Somehow Laura had roped me into spray painting that giant hill until I’d sneezed green and brown paint. Shanda finagled the easier job of hanging up movie posters with flashing Christmas lights. Even the fluorescent lights overhead were covered in colored tissue paper, a different hue for each section.
“Nice.” I nodded at Shanda.
“Way better than spray paint duty, right girl?” She elbowed my ribs.
I rubbed my nose, careful not to mess up Shanda’s perfect make-up job.
Laura and Monica insisted all the girls on the floor wear red carpet attire and do our best Hollywood waves when the judges came by. Of course, Shanda dressed me up like a Barbie doll in her silver sequined one-shoulder cocktail dress. In our doorway, I waved like a pageant princess and smiled until my cheeks hurt while the judges passed.
At the end of the hall Laura hung cardboard that accordioned down gradually like amphitheater seats leading to the Hollywood bowl. On the stage, she tacked up a giant picture of all the Nelson second floor girls with pasted musical instruments and microphones in our hands. If those judges didn’t award her the title over Lenny, they needed to have their heads examined.
As soon as the judges disappeared up the stairs to the next floor, Shanda grabbed my arm and shut our door. “Let’s go see if the boys are any competition.”
I ran my hands over my sequins. “Shouldn’t we change first?”
“No way.” Shanda twirled in her ivory satin halter dress. “Let’s go show those losers how fabulous we are. Then they’ll know we’re gonna win.”
“If you’re sure.” A frenzy of double-espresso butterflies fluttered up my arms. I cracked open the door and pulled my fuzzy gray scarf from the coat rack, draping it over my shoulders like a shawl. After all, maybe a certain someone needed to see me in Shanda’s gorgeous dress just to remember I still went to Montrose. “Let’s pick up Laura and Brooke on the way out. I’m sure they want to rub their imminent success in their brothers’ faces right now.”
“You just want to see Bryan.” Her eyes gleamed at me. Was I that obvious? “And why not? You look great. That’ll show him. I’ll get Brooke. You find Laura.”
I huffed out a breath, practicing my best runway strut past the decorations in Shanda’s super-high heels. Sometimes, I wished I hadn’t told her about that night, the elevator. But of course she’d insisted she just “had to know” why we were acting like awkward middle-schoolers every time we saw each other between classes or in the dining hall. At least she never teased me in front of anyone else.
I found Laura with a trash bag in her hands and my Shanda-tude kicked in. “Girl, the night’s only begun. Let’s enjoy this while we can. You can clean up tomorrow. Right now you’ve earned some well-deserved bragging rights.”
“You sound just like your roomie. Maybe you’re right.” She giggled at me, grabbing her purse. “I’ll get pictures of third floor Denby, and put them next to mine in the Brewster family scrapbook.”
“There won’t be any comparison.” I pushed her toward Shanda and Brooke.
She paused at the end of the hall to tell Monica the judges had been by. The gorgeous blonde was decked out in a red taffeta ball gown.
“Don’t you clean up nice?” Shanda eyed Monica up and down. “Like one of those girls who hands out the statues at the Oscars. How perfect are you?”
“Thanks, I think.” Monica smoothed down her dress with a frown. “Someone had to be the belle of the ball.”
“Don’t mind her. You look gorgeous.” Laura tried to drag Shanda out the door, but the poor little girl didn’t have enough strength.
“That’s always you, isn’t it?” Shanda flipped her hair over her shoulder and flounced out the door.
I clicked down the stairs after her with Laura and Brooke tumbling through the front door behind me. Once we hit the night air, she finally turned around.
“Before you say anything, I know, I shouldn’t be so catty. But I saw her flirting with Kevin yesterday. She just gets to me.”
“Can’t say I blame you there. For some reason she’s always seemed just a little bit off to me.” A gust of cold wind blasted us, so I wrapped the scarf tighter and picked up the pace.
“Right? Thank you,” Shanda said, pumping her fist in the air like she’d finally be vindicated.
Laura rubbed her shoulders and edged close to me, while Brooke huddled against my other side. My teeth chattered as I tugged down the hem of the tiny dress Shanda had talked me into. It barely came down to my knees.
Shanda didn’t seem to notice the cold. Blind rage probably kept her warm.
“Maybe it’s not what you think. It could’ve been a misunderstanding,” Laura said.
“I know, you’re probably right. I should just let it go. He’s my boyfriend, not hers.” Shanda rubbed her arms. “Wow, it’s cold out here.”
“No kidding.” I turned my head to Laura and Brooke, rolling my eyes.
Our heels clacked against the pavement, a hollow sound on the almost empty sidewalk. We scurried for the warmth of the boy’s dorm.
The third floor of Denby screamed its superhero theme at us. Lenny had decked the place out with giant paper-mache versions of Superman, Batman, and all the comic book heroes. He also had painted life-size versions onto plywood and cut out holes in each face.
“C’mon, let me get a picture.” Laura practically shoved my head into Wonder Woman. Shanda peeked through the Batman cut-out, scowling as Laura snapped the shot. “Now get me and Lenny.”
She handed me the camera, then hollered down the superhero tunnel. “Lenny, get down here.”
A bright orange head peeked out of a doorway.
“Nice costume, Lenny. Are you wearing PJs?” Brooke cracked up as he shuffled toward us in his black cape and faded Batman t-shirt.
“It’s not as nice as your lovely outfit, I must say.” He eyed the purple flowy dress she’d borrowed from me.
Her ears and neck pinked up, not from the cold this time.
“Nice, Lenny. Smile now.” I held the camera to my eye, stifling a giggle.
“Wow.” Bryan’s whistle carried up the tunnel as he approached. “You look amazing.”
I snapped the photo, and then the world stopped for a second. Camera spots flashed in my eyes, gradually fading until I caught him staring at me.
“That’s the idea.” Shanda twirled in the ivory Marilyn dress that contrasted perfectly with her chocolate skin. “You should see Laura’s Hollywood set designs. It totally blows this out of the water. She could go on Broadway with those babies.”
Laura’s blush highlighted the emerald green of her A-line dress. Made me wish I’d raided her closet instead. As if I’d ever fit into any of her doll-sized clothes. I toyed with my silver sequined hem again.
Tony sneaked up behind Bryan, eyes glued on Shanda. “So what, I got to use a chainsaw for these cutouts. How cool is that?”
“Don’t do your victory lap yet.” Lenny edged us out the door and into the stairwell. “Kevin’s creation is ten times better than ours. You’ve gotta see the fourth floor. You’ll freak out. Literally.”
Chapter 24
We trailed Lenny up the stairs, straight into a long black dungeon. The lights glowed red, the walls were covered in black plastic, and skeletons dangled from the ceiling. Ghoulish sounds echoed off the cement-brick walls. The creepy, sweet smell of dry ice fogged up from the floor in a misty cloud.
Shanda batted at the little skeletons. The movement triggered a net of cobwebs that dive-bombed us from the ceiling.
I flung my arms over my head as the sticky gauze swooped over us.
“My hair.” She shrieked, and the boys laughed.
Goosebumps popped up my arms in a wicked tingle, sending all the butterflies screaming away.
Lenny pushed a button on the wall, and the spider-web net retracted back in place with a mechanical sound. “Done this a few times.” His slightly crooked smile was half-shadowed.
I nudged Bryan in front of
me. “You block the creepy things, okay?”
“On it.” His chest puffed out as he laced his warm fingers through my icy-cold ones. His next footstep triggered a crash of thunder and flashing strobe lights. “Cool.”
“That wasn’t so bad.” I clutched his hand tighter.
In the misty darkness, Lenny charged ahead with Bryan and me flanking his six. A fog machine hissed on my right, smoke billowing up from the floor. Suddenly Lenny jerked out of the way.
Tendrils of slimy goop rained from the sky. A scream tore from my throat, so shrill it pierced my skull and reverberated down the hall. I flailed my hands in the fog shooting up from the floor, squishing my fingers into dime-sized balls.
“Gross.” Strings of peeled grapes swayed from the ceiling like a disgusting beaded curtain.
Bryan parted the grapes enough so I could wriggle past. “That was a good one, huh?”
I shook my head. “Not really.”
“And we have a winner.” A door busted open, splashing light into the dark corridor. Will sauntered out of his room as Kevin victory-lapped around him, both applauding, of course. “Best scream of the night, by far. That’ll go in the hall of fame.”
His hypnotic eyes synced on me like a morsel to devour. I halted right there, fog swirling around my sequins, as if my heels were glued to the floor.
Kevin held up a tiny recorder and played back my horrifying scream. “Nice one, don’t you think?”
“Give it here, you creep.” Shanda lunged for his hand, but he chucked the digital recorder to Will.
“Don’t worry, we’re just gonna add it to our sound effects for the haunted house. You know, give the kids a treat.” He tossed the recorder back to Kevin who dunked it in his pocket. “What’re you doing with them anyway? You’re not supposed to consort with Guardians.”
“Excuse me?” Shanda stuck her hands on her hips. “Like I can’t have friends?”
“Shanda, you didn’t …” I said.
She just shrugged at me. “What can I say? When Dad found out, he forbade me to join. I just couldn’t resist pissing him off after he dumped me in this God-forsaken place.”
“I think Nexis is the most God-forsaken place here,” I mumbled under my breath.
She gave me the barest of nods so imperceptible to anyone else, it’d just seem like a twitch. “Kevin and I hung out with Bryan and Lucy at the beginning of the semester. Didn’t hear anyone complaining then.”
Will gritted his teeth. “He wasn’t on probation like you are. But you may be stuck there for awhile.”
“Yeah right.” She rolled her eyes at him, then reached for the recorder. “I can still have friends, especially if they aren’t on anyone’s side.”
“I’m glad that’s still true, for now.” Will yanked his arm away from Shanda, but his eyes lingered on me like a cobra, holding me still.
“You have your fun at Lucy’s expense while you can.” Shanda stuck her hands on her hips. “But you better watch your back, ‘cause I will find that recording and destroy it.”
“Thanks, girl.” I forced my hand in the air and she high-fived it with hard smack. The slap broke the trance enough that I stepped back from Will.
He grabbed my hand, twirling me around in some kind of dance move. “You’re looking lovely tonight, Lucy.”
“How can you say that after what you just did?” I glared into his eyes—big mistake. Those gray orbs circled over me, as if one stare could sizzle me straight through.
Bryan’s shoulders stiffened. In an instant, he blocked Will’s sightline, standing toe to toe with the golden punk.
He thrust his jacket at me. “Here, take this.”
Will threw up his hands in mock surrender. “Relax, Guardian de facto, she’s safe for tonight. But I’ve got big plans for that little girl. She’s mine.”
“Yeah, right, in your dreams.” I churned my fists into mallets as I wrapped the familiar bomber jacket around me. I glared over Bryan’s shoulder, but the warm fleece didn’t stop my shivers. Will’s chin jutted out at Bryan, like an olive-toned dagger with sandy stubble—aimed straight at Bryan’s smooth marble cheek.
“You better back off, Stanton. She’s not ever gonna join you sick Nexis freaks.” His white biceps bulged from his dark t-shirt as he put up his dukes.
“Wanna bet?” Will mirrored his stance.
“C’mon. Let’s just go.” I tugged on Bryan’s shirt, but he didn’t back down.
Kevin stepped between them, clamping a giant paw on each of their shoulders. “Chill out, guys. This isn’t the time or the place for this.”
“It will be soon.” Bryan dropped his fists and slid one arm around my waist, herding me away from the golden cobra. Waves of sweet relief splashed over me with each step.
“I’ve got your number, Cooper. I’m coming for you.” Will’s threat boomed down the hall, echoing with a tinge of disdain.
“I’ll be ready,” Bryan growled so only I could hear. In the stairwell he turned to me, his face softening. “I’m sorry about that. I shouldn’t have let him get to me.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I marched him down the stairs to the lobby, his shoulders slumped, head down. “Besides, I look better in your jacket anyway. I wear it so much it feels like mine now.”
“You look cute in anything.” He held the door open for me. I glimpsed a hint of a smile as he moved his arm across my shoulders.
We stayed that way, huddled against each other, all the way back to my dorm.
“You’ve come this far. Why don’t you come up and see our hall?” I dragged him up the stairs to the second floor, as if a bunch of high school Halloween decorations could really distract him from all our problems. “What do you think?”
“This is awesome.You’ll definitely win.” He forced his lips to curve, but they just twitched and drooped back down. “Way cooler than that messed-up haunted house. They’ll never win. Their hall is covered in trash bags.”
I pumped my fist in the air. “I knew we had it in the bag. Wait till you see the rest.”
Heat seared up the back of my neck as I guided him down the red carpet, past the theater, and around Hollywood Hill. After our kiss, and now this almost-fight with Will, I didn’t know how to act around him.
I stopped in front my door. “This is me, but you should check out the Hollywood Bowl at the end of the hall.”
“I’ll be right back.” He took off down the corridor.
I tried to open my door, but something pushed back. I bent down, picking up a silver tray with a paper triangle on top. The note read, Prize for the Best Scream Award. How could that get around so fast? More importantly, who could’ve put the tray in my room? I thought we’d locked it.
When I lifted the paper, a pair of eyeballs rolled back at me.
In a split-second, my dorm room disappeared.
The rest of the real word faded away, too.
As if I stepped through a portal to another world, suddenly I found myself in the archway of a Gothic cathedral. With a blonde girl dressed in white staring at me like she needed something. She held up her own silver tray—except the eyeballs were real this time. Lolling back and forth like they were still alive.
When she looked straight at me, I knew who she was.
Her eyes weren’t eyes any more. They sparkled like diamonds.
She was St. Lucia. She had to be, just like the “priest” showed us at the church.
She stretched out her finger, not at me exactly, but over my shoulder. I swiveled around like a marionette.
Something was shrouded in the darkness.
Then the onslaught came.
Shadows laced with sparks and lightning rushed at me. Wraith-like claws lunged for us, shrieking and seething in a burst of fireballs that exploded like fireworks—aimed in my direction.
I screamed.
A flash of light snapped me back into the real world.
Girly jitters erupted down the hall.
I dropped the tray with a crash of meta
l on hardwood. A peeled grape squished under my heels.
What had just happened?
I blinked, dazed and confused but relieved to be back in my dorm room.
I bolted out of my room just in time to see snatches of brass and honey-blonde hair, along with a swatch of red dress zipping to the end of the hall. The door slammed as the evil blondes disappeared into Monica’s room.
Bryan jogged up to me. “What happened?”
I retreated to my room, plopping with a thud into Shanda’s butterfly chair. “I don’t know. I had the strangest vision. I think Monica and Colleen got a picture of it.”
“What? You’re joking, right?”
I shook my limp head at him.
“That’s perfect.” He threw up his hands. “She’s had it out for me ever since we broke up. It’ll be all over Instagram, everywhere, in five minutes.” He scooped the tray off the floor, one grape skittering into the corner. He chucked the metal tray across the room, hard. It clanged against the cement brick. “Were there two of these?”
The expression on his face said it all. The fear in his eyes, mixed with anger. I couldn’t make a sound. I just nodded again.
“Worse than I thought.” His phone buzzed in his pocket. When he pulled it out it had an awful picture on it. Me, with my eyes half rolled back in my head, a horrified expression on my face. “Much worse.”
“Why would they do something like this?” I rubbed my fingers into my temples, closing my eyes. The vision of St. Lucia flooded back to me, her sunken eyes sparkling like colored diamonds of crystal, amber, and black. Those jeweled eyes seared through me as if they could see into my eternal soul. I blinked fast, forcing my eyes to stay open.
Bryan twiddled his thumbs over his phone’s keypad. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure this is taken down as soon as possible. But it may be too late.”
Laughter wafted in from the doorway. So it began.
Shanda strolled through the open door, followed by Laura, Brooke, and Lenny. “Screaming Psycho? What is this, Lucy, some kind of joke?” She foisted her cell at me.
The Nexis Secret: YA Fantasy Romance (The Nexis Angel Series Book 1) Page 23