Sweet Like Revenge

20 - Pills and Potions

The Interschool Games afterparty was a golden opportunity.

It was different from Matt's party when I had simply been the new girl trying to prove my worth. Now, I had successfully infiltrated the A-list. Irvine's elite had accepted me as one of their own, and each one was slowly but surely letting down their guard. I had to use that to my advantage. I had to gather more intel and find something that I could use to blow up Sienna's castle and steal her golden crown.

And, since they'd all be drinking that night, my mission seemed ten times easier.

Kat and I returned from the liquor store to find the campsite transformed. Fairy lights had been draped through the clusters of pines and firs, while loud music played from the overhead speakers that shot up from the sprawling lawn. And from the looks of things over on the makeshift, dimly lit dance floor, the Elites weren't the only ones smuggling in alcohol that night.

"Where are the teachers?" I asked, setting the drinks down on a table.

Kat only laughed in reply.

"They're back!" a male voice declared.

Astor and Matt bounded towards us with some other guys from the team, descending on the table like vultures on a carcass.

"Finally. "Kirsty joined us, Sienna and Chontelle on her heels. "What took you so long?"

"Elle doesn't have a fake ID," Kat said.

The other girls turned to look at me with surprise.

"I do," I lied. "I just left it at home. I didn't think I'd need it."

Kirsty scoffed. Either she didn't believe me, or she thought I was naïve. Neither was good for my cause.

A shot glass was forced into my hands, and Matt's face appeared in front of me.

"Cheers!" He sang, clinking his glass against mine.

I smiled, trying to return the drink to him. "No, thank you."

"You're not drinking?" Sienna asked. She shared a look with Kirsty, then with Chontelle.

"Don't worry," Matt reassured me. "It's apple vodka. Super sweet, like you. You'll like it."

"Thanks, but—"

"You'll like it," Kirsty repeated forcefully.

The other girls stared at me expectantly, with only Chontelle averting my gaze.

"C'mon," Matt urged. "Let your hair down. It's a party."

Chontelle's eyes finally met mine, her anger seething from within as she projected a very clear warning; don't you dare. 

One shot couldn't hurt.

I let the glass meet my lips, then closed my eyes as I threw back my first ever shot.

"Yes, Elle!" Kirsty laughed, throwing her arms into the air. "Now it's a party!"

My friends erupted around me, their cheers as loud as the music playing overhead.

"Told you you'd like it." Matt smiled, reaching for another shot.

But, before I could even think of an excuse not to take it, Chontelle's perfectly manicured hand reached out to drag me away.

I should have seen it coming.

"Let's dance," she ordered like a general directing her squadron.

Kat joined us on the make-do dance floor — a concreted area with picnic benches that was usually used for camp lunches. The music was much louder there, and the area had been decorated with balloons and fluorescent lighting that strobed on us from above. That, coupled with the sea of bodies around me, was a disorientating mix.