"So, did you catch him in any lies?" Luke asked.
They'd been speaking in their made-up language more in the last week than in their entire lives combined, it seemed.
"No. He didn't offer any information, probably so he could avoid lying."
"Luce, you could've asked him a question and watched for signs. You should be a natural, like in that show Lie to Me."
"Ha! I'll work on it. Sucks that they canceled that show."
A skinny blond waitress came over to take their order.
Lucy closed the menu she'd been holding without looking in it. "Where's Amy, the girl who used to work here?" She noticed a new face behind the counter as well. A disturbing thought came to her. "And the rest of the staff?"
The waitress looked up from her pad and Lucy gasped at the vacant, deadened eyes that stared back at her. "They're gone. New management. What can I get you?"
Lucy found her voice and placed her order. "Hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and a Coke, please."
"And I'll have—"
The blond interrupted Luke. "Sorry, we don't have hot turkey sandwiches anymore—or Coke. Read the new menu."
Luke and Lucy both opened their menus, actually reading them for the first time in about a year.
The menu had been redone, and had only three choices:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich $7.99
Cold Turkey Sandwich $9.99
Bottled Water $3.99
Lucy glared at the girl. "What the hell kind of crap is this? You're overcharging us for this?"
The waitress backed away and raised her hands. "Don't blame me. Talk to the people in charge. We can only serve what they give us."
Lucy and Luke shared a glance, then got up and walked out, slamming the door behind them.
Lucy's deliberate steps quickened into an angry run. "I can't believe this crap, what the hell is going on here?"
Luke kept easy pace beside her. "I don't know, but things are going from bad to worse. Whatever trouble Sam and Drake caused by escaping, I think it's just the beginning."
The headmaster's offices sat in the center of campus in a converted mansion that might have graced an early twentieth-century English landscape. It retained its old world dignity despite the slew of guards hovering around the main entrance like bored flies.
The head fly stepped forward as they approached.
"State your business."
Lucy slowed her breathing enough to scowl at the man. "You've got to be kidding me. We need to speak to the headmaster. Duh." She gestured at the building.
"He's not available."
Luke flexed his muscles—trying to look badass, Lucy assumed—and stepped forward. "He has an open door policy. He can't be unavailable."
"What is the nature of your request?" asked the drone in black.
Why so much black? Lucy wondered. Like guards gone Goth around here. Ugh. "I'm hungry." Lucy pushed her petite frame into his personal space. "And the food here has turned to shit. Overpriced shit at that. We need to talk to the Headmaster. Now."
"All administrative and campus-related questions must go through the new headquarters."
Lucy frowned. "You mean that sorry excuse for a bunker with all the Men in Black wannabes? No way." Had Headmaster Higgins become someone's puppet?
Speak of the devil. The headmaster himself walked by, catching Lucy's eye as he did.
She shoved the guard aside, who stumbled in surprise. "What's going on, Headmaster? Why can't we talk to you? Why the food change and all the guards?"
The headmaster fidgeted with his briefcase. His normally impeccably tailored suit was wrinkled and frumpy. Deep lines marred the dark skin of his face, and dark bags hung under his eyes.
"I can't talk about it, Lucy, I'm sorry." He wasn't lying. Whatever he meant by "can't" was truth to him. "Just do what they say." He walked away, leaving them surrounded by angry guards.
Luke dragged her out and steered her toward their dorm room, located in another mansion on campus, built in similar style to the headmaster's offices but on a smaller scale. "Well?"
"He's not lying. And he's in trouble. Something really bad is happe—"
A voice erupted from the loudspeaker. "ATTENTION STUDENTS. CURFEW IS NOW 9 P.M. BE IN YOUR DORMS BY 9 P.M."
Luke stared at the sky as though the man behind the voice would magically appear there. "That was succinct."
"Yeah. Let's get out of here. We need to start thinking of a plan."
***
The twins shared a suite on the floor lovingly referred to as the Creepy Crawly Ward. They'd just made it to their door when two of the younger students, a freshman and a sophomore, approached them.
Lucy couldn't remember their names or para-powers, but like all the Rent-A-Kids, she did recognize them from around campus.
"Luke, Lucy, I'm glad we caught you. Can we talk in your room?"
Luke raised an eyebrow. Lucy shrugged. They opened their door and let the boys into their spacious common room.