“I know. That place freaks me out even in the middle of the day,” Reed replied. “But I have to ace this lab. It’s, like, fifty percent of my final grade.”
A sizzle of anticipation shot up and down Ariana’s arms. This dungeon lab place sounded like a perfect location for her purposes. And from the tone of the friend’s voice, it would be completely deserted early on a Friday morning, which made perfect sense. Thursday night was the requisite party night on college campuses. Only a loser with no life would drag themselves out of bed before dawn on a Friday and into a lab. A loser like Reed. Ariana would have to check out this so-called dungeon after Reed went to class today. But if it was as cold and dark and quiet and windowless as she was currently imagining … she’d just caught the break she’d been hoping for.
A LOCK
“Are you nervous?” Jasper asked Ariana, sliding into the chair next to hers in the dining hall that night.
The very word “nervous” sent a whole new shockwave of prickling discomfort over Ariana’s shoulders and down her arms. In just a few hours the Stone and Grave vote would finally take place. She’d thought of little else all day, but he didn’t need to know that. Ariana took a deep breath and shrugged casually.
“Not at all,” she said, reaching for a warm roll from the basket at the center of the table. The waiter had yet to come and take her order, but it was no matter. She was certain she wouldn’t be able to eat much anyway.
“Liar.” Jasper planted a kiss on her cheek as he stashed his leather messenger bag under the table. “Personally, I think you’re a lock.”
Ariana’s eyebrows shot up. “You do? What have you heard?”
“Nothing really. But why would anyone not vote for you?” Jasper replied, flicking his napkin into his lap.
Ariana shook her head with a smile. “You’re my boyfriend. You have to say that,” she whispered, eyeing Palmer and Landon as they strode by. Landon lifted his hand briefly in greeting, but Palmer didn’t even cast a glance in their direction.
“Cocky bastard. He deserves to be brought down a peg,” Jasper muttered.
Ariana clenched her teeth, recalling the look in Palmer’s eyes as he’d accused her the night before. “I couldn’t agree more.”
April dropped into the chair across from Jasper’s, struggling to detangle the straps of the tote bag, duffel, and backpack she was carrying. She finally got it all organized, shoved the bags under her chair, and took a deep breath.
“Ready for tonight?” she asked Ariana.
“Ready as I’m gonna be,” Ariana replied.
April touched the silverware lined up next to her plate, straightening them into right angles. “I have to admit, Ana, up until last night I was still on the fence about the vote,” she said, sitting up straight and shaking her curls back from her face. “I mean, you are new and all. But there’s no way I can vote for a jerk like him,” she said, casting a derisive look in Palmer’s direction as he settled in at a table near the end of the row. “And the way you handled it? Perfection.”
“Thanks,” Ariana said, blushing as she looked down at her lap.
“Wait a minute. What happened last night?” Jasper asked, angling toward Ariana in his chair. “What did the jerk do?”
“Nothing,” Ariana said quickly, shaking her head.
“Oh, bollocks. It was not nothing,” April said. She placed her elbows on the table and leaned in toward Jasper. “Tosser basically intimated that Ana here had done something to cause Lexa’s death.”
“What?” Jasper blurted, instantly turning red. “Are you serious?”
“It was nothing,” Ariana said under her breath, not wanting to dwell on this particular subject for any longer than strictly necessary. “He’s just upset.”
“So is everyone else at this school!” Jasper shot back. “That doesn’t give him the right to—”
He started to get up, but Ariana placed her hand atop his thigh and shoved him back down as hard as she could. “Jasper, please. I just want to drop this. Let’s not do anything to distract from the election tonight, okay?”
“She’s right. If you kick his sorry arse, he might get a sympathy vote,” April said, tearing into a roll.
Ariana smirked. As much as she loved Jasper, she was pretty sure that superstar athlete Palmer Liriano would triumph in a fistfight. But April’s confidence was a nice ego stroke for Jasper and it seemed to calm him down.
“Fine,” he said, blowing out a sigh. “But now you have to win tonight.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” April said, lifting her water glass. “I’ve been telling all the girls in S and G how Palmer’s been treating Ana. I don’t think there’s a single female that isn’t voting for her.”
“Yeah?” Ariana asked hopefully. Her heart felt all warm and light. Could this really happen? Could she really be the next president of Stone and Grave?
“Yes. You’re definitely going to win,” April s