Prank Wars Read online

  “I need you to check something for me, will you? Yeah. Tonight if you can.” He kneaded his forehead with his fingertips. “Sure. What do you want me to do?” He sounded whipped, but not exactly lovey-dovey. Maybe he was talking to his mom? Wait. He had called her Holly. Not his mom. Byron flipped his phone shut and stared over it at the bunnies prancing across his computer screen. A brief smile flickered over his lips. “Unbelievable.” He stretched like a dangerous cat and headed into the hall for the back rooms. As soon as he turned the corner, Lizzie and I were out the door. The front step creaked loudly under our shoes. Lizzie slammed the door behind us and I shot her a look of disbelief.

  “I’m sorry!” she shouted. “Their air conditioning was on! Their bill’s gonna be huge!”

  Trust Lizzie to care about those kinds of things. We wove around the dead love tree and dashed into the parking lot. The door scraped open behind us, and I wondered how fast Byron could go when we ran straight into Eric. I stumbled backwards at the impact. “Whoa!” Eric stopped me from falling again. His hands clenched tightly over my arms. “I got you.” He grinned at me and gave me a quick hug, shocking me from the tip of my toes to the ends of my hair. His arms were just as warm and strong as I remembered them. He smelled good too, which was lucky because my nose was smashed against him. “You okay?” he asked. A little embarrassed maybe.

  “Save us!” Lizzie clutched at him. “He’s after us!” I wriggled free from Eric, trying to ignore his amused look.

  Eric peered over our heads. “You mean that guy?”

  Lizzie and I turned. Byron rested one palm against his front door. His lean silhouette looked dark and forbidding. He treated Eric to a fierce glare, almost as if he had completely forgotten about us, but it didn’t take long for Byron’s gaze to find me. He lifted a brow, not moving from the door. Now that there was someone sane in the picture, there was nothing he could do to us. Those were the rules.

  Eric squinted at him. “So, that’s the famous Lord Byron?”

  I nodded. “You must be new to the ward, Eric.”

  “You could say that.”

  “Really? You are?” Lizzie was already recovering from her scare and her politeness had returned. “Where are you living?”

  Eric hesitated, digging his hands deep in his pockets and tipping back on his sandals. It was the look of a guy not ready to commit to certain girl visitors. Why? Who was he afraid we’d meet, other girls? He had something to hide and I had somewhere to go. Besides, who knew what sort of trouble Tory had gotten herself into? I turned from Eric and saw a shadow gliding through the alleyway behind the guy’s apartments. I backed into Eric and he let out a pained oof.

  “Someone’s over there,” I whispered hoarsely.

  He tried to look concerned. “You think it’s one of your friends?”

  “Oh yeah.” I felt stupid. The shadow slipped further back into the alleyway. Only one person I knew would be back there. “I guess it’s only Tory.”

  “Who?”

  “She likes to spring out at us and scare us, but she’s harmless.” I grabbed Lizzie’s arm. We had to catch up to Tory before she caused further mischief. “Well, it was nice seeing you again, Eric. Hopefully we won’t do it again. I mean…hopefully we won’t run into you again…uh...hard.” I left him and sprinted for the alleyway, but jerked to a stop. Lizzie fell back too.

  Eric’s fingers were wrapped around my hand. “Hey. Where are you going?”

  Why did he care? He was the one who wouldn’t tell me where he lived. “Home,” I said. “You know, a place where people can actually come and pay their respects?” I hesitated, realizing what that sounded like. “That’s not an invitation!”

  Judging by his pleased expression, he wasn’t taking me seriously at all. “Why? What did I do?”

  I jerked away from him. “I don’t know. You could try telling us where you live for starters.”

  “I’m looking into a place right now, so…”

  Lizzie directed her huge smile at him. Her face was flushed with adrenaline which made her look even more beautiful, especially since in no way was she dressed in the appropriate prank war attire like I was. I tried not to be jealous. “And we haven’t scared you away yet?” she asked with a giggle.

  Eric gave an appreciative laugh. His eyes caught mine. “No, no, I kind of like it.” There was a wicked glint to his expression, and if he had said it any differently, I would’ve called him a creep.

  “Well, don’t move into the bunkhouse,” I warned him. “They’re trouble.” And the last thing I needed was for Eric to join the troop. He was much too charming. Even now, I wasn’t sure why he was still talking to us, unless… “Eric, you aren’t a wing man, are you? Uh, right now, I mean?”

  He went silent, trying to figure out what I was saying. “No, I’m more of a drumstick man.”

  “Me too.” I was glad that he wasn’t mixed up in this. Then I realized what I had told him. “I mean, I’m a drumstick girl…uh, not a man.”

  “Got ya.”

  I looked behind me. Byron was still watching from the door. I couldn’t see him clearly from here, but I knew he wasn’t pleased. Strangely, the thought made my stomach turn. The twins tromped up the steps to stand beside him. Tory had evaded them again, except—they had their cushions under their arms. I turned on my heel to stare at them in disbelief. Were they magic or had they sold their souls to the devil?

  Tory dashed out from the bush to our side, her face red with fury. How had she escaped the alleyway behind us so fast? That girl had wings on her shoes. One look at her and I knew the boys downstairs were gonna get it—and it wouldn’t be Lizzie’s cinnamon rolls…or maybe it would, but it would be smeared all over their gamer faces. Those traitors!

  Chapter Ten

  Day 106

  2156 hours

  “We had been outwitted by those devils again. I tried to think through the arguing voices and accusing shrieks. There were so many questions left unanswered. So many answers left unquestioned.”

  —Madeleine’s War Journal Entry (Tuesday, May 29th).

  “There’s an information leak,” Tory cried. She paced the perimeters of the empty apartment next to ours. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the place bugged. It was like the twins walked straight downstairs to those gamers like they knew exactly where we stashed the cushions. We have a spy in the ranks!”

  Sandra? Kali? She thought the twins were cute, plus she was just in it for the dates, but Kali looked too distraught after her tangle with the boys at ward prayer. Her mouth wasn’t full of chocolate…and she wasn’t taking any pictures. She moved her hands wildly. “Byron knew what we were doing!” she yelled. “I don’t know how he knew. His roommates didn’t know. He just sat on the couch, looking at me like I was an idiot.”

  “You were sitting on the couch?” I asked quickly. “Doing what?”

  Kali shrugged. “He let me talk about school like he was my guidance counselor. I just blabbed whatever came to my head. As soon as the twins figured out something was up, my friends and I grabbed them. Byron just let us have our way with them…and…”

  “That’s how he got that letter,” I said, “—probably while you were taking down the twins.”

  “No, he didn’t!” Kali looked shocked—either that or she was a great actress. “Why would he want that anyway?” She searched the pockets of her capris. When she couldn’t find the offending item, she held up her hands in defense. “I was working too hard to give up anything. Do you know how hard it was to get those keys from them?”

  “Yeah? Where are the keys then?”

  Kali searched deeper into her pockets and cried out in dismay. “I don’t know.”

  “You gave them back!” Tory accused. Kali denied it. They argued loudly around us. Lizzie sat on the empty couch in silent disgust, which meant I had to bring us back to the real world.

  “Okay,” I shouted. “That’s enough!” Everyone stopped talking and the noise faded like a dying wind. “I don
’t know how they’re doing this, okay. Maybe they’re getting their information a different way?”

  “Or maybe you’re just getting predictable.” We all turned as one, staring at Sandra. She had entered the empty apartment as silently as a black ninja and now sat perched on the edge of the couch, her boot clad legs crossed. A soft Indian scarf tied around her pretty little neck. She glanced distastefully around our new headquarters. “What are you doing in here?”

  “It’s okay. The place is empty,” Lizzie explained hurriedly. The last thing she wanted was to get into trouble. “No one’s using it.”

  Sandra glared at all of us, which I’m not sure how she managed. “I just want to know one thing. Did you get the cushions back or not?”

  “Not,” I answered. “Sorry.”

  “Why don’t you just text him and tell him that I want them back, huh?” We froze. It wasn’t that simple. “Or do you not know how to text?”

  I straightened. Sandra had called me out. Lizzie jumped to her feet, standing between us. “C’mon, save it for the guys.”

  “Or is the real problem,” Sandra continued as if Lizzie hadn’t said anything, “that Byron hasn’t given you his number yet?” Sandra was doing that enunciating thing again, managing to make every word sound annoying. “Now tell me. What missing letter are you talking about?”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore,” I told her coldly. “It’s gone.”

  “That’s weird. Why was it so important to him?”

  I shrugged. It bugged me that I couldn’t figure it out either. “He wanted to cover his tracks. I don’t know.”

  Sandra gathered her purse and pulled out red glimmery lipstick. We watched her apply it to her lips. It was mesmerizing. The girl didn’t even need a mirror. “Look, I’m just saying this because I’m worried about your social welfare,” she wiped the corner of her lips free of excess lipstick, “maybe mine more. But just back off, okay.”

  I took a deep breath. This wasn’t the first time she told us we were crazy, but now there was something different about it. It was almost a warning. “Or what?” I asked, “Somebody gets hurt?”

  Sandra chuckled. She stood up, her light fingers slithering past our cache of weapons on the table: Kool-Aid, lipstick, tuna fish, Jell-O. Her hand rested on the old lady perfume. “When I was a little girl, I played with dolls.”

  “Oh really?” Kali looked ready to kill her. I should’ve known Sandra would be a threat to the girliest girl in the room. “I would’ve thought knives?”

  Sandra pouted her overly bright red lips at her. “Honey, the difference between you and me is that I’m not an idiot—oh—and I don’t wear tacky fake jewels on my rings.” Kali’s fingers clenched, revealing a big turquoise ring. Sandra permitted herself a cruel chuckle, and turned on me. “And I don’t depend on stupid games to catch a man. How about I give you some tips, little ones? Like this perfume.” She held up the old lady perfume, not realizing how nasty the stuff was. “Do you even know what this is really meant for?” We all stepped back at the threat. The old lady perfume smelled worse than mosquito repellent. “I promise it’s much more effective than what you do with it.”

  Kali couldn’t take anymore. She stepped directly into the line of fire and snatched the perfume from Sandra’s grasp. Her fake rings scraped against the container. “How about you try some of it then?”

  Sandra recoiled, suddenly realizing we weren’t holding some Jennifer Lopez fragrance. “Why? What is that?”

  “Just think of it as a little experiment.” Kali cocked her head wickedly. “Let’s see how many guys you can catch with it.”

  Sandra tried to give her a stern look. “Get that away from me.”

  “Kali. Stop.” Lizzie was trying to make peace. She held up her hands. “Don’t do this.” Tory enjoyed the show with a big grin.

  “What’s the matter, Sandra?” Kali asked. “Will it clash with your Odori Iris fragrance?” This was a pure girly fight. I didn’t even recognize that scent.

  Sandra tried to shrug her away. “Look, I’m done arguing. You’re a child.”

  “Oh c’mon, baby, I promise. One squirt won’t hurt.”

  As much as I was enjoying this, I knew I had better do something before Lizzie blamed me forever. “Alright, put it down, Kali. We don’t want any trouble.”

  Kali’s hand shook on the perfume nozzle, her perfect blonde curls bobbing. “She asked for it.”

  “Yeah, but don’t.”

  “You don’t want to waste your grandmother’s perfume, honey,” Sandra told her.

  That was it. Kali lunged for Sandra, who screamed and ran. Kali was after her with uncharacteristic swiftness. They scurried around the room, shrieking and pushing things out of their way. I shoved between them only to get the old lady perfume sprayed straight into my eyes. I fell back with a grunt. “Ouch!” I couldn’t see. My eyes were burning.

  “Are you crazy?” I could hear Sandra’s loud voice. “That stuff stinks! You almost got me with that!”

  “Yeah, so what?” I got to my feet, but I couldn’t tell where I was. Tears streamed down my cheeks. “Kali got me in the eyes!” My hands found something hard. The wall.

  “Don’t rub them. Run your eyes under water.” I think that was Lizzie. Her hand was on my back and she was helping me into the hall.

  “You stupid brat!” Sandra shouted at Kali. “Where did you get that stink anyway—your mom?” I listened to Sandra’s ensuing screams. She had only done it to herself. Lizzie’s hand left me to stop the fight, and I stumbled into the back where I thought the bathroom was. If it was anything like our apartment, it should be in the far left corner past the bedrooms. I could still hear panicked voices in the distance, but I couldn’t concentrate on them. My eyes were stinging. As soon as I found the bathroom, I felt around, not bothering with the lights. After touching everything I could possibly touch in a bathroom, I found the faucet and threw my face into the steady stream of water. The hard part was opening my eyes under it. Nothing felt worse…besides having a baby maybe and I wouldn’t know. My eyes were killing me.

  The sounds of screaming melted into insults. How long could those two possibly fight? Next, they would get into Sandra’s bright red lipstick. I pulled my head out of the water and forced my eyes open only to greet a dark world. This was it. I was completely blind. As soon as I remembered to switch on the lights, I gasped in pain at the brightness, still not able to see.

  The sounds of fighting amplified. Lizzie was trying to talk some sense into Kali and Sandra, but they did what I did best and ignored her. I got ready to storm back through the dark hallway, but something made me turn. The door to the back bedroom was slightly ajar. There was a light on inside. The problem was nobody lived here. I felt a stab of warning tingle behind my ears and down my spine. Tory couldn’t be hiding in there again, could she? I was an injured woman. Had she no decency?

  “Tory. This isn’t funny.” I pushed the door open and saw a freshly made bed. I made out some floral print—someone was sitting on it. I jerked back, not able to see who it was…a girl, well yeah; it had to be a girl. She was tiny. “Oh no,” I whispered. Someone lived here. We were wrong. I held up my hands. “I’m sorry.” The girl watched me silently, and without expression. I couldn’t tell if she was mad or scared, but the steady stare was freaking me out. I could only see her through my perfume induced fog, but I sensed something was terribly wrong. I had to explain before she called the cops on us or tackled me. I was in no condition to defend myself. “We didn’t know.” I balanced myself against the wall. “I’m really sorry.” Her eyes were unblinking. My heart skipped at an uncomfortable rate. “We thought this place was empty or we never would’ve…”

  “Who are you talking to?”

  I turned. Tory, well, I think it was. She had red hair. I gestured helplessly into the bedroom. “Our neighbor.”

  She was silent for a moment. “There’s no one there.”

  My stomach lurched again. “Really?”

&nb
sp; Tory walked boldly into the room, and I followed helplessly after her. I hated not being able to see. “You’re talking to a bunch of balloons,” she muttered with a little laugh. Stepping closer, I saw the big heart balloons floating over a bed—a little deflated, maybe a week old. Someone lived here. The bedroom was furnished and decorated. Tory picked up some framed pictures. “This has to be the girl who lives here.” She shoved one of the pictures into my face, so I could inspect it. “She’s in all the pictures.” At close proximity, I could see it was the same girl I had seen during my watch, a beautiful girl from the Orient with long black hair. She had a lollipop in her mouth.

  “When do you think she’s coming home?” Tory asked softly.

  It took us both a moment to process the trouble we’d be in. “Run!” We were already out the door. I fell against the wall and stumbled over Tory. She had my arm and we plunged into the living room. I barely made out Sandra and Kali’s startled faces. I gathered our things together, hoping against hope that I didn’t drop anything as evidence that we had been here. “We’ve got to go!” I shouted.

  “What’s the matter?” Lizzie asked.

  “Someone lives here!”

  “What?” The dismayed voices echoed around the room.

  “That’s crazy!” Kali cried. “There’s nothing in here.” She opened a dresser drawer below the mirror in the front room and gasped at the pencils and papers inside.