Page 74

Is trying her goddamn best, okay?

(Are you sure about that?)

I waited until lunchtime the next day, when Brooke and I had settled in at our table. Brooke’s spirits seemed okay, at least, compared to the last few weeks. I only noticed her staring in the direction of Raina’s table once.

I’d been rehearsing this all morning. I knew exactly what I was going to say, and exactly what Brooke was going to say back, and how I would respond to that. I’d prepared for at least fifteen different possible Brooke reactions to my news. Nothing could take me by surprise, right? I just had to do it.

“So, as far as I know, Ray doesn’t have a date to prom,” Brooke said. She seemed pleased. “I don’t know if she asked anyone or anything, just that she’s going with a group of girls. Jaz told me. And I doubt that’ll change in the next three days.”

Just do it. I forced a smile. “That’s good.”

Brooke hesitated. “Did you know about Brougham?”

I snapped out of my pump-up mantra. “What about him?”

“He’s going to the prom with his ex-girlfriend.”

“Oh.” Brooke had been Team Brougham ever since I’d called her after the kiss, and had inexplicably remained so even after it went nowhere. “Yeah, he told me a while ago. I don’t think she’s an ‘ex’ anything anymore, either. It’s fine.”

“Wow. I’m really proud of you, Darc. I can only imagine how weird it must feel, but you’re totally being the bigger person here.”

Just do it, just do it, just do it.

“Why are you staring at me?” Brooke asked.

Just—“Because I did something really bad and I have to tell you and you’re going to hate me forever.”

Well, her expression was closer to wry amusement than fear or fury. For now, at least. This was a good start. “Um, okay, I doubt that, but shoot.”

And even after all the rehearsing, the words fell right out of my head. I tried to wave my hand around, but it didn’t achieve much. It only made Brooke look kind of confused. Then the words came back to me.

“I’m the person who runs locker eighty-nine,” I said. “It’s always been me. I started doing it a couple of years ago. I got the locker combination from the master list in the admin area the first year, then erased it from the records.”

Brooke’s mouth fell open, and she glanced around us to check for eavesdroppers. Everyone else in the cafeteria was minding their own business, totally unaware that the biggest secret of my life had just been revealed for the second time this year, feet away from them.

If they’d known what we were talking about, I had a feeling not many of them would keep minding their own business.

“How… but… why didn’t youtell me?” Brooke asked, eyes shining. She looked equal parts astonished and impressed.

She didn’t seem mad at all that I hadn’t told her. I’d kept this enormous secret, and her immediate reaction was to ask for more information, but only in order tounderstand.

But the penny hadn’t quite dropped yet.

“I didn’t tell anyone,” I said. Best to leave out the whole Brougham thing, for now. “It started small, then when it got big so quickly I didn’t know when to tell you, and I also didn’t want to put anyone in a weird position.”

“Oh my god. I mean, I hate you for hiding this, becausewhat? This is the coolest news ever, I can’t believe it wasyou,but I’m notmad.”

Hah. “I’m not finished. Ray wrote in about you a few weeks ago. A couple of days before Alexei’s mixer.”

Brooke took a second to process this news. “And that’s how you knew?”

“Yeah. She explained what she did, and said she was thinking of confessing to you.”

“Wait… and you told her not to?”

“No.” I hesitated. “I didn’t reply at all.”

“But when you told me, you saidnothingabout her wanting to tell me. You made it sound like she was never planning on letting me know.”