Page 32 of Home: Posy 5

"Enough, you two!" Aunt Aye, Uncle Lincoln, and Grandma all said at the same time.

"Wait. How do you glitter bomb a car?" I asked in the sudden silence.

"You put glitter in the vents and when they turn the air on, it goes everywhere." Her smile was not a nice one.

"Everywhere is right," Evan griped. "That stuff should be illegal!"

As everyone chuckled and the conversation turned to other topics, I tugged on Eden's sleeve.

"Can you help me with something?" I whispered when she leaned closer.

"Sure!" she whispered back. "Let's go to my room!"

She stood and grabbed my hand, pulling me off Mason's lap and toward the stairs.

"You have a room here?" I asked as I trotted along in her wake.

"We live here. After Grandpa died, Grandma was lonely, and the house was too big for her to keep up." Eden shrugged as we reached the top of the stairs. "It worked out great. We all get along well and can divide up chores and stuff. Win-win."

She threw open the door to her room and led me over to the bed, where she plopped down and patted a space next to her.

"So you want to prank your mates, huh?" she asked with a smirk.

Wide-eyed, I stared at her. How had she guessed?!

"Your face is so easy to read," Eden giggled, then got serious. "Okay, what are we talking about here? Pranks in general, or is there a specific reason?"

"My friend Angelo said their egos need to be checked once in a while," I said as I sat next to her. "And they think I can't be sneaky."

Then I shared the conversation we'd had on the way over here.

"Bwahaha! An old tactic! Get them on edge, then do nothing!" she chuckled. "You need to wait at least a day before you attempt a prank, or they'll know right away that it's you."

"What do you mean? Of course they'll know it's me. Who else would it be?"

"My dear cousin, you are so cute! Being underestimated is the greatest advantage you can have. Embrace it!" She sat up and squished me in a hug. "And besides, you never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake."

"What does all that mean?"

"If you can make your victim think it was someone else who played the prank, do it."

"That sounds like good advice!" I grinned. "You're so smart!"

"I didn't make it up." She rolled her eyes. "It's fromTheArt of Warby Sun Tzu. You should try reading it sometime."

"It's still smart to remember something you read and quote it at the right time." I smiled at her, then asked, "So how do I do that? I'm not any good at lying or keeping a secret."

"Girl, you just give them those innocent blue eyes you're giving me right now and tell them so-and-so did it. For example, one time I asked Ethan to hand me a bottle of soda from the fridge. Then I shook it upreallllgood before carrying it outside to Evan. When it exploded all over him, I told him that Ethan gave it to me. See? No secrets and not even lying!"

"Oh, I see." I nodded. "I can set up Wyatt or Ash or even Jayden, if the prank's on Wyatt or Ash. No one will even doubtthat."

"Now," she said, "have you ever played a prank on them before? Like, will they suspect it's you?"

"No. I bribed them with kisses to help me prank Beta Emerson once, but he deserved it. Oh, and I said something on purpose to make Jayden spit water all over himself today during tea with the queen. Maybe a couple of other little things like that."

"Very good, my padawan."

With a serious face, Eden put her hands together and bowed at me. When she straightened up and saw my confused face, she explained it was a Star Wars reference that meant an apprentice. I felt too awkward to tell her I had no idea what Star Wars was, so I just nodded.

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