Sweet Deceit (Privilege 4)

“Omigod!” Kaitlynn shouted, springing backward.

Ariana heard a tearing sound and leaned out the door. The cow had a big square of the maize-colored carpet rolling around in its maw. “It’s eating the rug!”

“What is all the noise about?” Lexa said, cinching her red robe around her waist as she came around the corner. She stopped in her tracks and her eyes widened. Her brown hair was all knotted on one side, and there was mascara smudged beneath her eyes. “Um, Ana? Why is there a cow outside your room?”

Before Ariana could answer, there was another scream on the other side of the floor. Soomie came running into view, her dark hair all knotted on one side.

“Omigod! There’s another one!” she shouted, backing away from Ariana’s cow.

“Where’s the other one?” Ariana asked.

“In the common area,” Soomie said, her jaw quivering as she pointed. “It’s chewing on the couch!”

“Okay. It’s okay,” Ariana said in a soothing voice. “We’ll take care of this. Just . . . go back to your room.”

Soomie didn’t have to be asked twice. She disappeared and two seconds later, her door slammed.

“We’re going to take care of this?” Kaitlynn said, letting her hands slap down at her sides. “How, exactly?”

Ariana screwed her lips up. “I’m not really sure.” She took a deep breath and smacked the cow hard on the flank. “All right, lady. Get in there and join your friend. Hiya! Come on now!”

The cow looked back at her and snorted, but moved along. Just as it was ambling its way into the common room, the elevator pinged and Palmer and Landon raced out, both wearing boxer shorts and T-shirts.

“You have cows too!” Palmer shouted, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. The guys lived in A tower—nicknamed Alpha—on the opposite side of Privilege House. To access the B tower—or Bella—they had to go all the way to the lobby in the A elevator, switch to the B elevator, and come back up.

“Why? How many do you have?” Ariana asked, crossing her arms over her nightgown, hoping she didn’t look as disheveled and unattractive as Lexa did.

“Two! They completely destroyed the plasma in the common room.” Palmer pressed himself flat against the wall

of the hallway and peeked around the corner into the common area, as if one of the cows might be wielding a handgun.

“And they ate all the PSP games,” Landon added.

Palmer turned again and looked past Ariana at Lexa, who was slowly approaching. “Tsang,” he said. “It has to be.”

“But you only pulled the coconut prank in retaliation for the nail and hair thing,” Lexa said, lifting a palm toward Palmer. “I thought that was more than fair as far as a reprisal goes.”

Martin Tsang was a member of one of the other two secret societies on campus, the Fellows. Lexa had pegged him and his secret society for a series of midnight attacks that had taken place inside Privilege House, and Palmer had retaliated by filling Tsang’s room with coconuts. Only Ariana and Kaitlynn knew that Kaitlynn was the one responsible for the attacks, so as far as the Fellows were concerned, Stone and Grave had fired the first shot of a prank war. This, clearly, was their idea of a reprisal.

Ariana noticed that both Palmer and Lexa were careful not to mention the Fellows out loud in mixed company, even though they knew that she, Kaitlynn, and Landon were all taps.

The four of them inched over to the open corner of the common area, sticking close together, and watched as the cows went to town on the velvet couch. Kaitlynn, meanwhile, hung back in the doorway of her and Ariana’s room, listening, but clearly too freaked to come out.

“How did they even get these things up here?” Lexa asked.

“Very quietly,” Landon said, scratching at the back of his neck, beneath his long, shaggy hair.

“Well . . . how are we supposed to get them out?” Lexa asked.

“Call Animal Control,” Ariana replied, lifting her shoulders.

“I’ll bet this’ll be a first for them,” Palmer said with a short laugh.

Just then, the spotted cow lifted its tail and relieved itself all over the common room floor. The stench was instant, and so vile that it stung Ariana’s eyes. She dry-heaved and slapped a hand over her mouth.

“What the hell did they feed that thing?” Ariana asked through her fingers.

“Omigod,” Lexa said, covering her face and turning away.