Maria’s heart was still pounding. But with excitement this time.

Delilah was high right now. Right on the other side of that door. How perfect would it be if she got herself kicked off the team, kicked out of first place in the senior class, kicked off the list of Kingsley finalists?

Lily was right. It should have been Maria the whole time. All of it should have been hers. With Delilah out of the way, Maria could have everything she’d ever wanted.

This was too good to be true.

Wait.

“Hang on,” Maria said. “Today’s Saturday. How long does oxy stay in your system?”

Lily picked up her phone again and Googled. It wasn’t easy to find the answer. They had to go to a bunch of different sites, and they all seemed to say different things. Most said you’d test positive for oxy about three or four days after your last dose.

“Three or four days,” Lily said.

“Three or four days.”

“So if she took the stuff tonight—”

Maria counted. “Wednesday is four days away. It might work.”

“It’s five days away, counting today. “

“So we’re screwed.” Maria leaned over the edge of the tub and put her head between her knees. It was all over before it had even begun.

“Unless she does it again right before the test,” Lily said slowly.

That sensation was prickling along Maria’s neck again. The feeling of being watched.

“She won’t.” Maria kept her head down, her eyes fixed on the floor. “We have practice every day this week. She never parties the night before a practice.”

“She might if you asked her to. Hasn’t she been pestering you to go with her into town?”

“Ugh, yes.”

Delilah loved going into the decrepit little town next to campus. In Lennox, the teenagers wore “Jesus Saves” T-shirts, the storefronts had been boarded up for the past decade, and a redneck with a bottle tucked into a brown paper bag sat on every other stoop. Going into town and goofing off while the townies watched with hatred in their eyes had always been one of Delilah’s favorite activities, especially when she could do it with Maria.

Lately Delilah had been getting sentimental about school ending. She kept talking about how she was going to miss her friends so much. Even though, as far as Maria could tell, Delilah didn’t have any real friends.

That, Maria thought, was why she did oxy. Because it made her feel like she loved everyone.

Maria was pretty sure Delilah didn’t know how to love anyone at all, except maybe herself. She’d feel sorry for her . . . if she didn’t hate her so much.