Clique Bait - Ann Valett Page 0,41

Drugs. Alcohol.”

“Who would have known?” Zach added with amusement. If the boys were involved, then it was a whole new level of takedown.

My blood ran cold. This was my fault. I knew Level One would do something awful, I wasn’t completely naive, but for them to do it so soon—before I’d had the chance to put a stop to them for good—left me feeling defeated.

But as much as my stomach turned with the guilt of what I had done, I couldn’t squish the small trace of dark adrenaline circulating through my system. For the first time in my life, after never once causing a ripple in the student body, I felt a taste of what it must be like to be a Level One. I felt powerful.

Fourteen

Okay, Monica,

I admit. I’m starting to understand it, at least a little. The appeal of being on Level One. Everyone’s attention on you, sitting at that table like you’re on a damn throne. It’s a power I’ve never had before, an adrenaline that puts you on a high.

The allure is a poison. But it’s also a cure. I’m going to use the power it gives me as an antidote to their reign, to make sure they can’t infect anyone else.

Love, Chloe

AT THREE O’CLOCK the bell rang, signaling the end of the day’s classes, prompting the corridors to flood with students mingling and gossiping. It wasn’t a minute too soon. I’d sat through the whole class of Claire’s mindless babble about what Lola and Sophie were wearing Saturday night, and if I had to endure any more, I was going to lose my mind.

I was nervous to venture to the locker rooms. They were in an external building near the sports field. I hadn’t set foot in the area since Monica dragged me to a lacrosse game last year.

I’d expected them to be bustling with activity. William might have wanted to meet me just before training, maybe his time was limited. Why else would he give such a precise time? At lunch, I’d been careful not to push the subject, worried I’d either raise suspicion or that whatever secret he held was just too sensitive to acknowledge aloud.

Whatever it was, it better be worth it.

I hesitated in the threshold of the building. What I’d expected to be an atmosphere filled with testosterone and Arlington’s sweaty lacrosse team was an empty room lined with benches and tall metal lockers. I was reminded of my locker in the main school building, awaiting me with an overflow of budding roses.

Locker nine. Something about locker nine was supposed to hold my interest. I strode over to it, trying not to let my gaze linger on the less-than-clean surroundings on the way.

Locker nine was slightly ajar. Casting a look over my shoulder to see if he was waiting nearby, I pried it open. The door slung forward to reveal a navy uniform hanging on the rack. I pulled at the shirt, the back of the jacket reading Bishop.

Then something else caught my attention. It was a piece of paper taped to the inside of the door, the writing large and clear. HIDE.

I didn’t have much time to decipher exactly what William meant by his message, because just as I’d ripped it from the door I heard the sound of footsteps outside the change rooms. In a split second I decided to follow William’s instruction, and squeezed into the slim space of the locker before I could be busted.

Wedged between clothing, a lacrosse stick, and the smell of William’s cologne, I was barely able to see through the thin slats grooved into the metal. My heart was beating hard now, both in anticipation for whatever was to be revealed and the fear that I would be caught.

The sound of someone entering the room made the hair at the back of my neck stand on end. Squinting my eyes, I could barely make out the face, but their dark skin and height gave them away. It was Zachary Plympton.

For a few long minutes the two of us were silent, Zach completely oblivious of my presence as he paced slowly around the room. I wondered what he was doing out here if practice wasn’t on and the coach wasn’t around.

Suddenly, he stopped.

“I know you’re there.”

I froze, almost dropping my cell to the floor.

“Hey, can’t say I didn’t try and catch you off guard.”

I let out a silent breath of relief. He hadn’t seen me. But the intruder brought me a new wave of