you just insulted me to my face?” Noelle replied, crossing her arms over her chest.
I watched them face off and held my breath. This was supposed to be fun, not a showdown between Ivy and Noelle.
“Okay! Okay! That one’s a wash,” I said. “Let’s move on.”
Ivy and Noelle both rolled their eyes. Ivy reached for a peanut butter cup and Noelle shifted in her seat, turning her knees away from Ivy and resting her arm on the back of the couch so that her back was practically square with Ivy’s face.
“Anyone else have a story?” I asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.
“What about the time we all had to dress up Reed for her date with Hunter Braden!” Constance trilled.
“Oh! That was fun!” Portia put in, crunching into a pretzel.
“And necessary, considering your serious wardrobe issues,” Missy said with a sniff.
“Now I definitely get your pin!” Astrid said.
“Oooooh!”
Missy rolled her eyes and detached a pin for Astrid. “Brown’s not my color anyway.”
As everyone started to reminisce about my makeover night last semester, studiously avoiding Sabine’s name, I noticed, I began to finally relax. They were really getting into the spirit of the game—a game that Elizabeth Williams had devised almost a hundred years ago. Everyone was happy and laughing and shouting and pointing, grabbing pins from one another and chowing down. If I could just keep Ivy and Noelle from clawing each other’s eyes out, everything would be fine. Because this was what I wanted the Billings Literary Society to be about. It was the closest we’d come to a true Billings moment since we’d returned from break.
And from that moment on, I vowed there would be many more.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
“Last night was so much fun!” Constance whispered as she slipped into the chair next to mine at breakfast the next day. “Was that the second task, or was it just for the heck of it? Because if it was a task, I guess Missy and Shelby totally failed.”
“Shhh!” I said, glancing around to make sure no one was in earshot. Across the aisle, Gage, Sawyer, Graham, and Trey were hanging out, talking loudly. I ducked my head toward hers. “It was a task,” I whispered. “And yeah, Missy and Shelby did not pass.”
They had both lost all five of their pins quickly, but we’d decided to keep playing anyway. No one had wanted our night to end just then.
I speared some scrambled egg with my fork as Kiki, Vienna, London, Amberly, Tiffany, and the others settled in around us. Everyone was chatting, laughing, happy. After the first task I’d felt like we were prepping for a funeral. Now everyone was acting like we were on our way to the Legacy.
Not that I ever wanted to attend a Legacy party again after the awfulness of the last two, but still.
“We’re going to movie night in the Great Room tonight,” Vienna announced, laying her linen napkin across her lap. “They’re showing a Legally Blonde marathon. Who’s in?”
“Me!” London said predictably, lifting a hand. “I can recite the entire first movie from beginning to end.”
But she couldn’t get more than two answers right on the BLS knowledge test. Good to know she remembered the truly important stuff.
“Let’s all go,” Lorna enthused, dropping into her chair. “It’ll be fun.”
“Could be slightly more entertaining than my trig homework,” Astrid mused, lifting a shoulder.
“I’m in,” I said. I knew I should probably should spend the night studying, but I was happy that my friends wanted to do something together. This was what the secret society was all about—making sure we stayed close. It seemed like last night’s loyalty message had come through loud and clear.
“Well, I, for one, don’t need to spend the night watching Reese Witherspoon’s career slowly wither and die,” Noelle said with a sniff, carefully buttering her toast. “If any of you has progressed past a sixth-grade level, I’ll be having a little soiree
I watched them face off and held my breath. This was supposed to be fun, not a showdown between Ivy and Noelle.
“Okay! Okay! That one’s a wash,” I said. “Let’s move on.”
Ivy and Noelle both rolled their eyes. Ivy reached for a peanut butter cup and Noelle shifted in her seat, turning her knees away from Ivy and resting her arm on the back of the couch so that her back was practically square with Ivy’s face.
“Anyone else have a story?” I asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.
“What about the time we all had to dress up Reed for her date with Hunter Braden!” Constance trilled.
“Oh! That was fun!” Portia put in, crunching into a pretzel.
“And necessary, considering your serious wardrobe issues,” Missy said with a sniff.
“Now I definitely get your pin!” Astrid said.
“Oooooh!”
Missy rolled her eyes and detached a pin for Astrid. “Brown’s not my color anyway.”
As everyone started to reminisce about my makeover night last semester, studiously avoiding Sabine’s name, I noticed, I began to finally relax. They were really getting into the spirit of the game—a game that Elizabeth Williams had devised almost a hundred years ago. Everyone was happy and laughing and shouting and pointing, grabbing pins from one another and chowing down. If I could just keep Ivy and Noelle from clawing each other’s eyes out, everything would be fine. Because this was what I wanted the Billings Literary Society to be about. It was the closest we’d come to a true Billings moment since we’d returned from break.
And from that moment on, I vowed there would be many more.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
“Last night was so much fun!” Constance whispered as she slipped into the chair next to mine at breakfast the next day. “Was that the second task, or was it just for the heck of it? Because if it was a task, I guess Missy and Shelby totally failed.”
“Shhh!” I said, glancing around to make sure no one was in earshot. Across the aisle, Gage, Sawyer, Graham, and Trey were hanging out, talking loudly. I ducked my head toward hers. “It was a task,” I whispered. “And yeah, Missy and Shelby did not pass.”
They had both lost all five of their pins quickly, but we’d decided to keep playing anyway. No one had wanted our night to end just then.
I speared some scrambled egg with my fork as Kiki, Vienna, London, Amberly, Tiffany, and the others settled in around us. Everyone was chatting, laughing, happy. After the first task I’d felt like we were prepping for a funeral. Now everyone was acting like we were on our way to the Legacy.
Not that I ever wanted to attend a Legacy party again after the awfulness of the last two, but still.
“We’re going to movie night in the Great Room tonight,” Vienna announced, laying her linen napkin across her lap. “They’re showing a Legally Blonde marathon. Who’s in?”
“Me!” London said predictably, lifting a hand. “I can recite the entire first movie from beginning to end.”
But she couldn’t get more than two answers right on the BLS knowledge test. Good to know she remembered the truly important stuff.
“Let’s all go,” Lorna enthused, dropping into her chair. “It’ll be fun.”
“Could be slightly more entertaining than my trig homework,” Astrid mused, lifting a shoulder.
“I’m in,” I said. I knew I should probably should spend the night studying, but I was happy that my friends wanted to do something together. This was what the secret society was all about—making sure we stayed close. It seemed like last night’s loyalty message had come through loud and clear.
“Well, I, for one, don’t need to spend the night watching Reese Witherspoon’s career slowly wither and die,” Noelle said with a sniff, carefully buttering her toast. “If any of you has progressed past a sixth-grade level, I’ll be having a little soiree
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