Page 84 of Magical Academy for Delinquents
Grayson smooshed the head of one of my clay guys and gave a nod. Then he trotted off a little bit to a clearing, so he had space to work. He easily lifted the figures the first twenty feet. But after that, they started to wobble.
I heard him curse when one of them flipped sideways.
I turned to Evan. "I need you to practice unraveling spells." I pulled a sheet of paper out of my back pocket. "I paid a couple guys to come up with the hardest, most complex spells they could. Time yourself. I've got solutions here too, so we can check it. But we need to see how long Z needs to buy you."
Evan took the paper, letting his fingers linger over mine. He gave me a small, private smile before he nodded and headed into the shack.
I turned to Z who had leaned against a tree and was smacking some gum obnoxiously. "So, boss, whatcha' want me to do?"
"If we need a wand, you're our sticky fingers. You and I need to look through a list of Pinnacle possibilities and see who the easiest target is." I gave him a half grin. "I mean, technically, we could take Claude's wand—" I was tempted to take it and just leave it behind in the vault after we finished the job. Let the Pinnacle decide what to make of that—either he’d be ruled incompetent or guilty.
But Z saw right through me. "Nope. No way. I'm sure you know better than to have a personal attachment to a mark. You need to keep a clean head."
I shrugged. "Worth a shot. Let's go sit and find a target."
"Do we have a timeline for all this?"
I took a deep breath and said, "We could try summer break--"
But Malcolm interrupted me, standing up from where he'd sat. "Two weeks," he stated firmly. Then he flipped his laptop around and showed me a magical news site. The headline featured the Unnatural Ball. "Ball's three blocks away from the Pinnacle," Malcolm explained. "Perfect spot for a little Boom Chicka Boom."
My heart clenched. Was he insane? That was impossible! We’d just gotten together. They’d just agreed. "Two weeks?" I shook my head. "No—"
Malcolm reached out and grabbed my arm. "It needs to be two weeks, Hayley. If I'm gonna pull off my part of this, it's gotta be then. The Unnatural Ball will have a huge group of people. If I can rile them up, that will be the best distraction for those guards and prairie dogs."
My feet felt heavy. My brain convinced my eyes that I was hallucinating. I blinked. But Malcolm was still there. The article about the ball was still on his computer screen.
Behind us, three clay dummies smashed into the ground and broke as Grayson lost control. A clay hand came flying in our direction and landed near our feet. I stared at it. Only the middle finger remained. It literally looked like fate was flipping me off.
Zavier looped his arm around my shoulders. "Hey. Bright side. That's spring break. So, at least we don't have to sneak out of here, too."
I looked over at Z, who started to play casually with my hair like this was no big deal.
I only had one word. "Fuck."
Chapter 33
I hit up Tia—becauseif anyone knew how to get me things I needed in a rush—it was her.
-Hey, long time no chat. Wanna date for the Unnatural Ball?-
I was totally willing to pimp out Evan for the night if it earned me a couple favors. Tia’s response was exactly what I’d hoped for.
-OMG. Are you serious right now? I’m gonna die. Gonna die. Calling.-
My phone rang a second later. I answered, grinning at Evan who pouted as he sat on my bed across from me.
“Hey!” I said.
“Who?” Tia cut through the bullshit, didn’t bother to greet me, and got right to business.
“You know my stalker?”
“Evan Weston? You want me to go with Evan fucking Weston? Are you on Bubble right now?”
“Nope.”
“Thought we hated him.”
