To Catch A Thief

Chapter Three

Friday night comes, and it's game night at Caz's. I'm almost excited to see where Caz lives. I'm assuming somewhere nice, considering the school we go to. I put some Tupperware in my school backpack but make sure to leave room for any valuable silverware his family might have.

I arrive a bit late after dropping Oliver off at home and making the long walk back to the neighborhood by the castle where many of my classmates live. As I bring my hand up to knock on the door, somebody dressed in a tuxedo opens the door. I lower my hand in an attempt to offer a handshake to Caz's dad.

"Nice to meet you, Mister Petrov." Instead of looking impressed at my manners, Caz's dad seems shocked.

"No ma'am, I'm just the doorman." He says and I feel like Oliver remarking on the fact that none of the kids in large SUVs are allowed to sit in the front.

"Ah. My apologies." I try and sound as posh as possible. It's a phrase I heard Matteo use the other day that I ridiculed him for saying. I don't think the doorman buys it, but he lets me in anyways.

I'm greeted by Caz, Etienne, and Hailey hunched over what looks to be a blueprint of some sort.

"Ce! I'm glad you can make it!" Caz gives me a hug. "We're doing a different sort of game tonight, it's like a collaborative world building one. It takes place in our school, which is why we have the blueprints for it."

"Oh, cool,"  I say, not sure what a collaborative world building game is. I notice the vegetable tray sitting out and try and remember the last time I ate broccoli.

"So the aim is to get one of our classmates that we all hate into the boiler room and then blow them up."

My eyes go wide. That seems a bit extreme. Caz notices my reaction and tries to calm me down with a hand on my shoulder.

"Relax, it's just a game. Here, why don't you drink some of this?" Caz hands me a bottle of something and I take a sip. I nearly spit it all back out. I've only had alcohol a couple times before, with Em and her friends. I nearly refuse, but Caz is looking at me, gauging my response. Hailey's already got two empty bottles next to her and she's working on a third, and it looks like Etienne's not too far behind. I take another sip, and Caz smiles.

"Atta girl." He steers me towards the blueprints.
I find that I'm really good at this game, especially after I have a couple of alcoholic drinks in me. Caz keeps handing me more, and I keep drinking what's in front of me.

"I once did a break-in like this," I blurt before I can stop myself from talking about my old profession. "It was a ship, you know. But still, we had to get the captain down to where they burned the coal. It was actually planned by the crew, who wanted to mutiny without having to actually do anything. So we weren't really pirates, just kidnappers."

"What happened next?" Caz stares at me intently, and I find myself needing to look away from him. There's something in his eyes that unsettles me but I push it away. Caz is my friend; he tells me all the answers to my English quizzes. He wouldn't hurt me. I don't think he'd hurt anyone else.

"Well, it was pretty simple actually. My mom walked in and told the captain that he needed to go to the coal room. She was so confident that he just followed her." I smile, lopsided from all the bottles.

"Caz, I say, grabbing his arm. "We need to go outside."

"Why?" He says, and he stands up and steadies me. His legs work better than mine, maybe he hasn't drank as much as me.

"You've gotta see this," I stumble and he catches me.

"Okay," he smiles down at me. He's so tall. Almost pretty too, with his long dark lashes. His buzz cut isn't the best look for his face, but he makes it work with his cheekbones.