Page 77 of A Cock and Bull Story

Jack quirks an ear and blows a raspberry at me before trotting off. Moments later, Sian and Elise show up. I hug them tightly, so thankful to see them again.

“Are you all right?” Sian asks with concern.

“What happened?!” Elise cries. “You smell terrible.”

“Sorry, that’s my puke. It’s a long story—a really long story. I haven’t even told the guys yet. Let’s get out of here, and I’ll tell you what happened.”

“What are we going to do in the meantime?” Sian wonders.

“We should get around a crowd—there’s safety in numbers,” Arthur directs.

“Um, ok, then we should go to the center quad—there's always people there. . . unless the cops are looking forme.”

“If they’re working for the dean, they might be,” Theo worries.

He ducks into the car and comes back out with a hat.

“Put this cap on—it should cover your hair and help to disguise you better.”

Dammit—I forgot about my unicorn hair, but I’d rather shave it off than get caught and become someone’s unicorn bitch.

We make our way to the main area of campus where people study, eat, and relax. It’s bustling with students, but I still feel on edge. Suddenly, there’s loud shouting across the way. The crowd breaks and campus security comes running into view.

It looks like they’re chasing someone. . .

I squint.

Or something—namely, a donkey.

“Looks like Operation Asstsatic is going well,” I joke.

Arthur narrows his eyes.

“Shite—Jack’s got the passport. I can see it in his mouth. Come on, Theo! Girls, stay here!”

“Wait—” I call, but the two men are already off.

“I don’t like this,” Elise mumbles.

“Me, neither. The more we get separated, the worse,” I concur.

The three of us keep an attentive eye on our surroundings as the seconds tick by—which, soon, turn into minutes.

“Do you see anything?” Sian whines in frustration.

She’s quite a bit shorter than Elise and me.

“Not yet,” Elise answers. “Hold on—there’s Jack again! But where are Theo and Arthur?!”

I look to where she’s pointing.

Sure enough, I see the familiar shaggy beast that’s Jack’s ass running back into the quad. The same two campus guards are chasing him, but my favorite fish and toad are nowhere in sight.

Suddenly, Elise lets out a horrified shriek.

“They have tranquilizing guns!” she cries.

“What?” I cry, more in confusion than fear.