The Homecoming Benefactor

9 | the orange

The first thing I did when I got back in my dorm was take pictures of the notes and send them to Hazel. She always seemed to have a solution, even when no one else did.

Hazel: Oh no. That's not good.

Me: Yeah, clearly...

Hazel: Should we file a police report?

Me: Let's see what happens at lip sync first.

I always felt like I had to text Hazel formally because she was such a professional person. She texted that way, so I just assumed it was how she wanted people to text her, even during something crazy like this.

There were no notes under my doormat. Once that set in, I had started to realize that the same person who was writing my secret admirer notes was the person who dropped those threats on me at the library; this was definitely something ominous. What scared me is that I still had an inkling that this could have been Bryce, even with the threatening notes.

•••

"I would definitely drop the soap around you," Timmy chuckled, checking Araceli out in her dance costume. "Sexiest prisoner alive!"

The prison costumes I had ordered were even more risqué than the photos had depicted. It was basically just an orange lingerie set with long sleeves. The "shorts" were more like loose underwear, and the shirt barely fit like a bra. Araceli looked embarrassed in her outfit.

"Timmy," Araceli sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm too nervous for all that."

"Y'all are gonna do great, it will be fine," I insisted. "It's basically just a 'dress like a hooker' contest, so I already did the easy part for you by ordering that costume."

Araceli laughed and waved at us as she walked backstage. What I said was true; this was definitely not the show you wanted to take your grandma to. The (coincidentally all-male) judges seemed to pick the winner based on how  big their boner was after each performance.

It was only five minutes away from the start of the show, and there was still no sign of anything or anyone out to get me in the auditorium. I started to think that it was just a prank. Even if it wasn't, Hazel was the only person who knew about the library incident, so it's not like anyone else would know to look out. My phone went off with a text from Morgan.

Everyone is all set, thanks for the outfits :)

She was probably being sarcastic. Anyways, I made my way through the rows in search of the rest of my friends, spotting them toward the back. That looked like a good place to hide from this mystery person. At this point, they weren't a secret admirer anymore; they were something more sinister.

"Francie, I don't think they should let you order costumes anymore," Nick said as I walked into the second-to-last row. "Araceli and the others look like they're part of an Annoying Orange porn."

"Do me a favor... don't describe anything ever again," I retorted. "That was not a sentence I ever thought I'd hear."

The lights dimmed in the auditorium, and Ava Poplar walked onto the stage. She was wearing a hot pink jumpsuit with stilettos. Her long, brown hair was slicked back into a high ponytail that was curled at the ends. She tapped the microphone as the spotlight flickered above her.

"How are we feeling tonight, Giants?" The crowd erupted into applause as Ava prompted them. "Are you ready for some lip sync performances?"

The first performance was Tau Nu's, and I spotted Mattie immediately, front and center, dressed like a provocative strawberry. It was fruit themed; all the girls were dressed like stripper versions of different fruits and danced to baby sensory music. The night only got weirder from there. After the first performance ended, I got a text from Hazel.