“Oh shit,” I said before glancing up to see his jaws clench. Anger was coming off his body in waves. He was clearly hurting, just like I was homecoming night, and Elise was here to fix it—to right a wrong.

“I don’t have any more firecrackers, but I had another idea,” she said, that familiar glint in her eye.

• • •

Dana Wolfert occupied the basement suite of her house. We quietly marched around to her backyard and tried the door. It was locked. Then the four of them fanned out, trying the windows one by one. I stayed close to Elise, unsure of what we’d do if we couldn’t get in.

“This one’s open,” Elise whispered. “Thank God, or we would’ve had to break a window.”

That surprised me, but I remained quiet because I didn’t think she would’ve actually broken into the house for something as silly as a prank. But then I saw that spark of determination in her eyes and wasn’t so sure anymore. It didn’t scare me though. I found her dedication kind of romantic, that she’d be willing to risk getting in trouble for her friends.

Inside, Elise took on the riskiest job, smearing peanut butter around Dana’s bed, her pillows, her nightstand.

“Dana sleeps like the dead,” Jae had assured us.

Mark stood by the stairs to keep watch for any movement above while Julie pulled out a small bottle of cooking oil and coated all the doorknobs. Then Jae dealt the final blow, walking in with the box of mice and tearing it open just enough for the mice to climb out. Then they closed the door behind them and ran, trying to stifle their laughter.

“Are you sure she’s going to wake up?” Elise asked Jae when they were outside.

“Fuck,” he said. “I don’t know.”

Dana answered the question with a terrifying, high-pitched scream. The mice must’ve found the peanut butter—and her.

“Oh my God,” Julie said, eyes wide, hand covering her mouth in an attempt to keep from laughing.

“Run, run, run,” Elise whispered sharply, taking me by the wrist. Once we got to the cars, she said, “You guys go ahead. It’s too crammed with all of us. Remy can drive me home.” I looked at her in surprise, so happy that we’d be alone, even if it was just for a car ride.

More screams pierced the night. Lights began to flood the street.

“Shit, guys, we have to go,” Mark said, jumping in the driver’s seat. The others scrambled in and tore out of the neighborhood.

“Are we following them?” I asked, frantically starting the car.

“Nah,” Elise said, nonchalant. “I’ll meet up with them later.”

“Oh.” I slowed down.

“But I don’t want to go home yet,” she said as we came to a stoplight. “Let’s go to your house.”

“I don’t know,” I said, worried about my parents and what they might do. Then I remembered that Mom was away at a conference. “Yeah, okay.”