“Seriously?” She could not believe her luck.

  “Oh, yeah.” He gave her a sassy wink. “I know how to cut a rug.”

  She glanced at the clock on the back wall, then linked her arm into his. “So, Jay, what are we waiting for?” They put their eye masks back on and went out to find how the others were faring.

  12

  Emma went to the library to wait for her blind date. She felt a little nervous as she nibbled at the appetizers Mrs. Jacobs had prepared for them, but Emma had already decided that no matter who her date was—whether he was a nerd, geek, jerk, jock, loser, dud, whatever—she was going to treat him with kindness and grace. Sort of like Emma Woodhouse would do—well, at least by the end of the book after Miss Woodhouse finally learned her lesson. Anyway, that was what Emma hoped and planned to do. She just wished that all the members of the DG would do the same. Keep your chin up, take the high road, keep a stiff upper lip—and all those other British idioms that sounded a bit silly if one wasn’t a Brit.

  As Emma sipped her punch and perused the bookshelves, she wondered how Bryn was doing with her blind date right now. Cassidy had never actually revealed who she’d set Bryn up with, but Emma knew that it had the makings of a disaster. She also knew that if Bryn wanted to, she could not only make her blind date miserable, she could make all of them miserable. And so, just like she’d promised Cassidy—and like she’d been doing the past couple of days—Emma prayed. She specifically prayed that God would bring some kind of goodness out of what seemed to have the potential to blow up in all of their faces. She prayed for a miracle. She was just whispering “amen” when she heard the door to the library open. She reached for her eye mask, made sure it was secure, then turned around.

  “Mr. Knightley, I presume,” she said with her best attempt at a proper British accent, just the way she’d practiced it earlier this afternoon.

  “Emma Woodhouse?” the guy said, playing along as he held his eye mask in place. As he came closer, his lips broke into a smile as if he was pleased to see her.

  She peered closely at him. Was it possible? Was that Isaac? Had she really landed her dream date in this little game?

  “You look very pretty, uh, Emma.” With a plate of appetizers in his hand, he approached her.

  She nodded. “Thank you. You look very nice too.” She took in his dark gray pants, his old-fashioned light gray jacket which must’ve been rented from the drama department, and the narrow tie on the pale blue ruffled shirt. Okay, maybe he wasn’t exactly eighteenth century, but he had certainly tried.

  “So, we’re supposed to get better acquainted,” he said.

  “Would you like to sit down?” She pointed to a pair of chairs flanking the window, and soon they were both seated and she didn’t know what to say. She took a sip of punch and tried not to look too happy.

  “I knew it was going to be you,” he said quietly.

  “Really?” She fingered the eye mask. “So you know who I am?”

  “You’re Emma.”

  “Yes, obviously. And you’re Mr. Knightley.”

  He chuckled. “You really don’t know who I am?”

  She grinned. “Yes, Isaac, I knew the minute I saw you.”

  He removed his mask. “Well, I knew as soon as Bryn told me I was supposed to dress as Mr. Knightley so I could go out with Emma Woodhouse.”

  “But you never told anyone?” She removed her mask now, glad to be rid of it.

  “Those were the rules.” He beamed at her.

  “Well, I must admit that I was relieved to see it was you.”

  “Who did you think you’d get?”

  She shrugged. “I was preparing myself for the worst.”

  “So I’m not the worst?”

  She laughed. “Hardly.”

  “Well, it was an interesting limo ride over here,” he told her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, it was an interesting mix of guys.”

  She leaned toward him with curiosity. “Which guys?”

  “Will I get in trouble if I tell you?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t see why. I mean, everyone knows who their dates are by now.”

  He slowly shook his head like he was in disbelief. “I’ll just say this, there are some girls’ faces I’d like to see right now. I’d like to know how they’re reacting to their blind dates.”

  “What do you mean?” she said eagerly. “Tell me everything, Isaac!”

  “Okay.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, when the limo picked me up, only Kent was inside.”

  She nodded. “Yes. I picked Kent for Abby. I’m sure she’ll be happy about that.”

  “Yeah. And he’ll be happy too. The lucky guy.”

  Emma frowned. “Because he’s with Abby?”

  “Well, yeah, but not exactly. I meant because he got to wear pretty normal-looking clothes. I guess he’s supposed to be from The Hunger Games. I can’t remember his name.”

  “Peeta.”

  “Yeah, that’s right. So anyway, Kent was already there. And next we picked up Darrell Zuckerman.”

  Emma blinked. “Seriously?”

  “Uh-huh. I mean, I don’t have anything against the guy. I know he’s supposed to be some kind of genius. And everyone knows he’s an atheist. But I honestly didn’t expect to see him as one of the blind dates tonight. Kent and I were both pretty shocked. But we were friendly to him. He didn’t seem to have any idea who he was going out with, but it seemed like he was being a good sport about it.”

  “What was he dressed as?” she asked eagerly.

  “He had on a black suit. At first I teased him, asking him who died. Then he told me he was supposed to be from the Roaring Twenties. Some guy named Gatsby.”

  “Jay Gatsby,” she explained. “He’s Bryn’s date.”

  Isaac looked stunned. “Bryn and Darrell? Wow, that’s pretty random.”

  She slowly nodded. “Tell me about it. Cassidy set them up, and she’s been totally freaking over it.”

  “She should be.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Darrell told us that if his date went wrong, he was going to take revenge on the girl who had set him up. He didn’t say her name, but he did say he’d make her sorry.”

  “Poor Cass.”

  Isaac nodded grimly. “I can’t imagine that Bryn will take this too well.”

  Emma felt slightly sick. “This could ruin the whole dance.”

  He frowned. “The whole dance? Does that mean we can’t have fun?” He pointed to his clothes. “I mean, a guy dresses like this and you tell him that it’s all for nothing?”

  She forced a smile. “No, it’s not for nothing. We’ll have fun. But Cassidy probably won’t. And Bryn . . . well, I hate to even think about that.” She let out a sigh. “Who else was in the limo?”

  “Okay, so the next guy who gets in is almost as weird as Darrell. Do you know Leonard Mansfield?”

  “I know who he is.” Emma grimaced. Poor Leonard was considered one of the geekiest guys at Northwood. “But I don’t really know him.”

  “Well, you will after tonight.”

  “Oh.” She pressed her lips together. Could this get any worse? She was almost afraid to ask. “So . . . uh . . . was Leonard dressed as, say, Romeo?”

  Isaac nodded. “You nailed it, Emma. He said he got the costume from the drama department. He even had on tights, poor guy.”

  “Poor guy.” She didn’t even want to think of the fit Devon must be throwing right now. Perhaps it was a good thing they were all meeting in private after all. Cassidy had worked to convince Emma of this, causing her to be the swing vote that made certain it happened.

  “Who’s his date, anyway?”

  “Devon.”

  “Devon?” Isaac looked properly shocked. “No way. Devon and Leonard? That’s quite a match.”

  “Oh, yeah. She’s dressed as Juliet. And I’m surprised we can’t hear her screaming from here. But then she’s in the parlor and that’s on the other side of the house.”

  “I wonder who set Devon up with someone like Leonard.”

  Emma thought about this. “It has to be Abby.” She shook her head. “That explains why she’s been acting so weird lately.”

  “Huh?”

  “Guilty conscience. Plus she’s probably afraid that Devon is going to kill her. It’s a good thing Abby is armed tonight.”

  Isaac laughed.

  “Both Abby and Cassidy are in some serious hot water.” Emma fingered a ribbon from her hat. “Speaking of Cassidy, I wonder who her date is tonight. Who was the last guy in the limo? That would have to be her date.”

  “A guy I never met before. He’s really new to school. His name is Russell—I didn’t catch the last name. The poor guy was having some severe allergy problems.”

  “Allergy problems?”

  “Yeah, he was dressed as a scarecrow and I think the straw was making him sneeze.”

  “Oh, yeah. That makes sense.”

  “The sneezing?”

  “No, that he’s a scarecrow. Cassidy is Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. Anyway, how did he seem?”

  “Sneezy?”

  Emma laughed. “Well, at least Cassidy ought to be civilized to him. I can’t say the same for Bryn and Devon and their poor dates.”

  “Hopefully someone will get him some allergy medicine before the dance.”

  Emma smiled at Isaac. “I’m so glad you’re my date,” she told him.

  He grinned back. “Me too. I think we’re the ones who got lucky tonight.”

  She looked at the clock up on the bookshelf and knew that it was almost time to join the others. However, she really didn’t want to. She wouldn’t have minded remaining in here and talking to Isaac all night long. She definitely had gotten lucky with her blind date. Of course, this reminded her that she owed Bryn some serious gratitude for setting her up. And then she remembered how angry and jealous she’d gotten at Bryn for merely talking to Isaac a week or so ago. Emma had been such a witch about it. And sweet Bryn had probably just been working on this date for her.

  Now Bryn was stuck with the likes of Darrell Zuckerman. Emma felt unreasonably disappointed at Cassidy. Could Cassidy have done any worse? To match poor Bryn with someone like Darrell Zuckerman—a geek and an atheist. It wasn’t just unkind, it was downright mean. Emma glanced uneasily at Isaac as he finished off his punch. Bryn had landed the perfect date for Emma tonight. As a result, Emma owed Bryn big time. So even if Emma had to share Isaac with Bryn at the dance tonight, it was the least she could do. Somehow she had to make it up to Bryn. She just hoped that Isaac wouldn’t mind. But then why would he mind? What normal teenage guy wouldn’t love to go out on the dance floor with a girl as stunning as Bryn Jacobs?

  13

  As Abby went down the stairs to the basement, she pretended that she’d been banished to the dungeon. Really, it seemed fairly just. Okay, she knew that Bryn had sent her down here because she was the only one not wearing heels. Although come to think of it, Emma had on ballet flats. But maybe Abby deserved to be banished. And even if they locked the door and threw away the key, she wasn’t sure she’d really care.

  As she sat down in Mrs. Jacobs’s favorite rocking chair, all Abby could think about was how angry Devon was going to be in a few minutes. Abby hated to think of what Devon would say or do when Leonard Mansfield, dressed in tights, walked into the parlor and declared himself to be Devon’s Romeo. Abby was thankful this was a scene she would not have to witness. And maybe, if she got lucky, Abby’s date would mysteriously disappear and Abby would be forgotten down here for the duration of the evening.

  She extracted an arrow from her quiver and examined it for straightness. She hadn’t actually shot her bow for more than a year, but the idea of shooting something tonight felt extremely appealing. She stood up, then got out her bow and carefully set the arrow into place, aiming it at the far wall of shelves. Of course, she wouldn’t actually shoot it—she didn’t want to put a hole into anything down here—but it would feel good to shoot or throw or kick something.

  “Katniss?”

  Abby was so surprised that she nearly let go of the arrow. She hadn’t even heard anyone on the stairs. She released the tension on the bowstring and lowered the bow, slowly turning around to see who was here. The voice was familiar, yet she wasn’t quite sure who it was. Then seeing someone dressed similar to Peeta—except that he had a mask over his eyes—reminded her that she hadn’t put on her own eye mask.

  “Are you going to shoot me?” he asked as he approached her with a big grin on his face.

  “No.” She slipped the arrow back into the quiver and looked around for her eye mask. “I was just—uh—sorry, I forgot to put on my mask.” She picked it up and sighed. “Although I suspect you would’ve guessed who I am.” She went closer to him, peering curiously. “And I’m pretty sure I know who you are now.”

  His smile faded. “Really?”

  “Kent?”

  He nodded. “You’re disappointed?”

  “No, no.” She put the bow back over her shoulder. “Not at all. Did I sound disappointed?”

  “You look disappointed.”

  “I’m sorry.” She forced a shy smile. “I’m not disappointed at all. I hope you’re not disappointed.”

  “I hoped it was going to be you.”

  “Oh.” She nodded. “Good.”

  “But you don’t seem happy, Abby. What’s up?”

  She looked at the heavily loaded plate in his hand, realizing that she’d forgotten to bring down her own plate of food. “Can I have that?” She pointed to the crab cake on top.

  “Sure.”

  She took it and slowly ate a few bites. “You’re right,” she admitted. “I’m feeling a little out of sorts tonight.”

  “Maybe it’s the costume,” he suggested. “Although you look great in it. But Katniss was a real warrior. Do you feel like fighting with someone?”

  She laughed. “To be honest, I was feeling like hitting something right now.”

  “But not me?” he asked.

  “No, not you. Definitely not you.”

  “So what’s going on then?”

  “These stupid blind dates,” she said as she sat back down in the rocker.

  “But I’m your blind date,” he protested as he perched on the edge of a craft table and bit into a crab cake. “You’re confusing me, Abby.”

  “Sorry. The truth is, I’m feeling pretty apprehensive about the blind date I set up for Devon.”

  “Oh? Which guy was Devon’s date?” He chuckled. “I gotta admit there were some real characters in the limo tonight. And I’m not just talking about literary characters either, if you know what I mean.”

  “I know.” She grimaced. “So did you meet Romeo by any chance?”

  “You mean Leonard Mansfield?”

  She nodded grimly.

  “Leonard is Devon’s date?” He burst into laughter.

  “Devon is going to kill me.”

  Kent pointed to her bow. “But you’re armed and dangerous, Katniss. You can take her.”

  She glared at him.

  “Except you better be careful about what you eat or drink at the dance. Wasn’t there poison involved with Romeo and Juliet’s unfortunate demise?”

  “Not helping.” She hopped up and snatched a cheese puff from his plate, popping it into her mouth.

  “If it’s any consolation, old Leonard looked pretty good as Romeo. We didn’t even know who he was at first.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. With that dark curly hair he looks kind of Italian. Plus he’s sporting a dark mustache. And with his eye mask on, I doubt anyone will guess who he is.”

  “You think so?” Suddenly Abby was feeling hopeful.

  “It’s possible.”

  “And we weren’t supposed to take off our eye masks until we get to the dance,” she said thoughtfully.

  “So are you feeling better now?”

  She gave him a relaxed smile. “As a matter of fact I am. Except that I’m hungry.” She snatched his last crab cake.

  “Hey, so am I.”

  “I was so worried about tonight that I barely ate any dinner,” she told him. “And that was after a long, hard basketball practice too.”

  “I hear you girls are going to have a good team this year.”

  She nodded as she chewed. “How about you? Are you going to play this year?”

  He shook his head. “Nah. I’m not that good.”

  “You used to be,” she reminded him.

  “I’m more into music these days,” he told her.

  “I’m more into food.” She laughed as she grabbed up his last cheese puff. “Thanks!”

  “I think this whole Hunger Games thing has gone straight to your head,” he said jokingly.

  “I know—why don’t we sneak back upstairs and get some more food?” she suggested.

  He nodded like a coconspirator. “I like how you think, Katniss.”

  “Come on, Peeta, I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  He laughed as they pretended to sneak up the stairs.

  “Quiet,” she warned. “We don’t want any of the others to hear us.”

  “Yeah,” he whispered. “More food for us, right?”

  “That’s right.” She suppressed a giggle as she quietly opened the door and looked around. “Coast is clear,” she told him.

  They tiptoed out and Abby led him directly to the dining room where the food was still set up and no one was around. “Looks like we have the place to ourselves,” she said as she reached for another crab cake.

  “Should we bag up the food and make a run for it?” he teased.

  “Nah. Let’s just take our chances and eat it here.” She set a crab cake on his plate. “My payback.”

  “Thanks.” He grinned. “I’m sure glad you were my blind date, Abby. I had a feeling it would be you.”

  “How did you guess?”

  “Who else would want to dress like Katniss?”

  “Oh . . .” She nodded as she chewed.

  “And you look pretty hot in that outfit too.”

  She laughed. “Bryn and Devon sure didn’t think so.”

  He shrugged. “Shows what they know.”