The Cinderella Society (34 page)

“We graduate from it?”

“Not in the same way as graduating from high school. At the end of your three years—two years for you, since you’re joining late—every Cindy transitions onto one of three paths. That’s where ‘embrace your future’ comes into play,” she explained. “The first path is
Influence
. I think of it as paying it forward. You take the knowledge and skills you’ve gained as a Cindy and use them to make a difference in the world in whatever way you’re compelled to.”

I’d always loved the concept of paying it forward. To think Cindys were out there doing that right now to combat the Wickeds’ network of targeting was a glimmer of hope for Reggies everywhere.

“The majority of Cindys follow the Influence path. There are alumni groups all over the world—once a Cindy, always a Cindy—but those Cindys’ active participation in the Society itself effectively ends after graduation.

“Now, for the Cindys who want a longer-term commitment, there’s the
ISIS
path. Once you become a Gamma, you can go out on assignment for ISIS. It’s not a full-time status, but it allows Cindys to continue making contributions to the ISIS mission throughout their lives.”

Hence Sarah Jane’s New Zealand assignment.

“Some Cindys move beyond Gamma level and pursue
Delta status, but it’s all part of the
ISIS
path. Being a Delta provides you with the clearance to work for ISIS as a career. Instead of going on voluntary assignments, you have the opportunity to earn your paycheck from ISIS. So, rather than being, say, an environmental engineer for the government, you could work in the ISIS R&D department.”

Gaby’s dream come true. I’d bet anything that’s where she was headed.

“Not every Delta chooses to work for ISIS. Your grandma is a good example of that. But they’re all intimately involved with the inner workings of ISIS.”

I could figure out the rest on my own. “And we’re the third path.”

Brooke raised her coffee in a toast. “Long live the Guardians.” We tapped our coffee cups together. “Guardians have one mission and one mission only: to protect ISIS from ATHENA, while stopping their attempts at domination. Every assignment you receive as a Guardian is directly connected to the Wickeds.”

It was bad enough that the targeted Reggies were tied to the Wickeds for all eternity. Becoming a Guardian meant I would be too.

We went over the Cindy calendar Gaby had given me and compared it to upcoming Guardian events and milestone dates. Brooke wanted to make sure we identified any conflicts in advance so I wasn’t pulled in too many directions. My first priority was preparing to take over as leader, so the only major Guardian event I would have this summer was the Guardian Summit in New York City. According to Brooke, the Guardian Summit was like the Cindys’ version of the UN.

Schedules in place, we shifted to the topic I’d been waiting for.

“Where are you with the recruitment surge?” Brooke asked, taking a careful sip of coffee that somehow didn’t leave a lipstick mark on her cup. Was there no end to her magical powers?

I polished off the last of my biscotti. “I was hoping you could help me there. Nan said the Guardians are on the front lines of the recruitment-surge problem, right?”

“It’s one of our major priorities. In fact, you’ve been assigned to the Guardians’ Recruitment Task Force because you’re in a surge location. You’ll get to meet the other members at the Summit. The task force needs eyes on the ground to understand how the surge is playing out in real time. You’ll be their eyes, and they’ll pass along new intel as it comes in to help you. It’s a partnership.”

A partnership I desperately needed. “Can I ask you something?”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“Paige explained about ATHENA’s network of Wickeds around the country.” Or around the world, now that I knew better. “What do they gain by targeting the Reggies later on? I understand wanting the power trip, but is it just an ego thing?”

“What do you think?”

“I think there has to be something tangible they get out of it.”

“Put yourself in the Reggies’ shoes,” Brooke said. “Let’s say you’re in your mid-thirties, and you’ve been targeted by the Wickeds since you were in high school. That’s twenty years of bowing to Wicked pressure. You’ve learned it’s easier to go along with it than fight back because they always come after you worse if you disobey. And then one day, you get the promotion you’ve been hoping for or the political position
you’ve been working toward your whole life. It’s the pinnacle of success and finally puts you in a position of power. What happens then?”

Things started clicking into place. “They use you as a puppet.”

“Exactly. Or, if you got the position over a Wicked, they blackmail you into stepping down so the Wicked can step up. The more diverse their power is, the harder it is to fight.”

The alarm on Brooke’s cell beeped, and she checked the clock while my mind buzzed with possibilities.

“My private number is in the folder I gave you,” she said, getting up to go. “Call me any time you have a question or need a sounding board. Don’t be shy, okay?”

“Thanks, Brooke. I won’t be.”
Much
.

Brooke gave me a quick hug—rendering me momentarily speechless (and once again wishing I’d been a Worthington Estates girl)—and left the office. I immediately opened the door to the War Room, making a beeline for the whiteboard.

The photos were still in the columns we’d left them in. If Brooke’s take on ATHENA held true for all the Wickeds, she’d just given me the final piece of the puzzle.

We knew the Wickeds were targeting people who had something they wanted. Power, position, a strength they could exploit. If they wanted it, they went after it. Period.

If they wanted to control the entire high-school landscape, they needed to have puppets in every major area. Or be in the positions themselves. And they needed to eliminate any threats to that control. If they succeeded—and it looked like they were well on their way—we were in trouble. Once they controlled the entire social structure, stopping them would be next to impossible.

The problem with their plan was that with such a diverse
reach at school, there’d be no way they could effectively control all the groups and still keep their network of spies active and in fear. It left them no choice but to spike their numbers.

And we had no choice but to take them down before the surge was complete.

Their reach was already more extensive than we could possibly battle one on one. And therein lay the problem: I’d been banging my head against the desk over a strategy that had never been an option in the first place.

“There are way more Reggies than there will ever be Cindys or Wickeds. The real power is in their hands, but they have to embrace it for it to do them any good.”

Sarah Jane had given me the secret that day at the ball game, but I hadn’t understood what it meant until now. If we wanted to take the Wickeds down for good, there was only one thing that could guarantee success.

It would take nothing short of a full-scale Reggie uprising.

But an uprising needed a leader on the inside; the Reggies needed one of their own to look to for leadership and strength. Heather had finally found her voice with Lexy at the Range. With a little guidance and a support system she could count on, who knew what she was capable of? I might not have had all the details worked out, but I had no doubt she was the right person for the job.

I just needed to convince
her
of that.

*   *   *

If I had any hopes of talking Kyra out of setting me up with Alec, I was out of luck. Everyone thought it was a fabulous idea, so I finally caved and let them take control of my social life. They couldn’t do worse with it than I had.

Our doorbell rang, and I gave my fun-feminine-sporty
look a last once-over before heading downstairs. To be honest, I really wanted to be a piner, even if it did look pathetic when the pinee had gotten over me in twelve seconds. But I’d made my decision, so it was off like a herd of turtles for dear Jess.

“Sorry if Kyra roped you into this,” Alec said, once we were safely out of the house. Kyra hadn’t lied about him being cute—dark hair, charmingly crooked grin. He helped me into the car, so he got bonus points for politeness too. I could do a heck of a lot worse for a non-date date.

“She didn’t,” I offered with a smile. “I wanted to come.”

He paused with his hand on the doorframe and gave me a
don’t kid a kidder
look.

“Well, she did say she thought it would be good for both of us.”

He laughed. “I’ll take that.”

We decided to see an easy romantic comedy and had so much fun whispering comments like “Gee, I didn’t see
that
one coming” and “No way would she ever say that with her boss sitting right there—is she insane?” that I didn’t even mind when the kissing scene came on. Alec and I just looked at each other and laughed. It was like hanging out with my best guy friend, if I’d ever had a best guy friend.

Kyra had let Ben drag her to see the latest action flick—ah, the things we do for love—and we caught up with them in the hall on our way out. We stood around for a few minutes, laughing and joking like we didn’t have a care in the world. I almost forgot Alec and I were supposed to be nursing broken hearts.

We followed Ben’s car to Arnie’s Frozen Custard and got waffle cones to go, then took them to the lake. I made sure we kept to the main areas so I didn’t have to face any memories head-on.

Alec had grown up in Mt. Sterling but had moved away after eighth grade. He’d been back a few times, but not since The Grind had started testing new menu items here. Audrey’s mouthwatering balsamic chicken wrap was deemed a must-try, and our dinner plans were set. Kyra and Ben walked ahead of us, and Alec took my hand in his, swinging it back and forth between us as we walked. No lacing of fingers, just nice hand-to-hand contact.

“You look great, by the way,” Alec said. “Kyra said you might want a guy’s opinion on your new fabulousness.”

I thought about how I’d felt dressing this time around. Finally living up to a signature style that really felt like me. I’d gotten a little dolled up for our date, but I was still 100 percent Jess Parker. Funny how when you dressed for yourself, a compliment was like icing on the cake. Not that I couldn’t appreciate good icing the same as the next girl.

“Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.”

I laughed. “Can I tell you something?”

“Sure.”

“I’m having a lot more fun than I thought I would.”

Alec grinned. “Me too. It made me forget about things for a while.”

“Same here.” I glanced over at him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not much to tell. We dated for about a year, but I broke it off because she was more serious than I was.”

I thought about Ryan and me. “That’s hard on guys, isn’t it?”

“It’s hard on anyone, I think. But I’ve always been kinda into someone else, so it wasn’t fair to keep leading her on.”

“Oh.”

“I didn’t act on it, if that’s what you’re thinking. The other girl doesn’t know I exist.”

He had to be kidding. “You’re totally cute and funny. How can she
not
know you exist?”

“She didn’t go to my old school. Even if she had, she’s preoccupied with studying and wouldn’t have noticed me anyway. I used to date her twin sister. By the time I realized the girl of my dreams was hiding right behind her, I was moving.”

I did a double take. No
way
. “You and … are you serious?”

He blushed but didn’t offer any more details. “Want to tell me about yours?”

Did I? My eyes drifted to the stretch of boardwalk where things had felt so right.

“I don’t know,” I said, honestly. “Too much too fast, maybe? Not super intense,” I added, not wanting Alec to think I was
that
kind of fast. “More like the whole thing happened really fast. All of a sudden it was there and overwhelming, and then it was just … over.”

“Incompatible?”

“A little. But mostly we couldn’t accept each other at face value.”

It came out so naturally that you’d think I’d actually realized this before I spoke the words. But you’d be wrong. This was a news flash to me. One that, sadly, was right on the money. And embarrassingly obvious given my last conversation with Ryan. I must be a slow learner when it comes to love.

I thought about Alec’s dilemma as we headed to The Grind. What kind of girl wouldn’t like a guy like Alec? He was total boyfriend material—cute, funny, sweet. Although I only liked him as a guy friend, so what was up with that?
Was that how guys saw me too? Buddy material but not girlfriend material?

Thankfully, The Grind wasn’t too busy when we got there. I was having such a great time that I didn’t want it tainted by the Wickeds and their sniper comments. We grabbed our wraps and drinks and piled into a booth.

Just like at the lake, we joked and hung out. Ben and Alec started talking about a sci-fi movie they’d both seen. When they just missed knocking Kyra’s drink off the table while reenacting the final action scene (which Alec won), I decided a slice of raspberry cheesecake sounded good. I got up to escape the melee. “Anyone need anything?”

“I’ll come with you,” Alec said, following me out of the booth. “I have won this battle. Now I must collect my hero’s dessert.”

“It’s just cheesecake.”

“With swirls,” he corrected. “The cheesecake of champions.”

We waited at the counter, and Alec put his chin on my shoulder. “Good thing Kyra’s drink had a lid,” he said. “I spilled grape juice on her favorite shorts when we were nine, and she’s never forgiven me.”

“You did have some mad skills back there with the fake karate,” I teased. I turned toward him when his chin lifted. But instead of looking at Alec, my eyes locked on a silvery-blue pair as their owner held the door open for his entourage.

“Well, since it was
boxing
, not karate, I’d say my moves need some work. Maybe a left-left-right would’ve been better.…” Alec’s voice trailed off as he realized I wasn’t moving. Or breathing.