“Not very good,” I admit. “I worked on them with Allard a bit when I first got here, but we’ve been concentrating on other things…”

“Well, code breaking is my specialty. We only have four weeks to get you up to speed, but I think you can do it. On the night of the party, we’ll have them all cowering in fear.”

“What party?”

“The Into the Woods Party. It happens the night before the Quest, and it also happens to be New Year’s Eve.”

“Let me guess—it takes place in the woods?”

“Yep. Everyone goes. It’s our last hurrah. Once partners are assigned, we aren’t allowed to talk about our part of the heist—unless we need to share information.”

Ducking into the corridor, we leave the library and wind our way to the surface. “I’m not sure I’ll go… I’ll probably need to study, if it’s the night before the Quest.”

“Don’t decide yet. I told you, stick with me. In a month, you may be ready to talk some smack. Garrett and Chloe have no clue what’s coming.”

I laugh. “We’ll see.”

Chapter Fourteen

December 20X5, Keystone

I’m out of excuses, and I can’t put off my journal any longer. The night before my brain scan, I return to my secret room. Taking a deep breath, preparing to acknowledge my demons, I put pen to paper before I can talk myself out it.

September 6, 20X4

Truth: Life is easier when you cease to feel.

I got rid of Peter, and the girls spilled their secrets. Kylie’s was weak—her parents purchased likes and comments and followers to inflate her stock price—but Lil surprised me. It turned out the picture I sent to Samantha was from Lil’s private collection. The dick really did belong to Peter Waters. She was a complicated girl, and I believed the benefit to staying on her good side. And in some ways, knowing Peter was shady made me feel a little better about ruining his life.

“Look at all these clones wishing they were us,” Lil said, scrolling through the Network screen on her balcony. “They’re so boring.” Shutting down the screen with a swipe of her hand, she put her feet up on a chaise. Fire was in the air that night. The Santa Anas swept through the dehydrated city, setting the sky ablaze in a spectacular display of red and orange. Positioning her mojito against her pedicured toes with the Hollywood Sign glowing pink in the hills beyond the terrace as her backdrop, she blinked, snapping a picture. “I feel like I’ve taken this shot a thousand times. We need to shake this slumber party up or else we’re going to lose our audience.” Lil’s parents were out of town, and none of our parents cared if we came home. As long as we were livestreaming, they knew we were safe. We couldn’t hide offline much longer.

“We need fresh blood,” Kylie said.

“I can invite Jax over,” Deena said, lazily fanning herself, eyes on the crimson sky. He was her current crush. “Maybe he can bring some friends.”