Kendall & Me [discontinued]

16 | The Note

"Hey, Mom," I said, folding my free arm over my chest and holding my cell phone to my ear. I pressed my lips together and stared at Falice's kitchen cabinets, silently praying that my mom wouldn't get irritated by what I was about to say.

"Hi, honey," my mom replied. She sounded sidetracked, which wasn't surprising as she was probably working. "Is everything okay?"

I glanced at Kendall, who gave me an encouraging thumbs-up. It didn't boost my confidence much, but I smiled back anyway. "I just wanted to let you know that I might be a little later than expected," I said. "Falice is having a really hard time with this section, and the test is coming up soon. She really wants to pass."

My mom paused before answering. I wondered if she was thinking my words over or if she was holding back a snap. I honestly didn't know which it would be. Yesterday, she seemed okay with the exception to the twenty-four-hour notice requirement, but this would be the second exception in a short period of time. It wouldn't seem like a big deal to really anyone else, but my parents liked structure and knowing where I would be and when I would be there at all times.

As though to help prove that I was telling the truth, Arabelle called from her spot on top of the island, "Wait—so do I divide by Z here or do I multiply? Oh, wait, no, am I supposed to add this first and then—ugh, what even is this? Crap."

I smiled at Arabelle. She winked.

My mom sighed. "Poor girl. We'll make an exception this time, but, Isabel, please don't make a habit out of this."

"I won't," I said. "Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome, honey."

I hung up the phone and looked around at the others, who were all gathered on or around the island. "Well, at least something's gone right today," I muttered.

Falice smiled. "We'll figure this all out," she assured me.

"Trust me, she'll talk," Arabelle said, swaying her legs from side to side and reaching for the peanut butter again. As she plopped a scoop into her mouth, I wondered where I could get the confidence she clearly had. I wanted to believe we'd get her to talk—needed to believe it, actually, for Kendall's sake—but even now the confession seemed like an impossible dream.

"What are we going to do?" Elijah asked. "Saying we need to raise the stakes is one thing. Actually doing it is another."

"And the title of Captain Obvious returns to—"

Elijah glared. I internally sighed. While their bickering was amusing most of the time, I wished they would put it aside for now. We needed to concentrate on saving Kendall, not on who was more obvious than who.

"We make it clear that we're not going to leave her alone until she admits what she did," Arabelle said, twirling the now-empty spoon between her fingers. "We can slip her messages while we're in classes, continually pop up, reminding her that we're there, watching her, stuff like that."

"We could also give her a deadline," Falice said.

Arabelle cocked an eyebrow. "A deadline until what?"

"A deadline stating that if she doesn't fess up, we're going to the police," Falice replied.

"And then constantly remind her that the deadline is approaching," I said, nibbling on my thumb. I frowned. It sounded cruel, but what other choice did we have? It was either this or leave Kendall to fend for herself.