The Con Code

by Shana Silver

  “The ‘then some’ comment scares me a little, considering your penchant for glitter.”

  Natalie goes back to pretending not to look at Tig, while Tig pretends not to look at her. Damn it. I didn’t account for extreme hormones when I put together this crew.

  Natalie starts cataloging all the wigs and disguises she brought, including the maid’s uniform from the Hotel Galvez con in case it might come in handy later. Just as I remove the layers of gauze from my skull-prop forgery, an electric blip signals the door opening. I dump the skull into the suitcase, heart hammering, and throw a bunch of clothes on top. Tig freezes in place, but Natalie quickly yanks the bedspread off the bed and tosses it over the array of electronics Tig has been setting up on the desk. It looks like a giant pile of up-to-no-good.

  The perky girl who can speak four languages (five if you count HTML) skips toward us. My stomach drops like an anvil to the floor. Not her. Anyone but her. She rushes over to us with two hands extended, clearly attempting to multitask a handshake. “Hi, roomies! I’m Lakshmi Kumar,” she says, even though she introduced herself earlier. “And you’re Fiona.” Her dark eyes sweep over me from top to bottom. I never told her my name. “The high school dropout who made us all late.”

  I snub her handshake. “My dad always told me to make a grand entrance.”

  Well, technically he said exit. And not grand so much as inconspicuous.

  Lakshmi purses her lips. “Hmm, I think I got the short end of the stick. My parents always told me promptness equals politeness.” Her smile somehow widens even more in an attempt to break her cheekbones at her veiled barb. “And that I should always be prepared.”

  Mine said that, too. Of course, they meant be prepared to flee at a moment’s notice. I cross my arms. “Then I hope you’re prepared to stay out of my way.”

  Natalie gives me a dirty look and deflects with a sweet, innocent tone. “I’m sorry, but I’m a bit confused. It’s supposed to just be the three of us in here. I called yesterday and confirmed.” She points her hand between herself, me, and Tig.

  Lakshmi shrugs. “Everyone else has four to a room. They must have realized they had an odd number, so they put me in here!” She practically bounces on her toes in excitement at this. “I can’t wait to get to know you guys!” Her eyes land on the giant, conspicuous pile of blanket on the desk.

  Tig twists her back to Lakshmi in an I can’t see you, so you can’t see me defense. Natalie’s face turns red. “Oh,” she says. “Hotel bedcovers gross me out.”

  Lakshmi nods. “Agree completely. Shall we remove this one, too?” She starts to tug at the bedspread on top of my bed. The bed that I’m going to be sharing with her. Ugh. My suitcase wobbles, and the clothes inside jostle, revealing part of the skull.

  “No!” I shout a little too aggressively. I place my hands on the suitcase to steady it. “Please leave the bedspread. I, uh, I love it.” Oh God. This is why I can’t be trusted at the con part of cons. I’m the worst liar.

  Lakshmi squints at me like I’m insane, and the shaky laugh I let out doesn’t exactly prove my sanity. “Sure, that’s fine. I’ll just push it toward your side tonight.” She claps her hands and squeals. “Seriously, I’m easygoing. Promise. I’ve had some horrible roomies on other teen tours, and I won’t do any of that.” As she says this, she pulls out a giant CPAP contraption that looks straight out of medieval times and sets it next to the bed. It comes complete with headgear and a face mask. I’m positive it’s loud as hell at night. “Sleep apnea,” she explains.

  Natalie and I exchange a concerned glance. If she’s in this room, how the hell are we going to plan tonight?

  Lakshmi spins, and her eyes land on the guitar. “Oh my gosh! You play?” She claps her hands as though I’ve already performed an entire concert. “I can’t wait to hear!”

  “I, uh…”

  “She hurt her hand!” Natalie says. “Real tragedy.”

  I don a frown. “Maybe later in the tour.” Like, when I’m no longer on it.

  Lakshmi lifts her side of the bedspread and gingerly pushes it toward mine, then lounges on the bed with her hands clasped behind her head. “So, which stops are you most excited to go to?”

  “None of them,” I say. Rule #9 is never giving away vital information about your targets if you don’t have to.

  Lakshmi’s eyes go wide. “Really? Not even the roller coasters?”

  I shrug. Noncommittal. Behind Lakshmi’s back, Natalie juts her chin toward the electronics, and I get the message.

  “Hey!” I say way too excitedly. So much so that Lakshmi flinches on the bed. “I just realized we haven’t gotten ice yet.” I grab the ice bucket off the counter. “Lakshmi, want to go with me?”

  She squints at me. “I don’t think that’s a two-person job.”

  “Sure it is.” Natalie tugs her arm, forcing her to slide off the bed. “Didn’t you just say you want to get to know us? Now’s your perfect chance!”

  I hold open the door for Lakshmi, and she reluctantly steps outside. I follow into the hall. The door shuts behind us, and I hear the click of the double lock setting into place.

  Now that she can’t get back inside, I head toward the ice machine, not even bothering to wait for her.

  She hustles to catch up. “So, what do you think of the other campers?” she says. “Teagan—or is it T?—seems cool but antisocial. And Colton? My God is that boy swoon worthy. You know him, right?”

  “Yes, but I’m trying to forget him,” I mumble.

  Lakshmi hops up and down, clapping. “Squee! Can you put in a good word for me?”

  “I’m not sure I have any good words to say about you. Or him, for that matter.” I set the bucket under the ice machine and hit the button.

  Her lip quivers, and her eyes well up.

  I scramble for a way to save this. She seems like the kind of person that gets right up in your business and then tattles said business to the counselors. “I, um.” Crap. “I have a crush on him,” I blurt for lack of a better lie. “Sorry, I was putting up my defenses a second ago,” I say dryly. “I’ll fight you for him.” I cringe inwardly.

  Lakshmi blinks at me, then cups her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in horror. “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.” She holds up her hands in surrender. “I’ll back off, I promise.”

  “I’m going to take that promise literally,” I say, and then grit my teeth. “I mean, thank you.”

  “Do you want me to help you write a love note?” Lakshmi hops up and down, clapping her hands. “Oh, this is so romantic!”

  “Um, no, that won’t be necessary. He already knows how I feel about him.” And that feeling is toleration.

  Her eyes light up, glinting beneath the overhead light. “He does? Does he like you back?”

  Damn it. This rabbit hole is going way too deep. If I say no, she’s going to try to convince him. If I say yes, she’s going to demand details. So I do the only thing I can do. I deflect. “I—I’m not sure. I mean, he’s not sure.”

  “Got it. Well, I’m making it my mission to make him fall in love with you this summer.” She winks.

  I try not to vomit.

  As the ice clinks into the bucket, Lakshmi goes on and on, listing every single camper on the bus as though she bonded with all of them in only a few hours, including ones she never even spoke to. One thing becomes very clear to me. Lakshmi is nosy, which means I need to be careful around her. We all do.

  When we get back into the room, my suitcase is neatly organized, no skull prop in sight. The electronics on the table are gone, and the bedspread is folded on the desk. So much for using this afternoon to prepare for the heist tomorrow.

  How can we possibly pull off a complicated heist if we can’t even discuss it?

  CHAPTER 13

  Tig continually flicks her eyes toward her suitcase and then at Lakshmi, who has not stopped blabbering since she first got in the room. I can now list the exact ranking order of every TV show she’s
ever watched in her life, recap the entire history chronicling the rise and then fall of her friendship with her former BFF Kylie, and name every single member of her extended family, down to her second cousin twice removed’s hamster.

  I’ve tried everything to coax Lakshmi out the door for longer than a few seconds, but she’s not budging, and Tig has had no time to hack into the park’s electronic systems and set everything up for tomorrow. In related news, I’m now sporting a beautiful chevron-pattern friendship bracelet thanks to Lakshmi’s insistence that this isn’t just a teen tour, it’s camp, and so we must indulge in all the usual camp pastimes. I’m sure she’s got ghost stories on the tip of her tongue for tonight.

  At ten minutes to six, Lakshmi swipes the food vouchers off the desk and doles them out to each of us. “Should we head down to dinner?”

  Natalie glances at Tig. “You go ahead, Tig and I are going to skip it. We’re not that hungry.”

  “Same,” I add, even though my stomach’s growling. Vending machine Snickers bar, here I come.

  Lakshmi bites her lip. “But Abby said dinner is mandatory.”

  I wave my hand dismissively. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

  Lakshmi shifts her weight from foot to foot. “I don’t want to get in trouble for disobeying the rules. Not on day one!” She taps her lip. “Actually, not ever.” She starts scrolling on her phone. “Let me just clear it with Abby.”

  Great, we don’t just have a roommate. We have a narc.

  Natalie, Tig, and I all look at one another and sigh. We can’t risk getting in trouble, too. Reluctantly, Tig pushes herself out of bed and gives Lakshmi her greatest death stare to date.

  The din of chatter and the zesty aromas of pizza and tacos welcome me. Tig beelines onto one of the concession lines. She loads up her tray with several slices of delicious-looking pepperoni pizza, baked ziti, a few tacos, a salad, a slice of cake, and three different sodas. Natalie takes Tig’s cue and copies her dinner choices.

  Lakshmi widens her eyes at their trays. “Whoa, I thought you weren’t hungry. Can you eat all that?”

  “We’ll find out, I guess!” Natalie says.

  I squint at her in question, but she just shrugs, clearly going with whatever game Tig is playing here.

  I hesitate between the baked ziti and tacos, debating if I should add both for whatever ruse is about to go down or stay here. Keep an eye on Lakshmi. And Colin.

  Ugh, I need to be the lookout, don’t I?

  I reluctantly only grab the baked ziti and then push my tray behind the girls as they wait at the register.

  “That’ll be forty-seven dollars and thirty-five cents,” the cashier tells Tig.

  She hands the cashier the ten-dollar voucher, then checks her wallet but only pulls out a five. She frowns at her tray.

  Natalie catches on quick. “Let me see how much I have.” She searches as well and pulls out a single dollar, hiding the rest of her cash with her palm. “Oh crap,” she says sheepishly. “We don’t have enough. Not even if we pooled our vouchers.”

  “I’ve only got a five,” I add unnecessarily.

  “We’ll run back to the room and get more cash. Can you guys snag us a table?”

  Before we can respond, Natalie and Tig shuffle out of the cafeteria, not running, because that would draw attention, but moving fast enough to ensure Lakshmi will choose not to follow.

  I pay for my pasta, and Lakshmi pays for her pizza. Ten bucks says it takes them so long to find their extra cash, they miss dinner entirely.

  My eyes zoom to the very back, where Colin carries a tray, three tacos wobbling, his roommates trailing him. I expect him to plop down at the nearest empty table, but instead he circles around it until he reaches a table full of girls from the tour.

  Cute girls, I might add.

  I groan, and Lakshmi whips her head to me.

  My fingers tighten on my tray. “Let’s sit with Colton.”

  Lakshmi purses her lips. “Looks like he already found people to sit with. Besides, we need to save seats for Natalie and T.”

  “Okay, in that case, get us a table. I’ll be right there.” I march with a little too much gusto toward Colin, but no one notices my approach, because every girl at that damn table has goofy smiles on and lovesick heart eyes. There are no more seats, but that’s no problem for Colin. He perches on the edge of the table, casually leaning toward the girls, his smile set to stun. His three roommates stand there awkwardly, glancing at one another, before shrugging and taking a nearby table without Colin.

  “… and then this one time…” Colin’s voice booms above the cafeteria din as though he’s trying to create his own version of a mic drop. “I put on black pants. White shirt. And lingered outside like the valet of a swanky restaurant.”

  My eyes widen, and alarm bells ring in my ears. Is he really telling them his valet-parker-con story? I ram my tray against his back, not in a subtle way at all, and six sets of eyes narrow in unison as Colin twists his attention to me.

  “Oh. Hey, Fiona.” He gives me a curt nod. “Have you met Sydney? She loves Hearts for Vandals as much as I do.” He points to a girl with frizzy red hair and a millennial pink hoodie who chatted his ear off about the lead singer when we first got off the bus. She ducks her head and smiles, eyelashes batting. “And Cassidy.” His finger shifts to a tiny girl with far too much blue eye shadow. “And Emi—”

  “So nice to meet you all, but, uh, Colton needs to be going now.” I shift my tray to one hand and tug on his shoulder with the other.

  He doesn’t take his eyes off Sydney, even though he addresses me. “Can we catch up later, Fiona? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

  I turn to the girls. “Whatever he’s about to tell you, it’s a lie. He’s really good at that. Lying. Oh, and breaking hearts.” I tick off on my fingers. “Cheating, on girls and on tests, I’m sure.”

  He shakes his head but remains totally calm. “I’ve never once cheated on a test. A test I myself took, I mean.”

  I kick his shin. “Seriously. Come on.” I lower my voice. “Before I start telling them that you still wet your bed at night.”

  He makes a grand show of rolling his eyes dramatically. “And here I thought I’d left my ball and chain at home with my dad,” he says, and the girls giggle. “See you all later.” He winks at each one in turn, then picks up his tray to follow me.

  “For future reference,” I snap. “Here are the rules. No talking about your past cons, no matter how much hyperbole you add.”

  He scoffs. “There’s no hyper—”

  “And no flirting.”

  A giant grin plays on his lips. “Does that include flirting with you? Because you seemed to enjoy it last night.”

  Now it’s my turn to scoff. “I did not!” My voice rises an octave, so I clear my throat. “We need to lay low. Stay under the radar. Blend in.”

  “Flirting is how I blend in. It’s how I infiltrated the school and became the most popular guy ever in, like, a week.”

  “Again with the hyperbole. This isn’t school. It’s a mission. And I’m in charge, so you have to play by my rules. Laying low means staying away from the rest of the campers. Got it?”

  He sneers and says in a mock-childlike voice, “Yes, Mom.”

  Lakshmi’s waving at us to sit at her table, and although I have no intention of actually doing that, when I glance around, I notice every damn table is occupied. I have no choice but to lead Colin toward her. “My roommate.” I stab my finger toward her in a voice fit for a funeral. “My fourth roommate.”

  He flicks his eyes between Lakshmi and me. “Where are Natalie and Ti—”

  “Teagan,” I say fast as I sit down, “and Natalie are grabbing cash from the room.”

  Lakshmi glances at her watch. “They’ve been gone for a really long time. I should probably go check on them.” Her chair scrapes as she stands up.

  “No!” I grab her shoulder and push her back into her seat with a little too much force. “I ju
st got a text!” I dangle my phone toward her, showcasing only a blank screen with no evidence of a text. “They’re on their way here.”

  “Oh. Good.” Lakshmi hesitantly takes a bite of food but continues glancing toward the door.

  I bang out a hasty group text under the table while Lakshmi occupies herself with a bite of her pizza.

  Fiona: This buzzkill over here was about to go check on you. Abort mission and come back.

  Natalie writes back instantly.

  Natalie: FFS. Tig needs time to do all the hacking prep work. Not to mention we still need to go over the plan details one more time.

  There’s a vibration on the table next to me. Colin snatches up his phone and reads the texts since he’s also part of the group convo. The corners of his lips quirk upward slightly as he types back.

  Colin: Yeah, and it would be good if you told me what the plan actually is. Before we have to do it.

  I start to type a comeback, but only manage to bang out the letter I before stopping with my finger raised above the phone.

  He arches his brow at me. Checkmate.

  I told him I’d tell him info when he needed to know it, and I guess that time should be now.

  Colin: How about this: the three of you meet me in the hot tub at 2:30am. We’ll have several hours to get set up AND plan while your roomie sleeps.

  I glance over at Lakshmi and catch her watching this entire exchange play out on our faces. She’s practically biting her lip in excitement at whatever she thinks we’re trying not to say aloud.

  My fingers fumble under the table with a new text.

  Fiona: But we need to sleep. Tomorrow’s a big day.

  Colin: Tomorrow won’t even happen if we don’t get organized today.

  We make eye contact, holding each other’s gaze for a brief moment, and Lakshmi lets out a little squeal. I sigh. He’s thinking like a true criminal. A man after my own heart (except for everything else about him). We can still get a few hours of shut-eye before 2:30 a.m., and coffee will do the rest.

  I bite my lip. This was supposed to be my mission. My heist. My crew. But my control keeps slipping through my fingers like sand, and we haven’t even started yet.