9781250209153

We follow her around the corner, back into the kitchen. Just as Irene
said, Tally is standing there, munching away on a bag of pretzels. Her eyes
are glazed over, but she looks up when Irene enters with the garlic sticks.
“What are those?” Tally blurts out.
Irene turns to her, feigning surprise. “Garlic sticks. Why?”
Tally’s eyes light up. “Can I have some?”
Irene sets the box on the counter and steps in front of it like a lioness
guarding her pack. “No, I don’t think so,” she says with fake sweetness.
“They’re not mine. I don’t know if I’m allowed to give them out.”
I know Tally well enough to understand what a delicious challenge this
is for her. Not only because someone is trying to deprive her of something,
but because that someone is a popular girl she’s resented for a long time.
“Really,” Tally says dryly. Her hatred for Irene practically crackles on
the air. “And who put you on guard duty?”
Irene shrugs. “I just like to play by the rules. Don’t you?”
My heartbeat quickens. It’s a showdown like the Wild West, and the
crazy thing is, I want Irene to win.
Tally lunges around her and grabs a garlic stick. Irene pretends to be
affronted, but I don’t think the fury in her eyes is fake.
“Mmm,” Tally says, chowing down. She cocks her head. “I can see why
you were hoarding them.”
“Yeah, you can see right through me,” Irene says coolly. She turns and
stalks off, but not before catching my eye.
Tally eats another garlic stick before she licks the crumbs off her fingers
and struts back to the center of the party. My friends and I watch intently,
trying to figure out what’s supposed to happen next. Where was Irene going
with this?
And then, as Tally slithers up to the pretty girl she was making out with
earlier, it hits me.
“Oh shit—”
Tally leans in to kiss the girl again. For a blistering moment they’re
wrapped together, mouths open, Tally devouring her, and then—
“AUGH!” the girl gags, rearing backward. She covers her mouth with
her hand.