Empire High Betrayal (Empire High #3) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,104

was weird because I knew he was in great shape. Soccer players had to be.

What had he been doing?

“Everything’s all set for the prank,” Rob said. “Last chance to back out, Sanders.”

I took a deep breath. Isabella was never going to stop messing with me unless I stood up to her. And it was a hell of a lot easier having James and Rob’s help to do it. This was my one shot to put her in her place. In front of her whole family. And it seemed like my only chance of fixing the Untouchables too. “No. I want to go through with it.”

“Good,” said Rob. “Because I had to work my ass off to get everything ready. You two were no help. Especially you, Sanders. You never gave me the blueprints, so I had to go on a crazy hunt to find the person that renovated this place several years ago. And then I had to bribe them to get the layout.” He shook his head. “It took hours. You’re welcome.”

“What?” Our prank was simple. And it all happened in the dining room. He knew exactly where that was. “Rob…you didn’t need blueprints.” I felt like we’d had this conversation a hundred times over text already.

“Yeah I did.” He winked at me.

“No, you didn’t.”

Rob laughed. “So much pudding.”

I shook my head. “I thought we agreed on just a little bit of pudding.”

“Right. That’s what I meant. Pudding ratios are all about perspective.”

Okay. At least I knew what the prank involved, or else I’d be worried that he had something else up his sleeve. But I knew for a fact there was no pudding up his sleeves. He was wearing a white dress shirt. That would have been a disaster.

“So you’ve got everything covered?” I asked.

“Mhm,” Rob said. “I even moved around a few place cards so that I could sit right next to the troll.”

James laughed.

“Great.” I took another deep breath, forcing myself not to back down from this. “Let’s do this.”

Rob put his hand out. James put his hand on top of his brother’s.

“Do the thing,” Rob said and nodded toward their hands.

I laughed and put my hand on top of theirs.

“Operation Disappearing Troll on three,” Rob said.

All three of us yelled it and laughed.

I couldn’t wait to see Isabella’s face.

***

I was pretty sure Rob had moved around more than a few place cards. Because he also had me sitting between him and James. And Matt was sitting across from us. Like some kind of weird spectator of the awkwardness. What the hell?

Rob tapped the seat beside his. “Sanders sandwich.”

Not happening.

“Ignore him,” Matt said. He grabbed my place card and switched it with Isabella’s evil cousin, Poppy, so that I’d be sitting next to him and that the Hunters would be forming a very snooty sandwich instead.

“No, not Poppy,” James said. “She’s the worst.” He tried to switch her place card with someone else’s just as Poppy walked into the room. James quickly switched it with his own and slid into the seat next to his brother.

Poppy seemed happy about her spot. But Isabella didn’t look nearly as pleased when she walked into the room and saw the seating arrangement. Apparently she wasn’t excited to sit next to Rob.

“No way is this right. James, switch with Rob,” Isabella said.

“Nah,” James said. “I’m good.”

Isabella huffed.

And Matt actually laughed. Almost like he would have when all the Untouchables were still friends. It was the first time I’d seen him not hostile with them in ages.

Mason sat down next to me and laughed too. I was very much aware of the fact that I was still a Sanders sandwich…just between the Caldwells instead of the Hunters. I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I would have been perfectly comfortable if Rob hadn’t kept winking at me.

“Is something wrong with your eye?” I asked Rob.

“Nope.” Rob lifted up the bowl of chocolate pudding in front of him. “Pudding, Wizzy?”

“Bite me.”

“But it’s a Hunter family tradition. The Thanksgiving pudding of…prosperity and health. If you don’t eat any, you’ll have a year of bad luck.”

“Stop talking to me or you’ll have a year of bad luck,” she said.

Rob winked at me again.

Stop it.

“What’s going on?” Matt asked as he looked back and forth between me and Rob.

“Nothing,” Rob and I both said at the same time.

Great, now it didn’t sound like nothing. I looked down the long dining room table, searching for a good distraction. There were dozens of people here.