“Do you actually go to our school?” she demanded. “To Northwood?”

  “Yeah, sure. Of course.”

  She pursed her lips. “Do I know you?”

  “Of course. I’m Romeo, remember?”

  “Oh, that’s right.” She folded her arms in front of her and crossed her legs. Something about this felt wrong. Really wrong.

  “So, Romeo,” she said in what she hoped was an enticing tone. “Tell me, who arranged this date? Which of my friends picked you out for me?” For some reason she suspected it was Bryn. It wouldn’t surprise her if Bryn tried something like this—a way to humiliate Devon for taking the Juliet dress.

  “Am I supposed to tell?” he asked.

  “It doesn’t matter now,” she assured him. “We’ll all find out tonight anyway.”

  “Oh, okay. Well, it was Abby.”

  “Abby?” Devon was surprised by this. Abby was usually a pretty thoughtful sort of girl. “So, tell me, Romeo . . . are you good friends with Abby?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. I guess so.”

  “Uh-huh . . . I see. . . .” Now she wondered if he was an athletic friend of Abby’s. He didn’t seem very muscular, but perhaps he played soccer or lacrosse. And those kids usually had brains. And sometimes their families had money. And if that was the case, maybe Devon should just make the best of it with him. After all, if this kid was athletic and had both brains and money—how bad could it be? And he didn’t even seem terribly bad looking with all that dark curly hair. It might even be fun to do some serious flirting with a guy like this. However, something about her date did not quite add up. Nothing in the way he spoke or acted seemed to suggest he was particularly intelligent. And he lacked confidence, which she found irritating.

  “Would you mind excusing me?” he asked suddenly.

  “Excusing you? For what?”

  “I—uh—I need to use the, uh, the restroom.”

  Devon rolled her eyes, then waved him away. “Yes, please—go and take care of . . . whatever.”

  After he left, Devon suspected that it was nearly time for them to all reconvene. And since she couldn’t wait to get her hands—or even her claws—onto Abby, she decided to venture out. As luck would have it, she discovered Abby and Kent in the dining room. And the two of them seemed intent upon making pigs of themselves.

  “Did you save anything for the rest of us?” As Devon reached for a carrot stick, she carefully eyed Abby, trying to decide how to handle this.

  “Hey, we are part of The Hunger Games,” Kent told her. “We hold food in very high esteem.”

  Abby giggled nervously. “How’s your date?”

  “What date?” Devon locked her eyes onto Abby. Was it her imagination, or was Abby actually squirming?

  “Your blind date,” Abby said.

  “I don’t know, Abby. How is my date?”

  Abby turned to Kent as if looking for help.

  “Where is your date?” Kent asked Devon.

  “He went to the little boys’ room,” Devon said evenly, keeping her eyes locked on Abby.

  “That’s a good idea.” Abby stepped back from Devon. “Maybe I’ll make a visit to the little girls’ room myself.”

  “Not without me, you won’t.” Devon glared at her.

  “I’ll warn you,” Abby told her. “It’s a one-seater.”

  Kent laughed as some of the others started to trickle into the dining room, including Bryn’s grandparents, who were armed with cameras.

  “Excuse me,” Abby quietly told Kent. “I’ll be right back.” And before Devon could intervene—and as the room grew crowded and busy and loud—Abby exited the dining room and disappeared out of sight.

  “Let me through here,” Devon insisted as she attempted to push past Emma and Isaac and Bryn’s grandfather. But even as she got beyond them, Kent managed to block the door by doing a silly little dance as he pretended to be unable to decide which side to go to. Naturally this slowed her down considerably.

  When she finally got out of the room, she had no idea which way Abby had gone, but she was madder than ever now. Since she was Bryn’s best friend, Abby probably knew her way around this big house much better than Devon. Even so, Devon was determined to find Abby and have a word with her—and to find out exactly who was playing Romeo.

  Devon checked the laundry room and the powder room and even the big four-car garage. She opened the basement door, peering down the dark stairs. Then she went upstairs, and after checking behind several doors with no success, she heard Bryn downstairs calling out.

  “Okay, everyone, it’s time to go to the dance. Everyone into the limo now. Let’s go, people! Where is Devon?”

  “I’m coming,” Devon yelled as she hurried down the stairs. As she reached the foyer, she could see that the others were already on their way out to the limo. Since it was raining, everyone was making a dash to the car, laughing as they went. Having fun.

  “It’s about time,” Bryn said when she saw Devon. Then she grabbed the hand of a guy dressed like Jay Gatsby. “Come on, let’s go.”

  “There you are.” Romeo nervously rubbed his hands together as he looked at Devon. “Everything, uh, okay?”

  “Oh, yeah.” She narrowed her eyes. “Everything is just peachy.”

  “Ready to go then?”

  “I am more than ready,” she snapped. Then she looped her arm into his and literally dragged him toward the door. “Are you coming or not?”

  “I need to get my coat.” He slowed down to reach for a beige jacket hanging by the door. “Don’t you have a coat, uh, Juliet?”

  “I don’t need a coat,” she growled. “I’ve got your love to keep me warm, right?”

  “Uh, yeah, I guess so.”

  “Come on!” She gave his arm a sharp tug. “Let’s go.”

  They were the last ones into the limo, and the others—all who seemed to be in surprisingly good spirits—teased them as they got inside.

  “Figures Romeo and Juliet were dillydallying,” Emma said.

  “You know how star-crossed lovers can be,” Bryn added.

  Devon searched the limo for Abby and Kent. “I want to sit there,” she demanded, pointing to where Emma was sitting.

  “Sorry, that seat’s taken,” Isaac told her.

  “Then that side,” Devon pointed to where Bryn and her date were seated.

  “Sorry,” Bryn said. “We’re good to go,” she called out to the driver, knocking on the window between them.

  “There’s room here,” Cassidy said as the limo took off. But Cassidy and her scarecrow friend were clear on the other end.

  “We better sit,” Romeo said as he went over to sit by the scarecrow. “How’s the allergy going?” he asked.

  “Better. The medicine helped.”

  Devon glared at Abby, who was ignoring her, as she sat down next to Cassidy. “This sucks!” she grumbled.

  “What’s wrong?” Cassidy asked with what seemed genuine concern.

  “My date,” Devon whispered. “Abby set me up with a geek.”

  Cassidy leaned over to peer at Romeo. She shrugged. “Seems okay to me,” she whispered back. “Makes a good-looking Romeo, don’t you think?”

  “I think he’s a dud,” Devon hissed.

  “Give him a chance,” Cassidy urged.

  “Why?” Devon glared at her.

  “Why not?”

  Devon folded her arms tightly across her front, staring straight forward to where Abby was sitting with Bryn and Emma and their dates—watching how they were all laughing and joking and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Well, except for Abby. She was the quiet one of the group. Oh, she tried to act like she was engaging, but she clearly was not. Abby obviously felt guilty. She should feel guilty.

  Devon looked back at Cassidy now, suddenly remembering that she’d set Cass up with a somewhat nerdy guy. “Uh, how’s your blind date?” Devon asked her quietly.

  “Great.” Cassidy turned to grin at her date. “He’s a fine Scarecrow.”

  “Oh, well . . . good. Glad to hear it.”

  Cassidy gave Devon a knowing look. “Don’t you mean that you’re surprised to hear it?”

  Devon shrugged. “It’s a blind date. Who knows how it will go?”

  “That’s right,” Cassidy told her. “Same way for you, right?”

  Devon looked over to where Romeo was sitting next to the scarecrow and looking very uneasy. With his crooked fake mustache, and wearing his beige coat over his costume with his long, skinny legs clad in black tights and sticking out, he looked like a total goofball. She looked down at her own dress. She knew she looked great in it. She knew that most guys would be glad to be her date. And yet she got stuck with that.

  She looked back at Abby again, and this time she caught Abby looking at her. They locked eyes, and Devon glared at her so-called friend.

  “Hey, Devon,” Bryn said lightly. “What’s troubling you?”

  Devon narrowed her eyes. “What makes you think I’m troubled about something?”

  “You look like you want to murder someone,” Bryn said.

  “The only person that Juliet kills is herself,” Emma said sadly. “Hopefully you’re not taking your role too seriously.”

  “Thanks for caring,” Devon snarled at her.

  Emma got up now, coming over to sit between Cassidy and Devon. “Come on, Devon,” she said gently. “We all know you’re ticked. But why not make the best of it? You’re with friends. Just have fun.”

  “Have fun?” Devon glanced over at her geeky Romeo and tried not to gag. “Seriously?” she hissed. “With that?”

  “Give him a chance,” Emma said quietly. “He seems nice to me.”

  “To you.” Devon rolled her eyes. “You and I are different. Or haven’t you noticed?”

  “This is only one evening,” Emma reminded her. “And we’ve all agreed to share our dates with you. Isaac is more than willing to dance with you. Abby told me that Kent is too.”

  Devon folded her arms even more tightly in front of her. Great—her friends were offering her their castoffs now. Like she was some kind of lame charity case. Like they felt sorry for her. Well, nobody needed to feel sorry for Devon Fremont. And if they thought she was going to act all grateful and sweet while they allowed their dates a dance or two with her, they had better think again. Devon was out for revenge tonight. She wasn’t exactly sure how she would get it. But she was determined she would. She wasn’t dressed like this for nothing. If a girl couldn’t turn on the charm and turn a few male heads in a gown like this, well, then she might as well just go home!

  16

  I’ve never seen Devon this mad,” Emma told Bryn as they went into the restroom together to fix a wardrobe malfunction on Bryn’s dress. Some of the beads had gotten caught together, causing the dress to bunch and hike up in an unbecoming way in the back. Emma had kindly offered to help straighten it out.

  “I know,” Bryn said quietly. “When the masks came off and Devon saw that it was Leonard Mansfield, I thought she was going to slug him.”

  “Poor Leonard.”

  “At least the rest of us are trying to make him feel better.” Bryn took advantage of her spot by the mirror to touch up her lipstick. “I’ve danced with him twice already.”

  “Me too.”

  “I told Abby to watch her back while we were gone,” Bryn said as she slipped the lipstick back into her little beaded bag.

  “Cassidy promised to keep an eye on the situation.”

  “Kent seems to be staying close to Abby,” Bryn said with pride. “I’m so glad I got him for Abby’s date.”

  “Yeah, except that’s probably making it even harder on Devon. The more she sees the rest of us having a good time the madder she gets.”

  “And flirtier too.” If anyone had told Bryn that she could possibly be upset by a girl flirting with Darrell Zuckerman, she never would’ve believed it. And yet when Bryn caught Devon attempting to charm her Great Gatsby, she had felt seriously jealous. Of course, she had not shown it.

  “Tell me about it,” Emma muttered as she worked on the beads. “Even after I told Devon I’d gladly share Isaac with her, she’s still going after him like she wants to—wants to—well, you know.”

  “Just be glad that Isaac isn’t taking the bait.”

  “Not yet he’s not.” Emma sounded worried.

  “And he won’t,” Bryn proclaimed. “Isaac is into you, Emma. Can’t you see that?”

  “What I see is Devon—make that Juliet—foisting her ample cleavage right into Isaac’s face.” Emma made a growling sound. “Seriously, how is a prim Jane Austen character supposed to compete with that hussy?”

  “And to think Devon is your best friend,” Bryn said sadly. “Anyway, she used to be.”

  “Devon still has a lot to learn about being a friend—to anyone. Including herself.”

  Bryn leaned her head around in an attempt to see how Emma was doing. “Isn’t it fixed yet?”

  “It’s almost there.”

  “Hurry,” Bryn urged. “No telling what Devon is doing to our guys while we’re gone.”

  “Yeah, while the mice are away—”

  “That cat will be a big fat rat,” Bryn finished.

  “There,” Emma declared as she stood. “I got it. Hopefully it won’t snag up like that anymore now.”

  “Thanks.” Bryn leaned in to the mirror, adjusting her glittery hair band and smoothing her hair into place. “We better get back to do damage control.”

  “It’s so aggravating,” Emma said as they left. “If Devon would just straighten up, we could all be having such a great time tonight.”

  “I guess it’s true what they say—misery really does love company.”

  Emma turned and looked into Bryn’s eyes. “Let’s not let her win, Bryn.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean let’s cut her off. We’re all trying so hard to help her, letting her dance with our dates. Dancing with her date. Why don’t we just set her adrift and let her fend for herself?”

  “Really?” Bryn was surprised. Emma was usually the soft heart of the bunch. Especially when it came to Devon. “You’re okay with that?”

  “Tonight I am. It’s like Devon has made her choice to play the spoiled brat. If we play along we’re only encouraging her.”

  “Enabling her,” Bryn added.

  “Yeah. Just say no to enabling,” Emma proclaimed as they went back into the dance.

  “Okay. You tell Cass and I’ll tell Abby. From this point on we are all cutting Juliet off. If she doesn’t want to dance with Romeo, she can just sit and watch the rest of us. Agreed?”

  Emma nodded. “Agreed.”

  Bryn actually liked this plan, but when she whispered it to Abby, she could tell that Abby was worried. “You think Devon is going to take it lying down?”

  “I don’t really care. I don’t even care if Devon throws herself on the ground and kicks and screams. If she wants to keep acting like a spoiled brat, making a fool of herself, let her. Not only that, but I think Devon should be kicked out of the DG. She has broken at least three or four rules tonight.”

  Abby’s dark eyes grew wide, but then Kent came up from behind, handing her a drink. “I’ll explain it to him,” Abby said quietly.

  Bryn nodded. Now she went over to tell Darrell the new game plan.

  “I like it,” he told her.

  “Really?” She reached over to wipe a cookie crumb from his chin. “And I thought maybe you were getting into Juliet. I mean, she is a good dancer.”

  He grinned. “She’s not my type, Daisy. You should know that.”

  Bryn laughed. “Yes, of course, Jay. I nearly forgot how devoted Jay is to Daisy.”

  “Ready to go shake a leg again?”

  “You bet!”

  As Bryn and Darrell went to the dance floor, she noticed that Emma and Isaac were already out there. And then Cass and her scarecrow came out, followed by Abby and Kent. Bryn glanced over to the table the five couples had been sharing and couldn’t help but feel a little satisfaction to see that Juliet was sitting across the table from Romeo with a very dour expression. Good, Bryn thought. Let Little Miss Snooty Pants stew for a while. Maybe she’d come to her senses. And if she didn’t—well, maybe the DG really should send her packing.

  The four couples danced a few more dances before Bryn was ready to take another break, but when she and Darrell returned to their table, Devon was gone. “Where’s Juliet?” Bryn asked Leonard.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. She took off several dances ago.”

  The others were coming to the table now and the girls, feeling sorry for Leonard, took turns with him on the dance floor. But Devon was nowhere to be seen.

  “Have you seen Devon anywhere?” Bryn said to Abby as the two of them went to get something from the snack table.

  Abby shook her head as she reached for a brownie. “No.”

  “I wonder where she went.” Bryn glanced around the crowded room.

  “Home?” Abby ventured.

  “The dance will be over pretty soon.” Bryn took a sip of punch. “Do you think Devon will show up when the limo gets here? Should we wait for her?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “The limo service might charge us extra if we try to get them to wait,” Bryn pointed out.

  “I think if Devon’s not out there, we should just go. I’m guessing she went home. She was pretty mad. I haven’t seen her on the dance floor at all.” Abby scanned across the room. “And trust me, I’ve been watching for her.”

  “Afraid she’s going to stab you in the back?”

  Abby made a nervous laugh. “Well, I’m pretty sure she thinks I stabbed her in the back.”

  “Devon shouldn’t throw stones,” Bryn pointed out. “I mean, she set Cass up with a guy that she clearly thought was a loser. She even admitted that to me—she couldn’t believe that Cassidy wasn’t ticked.”

  “Russell is really nice,” Abby said, “and he makes a great Scarecrow.”

  “Cass likes him well enough.” Bryn took another sip. “Maybe not as a boyfriend, but she said that he’s fun.”

  “Too bad Devon couldn’t have taken a lesson from her. Or from you,” Abby said, pointing at Bryn.