Page 68 of Crew Princess
I’d ripped out the door stop and started to open the door when she spoke up.
“What are you going to tell Jordan?”
I didn’t look back.
Tabatha was a Normal. I had melted, halfway forgetting that over the last few weeks. I remembered now.
“The truth,” I told her. “You’re a sellout.”
I got three steps before Taz was in my face. A bathroom pass in her hands, she stopped in surprise, then rushed to me. “Hey! I was just thinking—we haven’t talked about prom at all. Like, at all. That’s weird.”
I glanced over my shoulder.
If Taz went in there…if Tabatha came out, I wasn’t sure what I would say. Or do.
I was still pissed, beyond pissed.
These cameras were here to mess up our lives—my life—and they didn’t get that right.
“Bren? Hello.” Taz waved her hand in front of my face, stepping around to face me as I tried to evade her. But I couldn’t do that, not to her.
“I—what?”
“Prom.” She frowned at me, waving her bathroom pass in the air, distractedly. “It’s this Saturday. I know we’re all doing a limo together, but what are you wearing? Monica asked about the salon that morning, and I assumed you were in, but then I realized we’ve never talked. That’s super weird.”
I wanted to groan. Thisconversationwas super weird. I gave two shits about prom.
“Uh, yeah. Maybe. I don’t know.”
I needed to find Cross. I needed to tell the guys. I needed to figure out my next steps because Becca would come looking for me, and what would I do then? I wanted to burn this school down, but I was fairly certain the guys wouldn’t be on board with that. So what? Sit tight? What could I actually do?
“Bren.” Taz lowered her voice, stepping closer. Concern filtered over her face. “Are you okay?”
“You want the short answer?”No. Hell no.
But I lied because I knew what I had to do. “I’m fine. Just...worried about prom. You’re right.”
I needed to go back to that room. I needed to sit there for every interview.
They wanted me to give them specific questions for each person, so I would do that—questions that had nothing to do with crew life.
I would sit. I would stew. I would spy.
And then I would decide what to do—with the guys, but only with the guys. I wouldn’t react. I wouldn’t put anyone in jail or leave the school in handcuffs.That’swhat I would do.
“Bren. Prom. Do you or don’t you have a dress?” Taz was trying to be funny. “That’s the big debate going on here.”
A dress? Fuck.
Prom was a big deal to Normal girls. That wasn’t me, but we were going. Taz had begged and pleaded, and we all gave in a while ago. I’d put it out of my head, and no. I didn’t have a dress.
“I—”
“I’m just kidding!” Taz swatted my arm, bouncing backward. “Of course you do, but for real, the salon day. Are you in? Monica’s mom made the appointment. It’s at the Fallen Crest Country Club. Her mom knows a manager there or something, and they have that spa now. We’re booked there that morning. You want to ride together? We’re supposed to be there at nine.”
“Uh…yeah. Sure.”
Prom. Shit.
