The Devious Four all turned in the direction she was pointing, their mouths hanging open. And as they watched, the footage switched from the live feed of the tampons at their feet to the security feed Ethan had successfully downloaded. A grainy image of four girls decorating the trees in the courtyard with bras and panties appeared on the wall, flip-book style. At first, it was hard to see who the vandals were, but then, one of the girls turned, stared straight at the camera, and gave it the finger. She had trademark two-tone hair and a bratty smirk.
Gotcha, I thought. My friends couldn’t have pulled this off more perfectly.
“Ethan, it looks amazing,” Emma breathed.
Ethan grinned. “I have to admit it’s pretty fun to be on this side of the prank.”
Everyone in the gym was watching. First there were whispers, and then they turned into stares and grumbles. “It was them!” plenty of people said. “Who are they?” someone else cursed. “Losers!” a voice called over the rest.
The Devious Four hung their heads. They stared at the members of the Lying Game, who had all gathered in the doorway to accept their victory. Emma stepped forward and plucked a tampon off of Ariane’s shoulder, a smirk on her face.
“Now you know who bows down to whom,” she said lightly, spinning on her heel.
Way to go, Sis. They totally deserved it.
An hour later, the party was in full swing. A rap beat pulsed through the huge speakers the DJ had positioned all around the bleachers. The disco ball spun, strings of lights flashed on and off, and bodies danced in a massive swarm under the basketball hoops. Sadie roamed with a handheld camera, and members of the yearbook staff patrolled with big SLR cameras, snapping photographs like they were the paparazzi. Hollier students had gone all out, as though this was a normal dance—some of the girls wore full-length dresses and most of the guys wore ties.
“Um, I thought we were keeping the guest list small,” Emma said, scanning the packed room. At least a hundred kids were there.
The Twitter Twins looked at each other guiltily. “Well, people kept asking to come…”
Madeline blushed. “Yeah, I ended up inviting some people from the dance studio.”
“Who cares?!” Charlotte shouted. “This party is awesome.”
The song ended, and the DJ’s voice boomed through the microphone. “This next one is dedicated to a certain group of girls—you know who you are. Thanks for throwing such an amazing party, ladies!” The opening beats to “Sexy and I Know It” swelled through the air. Everyone screamed and ran for the dance floor at once. Lili barreled up to Emma, who was supervising the food table, and grabbed her arm excitedly.
“We so rock!” Lili shrieked.
Emma grinned in return. For the past hour, kids had come up to her, thanking her for throwing the party and complimenting her on the decorations and music. It was official: The girls of the Lying Game were back on top as the queens of Hollier.
If only I could share some of the glory. Nostalgia filled me as I watched my friends. I remembered exactly how a night like tonight felt: the sheer thrill of orchestrating a prank, the buzz I felt when I walked into a packed party and decided who was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of my attention, the whoosh of heat when I locked eyes with Thayer across a room.
But then Emma checked her phone, and her stomach tightened. It was almost eight thirty. She had to leave soon.
Suddenly, a warm hand circled the top of her arm. “Can I have this dance?” Ethan said in her ear. While Emma had been holding court, he’d been talking to some kids from their German class.
“Of course!” she breathed as Ethan pulled her close. His lake-blue eyes held hers. He leaned forward and brushed Emma’s lips with a kiss.
“Awwww!” Lili swooned, snapping a Twitpic.
Emma grabbed his arm. “Let’s go somewhere quiet,” she whispered into his ear.
Ethan nodded, and they pushed through the crowd together. Students brave enough to talk to the girl they thought was Sutton Mercer congratulated her on an amazing party, and Emma flashed a confident smile. One girl dressed in head-to-toe purple asked to take a photo of “Hollier’s Hottest Couple.” Emma and Ethan paused for a moment, smiled, then moved on. Normally, Emma would have nudged Ethan and commented on how ironic it was that a foster kid and a loner were suddenly an It couple, but now wasn’t the time.
As the opening notes to a Coldplay song blared, Emma pulled Ethan under the bleachers. “Okay. I admit it, I’m nervous about tonight,” she said.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed in concern. “You don’t have to go, Emma. There’s got to be another way.”
“Maybe, but I don’t know what it is, and I can’t just continue on like this, not knowing.” Emma twisted the silver bracelet on her wrist around and around. “Living in that house is making me crazy.”
“But what if Raven is in on the murder? What then?” Ethan asked. “Maybe this is too dangerous.”
Emma thought about this, staring at the students in the gym. Most of them were dancing or laughing by the snack table. “Maybe it is dangerous. But that’s a chance I have to take. Please back me up, Ethan. Please. I don’t know what else to do.”
Ethan still looked worried, but he pulled her into a hug. “I understand,” he said. “I’ve got your back. I’ll be there every step of the way.”
Emma set her jaw. “Actually, I was thinking about that. If I bring you to the room, it could freak Raven out.”
Ethan paused, running a hand through his hair. “Okay, what if I wait outside the room?”
I liked that plan. The last thing I needed was my sister dying and both of us being in the in-between, trying to figure out who killed us.