also here against my will,” Lisa finished. Then she turned to Jessica and pouted. “Why are you always so lucky? While you’ve got Miss Cuteness, I had to get Sirena.” She glanced at Cece. “She just spent ten minutes showing off the Encyclopaedia Britannica CD she brought for research.” She flopped into Cece’s desk chair. “I might have to stay with you guys if the situation gets any worse.”
Jessica surveyed the room and shrugged. “Why not? We could get a cot and put it between our desks. If it’s all right with you, Cece?”
Both of the girls looked at her.
Cece swallowed. “Um. . . sure.”
“Terrific. Lisa, you now have a backup plan.” Jessica checked her watch. “Is everyone ready? They told us to be at the bus at eight fifteen for dinner. We don’t want to keep the boys waiting.”
Cece grabbed her purse and reluctantly followed the girls. She thought she’d like to have some fun this summer, but going on a manhunt with the Asian Brat Pack wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind.
Well, maybe the food tonight would be good. She loved Chinese.
Cece got on the bus that would take everyone to the restaurant for the program’s welcome dinner. As she followed Jess and Lisa down the aisle, she nodded hello to Mark and Jenny in the front and spotted Kallyn a few rows down, talking to a girl who had really short black hair and dark red lipstick. Maybe the girl was her roommate. Before Cece could say hello, Lisa tugged her along. “I think Jess has found us some seats by some very cute guys.” She pulled Cece toward the back, where Cece could hear Jessica talking.
“Excuse me,” Jessica said, “are these seats taken?”
When Cece saw who Jessica was talking to, her stomach flipped.
Will looked up. “No, go right ahead. Oh, hey, Cece.”
Jessica looked at her. “You two know each other?”
“Yeah,” Cece said nervously.
Will nodded. “We met earlier on the plane.”
“Well, that’s nice,” Jessica said, sitting down next to Will. “I’m Cece’s roommate, Jessica.” She gestured toward Lisa. “And that’s Lisa.”
Will nodded, then glanced at a guy sitting in the row ahead of him. “This is my friend Alex.” Alex smiled at the girls, and Lisa promptly plopped into the seat beside him. Will continued with the introductions. “And I’ve just met Dreyfuss.” Across the aisle, a boy wearing a baseball cap nodded toward Cece. “I go by my last name,” he said. “Don’t ask me about my first. Have a seat.”
Cece politely smiled and settled beside him. She made small talk with Dreyfuss, trying to ignore the incessant flirting Jess was doing with Will. Eventually, though, she found it hard to concentrate with Jess’s sugary laughter in the background. Cece inwardly groaned. Could her roommate be any more obvious?
The bus finally came to a halt along a busy road and opened the doors. As everyone exited, Cece found herself on a crowded sidewalk flanked with shops and restaurants. The cacophony of traffic filled her ears, and as she followed her group, she had to be careful not to bump into people trying to get by. Eventually, they stepped inside a restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows. The fragrance of meats and Asian spices drifted to Cece’s nose, making the place seem promising. Several hostesses greeted the group at the doorway. Their uniforms were gorgeous—red satin dresses with mandarin collars and embroidered with a gold bamboo print. They kept saying “Huanying guanglin,” which Cece guessed meant “welcome”. . . or. . . “go upstairs” since they were all gesturing that way. (She really needed to learn some Chinese.) Jenny and Mark took the lead and went up a narrow granite stairwell. They followed as the sound of clanking plates and boisterous chatter wafted from the dining rooms. When they finally got to the fourth landing, Cece stepped through the threshold and was taken aback. The room spanned the whole floor. The decor looked distinctly
Murder in the Pleasure Gardens