A 'Pride and Prejudice' Remix.
Beth Bennett, a poor girl in a fancy boarding school, faces class prejudice and romance when the school goes co-ed and she meets arrogant Will Darcy.
[THIS STORY IS COMPLETE]
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My question hung in the air, far more loaded and heavier than it ought to have been. Nancy pondered on it, her glass of diet coke clutched in her black-painted nails, the condensation trickling from the bottom of the glass and pooling on the lacquered table. Her dark eyes darted furtively this way and that, towards the counter where the cute young man serving was chatting to a blonde girl while she perused the menu.
Nancy leaned in and conspiratorially whispered, 'Ever heard of Panic?'
'Like... like when you freak out about something?'
I knew it was the wrong answer.
'It's this game we play every summer.'
'You say game, but you're giving me vibes like you're talking about The Purge.'
Nancy smirked and shrugged her shoulders lightly. 'It's only like The Purge if you're bad at it.'
My spine stiffened. I knew nothing more than the name of this event, and already I knew it was bad news. Nancy was positively vibrating with excitement at the very idea of the so-called game.
'It's for graduating seniors,' she said. 'No one knows what the challenges will be. All you need to do is hang in there until the end. If you do, you win a butt-load of cash.'
'And you're doing this?' I asked. 'Willingly?'
'A lot of people are.'
'No. No way,' I said. 'Nancy, you're my cousin and I mean this with absolute respect, but you can't make me believe that an entire senior year of teenagers can be so collectively stupid.'
'Harsh, but fair,' she allowed. 'Look, when the announcement drops, come with me. Even if you just watch. You probably can't take part because you're not a senior but, I don't know, maybe they'll let you try one challenge just to see what it's all about.'
Everything told me I should shut this down immediately. It was insanity. If Will ever found out that I'd done anything so stupid or dangerous, he would kill me, especially after I ran off alone in Italy and was almost murdered by Gideon. I'd promised that I'd take no kind of risk like that again.
On the other hand, could I really let my cousin head off alone if I could take care of her?
'Fine,' I said. 'I mean, how bad can it be?'
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Fireworks exploded across the entire town. They illuminated miles of a star-filled sky, raining sparks and embers down upon the people who'd stepped from their homes to take in the sight. We took the back roads in Nancy's old beater and I stared through the passenger window, feeling the warm summer air whip through my hair and listening to the faint sound of police sirens far away.
'They try to find Panic every year,' Nancy explained. 'But the judges are always one step ahead.'
There was pride in her voice. Smugness. It was as though she thought that she and the other teens were invincible. Once upon a time, I'd have thought the same. Only such a thought could have led to me running through Rome alone at night, looking for a psychopath who'd abducted my friend.
