"Did London put you up to this?" I asked, tucking my book into my bag. Hunter was Vienna's pick, after all. And as much as the
Twin Cities loved to copy each other, they could be competitive, too. Maybe London had put Jason on my case to try to thwart Vienna
and Hunter. But Jason's expression was one of total confusion. "London? London Simmons?" he said. "I don't think I've talked to that
girl since we did summer stock at that regional theater in Bucks County together three years ago." Wait a minute. London did summer
stock? Hello, left field. I never knew she was an actress. I had to file that one away for later. I eyed Jason to see if he was making this
up, but he wasn't that good an actor.
"So, what do you say? You. Me. Library. Thursday night? We can study for the English exam together," Jason suggested eagerly. I
hesitated for a moment, thinking of Josh. Wondering what he would think of me if he spotted me with Hunter one day and Jason the
next. But then, what did I care? Josh was done with me and had moved on to Ivy. I could do what I wanted. I was single. I was the
president of Billings. And Jason was ridiculously adorable. "Sure," I said. "I'm in." "Great!" Jason's face lit up. "I'll meet you in the li-
brary at seven- thirty." "Perfect." He jogged off so jauntily I half expected him to suddenly break into song. I turned around, feeling
pretty good about myself, until I found myself face-to-face with Ivy Slade.
"What do you want?" I snapped automatically. "I just wanted to tell you it's not going to work," Ivy said, her blue eyes boring into
mine. "This little fund-raiser of yours. We're all so sick of you people and your entitlement complex. Everyone at this school wants to
see you fail, and we're going to make sure that you do." My face burned. "Is that a threat?" "It's a fact," Ivy replied with a smirk.
"Even your perfect ex is with me on this one. You really destroyed him, Reed. Noelle must be so proud of her little prodigy." I wanted
to strangle her for mentioning Josh, but I somehow managed to keep my composure. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction. "What is
your problem with Billings?" I demanded. "What did we ever do to you? "
Ivy turned slightly and glanced back at my dorm. Noelle, London, Vienna, Portia, and Shelby were hanging around outside, loung-
ing on the low stone walls that led up to the door. Ivy's jaw clenched, her skin as white as ivory. For a split second, I saw so much pain
in her eyes that I practically felt it. But then she turned her back on Billings and she was Ivy again. Cold, disaffected Ivy. "Plenty," she
responded, looking me dead in the eye, her expression fierce. As she spun on her heel and stalked off, I was left wondering what, ex-
actly, my Billings sisters might have done to inspire that kind of anger. Was it real or just something Ivy had perceived? I had no idea,
but someone in that house knew. And that someone was going to spill.
BLAME GAME
It was our final soccer game of the season against Barton School, and we were deadlocked at zero. Almost ninety minutes of soccer
played and nothing to show for it. As I raced up the field with the ball, all I could think about was scoring. I had to score before the
whistle. I had to win. I needed this. A cold wind whipped all stray hair back from my face toward my ponytail as I charged forward.
The scrappy defender who had been giving me trouble all day raced toward me from the right. She slid for the ball, but I popped my
toe under it at the last second and it sailed right over her outstretched leg. She was still ground-bound, so in the next moment I had to