Page 41 of I Kissed Shara Wheeler
“That would work,” Chloe agrees, “except all the inside doors would still be locked.”
“Wait,” Jake says. “What’s your friend’s name? The one who looks like you but with better vibes?”
“Her vibes are fine, dude,” Rory says. “Don’t be shitty.”
“Thank you,” says Chloe, whose vibes have never been complimented before. “Um, do you mean Georgia?”
“Yeahhh, that girl,” Jake says. “Isn’t she a library aide? I always see her when I’m skipping sixth hour.”
“Yeah, she is,” Chloe says. “Why?”
“Well, then she has a key.”
“To the library office,” Chloe points out. “Not the principal’s office.”
“Right,” Rory says, drumming his fingers on the fretboard of his guitar. “But you work backward from what you have.” He jerks his chin up toward the top of the tree, which brushes up against the side of C Building. “The library office, it’s that window, right?”
Chloe looks up through the branches to the second-story window covered in Easter egg stickers and lined with books. She knows it well; Georgia sometimes lets her sneak in her overdue books to avoid late fees.
“Yeah,” she confirms.
Rory does a contemplative lip bite. “Pretty short jump.”
“Okay,” Chloe says, “so we can get out of the building. But there are still at least three locked doors between that window and Wheeler’s office, unless you can like, walk through walls.”
“What about through the ceiling?” Rory asks.
“Dude,” April says, her jaw dropping so fast, her Tootsie Roll pop plummets to the ground below. “Do you mean—”
Rory smirks. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Without us?”
“There’s no way it could be all four of us,” Rory says. “Way too risky. You guys have to be the support team from the parking lot. Jake?”
“But it’s our dream!”
“What are you talking about?” Chloe demands.
Rory tilts his head back, settling it against the tree so his curls crumple up at his crown and his jawline goes all model-y, his eyes slipping closed like visions of perfectly executed pranks are dancing in his head. He answers, in the wistful voice of someone announcing a long-awaited fantasy: “The air ducts.”
FROM THE BURN PILE
Passed notes between Tucker Price and Tyler Miller
Written in the margins of an American History study guide
dude i hooked up with the Mistress of Pain herself last night at the Quiz Bowl party
Chloe Green????? what happened?
made out in the hot tub
wow haha did you like it
it was fine I guess? kinda thought I would be more into it than I ended up being
Passed notes between Tyler and Ash
