‘Why do you care?’ Jackie asked. She lifted her purse from under the desk and grabbed a compact. She checked her flawless appearance before snapping it closed.

Q shrugged. ‘This is an eclectic group of individuals. I want to know what dangerous folk I’m spending the day with.’

‘If we were dangerous, we wouldn’t be in detention, idiot,’ Cece said.

‘Oh look,’ Q said. ‘A lucky volunteer.’ He put his hands down, drumming his fingers on the surface of the table before slapping them on it.

The girls jumped, and Teddy flinched.

‘Come on, princess,’ Q pressed.

‘Don’t call me that,’ Cece muttered.

‘Why not? Isn’t that what you are? The perfectly dressed little rich girl?’ Q asked. ‘Why aren’t you locked in your ivory tower this morning?’

Zoe couldn’t take her eyes off the scene unfolding in front of her.

‘What did you do?’ Q asked.

‘What did you do?’ Cece shot back.

‘I’ll show you mine when you show me yours,’ Q said.

Cece glanced around the table at each person except for Q. Her lower lip trembled.

Zoe knew what was coming next.

Cece was an emotional wreck over anything that didn’t go her way. Q’s nickname for her wasn’t far off. Even though she wasn’t close to Teddy’s valedictorian status, she kept her grades on the higher side. In the few classes Zoe shared with Cece, she’d seen way too many tears coming from that girl, and it didn’t have to be much to set her off. Once Cece received a B-plus on an exam, and she excused herself from class. Before she left her seat, she was already crying.

‘Maybe we should get back to work,’ Teddy said, picking up his stapler.

Q cut a look his way. ‘You’re next, nerd.’

‘I’m going to make sure Mr. Curtis gives you another detention,’ Cece said.

Jackie giggled from her seat. ‘You wouldn’t tell anyone. You don’t have the guts.’

Cece glanced at Jackie, open-mouthed. Whatever girl-power alliance Cece thought she had with Jackie disappeared into thin air.

Zoe could have told her that. Jackie’s wrath didn’t spare anyone, not even her friends. Over the years, Zoe watched the revolving door of ‘friends’ that Jackie kept in her tightly knit circle. One day they were laughing in the cafeteria together, and the next day one of the girls would be sitting alone or skipping lunch altogether.

Q grinned, and Zoe’s hand twitched, wanting to wipe it off his face. She hoped that no one else got in trouble so next week she could get her quiet Saturdays back.

‘Come on,’ Q pressed. ‘I could always look at your record.’

‘No, you can’t,’ Cece snapped. ‘Those are locked away.’

‘I’ve never met a lock I couldn’t break,’ Q said.

‘Come on,’ Jackie prodded.

‘I cut class, okay,’ Cece said. ‘To go shopping. Not a big deal.’

Q scoffed. ‘You’re right. Now I regret starting with you.’

‘What about you?’ Cece asked him. ‘You’re always getting in trouble in class. It must have been something good for you to get detention.’

Q sighed, taking his time to answer. ‘Remember that fire drill on Monday?’

Jackie rolled her eyes. ‘That was you?’

Q shrugged, but his smirk gave away his answer. ‘I plead the fifth.’

‘Lame,’ Holly muttered.

‘What about you, Holly?’ Q asked, turning his attention to her.

Her eyes turned to slits. The two of them stared at each other for long enough to make it awkward before a loud crackling sound filled the room.

Everyone looked up toward the ceiling. It was a force of habit from morning and afternoon announcements.

Why would someone use the intercom on a Saturday when they were the only people in the school? If Mr. Curtis wanted to say something to them, he could do it in person. Maybe that’s why he left, to deal with some glitch in the system. No other administrators or teachers were at school, so he seemed the likely candidate to fix it.

‘May I have your attention,’ a hoarse voice said from the intercom. It didn’t sound like Mr. Curtis. Zoe listened harder as the voice continued, ‘The six of you were selected to be here today because you are all hiding something. A secret. One that eats you up inside each day. I’m here to set you free. Life is made up of a series of choices that come with consequences. Today you will all learn that each decision you make affects the world around you. You will each complete a task. One that has to be completed by you and you alone. If you cheat, I will know. And if you inform anyone outside of this room, I will know. The choice is yours.’

The crackling filled the room once again and then the library went silent.

‘What the hell was that?’ Q asked.

‘Who was that?’ Jackie asked.

‘That voice sounded like something out of a horror movie,’ Cece said, drawing her arms against her chest.

‘What did he mean by secrets?’ Teddy asked.

Of course, Teddy had no secrets. He was the most honorable person in the group. Straight-As with the opportunity to pick a college of his choosing. Zoe had no idea what he’d done to get there, but she was sure it wasn’t that terrible. At least not bad enough for someone to want to exploit it.

‘Q, is this your idea of a joke?’ Holly asked.

Q snorted. ‘I’ve been here the whole time.’

‘You could have had one of your friends do it,’ Holly said.

‘What friends?’ Jackie said with a snort.

Q worked his jaw.

‘Yeah,’ Cece said. ‘You’re obsessed with wanting to know why we’re here.’

‘Okay,’ Q said. ‘Now I know you’re full of yourself.’

‘The only one full of himself is you,’ Cece said. ‘You’re annoying and an attention seeker. You know pulling the fire alarm is a crime, right? I’m surprised you’re here instead of jail.’

‘It’s only a matter of time,’ Q said. He sounded proud of that fact.

Zoe tugged on her sleeves again, keeping her thoughts to herself. That voice was seriously creepy. If it was a prank, it wasn’t funny at all. She had no idea what he was talking about.

‘Can we get back to that voice?’ Jackie said.

‘And consequences?’ Cece said. ‘I swear, Q if this is some joke—’

Q cut Cece off. ‘What are you going to do, princess?’

‘Will you two stop bickering?’ Holly said. ‘If someone is messing with us, then we should take it seriously.’

‘We don’t know anything yet,’ Q said. ‘Where are these tasks?’

‘Guys?’ Teddy said, staring down at the table. He pulled out a slip of paper from the pile. It wasn’t like the rest. It was red while the rest were white.

‘What is that?’ Jackie asked.

‘Is that a pinky promise not to drink?’ Q asked with a grin.

‘Teddy,’ Cece said. ‘Your name is on the other side.’

Teddy swallowed hard as if he expected the piece of paper to jump out and bite him.

‘Why does it have your name on it?’ Zoe asked. Her voice cut the air like a knife. It was the first time the others noticed she was in the room. But no one cut her off. They all wanted to know what was going on.

‘There’s more writing on the other side,’ Teddy said, his voice shaking.

‘What does it say?’ Q asked, leaning across the table.

‘Is this part of what that voice said?’ Jackie asked, her voice warbling slightly.

‘Should we read through all of these slips to make sure none of our names are on them?’ Cece suggested.

‘I’m pretty sure there would be another red one,’ Teddy said, licking his lips and swallowing hard.

‘How would you know?’ Holly asked accusingly.

‘Because this person wants us to find it,’ Zoe said. This had to be what the voice wanted. A shiver ran down her spine.

‘You all need to stop being so dramatic,’ Q said.

‘What does it say?’ Holly asked.

Teddy looked around at the group then down to the paper. He read it, his mouth silently forming the words.

‘The suspense is killing me,’ Q said with an eye roll.

Teddy jerked as if he forgot where he was.

‘Read it to us,’ Holly said.

‘Yeah, Teddy,’ Jackie said, leaning forward.

Teddy looked at Zoe for a moment. His face was ashen. What could he possibly be afraid of?

Teddy tore his eyes from Zoe and read the note aloud.

CHAPTER THREE

TEDDY

Five Days Earlier

Teddy closed his textbook and was out of his chair before the bell finished ringing. It was the first day of the week, and already he dreaded the rest. All he wanted to do was sleep. He had too much to do, though.

He wasn’t sure how Mom did it. Getting eight hours of sleep between two days made him completely zoned out, while she could go a week with that many hours. But she did what she had to do to make sure Teddy had everything he needed to succeed. At the same time, he worked hard both at school and outside to ensure he’d be able to return the favor to her someday.

Teddy was almost at his locker as his peers entered the hallway.

He picked up his pace.

‘Get out of my way, loser!’

He didn’t need to turn around to know who that was. Everyone knew that voice, even the terrified freshmen and stuck-up seniors.

Teddy glanced over his shoulder to see Jackie’s next victim.

It was Holly. The new girl.

Holly crossed her arms and lifted her chin to Jackie. But with Jackie’s friend’s right behind her, Holly didn’t stand a chance.

Teddy turned around and slammed right into someone.

‘Watch it!’ she said.

Teddy’s eyes locked on a pair of dark brown eyes. Ones that he saw in his dreams sometimes. But in his subconscious, they weren’t as sad. Or in that particular case, pissed off.

The roots of her natural hair were showing through the fading red strands. And her drastic haircut finally started to look somewhat normal.

He had some idea why she cut all of her hair off but never asked.

‘Sorry,’ Teddy said.

Zoe pushed passed him and down the hall.

He hung his head. After every interaction with her, he felt worse. There was so much he wanted to say.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He waited until he got to his locker before he looked at it.

Pick me up at 4.

Teddy spun the combination on the lock. He was about to open it when someone touched his shoulder.

He flinched and whirled around.

‘Whoa!’ Kevin Jensen said, scratching at his acne-ridden cheek. ‘Didn’t mean to scare you.’

‘You didn’t,’ Teddy said. Without asking, he knew what Kevin wanted. It was the same conversation after each big exam.

‘What did you get on the test?’ Kevin asked, his mouth spread into a wide grin.

And Teddy went with his usual response. ‘That’s none of your business.’

‘Aw, come on,’ Kevin said. ‘I bet I got a higher grade.’

‘Ninety-five,’ Teddy said.

Kevin clicked his tongue. ‘I got a ninety-nine. You’re slacking.’

Teddy received a perfect score. He wanted to stick it to Kevin. Make him relax. Then Teddy could be valedictorian. His ticket out of this one-horse town.

‘I have to go,’ Teddy said. He didn’t have time for Kevin today. And he hoped to stop at home before meeting Declan. It was the only time he could see Mom.

‘Don’t study too hard,’ Kevin said with a laugh.

Teddy opened his mouth to say the first thing that came to his mind. He stopped short, not wanting to continue any conversation with his academic rival.

Another text from Declan came through.

I need some $$.

He sighed and pressed the HOME button. He clicked on his bank’s mobile app and made sure he had enough to lend Declan.

There was always enough, but knowing the exact numbers eased his mind.

He flipped over to his messages and responded to his cousin: I want it back in a week. Or I’m charging interest.

He ground his teeth together. He wouldn’t have much time to go home and catch up with Mom now. Declan most likely needed the money right away. He always waited until the last minute, leaving Teddy to be the responsible one.

‘Mr. James,’ a female voice said to his right.

Teddy looked up from his phone. He stashed it away in his pocket by reflex.

His AP English teacher, Mrs. Hathaway, smiled at him. ‘You can use your phone. Classes are over for the day.’

Teddy chuckled. ‘Force of habit.’

She held her smile. ‘I wanted to discuss the possibility of joining our tutoring program. I have one student in mind for you to work with.’

‘I’m not sure if I have time to tutor other students,’ Teddy said. ‘My homework takes up a lot of my time.’ It wasn’t a complete lie. He had a lot of homework, but he had to keep his nights and weekends free for his extracurricular activity. The one that would get him and his mom out of dodge.

‘That’s a shame,’ she said, her lips tugging at the corners. ‘You would be a great asset.’

Teddy nodded. He knew he would be. He almost felt sorry about not accepting the offer. It would be great on his college application, but he couldn’t risk it. He needed the money more.

‘Well, I won’t bother you about it,’ she said, adjusting the collar of her white button-down. ‘Next year you might have more free time, so do let me know if you change your mind.’

‘I will.’ He spun the combination lock again. The straps of his bag dug into his shoulders, and he needed to unload some books.

He lifted the handle to his locker, and something fell onto the floor by his feet.

‘Oh, I’ll get that,’ Mrs. Hathaway said, bending over.

Teddy wasn’t sure how anything would fall out of his locker without seriously injuring anyone. His textbooks were massive.

When Mrs. Hathaway stood up, her lips puckered as if someone had shoved a lemon in her mouth. ‘What is this?’

Teddy swallowed. He knew exactly what it was. And what its street value was, just by looking at it.

‘Is this marijuana?’ she asked.

Teddy reached for it, but she pulled her hand away from him. ‘That’s not mine.’

What the hell? He glanced around him, but no one paid attention to the academic and his teacher.

‘Mr. James, I think you need to come with me to Principal Killian’s office right now.’

CHAPTER FOUR

TEDDY

Saturday

‘Theodore, you are the first to play the game,’ Teddy read off the red slip of paper. ‘Your instructions are hidden in your favorite novel. You have fifteen minutes to fulfill the task, or you fail.’

The room fell silent. The echo of Teddy’s task hung in the air.

He blinked, unsure of what was going on.

All eyes turned to Teddy. Heat moved under his skin as the sound of his given name echoed in his head. No one called him Theodore, except for his late grandmother. The formality of the note struck him, almost as if someone was playing to his childhood self. The self that was most vulnerable. Over the years, he went from a shy kid to someone stronger with thicker skin. But not at school. No, that other ‘self’ was for a different part of his life.

Or was someone messing with him? Not even his teachers had called him Theodore since kindergarten.

‘That was creepy as hell,’ Q said.

Teddy’s mouth flattened, hoping the others wouldn’t see the quiver in his lips. ‘Well, he got my name wrong.’

‘Your task is to find a book?’ Zoe asked.

Teddy wasn’t sure what to do. The last five minutes had been surreal.

‘I think we should tell Mr. Curtis,’ Jackie said. ‘I didn’t ask to be a part of this.’

‘A part of what?’ Q asked. ‘He has to read a book. Big deal.’

‘It’s just a dumb prank,’ Teddy said.

‘Who would mess with perfect Teddy?’ Q asked.

Teddy winced at the word ‘perfect’. It was how everyone at school described him. Trouble had never found him in school. Until this week.

Why was he a target? And twice in one week. First the weed in his locker. Now, this? He didn’t even do drugs. Sure, he’d been around them. The small bag wasn’t enough to get the police involved, but it was sufficient to land him in detention. Principal Killian had gone easy on him. It helped that he’d never been in trouble before. Though, now that record was marred by this situation.

Teddy could have talked himself out of it if Mrs. Hathaway had kept her mouth shut. She was appalled by the situation. Her hysterics made it worse. If she’d have given him a chance to appeal to Principal Killian, he’d be home instead of in the library with his classmates.

Someone had done this to him. And that person was in the building right now. If only he could get to the front office and find out who used the intercom. He wouldn’t risk Mr. Curtis finding him out of his seat. Having more than one detention in his file would give Kevin another heads up on him for valedictorian. Teddy had to keep a low profile for a while, maintaining the rest of his school career all about school and nothing else.

Teddy glanced at the door. Where was Mr. Curtis? Had he heard the voice too? The front office staff could program the intercom to report to the entire school or one room. Since Mr. Curtis hadn’t returned to the room, Teddy doubted that Mr. Curtis had heard it. Unless he didn’t care for pranks either and had already caught the person who disguised his voice.

Teddy hoped so. Maybe Mr. Curtis would come back to the room with the culprit. He could then try and move the blame for the weed to this person, saying he was blackmailed, which he was.

He looked down at the note. Fifteen minutes. The clock was ticking.

‘I think you should at least check it out, man,’ Q said. ‘What’s the harm?’

‘I really think we should tell Mr. Curtis,’ Jackie repeated.

Teddy gave her a look. She never spoke to him during school. They moved in different circles. He didn’t care about being popular, but if he could show the cheerleader he wasn’t a wimp, then he might land on her good side for the rest of their academic career together.

Chairs scraped against the floor behind him as the others followed.

‘What’s your favorite book?’ Cece asked, coming up beside him. They shared several classes together and like Jackie, rarely uttered a word to each other unless they had to. She was pretty but not his type, but he’d take any action these days. He knew he’d probably graduate as a virgin, but he still had another year to go. Anything could happen.

‘Carrie,’ Teddy and Zoe said at the same time.

He looked at her. She bit down a smile, but he knew it was there. The others glanced at her too.

‘How did you know that?’ Q asked, his eyes narrowed.

‘We used to be friends,’ Zoe said.

Teddy swallowed his hurt as he turned down the third stack of bookshelves. He spent the majority of his reading in the horror genre. Mom devoured those books during every spare moment she had, turning Teddy on to the genre. When he was younger, they would sit under the blankets of his bed with a flashlight reading scary stories.

He’d never told anyone that. It was something he shared with his mom alone. So why did this person think he knew his favorite book? Other than the tattered copy under his mattress, not many people in his life knew.

‘Carrie?’ Holly asked.

‘Stephen King,’ Q said, ‘not the book I was thinking for you, nerd.’

Teddy ground his teeth together. ‘I prefer modern fiction to the classics. And don’t call me that.’

Q laughed and slapped a hand on Teddy’s shoulder. ‘I think I like you a little more now.’

Teddy stiffened at his touch.

‘Chill out, man. I’m just messing around,’ Q added.

They all filtered down the aisle, following Teddy.

Teddy found the book. There was only one copy. It didn’t have a sticker on the spine, so it wasn’t a library copy. The paperback shook in his hands. The worn edges reminded him of his personal copy. He imagined seeing the name Bert handwritten on the inside. His mom purchased the book second-hand. There was writing in the margins from the Bert guy. While reading, Teddy felt as if he knew this stranger more than he knew his own father.

No, it wasn’t possible.

He couldn’t bear to look. Instead, he focused on the piece of red paper sticking out from the pages. Teddy touched the edge of the paper and slid it out.

Scrawled letters in a thick black marker stared up at him.

‘You take from others for personal gain. Now it’s time someone took from you. The one thing you cherish. Money. You will hold ten one-hundred-dollar bills, a small sample of your growing bank account. You will destroy them, or I will take away everything. You have ten minutes.’

Teddy’s palms dampened as his trembling hands opened the book wider. A hole was cut in the middle of the pages, just big enough for a stack of cash to fit inside. He cringed at the idea of someone purposefully cutting the pages. Especially since this was his book.

He dropped the note, and it fluttered to the floor.

Q picked it up and read it aloud. Everyone peered over Teddy’s shoulder to take a look at the cash.

‘Is that your money?’ Jackie asked. Her eyes were wide saucers.

Teddy closed the book and held it against him. ‘No.’

He had the urge to protect the book and the money inside. He knew the money wasn’t his. It couldn’t be. There was no way anyone could have access to his account. He used the savings account his grandmother had opened for him when he was a kid to store everything he earned. Even if this person knew how much he had, the bills in the book were probably fake.

He wanted to check the money and count it, but not with his classmates ogling the cash. They already knew too much.

‘So, he wants you to destroy that money?’ Cece asked.

‘Where did you get all that, anyway?’ Q asked.

‘This isn’t real,’ Teddy said. ‘Someone is messing with me.’ He opened the book again and picked up the top bill, a crisp hundred-dollar note. He held it up to the light and saw the security thread in the paper. This bill wasn’t counterfeit.

Teddy’s grip on the book tightened.

Q lifted a lighter from his pocket and held it out. ‘If it’s not real then you shouldn’t have any trouble destroying it as the note said.’

‘This is stupid.’ Teddy snatched the note from Q and headed back toward the table. He tucked the note into the book and closed it.

‘What are you doing?’ Zoe asked.

‘What does it look like?’ Teddy said. ‘I’m going to finish this chain and then get ahead in my reading for next week.’ At least then he’d have more time to stay out tonight if he completed his work early. He started for the table.

‘You’re not going to destroy that money?’ Jackie asked.

‘Why should I?’ Teddy asked. It was real, and it was a thousand dollars. He wanted to stash it away in his account, just as he did with every other spare hundred he earned.

‘Are you sure?’ Q asked.

Teddy glared at Q. ‘I’m sure.’

‘You have, like, eight minutes left,’ Jackie said.

‘Then in eight minutes you’ll see I’m right,’ Teddy said. He wished everyone would get off his back. He hated that they knew about his money. It was the only thing he had to himself.

‘Let me see the cash,’ Q said.

‘What?’ Teddy asked. ‘No way.’

Q lunged for the book, and Teddy snatched it away.

‘Stop,’ Teddy said.

‘If this is a prank then you shouldn’t be worried about anything,’ Q said. ‘Unless you know more than you’re letting on.’

‘Guys, enough,’ Holly said.

Q’s eyes narrowed. ‘You said it wasn’t real. Prove it.’

Teddy sat down and placed the book on the table.

Big mistake.

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