“Chief of security.”
“Oh, I hope they’re not drinking,” Alicia said fretfully. “Sneaking out is one thing, but—”
“Sneaking out is enough, Alicia,” Brian said.
“I know that,” she said. “I just hope it isn’t even worse.”
“We’ll see,” Brian said grimly. “Look, it’s my fault too. I shouldn’t have kept you here talking about all this geek stuff.”
“I liked it,” Alicia said, but he was already halfway out the door.
They rushed downstairs to the lobby and saw the three guilty parties. Brian stalked up to them and glared at them. Alicia rubbed her forehead. She hoped she wasn’t getting a migraine, but it seemed like a distinct possibility.
“Hi, Mr. Kenner,” Rachel said sweetly, but her voice squeaked a little. “Hi, Ms. Deats. We were just, um …” She looked at Gertie and Sivan for help, but they were staring at the ground.
“We know what you were just doing, Rachel,” Mr. Kenner snapped. “How could you violate our trust like this? This is definitely a strike one. This should be beyond a strike one. This should be strikes one, two, and three!”
At this, the girls looked horrified. Gertie began to cry. Sivan’s eyes watered and threatened to spill over. Even Rachel choked back a sob.
“Oh, no,” Mr. Kenner said, throwing up his hands. “Don’t cry.” He looked at Ms. Deats pleadingly. She returned his gaze and seemed to grow a little taller.
“We’re very sorry about this,” Ms. Deats said smoothly to the security guy, who nodded gruffly. “Thank you, Mr.—” She looked at his name tag.
“Reina,” he said. “Bob Reina. Chief of security.”
“Thank you, Mr. Reina,” she said. “Girls, tell Mr. Reina you’re sorry you tried to sneak out.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that,” Bob Reina said, shaking his head. “It’s not my rule they broke. But I’d say you folks ought to keep a closer eye on this three. I’ve seen this before. Kids like this—they can get up to all kinds of shenanigans.”
“Absolutely,” Mr. Kenner said, seeming embarrassed. “Thank you.”
Ms. Deats ushered them all into the elevator, where they silently rode up. Then she marched to the girls’ room and held out her hand.
“Everybody give me your keys,” she said firmly, and Rachel thought she saw her shoot a little sideways glance at Mr. Kenner. He looked surprised.
Reluctantly, the girls handed over their room keys.
“You won’t get these back until tomorrow night, and that’s if I decide you’ve earned them back,” Ms. Deats said.
The girls nodded obediently. Ms. Deats opened the door, and everyone filed into the room except Mr. Kenner, who hovered outside.
“You come in too, Mr. Kenner,” Ms. Deats said.
He gingerly stepped through the door.
“Now this is a serious infraction, isn’t it, Mr. Kenner?” Ms. Deats said.
“Yes it is,” he said. “This is definitely a strike one at least.”
“I agree,” Ms. Deats said. “And to make sure this never happens again, we’re going to tape your door.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Mr. Kenner said. Then he dropped his voice and whispered, “Do we actually have tape?” The girls totally heard him.
“I brought some in my bag,” Ms. Deats said. Again, Mr. Kenner looked surprised.
“Really?” he said, and he sounded kind of impressed.
“Yes,” Ms. Deats said with evident pride. “It’s in my room. Patti Bump told me I should bring it just in case. She always brings tape when she chaperones.”
“I never thought to do that,” Mr. Kenner said. “That’s a really good idea.”
“I know, right?” Ms. Deats said, and grinned.
Rachel looked at Sivan and Gertie. Sivan and Gertie looked at Rachel. All three shrugged.
Awkwardly, Rachel cleared her throat. “Um, you don’t have to call our parents, do you?” she asked. “Because I think mine would … not like it.”
“I don’t imagine they would like it at all, Rachel,” Ms. Deats said. “If you behave yourselves and don’t repeat this stunt, I don’t think we need to tell your parents.”
Mr. Kenner opened his mouth and then shut it without saying anything. “Whatever you say,” he said.
“Now you girls get in bed,” Ms. Deats said. “I’ll come back and tape your door. I don’t want to hear one peep out of you for the rest of the night.”
She and Mr. Kenner opened the door on the cuntriad, all clad in pajamas, looking joyful.
“Girls!” Mr. Kenner said sharply. “What are you doing out of bed?”
“We were worried,” Brooklynn said. “We were scared somebody got sick. Like we did.”
“Everything is fine, girls,” Ms. Deats said gently. “That’s very kind of you. Now go back to bed.”
Brooklynn smiled over Ms. Deats’s shoulder at the trio. She blew them a kiss. Then the door shut.
“That fucking bitch,” Rachel said. “She loves this shit.”
“They all do,” Gertie said.
“How did they know we were up?” Sivan asked. “It’s not like we were loud in the hallway or something.”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed. “They got us in trouble,” she said. “I know they did it somehow.”
“How?” Gertie asked. “We got us in trouble when that Bob Reina dude overheard us.”
“Yeah, but why was the chief of security out in front of the hotel and not in some office somewhere?” Rachel said. “There were other security guards in the lobby. Why did he come out of nowhere?”
“Maybe he was walking by,” Sivan said.
“Sivan,” Rachel said. “You study this stuff all the time.”
“What stuff?” Sivan asked.
“Rebellions,” Rachel said. “Insurrections. Protests. Whatever.”
“Is that what this is?” Sivan said.
“Sivan,” Rachel said. “Does the Man ever just show up out of nowhere, by accident, without any information provided by a third party?”
“That’s a good point,” Sivan said thoughtfully. “There are informants in every movement.”
“Exactly,” Rachel said. “We were informed on.” She walked around the room with her hands folded behind her back. Then she put her ear to the wall.
“That’s Miriam and Allison’s room,” Gertie said to Sivan.
“Exactly,” Rachel said. She raised her voice and spoke loudly, right into the wall. “AND MIRIAM AND ALLISON PLAY FIELD HOCKEY WITH PEIGHTON.”
“Rachel!” Gertie was aghast. “You’ll wake them up.”
“Oh, they’re already up,” Rachel said, practically growling at the wall. “They heard everything we said and they told Peighton. I know they did.” She smacked the wall.
“Maybe don’t do that,” Sivan said. “Somebody else could hear and complain.”
“Those field hockey girls all kiss Peighton’s ass,” Gertie whispered. “You could be right.”
“Yeah, I think she’s right too,” Sivan whispered. “And then Peighton called security.”
Rachel stalked over to the hotel phone and pointed at a red button emblazoned with the word SECURITY.
“Look, right there. You can just call security. You can just call!” she whispered loudly. “Those bitches next door ratted us out to those cunts and then those cunts called that douchebag.”
“I kind of liked Bob Reina,” Sivan said. “It was kind of funny how he called out the teachers for not paying enough attention to us.”
Rachel smacked her fist into her palm. Then she looked at her friends, who were a little surprised by how pissed she was.
“Let’s get some sleep,” she said. “They’re not going to destroy our trip. But we’re going to destroy theirs.”
“How?” Gertie asked. “Wasn’t explosive diarrhea enough?”
“I thought so,” Rachel said. “But you were right, Gertie. You said they’d come back at us, and they did. So now we go on offense.”
“
Maybe we could just have a nice chill trip from here on out,” Sivan said. “It would’ve been cool to sneak out, but maybe it’s not meant to be.”
“Which one of us is kind of psychic?” Rachel asked with a sudden smile.
“You,” Gertie said.
“Allegedly,” Sivan said.
“Well, I think there are great things in store for us,” Rachel said. “I know there are. I just have to figure out what they are, exactly. But we’re going to win this thing.”
“Is it a game?” Gertie asked.
“No,” Rachel said, a look of grim determination on her face. “This is war.”
Ms. Deats and Mr. Kenner gathered everyone in the hallway at seven a.m. and ceremoniously removed the tape from the girls’ door in order to release them from what Sivan had taken to calling “our political prison.” Brooklynn, Kaylee, and Peighton looked particularly delighted, and they made sure to smile brightly as the three other girls filed out into the hallway.
Breakfast at the hotel buffet was a somewhat somber affair—at least for Rachel, Gertie, and Sivan. Everyone else was thrilled because there was a waffle station with the widest array of toppings they’d ever seen. “This is like if OMG Thursdays had breakfast,” Rachel heard Carter Bump say happily, helping himself to more Reese’s Pieces and whipped cream.
“You know what, little bro,” Brock Chuddford said thoughtfully. “That’s kind of true. Why don’t they have breakfast?” He looked at his lacrosse buddies as if they would have the answer. They all shrugged.
“They should,” Carter Bump said. “They’d make a lot of money.”
“Yeah,” Brock said, nodding. Then he went to his table and Carter Bump went to his.
Over in the world of girls, things were not proceeding so harmoniously. Gertie, Sivan, and Rachel sat glumly at a table off to the side, picking at their breakfasts. Brooklynn, Kaylee, and Peighton made a big show of sitting right next to them at a neighboring table.
“You know who should sit with us?” Brooklynn asked brightly. “Miriam and Allison! Peighton, make them come here.”
Peighton called their names, and the two girls scurried over, looking surprised and very happy to be included with their beloved team captain and her two BFFs. They sat down and cast a couple of nervous glances at Gertie, Sivan, and Rachel, receiving blistering glares in return.
“Nice work last night, girls,” Brooklynn said to Miriam and Allison. “I mean with staying in your rooms and behaving according to school protocol and not like stupid sluts. That’s what I mean. There are too many dumb whores in our grade as it is, and it’s good to know you’re two of the good ones.”
“Just wait,” Rachel said with a pretty smile.
“Wait for what, Rachel?” Brooklynn asked pleasantly. “For you to get pregnant in college and drop out?”
Rachel flipped her hair, which was a thing she only did when she was very, very angry. Gertie and Sivan knew this, because they knew everything about Rachel, but anybody else would’ve thought she was just preening.
“Oh, Brooklynn,” Rachel said. “Don’t you know a slut is just a girl who’s having more fun than you?”
“Oh, is ‘fun’ what you call it?” Brooklynn snickered.
“It’s what Brock called it,” Rachel said.
“Brooklynn!” Peighton said in a warning tone, before Brooklynn could react. “She’s just trying to upset you. Don’t let it bother you.”
“I hope you die,” Brooklynn said through gritted teeth. “I seriously hope you fucking die in like a really gross way.”
“Good morning, girls,” Ms. Deats said, walking up before any of them could spot her coming. She had that teacher thing where she was able to just appear sometimes when you least expected her. Mr. Kenner soon joined her.
“How’s it going this morning?” Ms. Deats asked. “Peighton, Kaylee, Brooklynn? You feeling better?”
“Much better,” Kaylee said brightly. “I haven’t pooped in hours. I feel like totally normal.”
“That’s—that’s great, Kaylee,” Ms. Deats said. “Good to hear.”
“And you girls?” Mr. Kenner said in that serious dad voice he got. “Rachel, Gertie, Sivan? Did you get everything out of your system last night?”
“I sure did,” Kaylee said. “I mean, it was like—”
“K,” Peighton said. “Not now.”
“Yeah,” Sivan said, scratching the back of her head. “I don’t think we’ll be doing anything like that ever again. You can count on that.”
“Definitely not,” Gertie said.
“We feel so stupid,” Rachel said. “There have to be healthier ways of acting out our energy.”
“Like, say, reading your info sheet on the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Air and Space Museum?” Mr. Kenner said. He handed out the info sheets to all the girls and moved on to distribute them to the rest of the class.
“I can’t wait to learn more about American Indians,” Brooklynn said brightly. “And air. And space.”
“Me too!” Rachel said. “I hope we can all sit together in the planetarium. It’s really exciting to see what can happen in the dark.” Brooklynn looked sour.
“Well, it’s nice to see you girls getting along,” Ms. Deats said. “Maybe you three—Peighton, Brooklynn, and Kaylee—would even consider pairing up with Rachel, Gertie, and Sivan for your end-of-year group project. We haven’t announced them yet, but they’ll require a group of six.”
“We’ll definitely take it into consideration,” Rachel chirped. “I can’t wait to see what the six of us can accomplish together.”
Ms. Deats smiled happily and patted Rachel on the back. Then she moved to help Mr. Kenner distribute the rest of the info sheets.
“You’re a real ‘see you next Tuesday,’ you know that?” Brooklynn said to Rachel.
Rachel smiled.
“You can just say ‘cunt,’ Brooklynn,” she said. “It’s what I say whenever I talk about you.”
Across the restaurant, Ms. Deats beamed at the girls. It was so good to see them actually having a civil discussion.
Alicia and Brian finally got to sit down to eat their own breakfast.
“I think the girls are doing well,” she said, tucking into her scrambled eggs and mixed greens. “Ooh, did you know this is all local and organic? I’m really impressed with the chef.”
“I don’t,” Brian said.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t think the girls are doing well,” he said. “I don’t think they’re getting along at all. They know how to play you.”
“They do not,” Alicia said, slightly insulted. “I look at them as young adults, and they respect me for that.”
“They like you,” Brian said. “You’re fun. But that’s different than respecting you.”
“Oh, okay,” Alicia said. “And you think they respect you?”
“I know they do.”
“Maybe they fear you. And maybe that’s a kind of respect. But wouldn’t it be nice if they liked you too?”
“They like me,” Brian said defensively. “And if they don’t, I don’t care.”
“That’s not true,” Alicia said with a little smile. “You definitely care.”
“I do not,” he said.
“Do too,” she said, and grinned at him.
“Well, maybe,” he said, cracking a smile. “And I guess they do respect you a little more after that tape routine this morning. That was a good bit of theater.”
“I have no idea what you mean,” Alicia said innocently, popping a strawberry in her mouth. “Anyway, I did it once so I won’t have to do it again.”
“I wouldn’t count on that, either,” Brian said. “Not for one second.”
“You think they’ll try it again?” Alicia said. “I think we scared it out of them.”
“Oh, I think they have to try it again,” Brian said. “For their own honor.”
“You’re so weird,” Alicia said.
“True,” Brian
said.
“It’s kind of cute,” Alicia said, to her and Brian’s utter surprise.
They heard someone clear her throat then, and they looked up, startled.
“Um,” Sivan said, looking at them strangely. “I think, like, we need to go to the museum now. The bus driver’s here.”
“Of course!” Brian said, leaping to his feet. “Yes. We were just—yes, of course.” He marched off, and Sivan looked at Alicia.
“You won’t sneak out tonight, will you, Sivan?” Alicia said. She dropped her voice. “It would kind of make me look bad for trusting you.”
“Don’t worry,” Sivan said. “We’re done with that.”
Alicia smiled with relief.
The students poured off the bus outside the National Museum of the American Indian and stared up at it in wonder.
“Whoa,” Brock Chuddford said. “That’s cool as hell.”
The museum didn’t look like any museum any of the students had seen before. It was curvilinear, and looked almost like a smooth rock formation. There were plants and trees all over the grounds, and there was even a kind of creek flowing around the building, with a waterfall and everything. The museum didn’t seem like something that had been built; it looked as if it had just grown there, somehow.
“Why’s it look like that?” Brock asked nobody in particular.
“Like what?” Brooklynn asked, even though everybody knew she wasn’t really supposed to talk to Brock. He ignored her and looked at his lacrosse buddies. They shrugged.
“It’s cool though, right?” he said to them. They grunted their agreement. Brock looked dissatisfied. His gaze came to rest on Carter Bump.
“Yo,” Brock said. “Little bro. Why’s it look like that? Like, instead of normal?”
Carter Bump looked surprised again. So did Rachel, who was watching nearby.
“Why you asking that kid?” one of the lacrosse players said, sounding slightly offended that his crew’s grunts hadn’t been enough to satisfy Brock.
“Cuz this little dude knows a lot of shit,” Brock said. “He knows about books and everything else.”
“How’s he know so much shit?” the other player asked, sounding genuinely curious.
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