“Yes!”
The light suddenly switched on, and I whirled around, eyes wide with horror.
Headmaster Sanders was standing in the doorway, along with Professor Fox and two security guards.
“So that little tipoff call we received was accurate,” Sanders said, eyes narrowing as he folded his arms.
Shit.
I held up my palms. “I know this is a total cliché, but this really isn’t what it looks like.”
Sanders stalked toward me and reached into the open drawer that I’d just grabbed my stuff from. He fished out a piece of paper and held it up, eyes glimmering triumphantly. “This is the answer key for the senior class chemistry test tomorrow. Isn’t that right, Professor Fox?”
Fox shuffled over and squinted at the paper. “Yes, it is.”
My throat felt like it was closing up. Tonight’s whole ‘game’ was another setup, and once again, I’d fallen prey to a combination of the Princes’ deviousness and my own foolishness.
I used to think I was smart because of my good grades, but these guys were destroying me at every turn. I’d never felt so stupid and inadequate in my life.
Then again, there was no possible way for me to win tonight, no matter what choice I made. If I didn’t break into Royal Hall to get my laptop back—and get caught by the tipped-off Sanders in the process—I’d still lose a huge portion of my economics grade when I failed to send my assignment in by the deadline. Not to mention the trouble I’d be in when Professor Fox found my stuff amongst his.
The Princes had obviously considered all of that, and they’d rigged the game so I’d lose no matter what.
Sanders gave me a withering look. “A few hours ago we received a call from a student claiming to have overheard you and a friend discussing a plan to break in and steal the answer key sometime tonight, so we stayed up to see if it was true,” he said. “I didn’t want to believe you could actually do such a thing, Laney, but here you are.”
“I didn’t break in to take the test. I swear.”
“Then why are you here?” He cocked his head to one side.
“Someone got into my dorm again. They stole my laptop, phone and car keys, and they left a note saying I had to get them from one of the offices, or else they’d lie and say they saw me in here earlier today, going through everything.”
“You expect us to believe that?”
I nodded vigorously. “It’s true! I have no reason to steal the test. I already took it!”
Sanders frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I have a Model UN event tomorrow, and it clashes with the period when the chem test is supposed to happen. Professor Fox said we could take the test early if we wanted to avoid that clash. So that’s what I did. I took the test yesterday during my free period.”
Sanders looked at Fox. “Is that true?”
Fox yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Yes. She already took it.” He looked at me. “Sorry, Laney. I completely forgot until you mentioned it.”
“See?” I said, focusing on Sanders again. “I had no reason to steal the test.”
“So you really broke in here to retrieve your stolen possessions?” Sanders said, eyes narrowing again.
I gestured to my laptop. “Yes.”
“I don’t understand why someone would steal something from you and dump it in here.”
“To mess with me.” I let out a frustrated groan and rubbed my forehead. “It’s the same guys who broke into my dorm last Friday night. They’re trying to get me kicked out of school.”
He frowned. “Why would they do that?”
“Because they hate me. They’ve blacklisted me.”
Professor Fox swallowed audibly, and Sanders arranged his lips into a thin line. “Blacklisted?”