the quad had been extinguished, and the lights illuminating the bell tower were out too. An eerie feeling settled over Vivi as she waited for her eyes to adjust. But the dark was too heavy, too complete; it was like she was locked in an underground vault. “Ariana!” she cried.
A chair scraped in the distance. “Vivi?” Ariana called. “Where are you?”
“In the hallway. I . . . I don’t think we’re alone,” Vivi called back, her voice quivering. She remembered the girl who’d arrived at Kappa House the night before, the madness in her wide eyes. “I dropped my phone and can’t see anything.”
“Stay there. We’re coming!”
But before the pledges could reach her, the front door to the library banged open.
“Who’s there?” Vivi shouted, pressing her back against the wall. “What do you want?” She groped around wildly, trying to get her bearings. Then hands grabbed her shoulders roughly, and Vivi screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Happy Hell Week, witches!” a chorus of voices shouted in her ear.
All at once, the lights snapped back on. Scarlett, Tiffany, Mei, and Dahlia stood before her, along with the rest of the sorority’s upperclassmen. The older girls were all grinning while Vivi and the other pledges, who’d just burst into the hallway, stood dumbly, blinking in the bright lights.
“This week, you’ll be asked to do impossible things,” Scarlett said. This time, her smile was bright and genuine. Contagious.
In spite of her still-racing pulse, Vivi started to smile too.
“If you can’t hack it, you’ll never be able to so much as mention magic again.” Scarlett’s gaze settled on Vivi. “But if you survive this week? Maybe we’ll make a witch of you yet.”
Chapter Twelve
Scarlett
“You want me to do what?” Vivi gaped at her.
Scarlett eyed her calmly and explained. “Dean Sanderson reprimanded Hazel for protesting the male-only lineup of speakers on Class Day.”
“That’s terrible, but that doesn’t sound like cause for . . . I mean, couldn’t we just paint the admin building pink? Boycott Class Day?” Vivi asked.
Scarlett paused dramatically, then went in for the kill. “We protect our sisters above all. Which is why I want you to bring me the dean’s heart.”
“I thought we weren’t supposed to harm anyone,” Vivi said carefully, watching Scarlett with wide eyes, like someone afraid of upsetting a deranged killer.
Scarlett couldn’t help it. The corners of her mouth twitched into a faint smirk.
Vivi sighed as her cheeks flushed bright red. “Oh. That was a joke.”
Scarlett burst into laughter. “You should’ve seen your face.” She doubted there had ever been such a naïve witch. And for what felt like the thousandth time, she wondered how someone so freaking simple could have made Mason forget their date. Part of Scarlett knew she was being unfair, but something about the girl rubbed her the wrong way, and it was more than seeing her talking to Mason. She was too eager, somehow. Too innocent, too . . . free. She’d lived a lifetime without the weight of expectation. This was all new and exciting to her. Scarlett couldn’t tell if she envied her or hated her for that. All she knew was that she was going to enjoy every second of Hell Week.
Scarlett pointed to the staircase. “Second floor, third door on the left. Do be thorough.”
“What?”
“Our bathroom. That’s your task.”
The embarrassment on Vivi’s face faded away, replaced by a glare. “Let me guess: I have to do it with nothing but a toothbrush?”
Scarlett stared at the girl, deadpan and unamused. “No, Vivian, you’re supposed to use magic.”
Vivi stood there an extra beat, hesitant.
“Don’t worry, Moaning Myrtle isn’t in there,” Scarlett said. She saw a flash of concern cross Vivi’s face, as if she was seriously expecting the ghost that lived in the Hogwarts bathroom to have taken up residence in their sorority house.
She waited until Vivi had tromped up the main staircase before she traded grins with Tiffany, who was sprawled across the sofa next to her. Tiffany slow-clapped for her.
“You’re wicked,” Tiffany said.
“Why do you think we’re friends?”
Tiffany swatted her arm. “What’s in store for Little House on the Prairie, anyway? Did you go with blood or bugs?” Tiffany asked, looking up the stairs.
“Mold,” Scarlett said, feeling a little embarrassed now for giving her a softball. If Gwen hadn’t shown up on Tuesday night, Scarlett would have probably created a scary spell instead of a tedious one, like spell something Vivi was afraid of to climb out of the toilet. But given everything that had happened the other