“Uh, this is awkward…” Shane shoved the phone back in her pocket before speaking once more, “What a total mood-killer, huh?” She put both her hands inside her back pockets. “I knew I shouldn’t have changed silent mode…”

“Yeah… So uhm, you’re going?” Carmen asked, hoping Shane would say no but at the same time not knowing the solution as to how they’d heat up again if ever Shane stayed a bit longer.

“Sorry…?” was all that Shane could muster up.

“Let me show you out…”

“No, don’t worry about it. I could find my way out. Thanks…” She turned the doorknob and opened the door.

“Hey, Shane? I’ll see you in school on Monday, right?”

Shane looked over her shoulder. “Definitely.”

10:22pm @ the McCutcheons’ Residence

Shane parked the car in front of her house then quickly stormed her way in to find Mark, Papi, Helena, Moira, Jenny, Tina, and Alice talking in the living room. “What in the world is so important that you have to ask me to come down immediately?”

“We get to name the place, and the time next Saturday.” Helena said.

“They’ll host the kegger Friday night at the beach. By then, we’ll know the amount we gotta gather up for the next day. It’s that time of the year again.” Moira stood up and handed Shane the invitation. She couldn’t seem to wait for Shane to come over to them.

Alice spoke up. “Tasha handed me the invitation while I was out earlier. You know, after swimming at Mark’s.”

Shane was smiling while she was staring at the black envelope she held in her hands and any signs of frustration from her had completely vanished into thin air. She turned it over. A red wax with some sort of seal was evident, and it made everything seem formal. Without even looking at Alice, Shane told her, “Then you’re going to have to hang on to the bet money, along with the alumnae’s own pot.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of, Shane. So I had to call Helena and Moira for this meeting.” It was obvious that Alice was getting more anxious.

“Guys…” Shane approached the group, and slid off a folded parchment paper from inside the envelope. “We’re going underground again.” She said, her voice an example of pure thrill and euphoria.