Chapter Five (updated)

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Despite what people often assumed, Allard Fortin Preparatory School wasn't named for the local founder, José Allard Fortin. Instead, it was named for his descendant: Roberta.

After her older sister was disowned (rumor was she fell in lurrrve with a Very Unsuitable Boy) and then both her parents passed away, Roberta decided to just ditch the whole Allard Fortin legacy. And also ditch Berm while she was at it.

She and her older sister actually became the first of the Allard Fortin bloodline to ever move out of town. Then, rather than let the family's estate go to waste with no Allard Fortins to fill it, Roberta—as the heir—turned it into a scholarship school.

It was a great idea in theory. Like, kudos to Roberta for trying. But it was not so great in practice. Turns out schools are expensive to run, and the Allard Fortin fortunes were about as depleted as their bloodline. So, one year after the school's opening, the mission changed.

Bye-bye, charitable outreach of 1973. Hello, wealthy alum of 1974.

And wowzas, was it a fancy school now. Like, if Freddie's loyalty to Berm High weren't so profound, she'd be jealous of all the fountains and gardens and the two gourmet cafeterias. Also, there was a fancy library and a Maximum Drama mausoleum right in the middle of campus, where Allard Fortin 1.0 was buried.

The estate might no longer be bound to the dead bloodline of Allard Fortins, but the school did at least keep his crypt spotless.

As Kyle had promised, the gate to the school grounds was indeed unlocked—and even propped open by two enormous bags of birdseed. A welcoming glow flickered from lamps that had actual wicks and actual flames. A ridiculous expense . . .

That also looked pretty cool, honestly.

"Come on," Laina hissed. Since the Strange Incident With the Crows, she had remained a drill sergeant hell-bent on proving she was fine.

Which was maybe why Laina was the first to scoot through the gate, while everyone else crept more cautiously behind. Freddie and Divya brought up the rear, their corn syrup jugs glooping with each step. And for the first time since abandoning the cars, Freddie's sixth sense reared back enough for her BFF awareness to wiggle in.

"Hey," she whispered, "where did you get that sweatshirt?"

Divya smiled slyly, and the frown that had folded across her brow since the crows smoothed away. "Laina lent it to me."

Freddie's grin stretched almost to her ears. "Eeeee. You two have moved very quickly, haven't you?"

The smile faded. "I . . . don't know." Now it was back to the frown. "I'm not sure she . . . you know. Likes girls. She did date that guy from Elmore High last year."

"Maybe she likes girls and boys."

"I hope so," Divya said, and the look on her face—the earnest hope . . . It made Freddie's heart tighten.

The gate squeaked as Freddie nudged it a bit wider to slip through, and a split second later, she stepped onto the grounds of Allard Fortin Preparatory School. Freddie had seen it all before, of course—she'd come to a few soccer matches. Plus, there'd been that summer when Mom had been hired to restore the mausoleum after time, weather, and occasional vandalism had taken their toll. Freddie (only eight at the time) had been forced to tag along every day for an entire summer.

But for each of those visits, Freddie had been allowed on campus. Right now, she was 100 percent trespassing. And it turned out breaking the rules was exhilarating.

In fact, it was making Freddie reconsider everything she had ever known. Like maybe it was time for a new ten-year plan. No more law enforcement; a life of crime was summoning instead.

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