Nicole, an ambitious but overlooked student at elite private school, Waterbridge Academy, is ready for her junior year to be all kinds of fun.
While her focus should be classes and homework, they take second string to Highjinks, the epic prank battl...
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A snap of a twig caught my attention and I swiveled my head to follow the sound. There wasn't anyone else walking through the sparsely wooded area between the academy and residence with me. Narrowing my eyes, I focused my attention on the semi barren shrub that was wearing shoes, and the same expensive navy slacks that most students wore.
"Whadaya wan?"
"Napoleon?" I peered down into the face of Leon, who had somehow managed to get himself tangled in the shrub. Instead of his usual aloof smile, he was sneering at me.
"Let me help you." I offered him my hand, and though he took it, he gave it the most disgusted look. Following a few paces behind him, I was alarmed as he dazedly wandered towards residence. He was off, that was obvious, but he seemed much more in control of himself than the detentionees had. Had he infiltrated detention? Upon entering the residence building, which was eerily quiet, I grabbed his arm and dragged him to Kellen's dorm.
"Nicole!" Jackson was pacing the hallway outside their room and saw me coming; he took one look at Leon and paled. "Shit!" He quickly ushered us into his dorm.
"I found this one laying in a shrub in the woods between the dining hall and quad."
Leon sullenly dropped onto the couch, grumbling at me, though he could barely get his tongue to cooperate. "Stup'd bish. I din wanna co'here. Who tha fuh put you in charsh?"
My eyes widened at his angry words but lackluster tone that was odd for Leon. Still, Kellen's reaction was a bit overdramatic. "Shitshitshit! This isn't good."
Across the room Jackson was pacing even harder than he had been when I got there.
"Ummm, can someone please explain the melodramatics?"
"I don't know why I didn't see it before," Kellen said to himself more than anyone else.
"He did, clearly!" Jackson gestured anxiously at Leon. It appeared neither of them were going to clue me in, so I folded my arms and leaned against Jackson's door to watch them.
"I wish he said something if he suspected."
"You wouldn't have let him do it," Jackson said quietly.
"Of course not!" Kellen's voice surged edgily as he and Jackson faced off barely more than a foot apart.
"You wouldn't have let anyone do it."
"Of course not!"
"That's why he did it," Jackson sighed in defeat and broke the intense stare down they were having.
"Umm, guys?"
"Drugs! Leon got detention like Jess suggested." Kellen turned to me abruptly and then sat heavily onto the floor. One hand smothered his face in frustration and the other waved absently at the floor beside him; sit. "I can't believe it didn't occur to me!"
