Page 30 of The Ruse

I looked over the faces of my classmates and saw a few compassionate expressions. Even Scarlett Caldwell, who had been on the journalism team with Bailee, had tears in her eyes. And she had never seemed like the emotional type to me.

So this was a good sign.

Their guards were coming down.

Which really, they should. Even if my tears were forced right now, everything I’d said was true…

Well, okay, soalmosteverything. I’d allowed myself one little lie since that lie was the thing I needed to sell this.

“Anyway.” I cleared my throat. “I just wanted to say all of that because I don’t want anyone feeling unsafe around me. Also, if anyone has any information about what might have happened to Bailee that night, if you remember seeing her with anyone suspicious, or if she might have said anything to you that seemed off, I would love to know. I know it’s been seven months, but part of the reason why I came back to this school is to help the police find out what happened to Bailee. And the more people we have looking for clues, the more likely we’ll find something.”

Deciding that I’d made enough of a scene for the night, I sat back down and went back to my dinner.

10

ELYSE

“You comingto study with us in the library?” my friend Scarlett asked me as we cleaned off our trays after dinner. Scarlett was one of my best friends who boarded in the room next to Ava’s and mine. With dark auburn hair, high cheekbones, and brown eyes, I’d always thought she looked like a teenage Lily Collins.

She was on the volleyball team, the basketball team, student council, wrote for the school newspaper, and was enrolled in about every honors class the school offered.

I’d thought I was a high achiever compared to students at my last school, living by my to-do list and always aiming for straight A’s. But that was nothing compared to Scarlett. She was involved ineverything,and somehow, she was also the best at everything she did. I didn’t know how she pulled it off while still also having time to hang out with all of us.

Sometimes I wondered if she secretly had an identical twin, too. Because with everything she was able to do in a day and at the level she was able to do it, there just had to be a “Scarlett clone” hiding in the room next to Ava’s and mine.

I set my tray on the stack of used trays beside us. “I’ll just have to grab my books from my room, and I’ll meet you guys there.”

“Cool.” She set her cleared-off tray on top of mine. “We’ll just be sitting at our usual table.”

We were leaving the great hall together when I noticed Asher was still sitting at his table by himself—the freshmen had skittered away a while ago. As I looked at his slumped-over shoulders, I couldn’t help but think how lonely he must feel at the school.

Cambrielle had said that he and his girlfriend had been close—everyone’s “couple goals,” as she’d worded it. It had to be hard being back here without her and seeing all the places they’d hung out together as they’d fallen in love.

“Hey, I’m gonna talk to Asher real quick,” I told Scarlett before we reached his table. “See you in a little bit.”

“Okay…” Her dark eyebrows knitted together like she was curious why I’d want to stop and talk to Asher. But then she shrugged and said, “See you in the library.”

After she left, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and give me the courage to do what I planned to do.

“Hey, Asher,” I said, my voice coming out a lot quieter than planned.

He turned his head back and his face registered surprise, as if he hadn’t really expected anyone to come up and talk to him after his speech during dinner.

“Hi?” he said.

Okay, just do it, Elyse. Just invite him. If he says no, it doesn’t matter.

I counted down from five in my head, and then made myself say, “Hey. So, um, Scarlett just said that she, Hunter, and Ava are planning to study in the library after dinner, and since we’re in so many of the same classes, I was wondering if you’d like to join us.”

He looked stunned for a second. Like he wasn’t sure I realized who I was talking to. But after blinking his dark-brown eyes a few times, he said, “Uh, sure.” He slipped his phone into his back pocket. “That would actually be great.”

“Yeah?” An unexpected fluttering of relief filled my chest over the fact that he hadn’t turned me down.

“Yeah.” He scooted back on the bench and started pulling his long legs out from under the table to stand. “I kept up okay when I was doing everything online, but it would be nice to work with the smart kids.”

“The smart kids?” I chuckled.

He shrugged as he picked up his tray from the table. “Well, I already know Scarlett would have a panic attack if she ever got an A minus, and she wouldn’t be best friends with Hunter if he couldn’t keep up with her. So I just figured if you and your sister were studying with them, then it must mean you were one of them, too.”

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