Privilege 4 - Sweet Deceit (7 page)

"You tell it," Kaitlynn said, nudging Ariana's knee.

"God, Lily. Y ou're so modest." Ariana sat forward, giddy as all eyes turned on her. This was already working like a charm. "Back at Lily's old school, there was this girl who always wore hoodies. Every day, it was the same hoodie in a different color, and whenever she stepped outside, she would lift the hood over her hair."

Maria drained the rest of her espresso and leaned in with interest.

"It was totally ridiculous," Kaitlynn chimed in, playing along now as if the story truly was hers. "That silhouette did nothing for her."

Maria smirked.

"So one day in English class, Lily sat behind her, chewed up a nice, big wad of gum, and placed it in her hood," Ariana said.

"No!" Lexa cried.

"Yes!" Ariana replied.

"My friends and I nearly died laughing when she walked outside and put the hood on," Kaitlynn added smoothly.

"And? What happened?" Rob asked, hovering behind Palmer's chair.

"Well, the next day the girl had a crew cut and the hoodies were gone. For good," Ariana said with a conspiratorial smile. She would never forget how hard Noelle had laughed when she spied the girl's new coif. It was the beginning of their friendship.

"Anyway, from what I've heard, Martin Tsang is a member of some kind of . . . secret society?" Ariana said with a sly smile. Her fellow taps tensed up, realizing she was trying to talk about the societies without actually avowing knowledge of them. After all, Ariana still didn't know for sure who at the table was a member, and who was not.

"Right. He's in the Fellows," Palmer said, clearing his throat. "He's not the best at keeping it a secret."

"So, if the Fellows have robes . . . ," Kaitlynn said in a leading way.

"And what self-respecting secret society doesn't?" Jasper added.

"Then we could get not only Martin, but all of his friends, too," Ariana finished.

"They'd all have to get their hair cut," Palmer said, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Do you realize what that means?" he said, looking at Lexa.

"That not only would we get them back, but we would find out who their members are. Every last one of them," Lexa said, giving Ariana and Kaitlynn an impressed look. "Not bad, girls," she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

Ariana hadn't even thought of that last angle, but she was glad Lexa had. This plan really was perfect.

"Lily, you're a genius," Maria said.

"Agreed," Conrad said with a smile. Kaitlynn beamed so brightly that Ariana was nearly blinded.

"And I just happen to know where the Fellows keep their supplies," Palmer whispered, leaning his forearms on his knees. "Last year at a crew party, Jeff Dorian got drunk and blabbed about it. They're in the back of the supply closets just off the Grand Hall."

"So let's do this!" Rob said loudly, clapping his meaty palms together.

"Now?" Lexa whispered, glancing over her shoulder at Martin and his pals.

"You're the one who said it has to be fast," Palmer said, getting up and grabbing his coat. "Let's go, you two."

Once again, everyone looked at Ariana and Kaitlynn.

"Us? Really?" Kaitlynn said, glancing at Conrad uncertainly.

Ariana was surprised as well. She would have thought the taps would be excluded from actual Stone and Grave business.

"Your brilliant idea. You're in," Palmer said, motioning for them to join him.

Ariana and Kaitlynn exchanged a giddy look. Ariana had just won major Stone and Grave points for both of them.

"Okay. But if we're coming, Jasper and Landon are coming too," Ariana said, feeling benevolent.

"Fine. The more the better," Palmer said. "Now let's do this."

Ariana, Kaitlynn, and the boys got up and gathered their things. As Ariana slipped past Lexa's chair, Lexa made no move to shift her legs out of the way.

"Are you guys coming?" Ariana asked Lexa and Maria.

"We told Soomie we'd meet her here after her grief counseling thing," Lexa said, waving a hand. "But I want to hear all the details."

Ariana glanced at Kaitlynn, who shrugged and tugged her coat on.

"Okay. We'll stop by your room later," Kaitlynn said.

Then she pulled Ariana away, following after the guys, who were already out the door.

"Why did you do that?" she whispered to Ariana as they hurried out.

"I want us both to get into Stone and Grave, Kaitlynn," Ariana replied.

Kaitlynn paused and narrowed her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Ariana said, keeping her expression as frank as possible. "We're in this together now."

With a ponderous frown, Kaitlynn started walking again. Ariana fell into step with her and was surprised when Kaitlynn knocked elbows with her in a tentative but friendly way.

"Thanks, A," she said simply.

Ariana slipped her arm around Kaitlynn's, her heart thrumming over a job well done. "What are friends for?" DARK SIDE

Ariana couldn't stop grinning as she sat against the cool wall in the grand hall, watching her plan come to fruition. She, Kaitlynn, Rob, Landon, and Jasper were all seated in a circle on the floor of the cavernous room, munching on gum and defiling the Fellows' royal blue velvet robes. Palmer was certain the Fellows would have a ritual tonight, though he wouldn't say why in all the secretiveness. But all they had to do was get the two dozen packs of gum chewed up before lights out. Ironically, all the chewing made them sound like a family of cows--which was kind of disgusting, but in a satisfying way.

"This is so gross," Kaitlynn said, tugging a wad of gum from her mouth between her thumb and forefinger. She placed it inside the royal blue hood on the velvet robe in her lap and grimaced.

"Yeah. I guess it wasn't so bad when it was just one piece of gum," Palmer replied, leaning past Ariana to better see her.

"Right," Kaitlynn said, her cheeks pink with pleasure. "At least with one piece you don't start to get lockjaw."

Palmer laughed as he tugged another of the robes toward him from the pile. "I can't believe this was your idea, Lily. Who knew you had a dark side?"

Ariana snorted a laugh and glanced at Kaitlynn. Her eyes clouded over for a moment, but then quickly cleared and she laughed as well. "Well, Ana was the one who realized it would work on the Fellows, so I guess we all have a dark side," Kaitlynn said.

Palmer looked at Ariana, his expression mischievous, and popped another piece of gum into his mouth. "I guess so."

Ariana felt warm all over, both from Palmer's leading tone and over the fact that Kaitlynn was throwing credit back at her.

"So, why do the Fellows use the grand hall for their rituals?" Ariana asked, glancing around at the expensive artwork that decorated the richly papered walls. "Isn't it kind of . . . out in the open?"

"Well, from what I've heard, the Fellows are dedicated to the memories of our founders, Atherton and Pryce," Palmer explained, using his thumbs to press his freshly chewed gum into the hood of a robe. "Because of that they have kind of a big ego as a group and feel like the two big guys are constantly looking over them or something."

Ariana wondered how he knew so much about the other society. Was it because he was president of Stone and Grave? Did people in power get to be privy to information like this somehow?

"That's lame," Kaitlynn said.

The guys laughed. "Seriously," Landon replied.

"Well, they're about to get their comeuppance," Jasper said, folding up the robe he'd just gummed.

"Comeuppance?" Ariana said with a smirk. "Who talks like that?"

"Seriously, dude. Join us in the twenty-first century," Rob joked, earning a hand slap from Landon.

"Thanks, dude. But I prefer to sound like an educated man, rather than an imbecile," Jasper shot back.

Rob's eyes flashed and everyone fell silent. Ariana exchanged a wary look with Kaitlynn. What was Jasper doing? Just the fact that Rob was there with them meant that he was probably a member of Stone and Grave. Was it wise for a plebe to cut him down that way?

"Whatever," Rob said finally, backing off.

Ariana let out a breath, but Jasper just went right on with what he was doing as if he hadn't noticed the moment of tension at all.

"All I know is, the barber in town is going to get a lot of business tomorrow," Palmer said with a laugh, popping a few more pieces of gum in his mouth. "Thanks to Ana."

Ariana felt Kaitlynn tense up next to her. Unbelievable. She had nothing to do with the idea, but already she felt so proprietary about it that she was offended over being left out.

"And Lily, of course," Palmer added graciously. The other boys whooped their appreciation.

Kaitlynn smiled. Ariana sighed in relief and allowed herself to bask in the attention. If she kept this up, she was going to get into Stone and Grave no problem. The future was hers.

And it felt good. SHOO-INS

Ariana could not stop laughing. All around her, her fellow Privilege House denizens--and probable Stone and Gravers--were doubled over at the table, or trying desperately to keep their faces straight. But it was next to impossible. Every few minutes another student with half-chopped hair would walk by the table with his head ducked and a new wave of laughter would burst forth. The oddest thing was, it seemed as if every badly shorn student was, in fact, male, which meant the Fellows were all fellows.

"Omigod! Have you guys seen Martin Tsang?" Maria asked, slipping into a chair near the end of the table next to Ariana. "He looks like someone took a pair of garden shears to his head!"

"While blindfolded," Soomie added, cracking the first small smile Ariana had seen on her in days.

Ariana glanced over at Martin's table, giggling happily. He looked around and, finally unable to take the stares any longer, whipped out a gray skullcap and yanked it on over his hair. Ariana and her friends cracked up all over again.

" To Lily and Ana," Palmer said, lifting his glass of orange juice at the head of the table.

Ariana beamed across at Kaitlynn, who sat up a little straighter as the entire table full of students raised their glasses as well.

" To Lily and Ana!" they all chorused loudly, earning curious glances from students throughout the dining hall.

Ariana and Kaitlynn grinned as their friends swigged their juice and coffee in their honor. Tahira and Allison both shifted moodily in their seats, clearly annoyed at having been left out of the fun.

"Um, have I mentioned thank you?" Kaitlynn whispered, leaning across the table toward Ariana as she placed her juice glass down amid the many plates and bowls and cups.

"You don't have to thank me," Ariana replied happily.

Kaitlynn grinned back, and for the first time Ariana was truly certain that Kaitlynn was starting to believe in her friendship. She couldn't stop smiling as she speared a piece of scrambled egg with her fork and popped it into her mouth. Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw Palmer get up and walk around the table toward her. She glanced over at Lexa, her heart pounding, but for the moment Lexa was deep in conversation with Conrad and April.

"Hey, Ana," Palmer said, arriving at the end of the table. "Can I talk to you?"

Ariana felt Kaitlynn staring and her neck started to heat up. "Sure."

She pushed herself up from her chair, and she and Palmer shuffled over toward the wall.

"What're you doing?" Ariana whispered, glancing over her shoulder at their table.

"I just had to tell you . . . this whole prank thing has really upped your stock with the members," Palmer said, pride gleaming in his eyes.

Ariana's heart fluttered with excitement. "Wait, so are you telling me . . . ?"

Palmer grinned mischievously.

"You are. You're actually telling me straight-out that you're in--"

"Y I'm telling you straight out that I'm in," he replied flatly. "Which you already figured out, so really I'm not telling you anything you didn't already

es, know."

Ariana pressed her lips together, overwhelmed with happiness that Palmer was trusting her with such a huge secret.

"After all this, you and Lily are practically shoo-ins," he told her, dropping his voice to a whisper as a couple of tweed-clad faculty members strolled by.

Ariana couldn't wait to tell Kaitlynn. "Really?"

"Really."

Palmer reached out and took her hand, holding it down by her side, where it was out of view of their table.

"Listen. I want to take you out somewhere," he whispered, his voice sending pleasant tingles down the backs of her legs. "Like on a real date."

Her eyes instinctively darted to Lexa. She and Conrad were whispering to one another, their heads bent close together. "Palmer--"

"I know. I know. Y don't want to hurt Lexa," Palmer said. "But she's been going out with Connie for weeks already, and I'm getting tired of

ou sneaking around."

"I kind of like the sneaking around," Ariana said.

Palmer grinned. "I like it too. But still. Don't you want to be able to do this"--he squeezed her hand--"without feeling like it's somehow wrong? Don't you want to be my actual girlfriend?"

Ariana's whole body responded to the question. "Of course I do. It's just . . ."

She glanced over at the table once more and this time her heart skipped a wild beat. Conrad had turned to talk to Christian, and Lexa was watching them, her eyes filled with anger. Ariana had never seen her look that way before. The second Lexa's gaze met Ariana's, she looked away, but the damage was done. Ariana slipped her hand out of Palmer's and took a step back. The fact remained that Ariana wanted-- needed--to get into Stone and Grave, and Lexa was a member. Most likely a powerful member. If there was even the remotest chance that Lexa could block her membership, that she might blackball Ariana for the offense of going after Lexa's ex, then she had to be careful.

"Can I think about it?" she asked.

"Sure," Palmer said, standing up straight and taking a step back as well. He smoothed his APH tie. She could tell he was upset over being put off yet again. "Just don't keep me waiting too long."

As the tone sounded to end the breakfast period, Palmer smiled before loping off--which made Ariana feel better. He wouldn't have smiled if he'd been too upset. She took a deep breath to calm her nervous, excited heart, and walked back to the table to grab her coat and bag.