Free Deadly Reunion by Elisabeth Crabtree

idea who defaced the ‘Most likely to’ boards, but she couldn’t believe Hope would go this far.
    “ Springtime is Fun time at Hogan High is still here,” Kyle said, pointing to the last frame, a watercolor of the school.
    Rubbing her eyes , Grace turned to the gym doors.
    “Where are you going?”
    “I'm going to go inside and have a chat with my sister.”
    “You might want to wash your hands first.”
    Grace threw a quizzical look over her shoulder. Kyle was still standing next to the charcoal drawing, a grin slowly spreading his face as he looked at her. “After that, you might want to wash your face. Clean your dress.”
    Grace looked down at her hands. Her fingertips were stained with charcoal dust. Looking past her hands, she noticed tiny smudges on her dress as well. Sighing she said, “This night can’t possibly get any worse.”
     
    *  *  *  *
     
    Ten minutes later Grace emerged from the bathroom and scanned the gym. Kyle was standing off to the side of the gym doors speaking to a group of people, mostly women. Grace could just make out the words ‘secret government mission’ and ‘nuclear weapons’. Shaking her head, she walked up to the group.
    “ Ah and here is my esteemed colleague, Ms. Holliday. If it wasn’t for her, I would still be locked up in that Turkish military installation. She was the first one to figure out that the Senator was actually a double agent.”
    “Wow! How did you do that, Grace?” a rather large man she recognized from homeroom asked in awe.
    Grace glared at a grinning Kyle. “He had a slight accent. Excuse us for a moment,” she said , grabbing Kyle’s elbow and pulling him away.
    “We’re supposed to be detectives, not spies,” she hissed into his ear.
    Still smiling, he said, “We’ve diversified.”
    “Have you seen, Hope?”
    “No. But they must be getting ready to start.” Kyle pointed towards the stage.
    C rystal was standing on the stage, smiling at the crowd in front of her. Tom was standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist, staring off to the side. Standing next to them were Scott Younts, Max Wellington, and Chloe Bell, the other contenders to the crowns. Hope was missing. Grace stood on her tiptoes trying to locate her in the crowd. Even with the three-inch heels, she borrowed from her sister, she still couldn't see over everyone's heads.
    She looked up at Kyle. “Do you see Hope anywhere?”
    Kyle shook his head. “Your friend Melodie is bringing out the crowns. Pretty.”
    Grace didn't ask whether he was refe rring to Melodie or the crowns. “Can you hear what she’s saying?” she said, straining to listen.
    “I think the microphone is broken. Something about . . .” Kyle leaned forward and shook his head. “I think they’re waiting on your sister. Let's try to get closer.” Kyle placed one hand on the small of Grace's back and the other on her elbow. “Did you lose a button?”
    “This isn't my dress,” Grace said by way of explaining.
    “Oh.”
    Kyle and Grace managed to push and pry their way to the stage without stepping on too many toes in time for Melodie to announce the winner of Reunion King. “The results have been counted by our reunion committee, and our King is . . .” Melodie paused to open up the envelope in her hand, “Thomas Lake.” The crowd erupted in whoops and cheers. Grace winced at the level of noise her class was making.
    Melodie held out the crown, but was intercepted by Crystal, who took it off the pillow and placed it on her husband's head, before pulling him into an indecently long kiss. The crowd's cheers turned into catcalls. Crystal only pulled back when she inadvertently knocked the crown off of Tom’s head, sending it crashing to the floor as everyone laughed. Smiling, Tom reached down, picked up the crown, pulled his wife back against him, and gently kissed her shoulder.
    Melodie turned back to the table on the stage and picked up another envelope. “We're still waiting