The Twitter Twins slipped the dresses over their heads, whipped around, and glowered at Charlotte, Madeline, Laurel, and Emma. “Nice try,” Lili said icily as one of the makeup artists rushed to her and swiped blue shadow under her eyes. “We could see your lame trick from a mile away.”

Gabby turned to Emma. “We’re not as stupid as we look, Sutton. You of all people should know that.”

Emma pressed a hand to her chest. “I never said you were stupid.”

A sarcastic snort escaped from Gabby’s mouth. “Right.” Without averting her gaze, she marched up to Emma, reached into the Saks bag, and pulled out a pill bottle with the same pink top Emma had noticed the other day. The prescription name, written in bold black letters, flashed before Emma’s eyes. TOPAMAX. Emma flinched. She’d been sure Gabby was popping Ritalin or Valium or some other party drug. But Topamax sounded serious.

Gabby removed the top and shook two capsules into her hands. She belted them down without water. After she swallowed, she shook the medicine bottle like a castanet, her eyes on Emma once more. “Don’t you think you should get our sashes and take your place now, Sutton?” she said in a taunting voice. “You’re at stage left, right?”

For a moment, Emma couldn’t move. It was like Gabby had cast a spell on her, paralyzing all her limbs. Charlotte nudged her side. “This blows, but she’s right. It’s time to go. Places, girls!”

“One sec!” Lili shouted, heading for the stairs to the lighting booth once more. “I forgot my iPhone!”

“You don’t need your iPhone!” Madeline growled. “You’re going to be busy onstage!”

But Lili didn’t slow down, her heels clacking on the metal stairs. “It’ll just take a second.”

The door to the lighting booth slammed. Emma turned, grabbed sixteen orange silk Homecoming Court sashes, and found the X on the side of the stage where she was supposed to stand, behind a side curtain and completely isolated from the rest of the court and planners. “Pull the curtain!” Charlotte commanded.

The crowd’s murmurings grew louder. The court nominees, save for Lili, who was still upstairs, did a few last minute hair-fluffs and blush-brush sweeps. But when Emma looked past the blinding floodlights to the stage, Gabby was staring at her with a whisper of a smile on her face. In her corpse makeup, blue circles under her eyes, stitches across her cheeks, bloody gashes on her neck, she looked menacing. Evil.

Emma took a step back. And then she noticed something else, something she hadn’t seen before: a silver charm bracelet hung from Gabby’s wrist. Tiny objects dangled from the chain—a little iPhone, a tube of lipstick, a mini Scottie dog. They were made out of the same silver as the miniature locomotive engine that rested snugly in Emma’s purse.