Mr. Harlow was leaning on the counter. At my cry, he stood up straight. He grinned at me. “Hey, Poppy. I’m back.”
I choked out another cry. “I—I—” I stared at him, speechless.
And when Manny, Ivy, and Jeremy popped up from behind the counter, I thought I was in a dream, a weird, twisted nightmare. They were cheering and laughing, and I couldn’t understand what was happening.
I could see they were enjoying my shock.
I glimpsed that weird guy, Lucas, back by the supply room. He had a grin on his face, too. He had his eyes locked on me, and his hungry expression gave me the creeps.
I mean, why was he enjoying this so much?
Benny moved to the counter to join them. Mr. Harlow stepped out. He strode toward me and gave me a hug. “Poppy,” he whispered in my ear, “you have some pretty cruel friends.”
I began to come down to earth. The floor felt solid again. The lights were still too bright and flashing in my eyes. But I was beginning to think again, to move out of my shock, to realize what was going on.
“You should see the look on your face,” Benny said. “You went so pale, we could almost see through your skin.”
“Did we really fool you, Poppy?” Manny demanded.
And now I realized everything. Now I knew what they had done. Done to me.
“You—you—” I pointed an accusing finger. I struggled to find the words. “You . . . played a prank on me?”
They nodded, grins stuck on their faces.
Why? Did they hate me so much?
“You . . . you made me think Mr. Harlow was dead. You made me think I was a murderer. For a prank? Why? How could you do this to me?”
“It was Jack,” Ivy said. “Jack planned the whole thing.”
“Jack?” I cried. “But, why? And why did you go along with him?”
Their smiles faded. Mr. Harlow muttered something I couldn’t hear.
“Why?” I screamed, losing control. “Why? Tell me! Why would you let Jack do this to me? Why did you all do this?”
I was screaming at the top of my lungs now. My heart was pumping. I could feel the blood pulse at my temples.
How could they do this to me? I thought they were my friends.
“We never put it online,” Manny said. “Don’t worry, Poppy. No one saw it. I was just pretending to stream it. That’s why no one called the police.”
My head spun. It was never online. They kept the joke to themselves.
Jeremy stepped around the counter. He had his phone raised in front of him. “Jack didn’t give us much choice,” he said. “He can be convincing, you know. Like scary.”
“But, Jeremy—”
“Here.” He shoved the phone at me. “Take it. Look. Jack wants to talk to you. Maybe he’ll explain.”
I took the phone from his hand. My brain spun with confusion. Jack was on the phone? Why wasn’t he here to enjoy his big prank?
My hand was shaking. I raised the phone close. I saw Jack on the screen. Jack standing next to Rose Groban.
Rose clung to him, holding his hand, her arm entwined in his. She was leaning on him, her head tilted against his shoulder. She was wearing bright-red lipstick and her mouth was twisted into a cold smile. Her eyes sparkled, even on the phone screen.
“Jack?” I choked out. “Why—?”
“Gotcha back!” Rose exclaimed. “Your car accident ruined my play. But I got you back. Were you scared? Scared you were a murderer?”
She held on to Jack. He didn’t say a word. I couldn’t read his expression. Did he feel bad at all for me? Did he feel anything?
Jack and Rose. Jack and Rose.
Together.
And suddenly, I remembered her words of warning in the auditorium that day during auditions for the play. She whispered the words in my ear. Such a harsh, angry whisper. She told me to stay away from Jack.
I hadn’t gotten it then. I hadn’t realized Rose and Jack were a couple.
How stupid was I?
But now I knew. It was Rose and Jack all the time. They had always been together. Of course they had.
They played this awful trick on me.
All of them. All of them did this to me.
And realizing it, I felt myself explode. I just snapped. I could hear a wave rise up and roar in my brain. I could feel the red anger burst up in my chest, anger I’d never felt before.
I felt more than humiliated. I felt betrayed. Betrayed by the only friends I trusted.
With an animal cry, I heaved the phone at Jeremy. He fumbled it in both hands but caught it before it hit the floor.
I tilted back my head. I wanted to roar like a lion, like a beast in a horror movie. I wanted to roar and tear and scratch and attack, attack them all for what they’d done to me.
“Don’t you see what you did?” I cried.
They were still huddled behind the front counter. Mr. Harlow moved to the side so he was half-hidden by a Budweiser display. But the others stood and stared as I began to rage.
“I thought I would die!” I screamed. “I thought my life was over. How could you think this was a joke? How could you let Jack and Rose do this to me? Put me through such torture?”
I was gasping for breath. But I couldn’t stop screaming. I couldn’t stop the rush of fury bursting from my trembling body. “I thought you were my friends. I trusted you. I didn’t do anything to deserve this. How—”
Jeremy raised a hand to stop me. “Poppy, we’re sorry. We didn’t realize—”
“I hate you!” I wailed. “I hate you all!” I sucked in a wheezing breath. I took a few seconds to get myself together. My throat ached from screaming.
They stood there staring at me in horror. Didn’t any of them think of how this would destroy me?
Pausing only made my anger stronger. “You picked the wrong girl to do this to!” I screamed. “The wrong girl. I’m warning you! I’m warning you now. I’ll pay every one of you back!”
I realized I was shaking my fist at them. They actually looked frightened now. “The wrong girl!” I shrieked. “You picked the wrong girl!”
