that there’s a big ball after the first two trials. People can supposedly use the chance to network and get to know one another; it’s all to promote that fun, friendly atmosphere. If you believe the brochure, anyway. Personally, I think it’s a big invitation for people to hook up with students from other schools so they don’t have to worry about running into said hook-up in class every morning for the rest of the semester. Awkward.
Then again, I’m banging my teacher. I probably shouldn’t judge anyone.
The point is, this thing is huge. The whole school is invited, but as one of the contestants, I’m required to be there.
“Fuck!” I yell, because I’m so full of dignity. Launching myself off my bed, I race into the bathroom and slam the door behind me.
Some of the bathrooms in the men’s dormitory are shared between rooms, but we’re wedged in a corner of the building, so we get a bathroom all to ourselves. It’s a good thing too, because even though my living here is pretty much an open secret among all the guys on our floor, it would be harder for them to ignore me if we had to share a bathroom. And it’s an extra good thing today, because it means nobody except Asher has to hear me yell about eyeliner for twenty minutes.
I don’t normally care all that much about how I look. I actually don’t even wear makeup. Not that I’ve got anything against it. Tamlin’s makeup is amazing; I don’t know how she does it. It’s just never been something I cared about. I don’t find it fun, and it’s not like I’m trying to impress anyone besides myself.
But right now?
I’m trying to salvage what little reputation I have left.
“Um, Elliot?” Asher knocks on the door. “Can I help?”
“You can bring me the dress hanging in the right-hand side of the closet, the green one, and no matter what I look like when I come out of here, you can tell me I look pretty.”
“Uh, okay.”
There’s rustling, and then the door opens a crack and Asher hands me the dress—and my phone. “You’ve got a few texts. From your sister.”
“Oh, thanks.”
I can’t text while my hands are busy doing my hair and makeup, so I just call Maddy. Maybe this’ll be good timing. She can calm me down.
I hope.
“Hey, Mads!” I say, infusing as much false cheer into my voice as I can.
There’s a pause on the other end, and then Maddy says, “You’re flipping out about something.”
“What? What would make you think that?”
“Your voice gets all high-pitched when you’re panicking.”
Maddy hasn’t seen me panic often. I recall freaking out once when I couldn’t find the three-day-late rent check—it turned out to be underneath a plate on the coffee table, of all places. And there was another time when I lost my phone on the train. We crisscrossed all over town searching for it, and I still can’t believe we actually found it. I don’t really do panic—or at least, I never used to. Not when I had a younger sister around and wanted to be a good example for her. But we’re all human, so despite my best efforts, she has seen me lose it once or twice. And Maddy hasn’t gotten this far in life by being stupid.
“It’s this fucking competition,” I admit, stripping down to my underwear and grabbing the razor. “I flunked the second trial like an idiot, and now I have to make a good impression at this damn ball, and you know those aren’t my thing—”
“Um, maybe breathe or something, Ellie?”
Only Maddy can get away with calling me Ellie. Other people have tried and paid for it dearly.
I take a deep breath. Having my sister on the line helps. I’m used to keeping it together for her, and even though miles separate us right now, her voice in my ear helps me put on my game face.
“Look, don’t worry about me, Mads. I know it’s going to be fine. It’s just… a lot. I didn’t expect to care this much about it. But I’m representing the whole school, and I’d like to remind the world we’re not freaks.”
“You’ve never let anyone look down on you,” Maddy points out. “People treat Unpredictables like they’re liabilities, right? You never liked it when people treated you like that because you were taking care of me. And you hated when people would pity us. This is kind of the same thing.”
That’s fair. I hadn’t thought