Page 104 of Wicked Games

Margo is off-limits.

Chapter 26

Margo

“We’re here!” Riley yells, sprinting across the parking garage. She knocks into me, her arms squeezing around my back for a quick second. And then she jumps back, bouncing up and down. “This is a lot more imminent for you, Margo, but I’m so excited! If we like it, we can both go here, and I’ll only be a year behind, but I think I could probably graduate in three years if I take extra classes, then we can graduatetogetherand?—”

“Whoa,” I mumble. “I have to get in first.”

Sometimes I forget that Riley is a year younger. Besides the fact that we share no classes together, she doesn’t act like a junior. I’ve been pushing off the fact that she still has a full year left at Emery-Rose.

“It’s going to be so lonely next year.” She sighs. “I don’t suppose you want to get held back?”

I snort.

We link arms and head toward the elevators. Her dad follows behind us with Len and Robert.

Another new development: Lenora asked me to call herLen. Less formal, and apparently her friends and family call her that, too.

“Did you tell Caleb you were coming?” Riley asks.

“He was glad.”

“Because he wants you to go to college.”

I shrug. This last week has been… interesting, to say the least. Caleb finally told me why he was worried about the mermaid figurine. The fact that someone—Unknown—was spying on me creeps me out. Either he or I have done sweeps with this device he got that alerts you to transmitting devices. Like cameras or bugs… the audio kind.

He says he disposed of it, and I didn’t need to worry.Ha. Of course I’m worried. Someone got it into my room. It’s already too easy for him to scale the house and get in, so how hard would it be for someone else?

The suspect list is long.

And the scarier question: Why didn’t I notice it? It was so small, but it was obviously out of place. I pay more attention now, cataloging everything on my bookshelves and desk, but it’s getting overwhelming.

The rabbit hole I fell down…

People can hide cameras inpens.

Needless to say, I haven’t got much sleep this week.

But today…today, we’re in New York City, and we’re going to take a tour of the NYU campus. Riley and I are going to sit in on a class while the adults go to a seminar on financial aid. And after that, we get to meet some professors, talk to current students, and then we need to pull off the ultimate trick: convince our parents to let us take off by ourselves for an hour.

It’s better than sneaking away, we reasoned. Less risk.

We locate the admissions office, where a bunch of other high school students are gathered.

Lenora—Len—squeezes my shoulder. “Excited?”

“Terrified,” I whisper.

After a tour that leaves me awestruck—the campus is huge—and an international law class, Riley and I find our families to get lunch.

On the quad, the Bryans are chatting with a man with an NYU lanyard around his neck.

Len grins at us. “Margo, this is one of my old college professors, Eric Marks.”

“Old,” Professor Marks says, shaking his head and trying not to smile. “You always knew how to make a guy feel good, Len. Pleasure to meet you, Margo.”

I shake his hand, suddenly shy. “Hi.”

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