Kings of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #1) - Caroline Peckham ,Susanne Valenti Page 0,74

glanced at Bait who shook his head then he stared down at his lap and didn’t look up again.

I pursed my lips, glaring at Bait. “He already has enough people telling him what to do, don’t you think?”

Bait’s brows lifted and he retreated into his seat a bit. “Sorry I just…it’s the rules.”

“Screw the rules,” I growled. “What happened to you, Squits? And do I really have to call you that? What’s your real name?”

“We can’t tell you our real names,” Freeloader said in a hushed tone.

Holy shit these kids are messed up.

Squits lifted his head, wetting his lips and glancing at Bait again who said nothing this time.

“I had an accident at o-one of their p-parties,” Squits said, his face turning a nasty shade of red. “I-I’d eaten a bad b-burrito…they h-had to pay a cleaning crew to c-come and c-clean the c-common house.”

“That’s it?” I scoffed. “I mean, yeah that sucks. But you didn’t exactly mean to do it. If anything, the burrito is to blame.”

“I-I-” Squits tried but Bait spoke for him.

“He shat on Saint’s favourite coat,” Bait breathed.

“A hand-stitched Dior, single-breasted cashmere coat,” the whole table murmured in unison.

I burst out laughing and everyone stared at me like I’d lost my mind. But I legit couldn’t breathe. “That’s too fucking funny, Squits.”

“It’s not funny,” Bait said firmly, waving his hand at me to try and quiet my laughter.

“They’re looking!” Freeloader exclaimed.

“Be quiet, Plague,” Punch begged of me as I wiped tears from under my eyes.

“Oh man, I wished I’d been there to see his face,” I said as Squits gazed at me like I’d just thrown Saint onto the table and started feasting on his flesh. Which wasn’t a bad idea come to think of it. He would definitely give me indigestion though.

I decided I needed to hear everything they’d done to the Night Keepers ASAP, but it was clear Bait was gonna be a stickler for the rules. They all were, but they were also designed to respond to the authority in my tone. So if I cracked Bait, I’d crack them all.

I turned my attention to my menu app and frowned as half of the usual foods were missing. “What the hell? Where’s the fresh pasta? And the burgers? And the pizza.” Oh god, not the pizza.

“We get limited options,” Bait told me, his brow creasing. “You can have soup or salad. They have all kinds of staff under their heel in the school. Admin, kitchen staff, the janitors…”

I gaped at him like he’d just told me the world was ending. Sure, I liked the odd salad or soup from time to time. But every day? No…

“What about fries?” I hunted the menu but came up short, lifting my head to find everyone shaking their heads mournfully. I slammed my palm down on the table in anger. “Screw this.”

My day was bad enough without being denied junk food if I wanted it. And after the morning I’d had, I needed something cheesey and greasy in my stomach to sate me. I rose to my feet, rounding toward the kitchen but Bait suddenly dove in front of me like he was taking a bullet.

“Sit down,” he pressed, placing a hand on my arm. I glared at his hand and he quickly removed it like my gaze had burned him. “Please, Plague. They’ll come over here. They’ll punish us all. That’s how they get the newbies to fall in line.”

I glanced over his shoulder to the Night Keepers who were rising from their seats. I glowered at them before shifting my attention back to Bait.

“You’re not the one they’ll hurt for this,” he rasped and my heart twisted at his words. It was sick, twisted and most definitely effective.

“Alright,” I breathed, stepping around him and turning toward the girls’ bathroom. I glanced over my shoulder, spotting the three assholes dropping back into their seats and my shoulders relaxed. I wasn’t going to be a whipped bitch by any means. But it looked like my dining hall experience was decided for now.

I had a better plan than fighting my menu choices though – which admittedly was the bitterest of pills to swallow. They took away pizza dammit. Freaking pizza. But one good thing had come out of it. I’d just found myself a small army of Night Keeper haters. I just had to reinstate their backbones and make them rise up together. Which was clearly gonna be way easier said than done. But I always did love