Maria blushed and looked down at her iPod, letting her hair hide her face. Had Landon really cheated on her, or was this just celebrity gossip?
Landon meanwhile, smiled, tossing his bangs back from his face. "You know how it is, man."
Conrad laughed. "Unfortunately, I don't." He shrugged out of his blue blazer and settled in. "Hey, Lexa," he said with a smile. "Saw you running the trail this morning. New kicks?"
Lexa smiled. "Yeah. This year's Asics line
is so lightweight. Have you tried them?"
"Not yet, but if you think it's worth it, I will," he said with a smile.
Lexa blushed slightly and ran her hand under her hair at the nape of her neck, fluffing it out slightly. Ariana exchanged a triumphant look with her friends. She had chosen wisely.
The door to the dining hall opened and in walked Palmer. Ariana was surprised to see him, since he'd been spending all his meal hours
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in the Hill since he and Lexa had broken up. Was it just a coincidence that he'd chosen today to show up in the dining hall, or was he here to see whom Ariana had set Lexa up with? Apparently it was going to take a little bit more than random meetings in theaters and bathrooms to help Palmer forget his ex entirely.
Palmer was just turning his steps toward their table when he noticed that it was full--that Conrad was the guy who had taken his place. He hesitated a moment, then turned quickly and joined his friends from the crew team a few tables over.
"What can I get you, Mr. Royce?" the waiter asked.
Conrad placed his order and Ariana sat back in her chair. On her side of the table, Brigit and Adam flirted shamelessly, while across from her Lexa kept sliding glances at their handsome newcomer. Now if only she could find someone other than Landon for Soomie, maybe they could all be happily paired off before the NoBash.
Ariana looked over at Palmer to see how he was faring, seeing Lexa with another guy. Palmer looked right into her eyes, smiled broadly, and flashed her a discreet thumbs--up. Ariana's heart tingled with delight. So he wasn't jealous. He had just wanted to make sure Ariana had picked the right guy for Lexa. And apparently, he agreed that she had. Ariana couldn't have stopped grinning if she'd tried.
Yes, very soon they would all be happily paired up.
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ACTION
Friday morning, Ariana awoke to find another pink jewelry box at her bedside, this one the perfect size for a ring. Her stomach filled with acidic dread. What had Kaitlynn done now?Quaking from head to foot, Ariana got up and inspected her hair in the mirror. It looked the same. Badly cut, slightly matted from sleep. The same. She turned and stared at the jewelry box.
Don't open it. Don't play into her game. Ignore it.
She started for the bathroom, but just couldn't do it. The curiosity was too much. Cursing under her breath at her own weakness, she walked over and pried open the box. The contents tumbled out onto the floor, tiny little crescent moons, bouncing off in various directions. A lump formed in Ariana's throat as she realized she was looking at fingernails. Perfect clippings of fingernails. She turned her hands over. Her expert manicure was gone.
As her vision clouded, Ariana stumbled back and sat on her bed.
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The box dropped, and out popped another folded slip of paper. Ariana could only imagine that it was another calendar--another countdown. Eight days left. She put her head between her knees and breathed.
In, one. . . two. . . three. . .
Out, one. . . two. . . three. . .
In, one. . . two. . . three. . .
Out, one. . . two. . . three. . .
How had she done it? How had she managed to lift Arianas hands and cut her nails without waking her up? Arianas stomach heaved.
She jumped up, dropping the box, and ran for the bathroom. As she retched over the toilet bowl, one thought kept repeating itself in her mind.
She's going to kill me. First she's torturing me, and then she's going to kill me.