking in.”

  I groaned. “Oh god. I wonder how many times my parents have called.”

  Just then, the door opened, and the receptionist entered. I flew down, keeping my fingers on the ledge.

  “The doorknob lock turned,” Cassie whispered.

  “Huh?”

  “It turned, meaning the door was locked.”

  That’s why I wanted to bring someone along with me: I didn’t even notice the stupid door.

  “Are you surprised?” Cassie said.

  “That makes it harder.”

  “I’m glad it’s locked.”

  “Of course you are.”

  I pulled myself up just enough to peek in. “You think the cabinets are locked, too?”

  As if on cue, the secretary pulled out a key, unlocked a cabinet, and grabbed a set of files. Then, as quickly as she’d entered, she tucked the files under her arm and exited, locking the door behind her.

  I slumped down the wall. “This is gonna be impossible.”

  “It’s what I expected,” Cassie said.

  “I was just thinking about how to get the teachers out and me in. That’s as far as I made it.”

  “That’s the trickiest part,” Cassie said.

  “You think?”

  “Definitely.”

  I smiled, and together we headed back to civilization, talking about how to get into the file cabinets. Although I tried to sound confident, a rusty anchor weighed down my stomach. Could we really break into that room without getting busted? Was this going to be a huge waste of time?

  I suddenly thought about getting caught and had to fight to keep my legs from shaking. Not because I’d be expelled; I had an out, which is why I’d insisted—against Cassie’s and Roze’s protests—on being the burglar. If I got busted and the school threatened to kick me out, I was going to fess up as the Seeker. There was no way they’d expel me after that. Still, the thought of any of that happening gave me night sweats.

  “Are you OK?” Cassie asked.


  “Why?”

  “You’re panting.”

  I worked on slowing my breathing when Roze appeared from out of nowhere. She was breathing hard, too. I guessed it was from escaping Tracey, who wasn’t around.

  “There you are.” Roze clutched her side. “We just had a surprise meeting.”

  “About what?”

  “Darrin wants you guarding the pumpkin Saturday night, Blaize. He wants you front-and-center when we win.”

  “They want to see you lose,” Cassie added.

  “Crap.” The anchor in my stomach turned into a submarine. I had to be making my way to the Admissions Building when the chaos erupted, not guarding the pumpkin.

  I shrugged, trying to appear confident. “I won’t do it. I mean, why would I agree to their request, anyway?”

  “Because they told me to get you there,” Roze said. “They know how competitive we are. You can’t say no, or they’d suspect me.”

  “Dammit.” I stared at her shoes. “That means you’ll be there, too.”

  Roze cussed and said, “Naturally.”

  I threw up my hands. “And just like that, the plan’s ruined.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  It was Cassie.

  I frowned at her. “What?”

  “I’ll go in and get the file.”

  Both Roze and I shook our heads.

  “I won’t put you at risk,” I said.

  Roze didn’t say anything, but I knew she agreed Cassie wasn’t the best choice. Breaking into the building and picking two locks would require coordination. Cassie could barely walk without tripping herself. Besides, if she failed, she’d probably be expelled. She didn’t have an out like I did.

  “You’re at risk, too,” Cassie said.

  I crossed my arms. “Doesn’t matter. You’re not doing it.”

  Wrong choice of words. Debate Cassie came out in full force. “The only person who talks to me like that is my adoptive mother.”

  I flinched, realizing how my tone had hurt her. Still, I stood my ground. “I just don’t want you in trouble for my stupid plan. I thought of this, so I need to be responsible if things go wrong.”