* * *
"So I just want to say 'Hells, yeah' to the members of the men's soccer team!" Trey announced,
gesturing so vehemently with his right hand that his sparkling cider sloshed over the side of the
glass in his left. "Thanks for the most kick-ass senior season ever!"
The members of the team, peppered throughout the room, went wild, and everyone else joined
in, cheering for Trey's toast as he downed his drink. Headmaster Cromwell, however, didn't look
all that pleased.
"Thank you, Mr. Prescott," he said, stepping up behind Trey and laying a heavy hand on his
shoulder. "That was very eloquent," he said sarcastically.
Trey glanced at the headmaster, chagrined, and dropped into his chair. Across the table from Trey,
Josh shook his head and smirked. The speech was kind of out of character for one of the most
mature guys on campus. I wondered if Trey had brought along his own flask, or if he had been
sipping from someone else's.
198
"And now, moving on to Pemberly..." Headmaster Cromwell stepped up to the end of our table.
My breath caught in my throat and instantly, my body temperature doubled. This was it. Now or
never. "Would any of the Pemberly ladies care to make a toast?"
Everyone at the table glanced at everyone else. I was just starting to think it might be wise to wait
for someone else to go first, when it became clear that no one had any intention of saying a thing.
I suppose the women of Pemberly weren't exactly an extroverted crowd. Headmaster Cromwell's
lips pursed in annoyance, and suddenly I found myself raising my hand at table level.
"I have something to say."
Instantly, murmurs sprung up at all the surrounding tables and quickly spread the length and
breadth of the room. My heart started to pound in earnest.
"What's she going to say?" Amberly whispered. "Thanks for letting me get away with murdering
one of my friends?'"
Right. So even though the news of Ivy's arrest had spread across campus like a bad stomach flu, I
guess not everyone believed in her guilt quite yet. I had expected the headmaster to be relieved
that Pemberly wasn't going to entirely let him down. Instead, his face clouded over. I really was
not his favorite person on campus.