Mark My Words

94 | And... Break!

"'I scream, you scream, we all scream, I scream, you scream, we all scream—'"

For the past hour, Joanna could be found sitting just inside her room, which was shared with Brynn and Lu once again. Only this time, the door was propped open by a shoe, so Rosalie, Juliana, Brynn, Ray, and Lennie could hear her singing the first three lines of a four-line verse on repeat from her starfish position on the ground.

In that same moment, several floors below them, stood a room marked 202. It was in close enough proximity to the pool room that the chlorine could reach it. The door opened and, with her white hair cascading to her elbows, Arden stepped through and tossed her hair over her shoulder. She glanced back in the direction of the lobby balcony and waited as her teammates made their way out and towards the pool.

Arden pulled her towel from over her shoulder. The lobby was filled with commotion—a dozen teams were checking in today, so the lobby was no doubt in pandemonium because of it. One of the teams down there was chanting their school mantra to the tune of Eye of the Tiger, and it brought a grim smile to Arden's lips.

Lily Owens paused beside her, stance broad and sporting a one-piece swimsuit and athletic shorts. "What are you thinking?"

Arden ran her tongue along her bottom lip before biting it. She glanced back at her teammates and said, "I'm thinking about networking and possibly running an errand. What do you think?"

Owens glanced back at Natalie Young—the three of them were sharing a room while the rest of the team were split among the neighboring rooms. The Conquerers traveled in a pack, however, and amidst the organized chaos of their team flocking towards the swimming pool, Arden's suggestion split up the flock.

Half would go to the pool, and the other half would entice guests at the tournament to join them.

There were plenty of things to expect at a tournament. The primary thing being Team Bonding Experiences, mostly of the pool variety, and another one being a little thing Rosalie liked to call a deck of cards.

Up on the fifth floor, Ray tossed another jack onto the pile. Brynn flung her arm out and slapped the deck to claim it as her own. Ray cursed and Rosalie sighed.

"There are still two other jacks," Lennie said.

"Yeah, bitch, and given my luck so far, I probably don't have either of them," Ray said.

Lennie narrowed his eyes at her. She stuck her tongue out as he said, "Why do you always call me a 'bitch'?"

"Little bitchy-bitch," Ray teased. "Lil' punk-ass bitch—"

A shadow fell over them and, for a split second, Rosalie's heart ceased to exist. She felt the gaping hole in her chest where fear seeped in, assuming that it was Arden Dodge, but instead, it was just Alyssa Maddox, looking thoroughly pissed.

Alyssa put her hands on her hips and said, "Are we talking about Jamie-Lee? When's that punk-ass getting here."

Rosalie opened her mouth to answer, but they were all momentarily distracted by Joanna chanting through the crack in the door, "'I scream, you scream, we all scream—'"

Alyssa pointed to the door and said, "I take it she isn't coping well."

"Not really," Rosalie said with a grimace. "I'm hoping Blake might be able to help. She's always talked to him about these things first. He might have some insight."

Lennie scoffed, as per his innate rivalry with the guy. Ray gave him an annoyed look and Brynn giggled as Lennie rolled his eyes at her and said, "What."