entirely sure what those two things had to do with each other. “I’m not online much.”
“If you’re into escape rooms at all,” Arlo continued, “you must have heard of Prison Break. My blog covered it extensively.”
Right. Because it was just a given that everyone in the room followed Arlo’s blog. And though her first instinct was to apologize, Persey once again reminded herself that she needed to project strength and confidence, especially in this moment, at the very beginning. Persey knew from experience that if she didn’t assert herself right here, right now, she’d be prey to these bullies for the rest of the day.
She’d learned that lesson the hard way. With her dad.
So Persey decided to say the one thing that was sure to piss off Arlo, Mackenzie, and pretty much everyone else. Or at the very least, unbalance them.
She’d tell them the truth.
“Hidden Library was my first escape room.”
Arlo raised her hand. “I call bullshit.”
“Are you still in high school?” Shaun asked. “I bet she’s still in high school.” He was assessing her again, only somewhat less dismissively than before.
Wasn’t he only, like, two years older than her? “I graduate this June.”
“Where from?”
“And where do you start college this fall?” Riot added.
“I’m…” The words “not going to college” were on the tip of her tongue when she realized she was oversharing. That was a mistake in a game like this, especially since Leah hadn’t outted any of her educational information as she’d done with the others. Best to leave them guessing. “I’m pretty sure that’s none of your business.”
Wes rolled off the sofa, suddenly alert. “You beat the unbeatable. Mensa members, renowned PhDs, cryptographers, and mathematicians from all over the world have tried to solve that thing. So, yeah, if you tell us you’re at Exeter or Harvard-Westlake, or that you’ve got a full-ride scholarship at Oxford next year, it’s going to make more sense than if you’re a nobody from some local public school in Bumfuck, Nowhere.”
I’m a nobody at some local public school.
Mackenzie eyed Wes closely. “Somebody woke up on the wrong side of his diamond-encrusted bed this morning.”
“You were thinking the same thing,” Wes snapped.
If she was, Mackenzie wasn’t about to admit it. “Not everyone gets to go to boarding school, then drop out of Yale.”
How does she know he went to boarding school?
“Um, I believe the bias toward private school education in America is not founded on actual statistics.” Neela spoke even more rapidly than usual. “Based on a recent study of college preparatory test scores, there is very little evidence to suggest significantly higher achievements among the top ten percent of students in either environment, suggesting that intelligence, in an academic sense at least, is independent of the grade—no pun—of one’s education.”
“I still think it’s sketchy,” Wes said.
“Maybe her win was accidental,” Shaun suggested. Clearly that was the only thing that made sense to Shaun-bot, who could not compute that a nobody like Persey could do what he could not.
“Shaun, I can assure you that Persey’s win was legitimate, intentional, and not in the least bit accidental,” Leah said, attempting to regain control of the room. “As were all of your scores.”
“Fine,” Shaun said. His face was so unreadable Persey couldn’t tell if he bought the explanation or not, but Wes was more obvious (disdainful) in his disbelief.
“Sure it was.”
Leah turned to him. “If you would like to review Persey’s win, I have the full video footage of it upstairs in my office.”
Persey cringed at the reminder that video footage from the Hidden Library existed.
“And after the All-Star Competition is complete,” Leah continued, “you are more than welcome to see it.”
“Just might.” Wes turned away, flicking his black hair out of his face as he mouthed, Watching you, in Persey’s direction. For creepy emphasis.
That’s when something inside Persey snapped. All these privileged, egotistical assholes were judging her, doubting her. They couldn’t believe that she, an escape room newbie, a social media nobody, who had flunked out of private school and was definitely not going to college, had managed to solve something they could not. They weren’t any better than she was—just contestants in this game, there for the ten-million-dollar prize.
They were all the same. Even playing field. And she wasn’t about to let this douche make her feel inferior even for a second. She squared her shoulders and met his stare with narrowed eyes.
Oh yeah? Well, I’m watching you too.
PERSEY HUNG BACK FROM HER PARENTS AS THEY SEARCHED the quad for her brother.