The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky (ebook reader for manga TXT) 📕

and she certainly will be missed by all. But she will not be forgotten. Behind me is something that will be mounted in the lunchroom. A plaque that won’t only honor Saundra, but will also be honoring the beneficiaries of the Saundra Clairmont Fund, which her parents have generously set up. Students who receive the scholarship will have their names permanently added to the plaque.”

AssHead tugged on his side of the sheet and I tugged down on mine. The revelation was met with gasps. I started clapping because it seemed like the thing to do, but the gasps just grew louder and turned into shocked murmurs and whispers.

I twisted to look at the plaque properly. I stopped clapping.

The plaque was covered in red spray paint. I had to step back to read what the paint spelled out.

Freddie Martinez

Felicity Chu

Thayer Turner

Bram Wilding

Then I saw my own name, police-siren red.

AssHead was saying something into the microphone, but his voice fizzled in my ears, words losing all meaning and fusing into incomprehensible static. I searched for the club members. We looked at each other, uncomprehending.

The thing was, everyone else in the auditorium was looking at us, too.

 48

THE FIVE OF us were crammed into AssHead’s office, trying to make ourselves smaller under his glare. It was weird, standing shoulder to shoulder after taking so much care to not be seen together. But there was no separating us now. We had been named.

“What is the meaning of this?” AssHead asked.

Of course none of us said anything. We didn’t know what to say.

“Somebody had better start talking,” AssHead said. “Why were all of your names spray-painted on the plaque?”

Because we’re part of a secret society responsible for Saundra’s death. I wondered which of us would talk. But we all remained silent, staring at our shoes with sudden interest. Anyway, AssHead had asked the wrong question. He should’ve asked who had written all of our names on the plaque. But if I told him it was the Masked Man, he might have given me detention for being a smartass.

“One of you’d better—”

“I don’t know,” Felicity said. “I don’t have anything to do with these people.”

I had to give it to her—she was good at lying. She actually looked like she was disgusted to be associated with us, and appalled to even be called in here. Maybe because she didn’t need to act very hard.

“Who vandalized the plaque?”

“I. Don’t. Know,” Felicity said again.

“I’m not looking for attitude, young lady. You were all on that list and there must be a reason. Miss Chavez?”

My head snapped up, my body suddenly alive with nerves.

“I told you the last time you were in my office that I didn’t want to hear anything more about you and pranks.”

I didn’t know what to say. How could I begin to explain this? My head spun with all the various ways I was about to blow it for myself and the rest of the club, just by merely hesitating right now. But Freddie saved me.

“Mr. Braulio,” he said, “clearly, none of us knows what this is about. And none of us would disrespect Saundra’s memory like this. I mean, why would any of us put our names up there? It’s like asking to get kicked out of school.”

“So if you don’t know anything about this, then you don’t know anything about a game either, I take it?” AssHead searched each of our faces, and if there was ever a good moment to develop a poker face, it was then.

How had he known about the game?

He picked up a piece of notebook paper and held it up. “This was taped to the back of the plaque,” AssHead said, and then he read it: “Finish the game.” Any idea what that could mean?”

He put the paper down on his desk again. I didn’t dare look at anyone else and give anything away, but I could feel a wave of panic pumping through us, a collective heart about to burst in the silence that followed.

“I will find out why you were all listed on Saundra’s plaque, and I will find out what this game is,” AssHead said.

We continued to stand there like we didn’t know each other. But as I glanced at the others, I knew the club well enough to know that they were scared. So was I.

Bram sent out a group text after school. He was holding a meeting in his study. There had been a time when I couldn’t wait to go to the Wilding study, would drop everything, lie to my Mom and Saundra, just to be there. Now I dreaded it.

But we needed to figure out what the hell was going on.

“Someone is after us.” Thayer stood in the center of the room. The harsh light of day came through the glass terrace doors and washed Thayer in pale tones. “Someone is after us and they’re trying to expose us.”

“You sound paranoid,” Felicity said.

“Our names are spray-painted on a golden fucking plaque, Felicity!” Thayer yelled.

“Calm down,” Freddie said.

“Oh, calm down?” Thayer said. “Yeah, oh, uh, how about fuck you!”

“Okay,” Freddie said, standing. He didn’t seem upset or defensive. Bram was the natural leader of this group, but Freddie was the one who always stayed levelheaded whenever shit went down. He did the same now.

“We can’t point fingers at each other,” Freddie said. “We’re supposed to be a team. Now, someone put us on a list, which means that someone is after us.”

Bram spoke up. “What we need to do is stop playing.”

Felicity shot him an appalled look. “Listen to yourself. The game isn’t over until we’ve all played.”

“This has gone on long enough,” Bram said.

“You read the note,” Felicity said. “We need to finish the game.”

“We need to figure out who wrote that note,” Freddie said.

I thought again of what Bram had told me: You know the truth, Rachel. You’ve known all along.

“I know who it is.”

The club turned to look at me, watching me expectantly.

“In my