Perfect Mistake (Privilege 3)

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pried free in decades. Ariana glanced over her shoulder at the door just as Brigit popped through.

"Mr. Pitt! The copiers jammed again," she said breathlessly. "I wouldn't bother you but I need to make copies of this flyer for the first French club meeting before my next class."

Mr. Pitt whirled around, slamming his ankle against the side of the open drawer. Both Ariana and Brigit winced as his face screwed up in pain.

"All right. I'll be right there," he said through his teeth, clearly trying to hold back a groan.

"Thanks!" Brigit said brightly. She didn't so much as glance at Ariana, which surprised her. Ariana had pegged Brigit as the type of coconspirator who wouldn't be able to resist a gleeful glance to acknowledge a plan going well. Ariana was impressed that Brigit had more self--control than that.

"With all the money pouring into this school you'd think that some small percentage could be allotted to updating the guidance office technology," Mr. Pitt muttered, limping around his desk. "Forgive me, Miss Covington. I should be back in a moment."

"Take your time," Ariana said with a smile. All the time you need.

The moment Mr. Pitt was gone, Ariana raced around his desk, sliding past the open drawer. She was about to drop into his chair, but then she noticed all the stains and crumbs and tears and decided to remain standing. He was already logged into the school's intranet, so when she typed Allison's name into the search box, her file popped right up. Moving purposefully, Ariana clicked open Allison's schedule

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and memorized it with one glance. She then opened her final report card from the previous year and smiled.

Allison was a straight--B student, except for one subject. In chemistry, she had received a D for the year. Which would account for the fact that she was taking it again this year. All Ariana had to do was write up a cheat sheet for Allison's first chemistry exam, plant it on the girl, and then make sure it was found. Easy as apple pie. She quickly closed the file and glanced at the open door. The hallway was quiet. No voices, no footfalls. Ariana's heart skipped an excited beat. There was one other person she was curious about, and she might not have an opportunity this golden again. She placed her fingers over the keyboard and typed in Palmer's name.

His schedule popped up. All AP courses, plus college--level electives in government and business. Ariana grinned. She'd known he was ambitious, just like herself. And his grades from last year were straight As. Another file titled College Applications was just too tempting to resist. Ariana double clicked it and scanned the list of schools to which Palmer was planning to apply. Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, Arizona State (she supposed the son of the local congresswoman couldn't ignore his home state), and Princeton.

Princeton. The school Ariana planned to attend. Suddenly she saw the two of them strolling along cobblestone paths on a gorgeous autumn day, their feet crunching through the fallen leaves as they discussed politics and poetry and their plans for the future. It was all so perfect it hurt.

"Not a problem, Miss Rhygsted!"

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Ariana's heart vaulted into her throat. Mr. Pitt's voice was right outside the door. She grabbed the mouse and closed Palmer's file. Then she whirled around and hit the floor next to the still--open cabinet drawer. She squeezed her eyes closed and held her breath. She could not get caught. Could not get expelled because of this. If she did, she was going to come back here and kill Kaitlynn. Kill her using the most gruesome, agonizing method she could devise. After all, if Atherton--Pryce was taken away from her, if Palmer and Lexa and Stone and Grave and the rest of her friends were torn away, if her new picture of her future was obliterated, she'd have nothing left to lose.

"Miss Covington?" Mr. Pitt said.

Ariana's eyes popped open. Right in front of her was the yellow and red spine of an SAT study guide, smiling up at her from the open drawer. Ariana grabbed it and stood.

"Oh, hi! Sorry. Class is going to start any minute so I figured I'd just grab one myself." She held the book up a bit higher to illustrate. "I hope you don't mind."

Mr. Pitt stood in the doorway for a moment. His eyes traveled slowly to his computer, then back to her. Ariana's pulse throbbed frantically. Was he going to call her out? Check his computer's history?

Please, no. Please, please, no.

But then he smiled. "Not at all. Anything to help a Princeton hopeful."

"Thank you," Ariana said with a smile. She kicked the drawer shut and walked around the desk, slipping by him out the door. The cover of the book was slick with her sweat.

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Completely disgusting.

"Anytime!" he called after her.

As she walked down the hallway, Ariana's back was stiff, just waiting for him to yell after her again. For him to discover that she'd searched his computer. But all she heard was the squeal of his chair as he sat down again, and soon she was out the door, basking in the late--summer sunshine.

She slipped the book into her bag and withdrew a tissue on which to wipe her palms. Who was she kidding? The guy had probably gone right back to his donut.