Alice in Wonderland High by Rachel Shane Read Free Book Online

“No, she’s up to something. I can tell.” He narrowed his eyes. “If you’re trying to crack the mysteries of the universe, don’t bother. I’ve hidden them in a seed and buried them in the ground.”
    He seemed to be waiting for an answer. “I—I’ll keep that in mind if I ever get the urge to try,” I said.
    He scoffed. “What did I just tell you? You can’t try.” He thrust his hand out to me and I flinched, but he only pointed. “You a narc?”
    My throat was so dry I couldn’t even get out my no.
    â€œNo one uses that word anymore.” Whitney readjusted her seat, pushing it too far into his knees.
    â€œI’m bringing it back. You can resurrect words, not people, though I’m working on a solution for that.” He turned his wrist so he could undo his watch. It flopped in the air like a whip as he shook it.
    I inched closer to the window, wondering if I’d made the right choice after all.
    â€œYou didn’t answer my question,” Kingston said, bringing the watch to his ear.
    â€œAlice and I had a heart-to-heart.” Chess met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “She’s not going to spread any rumors.”
    I squeezed my thumb and index finger together and drew them across my lips.
    â€œWhitney tells me you’re smart. I hope that’s true. For your sake.”
    â€œKingston, God, you could be a little nicer.”
    â€œWhat? You gonna tattle to Mom and Dad?” He struggled to get the watch back on his wrist.
    â€œThey’re stepbrother and sister,” Chess clarified for me.
    â€œAh,” I said. Aside from their reputations and apparent love for plants, I didn’t think they had anything in common. While the radical house seemed to fit Whitney, I pictured Kingston living in something more . . . secure. Like a Transylvanian castle with a moat. Or a prison.
    â€œAnd what are you doing with your watch, King?” Whitney asked.
    â€œI’m trying ”—he got so fed up, he threw the watch on the floor—“to turn back the time so this little girl never fucked up our evening.”
    â€œIt doesn’t quite work like that.” Whitney’s tone was serious but contained a hint of sarcasm.
    â€œObviously.” He rolled his eyes. “The battery’s dead.”
    Note to self: getting in cars with classmates could be just as precarious as getting in cars with strangers.
    Chess pulled out of the driveway and the car wobbled onto the street. Through the rest of the car ride, no one discussed anything related to the warehouse, the paper prank, or whatever secret these three had. Was anyone else in on it? Kingston kept glaring at me. Chess countered Kingston’s glares with sympathetic checks in the rearview.
    We neared the main road. I leaned forward and placed my palm on Chess’s seat. “Turn left here.”
    But he swerved the car in the opposite direction.
    â€œOh no. I live back that way.”
    â€œI know.”
    Goosebumps pebbled my skin. I’d never given him my address.
    â€œGood,” Kingston said. “I think they’re surveilling the main road.”
    â€œWho is?” I blurted, before I could stop myself.
    â€œThem,” Kingston snapped in an irritated tone.
    Oh right, the ever-illustrious them.
    Chess stayed straight for a while, then turned down a few more streets, utilizing back roads before approaching my house from a side street. I sat in my seat, stunned. His route avoided annoying traffic lights and saved a good five minutes.
    â€œNice garden.” Kingston burst out laughing.
    Heat swarmed into my cheeks. This garden was a last resort, a desperate attempt to start a farmers’ market myself by growing the produce and peddling it at a weekend lemonade-type stall. Too bad none of my fruits and veggies had popped out of the ground. The only thing standing was the white rosebush I’d planted with my