“By the way, who set you up for me?”

  “Emma.”

  Abby knew that she owed Emma a big hug—at the very least.

  “But Devon tried to get me.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, we have fitness training together. She thought she could talk me into being someone else’s blind date. But she ended up getting this new guy.”

  “What new guy?” she asked curiously.

  “His name is Russell.”

  “And what was he dressed as?”

  “A scarecrow. We dubbed him the Sneezing Scarecrow.”

  “Really?”

  “Poor guy. I guess he’s got allergies.”

  Abby laughed.

  “Anyway, he seems pretty nice. And he really doesn’t know anyone. So it was nice that he could do this. Well, except for the allergy thing. But I think Bryn’s grandmother gave him something for it. Hopefully he’ll be okay.”

  “Yeah. He’s Cassidy’s blind date, and I’m guessing she’ll be nice to him.” Abby frowned. “Unlike some girls.”

  “Still worried about Devon?”

  “I wish I wasn’t.” Abby glanced down the hall that went to the parlor. She knew that was where Juliet was supposed to be meeting Romeo. “I don’t hear any screaming and yelling going on,” she said quietly.

  “I’ll bet Devon hasn’t figured it out yet,” he assured her as he refilled his punch cup.

  “Let’s cross our fingers that she doesn’t figure it out . . . not until the dance.” She held up crossed fingers. “And then I’ll do the best I can to do damage control.” She looked hopefully at Kent. “Maybe you can help.”

  “Help?”

  “Like if Devon starts to throw a fit, maybe you could offer to dance with her. Kind of a distraction technique, you know?”

  He nodded. “Sure. This really is similar to The Hunger Games—first we’re stealing food and now we’re strategizing together. I like it.”

  She grinned. “Hopefully no one will get killed.”

  “I’ll be watching your back, Katniss.”

  “Thanks, Peeta.”

  “And you should know that dressing like Peeta has transformed me into my little sister’s superhero. She made me promise to send her pictures of Katniss.” He reached in his pocket to extract his phone. “You mind?”

  “Not at all.” She posed as he snapped some shots, even pulling out her bow and arrow and taking aim at Mrs. Jacobs’s rooster-shaped cookie jar. Then he took some pictures of the two of them together. Suddenly, they could hear the others coming out.

  “It’s time,” she said nervously. “Let the games begin.”

  He chuckled. “And don’t forget—I’m on your team.”

  “Thanks. I’m holding you to it.” She snatched a crab cake from his plate and laughed. “Better grab what you want before the others get here. I know Bryn plans to hurry us out to the dance.” Come to think of it, Abby was now eager to get this show on the road too. The sooner they got to the dance the better. It would be easier to handle Devon’s hissy fit in a crowded room with curious onlookers. And with Kent helping to distract Devon on the dance floor, well, maybe it wouldn’t be as horrible as Abby had imagined.

  14

  As Cassidy waited nervously in the sunroom, she knew that no matter who her blind date was, she would not complain. Not after what she’d done to Bryn. Of all the girls, Cassidy deserved to get the worst date of the night. If her date turned out to be what Bryn might consider “decent,” Cassidy fully intended to talk him into trading places with Darrell Zuckerman. Sure, it might seem odd for Daisy Buchanan to be dancing with a scarecrow, but if he was a good guy and if this switch pacified Bryn, Cassidy did not care.

  Besides that, Cassidy told herself, Darrell Zuckerman was not that bad. Well, unless he was angry at you. That could be bad. She nervously stroked Toto’s plush fur. “I think I know how Dorothy felt,” she whispered, “when she was waiting for the Wicked Witch of the West to destroy her.”

  “Dorothy?”

  Cassidy looked up from where she was sitting in a wicker chair to see a lanky-looking scarecrow leaning against the doorframe. Despite her previously gloomy thoughts, she couldn’t help but smile as she stood to greet him. Feeling her eye mask to make sure it was in place, she went over and extended her hand. “And you must be my scarecrow.”

  He made a deep, loose-jointed bow, very similar to how the scarecrow in the movie would do it. “At your service, Dorothy.” He reached out and patted the stuffed dog. “And Toto too.”

  For what seemed like the first time in days, she laughed. “Want to sit down?”

  “Y—ye—yes!” He let out a big sneeze.

  “Bless you.”

  “Thanks. And sorry. My allergies kicked up tonight.” He sniffled as he stuffed a loose piece of straw back into the front of his red plaid shirt. “This isn’t helping much.”

  “Oh, dear.” She frowned. “Want to take the straw out before we go to—”

  “No!” He clutched his chest protectively. “Where would I be without my straw filling? Just a pile of old clothes? I think not, dear Dorothy.”

  She laughed again. This guy was good.

  “Besides, the kind lady of the house—I believe her name is Mrs. Jacobs—generously gave me a Benadryl pill.” He sneezed again as he sat down. “Hopefully it won’t make me sleepy. She promised to brew me a cup of coffee before we leave just in case.” Now he seemed to really study Cassidy. “You make a very nice Dorothy,” he said. It sounded like a sincere compliment.

  “And you’re a great Scarecrow too.” She tilted her head to one side. “But you don’t seem familiar. Have we met before?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” he confessed. “I don’t recall meeting you.” He smiled. “And I’m sure I would remember you.” He reached over and gently tweaked a braid.

  “Well, we’re supposed to wear our eye masks until we get to the dance,” she explained. “Although I’ll bet most everyone has guessed who their date is by now.”

  “It’d be pretty hard for me to guess.” He rubbed his nose as if he expected to sneeze again. “I’m new to Northwood. I don’t really know anyone. Well, except for a few people in my classes. And the guys in the limo tonight. And, of course, the girl who asked me to do this.”

  “Which girl was that?” she asked curiously.

  “Devon Fremont.”

  “Really?” Cassidy was surprised. Devon could’ve done far worse. In fact, Cassidy had done far, far worse for Bryn, but she was trying not to think about that right now.

  “Yeah, Devon’s in my fitness-training class. She was trying to get Kent for your blind date, but he already had plans. As a matter of fact, he’s here tonight.”

  “What’s he dressed as?”

  “That guy from The Hunger Games.”

  She nodded. “That would be Abby’s date.”

  He shook his head. “How do you keep it all straight?”

  “I’m actually just putting it all together myself.”

  He pointed to his head. “Maybe I would too—if I only had a brain.”

  She laughed again. “You’re pretty funny. But do you have a name or do I call you Scarecrow?”

  “Scarecrow is fine for now,” he told her. “Maybe after I meet the wizard and get a brain . . . maybe I’ll come up with a name by then.”

  “So how long have you been at Northwood?” she asked.

  “Not even two weeks.”

  “That must be hard . . . being new, I mean.” She frowned. “Although, under the right circumstances, it could be nice to get a fresh new start. That actually sounds pretty good to me right now.”

  “Why?”

  She let out a sigh. “It’s a long story.”

  “I think we still have about ten minutes.”

  And so, similar to how she’d spilled the beans to Emma, she told him about her stupid mistake of setting up the beautiful Bryn with someone like Darrell Zuckerman.

  “You mean Jay Gatsby?”

  “Yeah. That’s him.”

  “He seemed like a nice guy to me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Well, sure he’s nice to you. He doesn’t even know you. And as long as you don’t cross him, he’s fine. But I have seriously crossed him. He’ll be enraged at me.”

  “For setting him up with a beautiful girl? Why would he be mad at you?”

  “Because I know Bryn. She will not take this lying down. Neither will Darrell.” She glanced at the door that led out to the garden. “In fact, it’s taking all my self-control not to make a run for it right now.”

  “What if you’re wrong?”

  “I am wrong. I was wrong.” Cassidy stood up now, pacing across the sunroom. “I don’t know what got into me. Bryn could’ve had a date with any guy. I so did not have to pick Darrell Zuckerman.”

  “You said Bryn was your friend, right?”

  Cassidy shrugged. “I guess.”

  “Friends forgive each other, don’t they?”

  “Yeah, maybe. I mean, Bryn might forgive me . . . eventually. But Darrell Zuckerman—it’s no secret that he’s an atheist, and since he promised to make my life miserable if I messed this up, well, I don’t think he’ll give me any grace on this.”

  Scarecrow slowly nodded. “That’s rough, Dorothy.” He pointed at her shoes. “Maybe you should click your heels together and get out of here.”

  She looked down at the glitter-coated red shoes and smiled. “I wish I could.”

  “But then I wouldn’t get to take you to the dance,” he said sadly.

  “I’m sorry,” she told him. “I didn’t want to spoil your evening too. I’ll stick around.” She removed her eye mask. “But I guess we don’t even need these masks right now. It’s not like we’ll recognize each other anyway.”

  He smiled as he removed his own. “You really make a pretty Dorothy.”

  “Thanks. You’re a great Scarecrow too. I wish I was in better spirits.”

  He rubbed his chin as if he was thinking. “If I only had a brain, I would try to think of a way to help you out of this mess.”

  Despite her gloominess, she smiled.

  “When I’m in bad straits, I sometimes ask myself a question,” he said.

  “What question?” she asked.

  “What’s the worst thing that could happen? You already said that you think your friend will forgive you . . . in time. But really, what is the worst thing this Jay Gatsby—or Darrell Zuckerman—can do to you? It’s not like he’s going to hire a hit man to take you out, is he?”

  “No, probably not.”

  “So what would he do then?”

  “Well, Darrell is super smart. Genius. And he’s always struck me as a guy who doesn’t play by the rules.”

  “Uh-huh? So what would he do?”

  She thought hard. “The first thing I thought he might do is get me into some kind of trouble at school—you know, do something really clever and pin it on me—so that I’d get caught and possibly lose the college scholarships I’ve been working so hard toward.”

  “But how could you get caught—as you say—if you are innocent?”

  “Like I said, Darrell is really smart . . . and devious. And the way he was talking to me—the threats he made—I have no doubt he would carry them out. He would get even.”

  “But it seems like even if he tried to do that, you would be innocent and your friends would know it. You could gather evidence and prove your innocence. And even if it was inconvenient, you could prove that he was the one to set you up and he’d be the one to get in trouble. You would be cleared.”

  “Do you want to be my lawyer? To help clear my name? If and when this happens?”

  “Sure. I’d be happy to help you, Dorothy.” He tapped his head. “If I only had a brain.”

  She laughed.

  “See, that’s the Dorothy I know. Brave and smart and determined. That’s the girl who will get me to the wizard.”

  She pointed at the wall clock. “And get you to the dance.”

  He stood and made another low bow. “I am at your disposal.”

  “Then I guess this is it. We’re off to see the wizard.” She linked her arm in his. “Or else we’ll be carried away by the evil monkeys.”

  He reached up and touched his nose. “Hey, I’m not sneezing anymore.”

  “That’s right.”

  “I take that as a good sign.” He grinned as he replaced his eye mask. “This is going to be a good evening—for both of us.”

  “And Toto too.” She patted the stuffed dog’s head, forcing what she hoped looked like a brave smile. If Dorothy could be brave against all the foes that she had to face, why couldn’t Cassidy be brave enough to face Bryn and Darrell? Scarecrow was right. By imagining the worst that could happen, she realized that she really had been blowing it out of proportion. Sure, she owed both Bryn and Darrell full apologies. But she would deliver them, and if those two refused to forgive and forget—well, she would just deal with it.

  15

  Devon hadn’t told any of her friends that her mom had gone off with Rodney again. It wasn’t Vegas, but it might as well have been since she was not coming back until Monday evening. And this time she had not even made any provision for Devon to camp out at Emma’s house. Not that Devon wanted to. That hadn’t gone so well the last time. Not only had Devon and Emma squabbled, but Emma’s mom had seemed put out at Devon’s mom for dumping Devon on her. And for that reason, Devon didn’t plan to confide to any of her friends about her AWOL mom. She didn’t even tell her aunt when she got her hair done. Devon figured if Mom hadn’t bothered to tell anyone besides Devon, she must’ve wanted it to be a secret. And keeping it secret was exactly what Devon intended to do.

  She also intended to make the most of her mom’s absence. And to that end she had a plan. Of sorts. Okay, the plan was sketchy at best, but if all went well it could prove to be fun. For starters, Devon had spent more than an hour cleaning house. Normally, housework was the last thing on Devon’s mind, but since her mom was away for a few days, Devon decided it was time to do some “entertaining.” And having laundry baskets and junk strewn all over the place was not exactly conducive to that. After the house was straightened up some, Devon did some exploring in her mom’s bedroom, and just as she suspected, Mom had a secret stash of alcohol there. How convenient.

  Devon had arranged the various bottles on the breakfast bar, along with some cans of soda, some glasses, a big bowl of Doritos, and a smaller bowl of peanuts. Okay, it wasn’t The Ritz, but it would do. And since she was into living dangerously, Devon even made herself a drink, mixing vodka and Coke. Okay, maybe it wasn’t a real drink with a fancy name, but it was definitely alcohol. And as soon as she had her Juliet costume on, and before Cassidy showed up to give her a ride over to Bryn’s grandparents’ house, Devon had chugged it down.

  But Devon hadn’t stopped there. She had also found a nice little flask in her mom’s things. This she filled with straight vodka and tucked into the little embroidered purse that she was using with her Juliet costume. She had no idea what she really planned to do with the alcohol—well, besides have fun. And she intended to have fun!

  Now Devon played with the strings of her purse as she sat in Mrs. Jacobs’s front parlor. This old-fashioned room was filled with flowery-looking furnishings and carved antique pieces—almost like going back in time. As she waited, Devon was enjoying a happy little buzz and imagining her handsome Romeo taking her into his arms, telling her how beautiful she looked, and kissing her passionately.

  She envisioned her Romeo as a hot guy like Lane Granger, Marcus Zimmerman, Kent Renner, or even Jason Levine—despite her claim that she was never speaking to that particular jerk again. She reached up to touch her curls, making sure they were still in place. Then she looked down at the wide, scooped neckline of the Juliet dress, ensuring that the low cut was making the most of her endowments. Where was Romeo anyway?

  As if on cue, she heard the doorknob to the parlor turning, and there, dressed in all his glory—tights and poufy shorts and fluffy sleeves and all—stood her Romeo. And he didn’t look half bad. Although the fake mustache would have to go. Romeo wasn’t supposed to have a mustache! He was only a young teen. Okay, he was a hormone-driven young teen, but Devon felt certain he would not have a mustache.

  “Juliet?” he said tentatively.

  “Romeo, Romeo,” she said dramatically. “Where hast thou been?”

  “I—uh—I was in the limo.”

  “Yeah, I know.” She rolled her eyes as she went closer to inspect her prize. Between the eye mask and mustache, it was impossible to guess. But he had good height. And his dark curly hair actually added to the whole Romeo look. She knew that Lane Granger had dark curly hair. And Kent had dark hair too. “You look familiar,” she said as she checked him out carefully.

  “You look familiar too, uh, Juliet.” His voice cracked ever so slightly.

  Naturally, she found that irritating. “Why don’t we sit down,” she said, returning to the flowered sofa and patting the spot next to her. “I see you got yourself something to eat.”

  “Uh-huh.” He sat down a couple of feet from her, almost as if he was scared. Or intimidated. Well, that was okay. She knew that her looks sometimes intimidated guys, and she liked that.

  “How was the limo ride?” she asked somewhat absently. She wanted to get him to talk, hoping she’d recognize his voice and figure out who he really was.

  “Uh, it was okay.”

  “Anyone I know in the limo?” she asked.

  “Just a scarecrow and the Gatsby guy and someone from The Hunger Games. And I can’t remember who the other guy was supposed to be. A knight, I think.”

  “A knight?” Devon was confused. “Oh, you must mean Mr. Knightley.”

  “Yeah. That’s it.”

  She adjusted her eye mask to see him better, hoping she could place him. “Really, Romeo,” she said with irritation. “When did you grow the mustache?”

  He laughed, reaching up to finger it. “Oh, that. It’s not real.”

  “No!” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “I never would’ve guessed.”

  “You look really pretty,” he said nervously and his voice broke again.