Page 14 of Starry with a Chance of Nightshade

“Party pooper?” I echoed. “Hardly. I’m just trying to get some last-minute studying in and you’re doing your best to open a door to the other side. You do understand that anything can walk through it then, right? And if you don’t close it properly, it’s a revolving door for anything that wants to pass?”

Krissy chuckled and lit another candle. “Overreact much?”

She was a fine one to talk. Normally, she made overreacting a daily event. I was as laid-back as one could get before being labeled narcoleptic or something. I think I was owed some overreacting, especially after four years of taking hers in stride.

I lifted my pen and twirled it through my fingers, doing my best to remain somewhat calm. I had a feeling the more I freaked, the more they’d want to do it. “What if we play Truth or Dare?”

Krissy’s gaze met mine. “I swear this will be fun. More fun than reading poems by some dead dude.”

“I happen to love Poe,” I said with a huff, my attention returning to the basement door. The same anxiety I’d had as a small child minutes before all hell had broken loose washed over me. It was so overpowering that I nearly bolted from the chair and raced outside to get some fresh air. Somehow, I managed to remain seated.

“Good thing since this town has a Poe Day,” said Stevie. “I can’t believe you made me sit through that musical put on by the high school.”

“It was awesome,” I said with a smile.

“Not the word I’d use,” she replied before frowning. “Listen, I know you’re into literature and that’s all fine and dandy, but you love anything and everything to do with science. I still don’t understand why you didn’t just major in that.”

“Would you believe me if I said my family is banned from anything medical or science related as careers?” I asked, hoping to lighten the mood while also dropping a truth bomb on them.

Stevie snorted. “Okay, sure.”

Krissy paused her actions, her attention on me. “Did you have your weekly call with your aunt?”

“Demi had something at school tonight that Rachael needed to be at,” I said, my thoughts going instantly to my cousin. Demi was four years younger than me and was more like a sister than a cousin. It would be nice having her at Grimm U next year.

“Cool,” said Krissy, returning to what she’d been doing. For all her faults, she valued family, though I wasn’t sure she had much in the way of it.

I sighed. “Are you planning to burn down the house with all those candles?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Think I’ll set off a smoke alarm?”

“Yes. You should quit while you’re ahead,” I said. “Try explaining this to the fire department. I dare you.”

“Astria, there isn’t anything to worry about,” she said softly. “This game is totally safe. And firefighters are sexy. Could liven things up here if they showed.”

I laughed at her firefighter comment. Trust her to find the hot guy angle in it all.

The house phone rang, its sound cutting through the moment, making us all jolt to some degree. It rang again and I made a move to stand to get it, only for it to stop.

“Jessica must have answered it upstairs,” said Krissy. “If she tries to ignore our night of fun to sit on the phone talking to that newest boy toy of hers—”

“You should be happy for her,” said Stevie, cutting Krissy off from saying more. “Anyone is better than that one guy she dated our freshman year.”

We all shared a look, nodding in agreement.

“Whatever happened to him?” asked Krissy, taking a break from her candle arranging.

Stevie pointed to me as she reclined against a group of pillows she’d tossed on the floor when Krissy had announced her plan to rock some old-school sleepover games—starting with Light as a Feather and moving on to seances. “Astria, Willa, and Mina had a littletalkwith him.”

I pretended to be very interested in studying for my exam.

Emily laughed. “Do tell.”

I blushed. “Nothing to tell.”

Stevie snorted. “Okay, when he got heavy-handed with her at the frat party, you and Mina lifted him, carried him through the fraternity house, and tossed him out the backdoor onto his ass. Then Willa dumped a trash can over onto him.”

Emily looked between us, her eyes widening. “Stop it. Really?”

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