The Rose Ransom (Girls Wearing Black: Book Three) (3 page)

“Where were you when all of that
went down?” Annika said to Jake Castillo. “How come you didn’t raise your
paddle and bid on Nicky?”

“I had no idea what was going
on,” said Jake. “I was freaking out just as much as the rest of you. It was
like you could hear crickets in there when the auctioneer asked for the opening
bid.”

“Bet you’re sad you didn’t bid
on her now,” said Mattie.

Jake smiled. “Nicky knows where
my heart is,” he said. “When she becomes the immortal, she’ll remember I
supported her from the get-go, even if I got cold feet at the Date Auction.”

“Did anyone have the slightest
clue Ryan was going to do that?” Annika asked, pointing the question at Jill.

Jill felt the eyes of the entire
group turn on her.

“My lips are sealed,” she said,
getting a loud groan from all of them.

The truth was Jill knew plenty
about Ryan and his surprise bid. The real reason for Ryan’s sudden change of
heart at the Date Auction was long and complicated. It had to do with a secret
Kim had been holding over Ryan’s head.

Jill didn’t want anyone else to
know about that secret.

But she also didn’t want to play
dumb. Ryan’s surprise bid played right into the rumors Jill had been spreading
since the first days of the Coronation contest. When Nicky showed up to the
Masquerade in a black dress, Jill immediately started chatter among the seniors
about a secret consortium whose members would come forward and support Nicky
when the time was right.

For Ryan, the time was right in
the waning seconds of the Date Auction.

His bid changed everything. In
the past hour, Kim Renwick had gone from inevitable winner to distant second
place. The Date Auction had given Nicky a commanding lead in the Coronation
contest.

All of that could change with
the next event. With the girls wearing black all flying away to exotic
locations for week-long dates, things would be quiet at Thorndike for a few
days. But the night that Nicky and the other contestants were scheduled to
return, the senior class would gather in Renata’s ballroom once again, and the
next game would start.

The Rose Ransom.

The final Coronation event of
the fall semester, the Rose Ransom is a massive treasure hunt with the entire
school looking for a girl the immortals have kidnapped and hidden away.

Jill remembered writing those
words for Nicky’s briefing book. She remembered all the research, all the
computer hacking, all the meetings—more than a month of effort—tonight it came
to a head. The Network’s plan for the Rose Ransom was simple, and was entirely
in Jill’s hands. She had a ring in her pocket. Before the night was over, that
ring would be on the finger of one of her classmates, and the Network’s plan
for winning the Rose Ransom would be in motion.

“Well, even though Jill doesn’t
want to share, I think it’s fair to say we owe her a big debt of gratitude,”
said Annika. “She’s the one who convinced us to back the right horse.”

“Actually, you convinced me,
Annika,” said Jake. “No offense, Jill, but until Annika sent that text message
telling us to go to Nicky’s party after the Masquerade—well, let’s just say I
thought Jill was a bit nutty.”

“True genius is always a bit
nutty,” said Annika. “In fact, let’s raise our glasses. I want to make a
toast.”

Annika held up her champagne
flute. The others followed her lead.

“To Jill,” she said. “We’re all
so thankful you didn’t screw us over.”

“Here, here!” said Jenny.

As they clinked their glasses,
Jill sensed the conversation around them getting quiet. The rest of the class
was watching them.

“Let’s do one more, shall we?”
Annika said.

“One more what?” said Jill.

Annika didn’t answer, but
instead turned away to face everyone else, and started thunking her champagne
flute with her fingernail.

“Everyone, I have an
announcement!” she said.

What little conversation buzz
remained went completely silent. Annika had the room’s attention.

“I know that many of you were
scared to back anyone other than Kim Renwick,” Annika said in a commanding
voice. “And I can’t say I blame you. Just a few weeks ago, it seemed crazy that
a new girl could just waltz into school and win the Coronation contest. But it
doesn’t seem crazy now, does it?”

A few heads nodded, a few voices
murmured their agreement.

“Those of us who supported Nicky
from the beginning are certain to get a lifetime of government favors when she
wins,” Annika continued. “That’s just how it works. And although it is indeed
too late for you to be in Nicky’s inner circle, it’s not too late for you to
settle this contest once and for all and make sure that hideous Renwick girl
doesn’t become the immortal from our class.”

That hideous Renwick girl
got a light gasp from the crowd. No, Kim wasn’t here—like all the girls wearing
black she was off on her date—but Annika could be certain that her words would
find their way to Kim’s ears eventually.

Jill smiled. Whatever her flaws,
there was no denying that Annika was a girl who had guts.

“A week from now, we’ll all be
gathered again in Renata’s ballroom to kick off the Rose Ransom,” Annika
continued. “A month or two after that, one of you is going to find the princess
and win the ransom money. If you donate that money on behalf of Kim, you’ll
drag this contest out until the end of the year and all of us will be walking
on eggshells until spring. But if you give it on behalf of Nicky, the
Coronation contest is over. If Nicky wins the Rose Ransom, her lead will be so
huge that no one else will have a chance to catch up. Are you hearing what I’m
telling you?”

A few people around the room
were nodding their heads; others were looking at the floor.

“I’m telling you that we can be
done with all the stress of Coronation and actually enjoy our last semester of
high school,” Annika said. “Think about it. If we already know who’s going to
win, all the politics, all the backstabbing, all the blackmail...”

At the line about blackmail,
Jill and Annika both looked at Art Tremblay, who quickly turned away.

“All of Kim’s nonsense ends if
the Rose Ransom money goes to Nicky. Let’s just agree now that Nicky wins this
thing, shall we?” Annika finished.

Mattie and Jake cheered. Jenny
tried clapping her hands, but ended up dropping her champagne flute. It
shattered all over the floor, ending the moment.

Annika turned back to the group.

“Nice one, Jenny,” she said.

“Sorry. I just got so excited.
You really know how to fire up the troops!”

“Come on, Jenny,” Annika said.
“Let’s get you another champagne.”

As Annika went to the bar, the
party chatter resumed. Jill looked across the room and saw Karmela standing by
the window with Josh Manson.

“I’ll see you around guys,” Jill
said. “I need to go talk to someone.”

With her right hand, Jill set
her champagne down on the closest table. With her left, she grabbed hold of the
ring in her pocket and tucked it into her palm. She moved slowly to the other
end of the bar, trying not to draw anyone’s attention. She failed. Half-way
there, Karmela and Josh both spotted her.

“Hello, Jill,” Karmela said. “Is
there something we can do for you?”

Karmela had an odd way of
speaking. Gutteral with r’s that almost rolled, with vowels that were too short
and consonants that were too harsh, her English was flavored with accents from
the sort of transnational upbringing that sometimes happened among the power
elite. Heiress to a jewelry manufacturing conglomerate from Germany, Karmela
spent her youth in boarding schools in Sydney, London, and New York. Her birth
name was a mouthful for English speakers, so she changed it to Karmela Sweet, a
name that spoke to both the color of her skin and the warmth of her smile.

Of course, Jill wasn’t seeing
that smile tonight. Karmela looked downright angry that Jill had the audacity
to get close to her.

“Hi Karmela. Hi Josh. How are
you guys tonight?”

“We’re fine, thank you,” Karmela
said in a dismissive tone. “You know, Annika’s little speech was cute and all,
but you guys act like there are only two girls in this contest.”

Karmela’s shoulders twitched
after she spoke. She wasn’t a girl who was good at conflict.

“You know how Annika is,” said
Jill. “She does whatever she wants to do and says whatever she wants to say.
Those were her words, not mine.”

“But I’m sure you agree with the
sentiments in her pep talk.”

“I…yes, I suppose I do,” said
Jill.

“Well I don’t,” Karmela said.
“Josh doesn’t either. Do you?”

Josh obediently shook his head.

“See, here’s the thing,” Karmela
said. “Whoever finds the princess and wins the ransom money shouldn’t donate it
for Nicky. You know where that money should go?”

“Really, I didn’t come over here
to talk about the contest.”

“It should go to Samantha Kwan,”
said Karmela.

“I know you guys are tight with
Samantha. You should know that I don’t have a problem with her. She plays fair
and I respect that.”

“You should have been supporting
Samantha this whole time,” Karmela snapped. “When you and Annika got behind
this new girl it mixed everything up.”

“Nicky’s a good person,” Jill
said. “You should get to know her.”

“We have no interest in getting
to know her. You think you’re so smart with your secret club that got the new
girl into school and pushed her to the top. But there was already a plan to
defeat Kim. A better plan. One that wasn’t nearly as risky or expensive as
whatever you and Ryan Jenson are trying to pull. You didn’t know about that,
did you?”

Yes, I did
, Jill thought.
I know all about your cockamamie plan.

Karmela lifted her glass to take
a sip of champagne, and Jill got her first good look at the ring on Karmela’s
finger. A small gold band with an oval garnet held by ten prongs. A pattern of
swirls was engraved on either side of the garnet, one set of swirls forming an
S, the other set making an O.

Karmela Sweet was the third girl
from her family to come to Thorndike. Her sister, mother, and aunt were all
graduates. As was often the case with these legacy students, strange bits of
superstition and ritual infected their family’s relationship with the school.
In Karmela’s case, the family believed this gold and garnet ring was their key
to getting not one, but three, girls into Thorndike. Like her mother and sister
before her, Karmela wore the ring every day, and intended to continue wearing
it until graduation.

Jill had an exact replica of Karmela’s
ring tucked in her palm. Patrick Hall had made it for her in his lab in Philly.
The only difference between the ring in Jill’s hand and the one on Karmela’s
finger was the stone.

On Karmela’s ring, the stone was
a garnet that had been cut and mounted in the 19
^th
century. On the
replica, the stone was an imitation with a tracking device embedded in its
center.

“Karmela, I don’t want to step
on any toes,” Jill said. “The reason I came over here is--”

“Just tell me this, Jill. What
would it mean if the Rose Ransom money went into the pot for Samantha instead?”

 “I guess it depends on how much
the ransom is this year.”

“And what if I told you the
ransom money was a sum so big it would put Samantha in front and instantly make
her a player in this contest?”

What if you told me the
ransom was sixteen million dollars?
Jill thought.
What if you told me
your parents and Samantha’s parents already have the money set aside? What if
you told me you’ve been angling to be the princess since freshman year, and
you’re convinced that when the Board of Regents selects a girl for the honor,
they’re selecting you?

What if I told you I know
everything you and the Kwans are scheming? What if I told you I think your plan
is foolish and reckless, but I’ve been helping you execute it anyway?

“Karmela, how could you possibly
know the size of the ransom money?” Jill said. “We don’t even know who’s been
selected to be the princess?”

“But we know what kind of girl
the Regents like to pick,” Karmela said. “We know they want someone from one of
the richer families in school, someone who can afford to put up a nice sum for
the ransom. We know they only choose a girl from a family they can trust,
perhaps a family with a long history at Thorndike.”

“Oh Karmela, you’re not saying
you think--”

“We know they like safe
choices,” Karmela interrupted, speaking loudly to make sure Jill didn’t try to
talk over her. It was like she was giving a speech she’d said many times in her
mind. Jill decided it was best to just shut up and listen.

“We know they like a girl who
will smile and be happy when Renata calls her up to the stage,” Karmela
continued. “They don’t want anyone who is too popular or too tight with one of
the girls wearing black. They want the princess to be someone who will
appreciate the honor, who won’t feel put out for missing a few weeks of school
while she’s holed up somewhere. They want someone whose family will be thrilled
when they’re told their daughter has been selected. Now tell me, Jill. There
are forty-six girls in this room. Which one fits that description best?”

It was interesting to hear
Karmela make this argument. Last summer, Jill had intercepted the emails and
text messages where Karmela’s parents and the Kwan family hatched this scheme.
Jill knew they were banking on Karmela getting selected to be the princess for
the Rose Ransom. Now she knew why they were so certain.

And it wasn’t a bad argument.
Karmela was a fine candidate for the role. No doubt her name would have come up
when the Board discussed their options, but it was hardly the sure thing
Karmela made it out to be. The Regents were a finicky, unpredictable group.