Authors: Isobel Bird
Kate didn’t respond. She had to admit that if she were in her mother’s position she would probably
think the same thing. Annie
had
been acting very strangely, and Kate had no explanation for why. And
she couldn’t go to her friend’s defense because that would mean talking about issues she didn’t want to
talk about with her mother. So she sat there, picking at her turkey club and wishing they’d never seen
Annie.
“Annie lives with her aunt, right?” Mrs. Morgan asked.
“Yes,” Kate answered. “She and her sister have lived there since their parents died.”
Her mother nodded knowingly. “She’s probably just rebelling,” she said.
Kate laughed. The idea of Annie rebelling against anything was almost comical. She was the most
by-the-book person Kate knew. Cooper was the rebellious one.
Maybe that’s the problem,
she thought
suddenly.
Maybe Annie is trying to be more like Cooper.
She thought back to the night of the reading.
Annie had seemed very distant, almost like a little kid who was trying to get attention by pretending to not
care about what was going on. She’d seemed almost jealous of Cooper, and she’d run out of the
restaurant quickly after Jessica had spilled the soda on her.
“You might be right,” she told her mother. “Cooper was getting all the attention the other night. Maybe
Annie is just trying to step into the spotlight for a change.”
But even as she said it she wasn’t sure that was the whole story. It wasn’t just Annie’s looks that had
changed. Her whole attitude was different. She was confident to the point of being rude, and she seemed
to have an aura of glamour that Kate would never have thought her capable of.
She seemed almost sexy,
Kate thought. “Sexy” and “Annie” were two words that just did not go together. Whatever was going on
with her, the explanation had to be more than just a makeover to boost her self-esteem.
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As Kate was thinking everything over, the waitress arrived to clear their plates. “Can I interest you in
any dessert this afternoon?” she asked. “We have a great strawberry tart.”
“Don’t even talk to me about strawberries,” Mrs. Morgan joked. “I’m going to have about three
thousand of them in my kitchen before too long.”
“How about some sorbet?” suggested the waitress.
“Nothing for me,” Kate’s mother replied. “Apparently I’m teetering on the brink of obesity and have to
watch my weight.”
“Nothing for me either,” Kate told the waitress, who put down the check and left with the dishes.
Mrs. Morgan fished in her purse for her wallet and left some money on the table. Then she switched on
her cell phone. Immediately there was a beep indicating that she had a message waiting.
“I wonder who that could be?” she said sarcastically as she dialed.
Kate watched as her mother listened to her messages. She herself was wondering what to do about
Annie. Should she say anything to her about her behavior, or should she just let it go? Should she tell
Cooper about it?
It’s probably just temporary,
she told herself.
It’s nothing to worry about.
Her mother finished reviewing her messages and hung up. “There were four calls,” she said. “Two from
each of them. Apparently now we’re having chilled shrimp instead of oysters, asparagus instead of green
beans, red
and
white wine, and six more people for dinner.”
“Is
that
all?” Kate said.
“Come on, Miss Smarty Pants,” her mother said as she stood up. “We’d better get back to the fish
market and tell Mr. Elliott to cancel the oysters and load up on shrimp. I hope he hasn’t already put in a
call for them, or we’ll be stuck eating oyster stew for a month.”
“Look on the bright side,” Kate said as they left the restaurant. “You might get a nice pearl necklace out
of it.”
CHAPTER 7
Annie was feeling really good.
And you’re looking good, too,
she told herself as she checked out her
appearance in the mirror of the store’s dressing room. The sweater she was trying on looked perfect with
the skirt she’d just bought at the store next door, and she was pleased that she’d put together such a
great outfit. She was even getting used to the contact lenses she’d been wearing. She’d had them for a
while, ever since her aunt had suggested she try them, but poking them in her eye had always freaked her
out and she’d stuck with her glasses. Now, though, she liked not having to push her glasses up her nose
every five minutes.
I have to remember to call Kate back,
she reminded herself as she fixed her hair. Her friend had called
the night before, but Annie had been out. It had been fun seeing Kate and her mom at lunch. In fact, just
about everything seemed like fun since she’d done her blue moon ritual. She didn’t know why, exactly,
but it had filled her with a new sense of just how great life could be. Asking Freya for some help had
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been a fab idea. Even her work at Shady Hills had become more interesting. Just that afternoon Mrs.
Abercrombie had remarked about how good Annie looked and how happy she seemed, and many of the
patients had made comments as well.
I
am
happy,
Annie thought, taking off the sweater and skirt and putting her other clothes back on. Now
that she thought about it, she realized that she’d almost totally shaken the funk she’d been in ever since
Ben’s death. She still missed him, but she realized now that she couldn’t sit around waiting for life to get
interesting. She had to
make
it interesting.
Cooper and Kate aren’t the only ones who can be cool,
she thought as she walked out of the dressing
room to pay for the sweater. She’d enjoyed the look of surprise on Kate’s face when she’d seen the
new and improved Annie. She knew that no one ever expected her to do anything daring or different.
She was always safe, predictable Annie. Well not anymore. Things were changing, and she was a new
girl.
“That’s a great sweater,” the salesclerk said as she rang up Annie’s purchase and put it into a bag.
“Yeah, if you like to wear
last
year’s styles,” said a voice behind Annie.
Annie turned around and saw Sherrie standing behind her with Jessica. Sherrie had a smirk on her face
as she looked Annie up and down.
“Going for the Drew Barrymore look or something?” Sherrie asked, laughing derisively.
Annie ignored the comment. “Back from Paris already, Sherrie?” she asked calmly. “What happened,
did you use up all the phrases you could remember from French class on the first day? Or did your
parents just run out of money?”
Jessica smiled, and Annie felt a thrill of excitement run through her. She’d just gotten off a good one at
Sherrie’s expense. Sherrie knew it, too, and her face darkened.
“Don’t think you can put on some new clothes and a little makeup and be a new person,” she snapped.
“Inside that tacky dress there’s still a glasses-wearing little brainiac freak.”
“Oh, Sherrie,” Annie said in a sincere voice as she touched one hand lightly to her chest. “I’m so sorry. I
didn’t mean to upset you. I know how hard it must be for you to deal with the horror of bad hair.” She
looked meaningfully at Sherrie’s head, which sported a new ’do.
“I’ll have you know this was done in one of the best salons in Paris,” Sherrie said, glaring at her.
“Really?” Annie replied. “Do they normally groom poodles?”
The girl behind the counter laughed out loud. Sherrie cut her eyes at her and the girl stopped. But the
damage had been done, and Annie knew that Sherrie was on the verge of exploding.
“Just who do you think you are?” Sherrie said. “Some little nobody who nobody likes and nobody cares
about. You wouldn’t know the first thing about style.”
Annie paused, pretending to consider what Sherrie had just said. Then she cleared her throat. “Tell me,
Sherrie,” she said. “Did you grow up wanting to be a total waste of space, or was it just something you
fell into when you realized that the whole modeling thing probably wasn’t going to work out?”
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Sherrie was speechless for a moment. There was an awful silence as she stood there, shaking with rage.
Behind her, Jessica couldn’t hold back the smile that was trying to break out on her face, and the salesgirl
had to pretend to be concentrating on folding shirts at a nearby table to keep from laughing out loud.
“You . . .” Sherrie said. “You . . . You little—”
“Witch?” Annie said, cocking her head. “Isn’t that the word you’re searching through your tiny little
brain for, Sherrie?”
The other girl’s face was bright red with anger. Annie knew she’d never been spoken to in such a way.
She also knew that Sherrie really
had
wanted to call her a witch. Several times Sherrie had suggested that
Annie, Kate, and Cooper might be hiding something, but she’d never come right out and said it. Annie
knew that by saying it for her she’d robbed Sherrie of something she’d thought of as a weapon. That
made her elation all the more enjoyable. She stood her ground, watching Sherrie grow more and more
upset.
“You wait until I get through with you,” Sherrie said finally, her voice shaking.
“I think you’ve got something wrong,” Annie replied. “You
are
through with me. There’s nothing you can
throw at me that I can’t handle, Sherrie. And the harder you throw, the harder I’ll throw right back.”
Jessica was looking at Annie with an expression of shock and glee. Annie reveled in it, knowing that, like
Tara, Jessica was probably sick of Sherrie’s behavior, too. Maybe this would be the thing that finally got
her to break away from Sherrie. Annie hoped so. She knew that would be one more thing that would
drive Sherrie crazy.
“What are you going to do?” Sherrie spat at her. “Make me disappear? Maybe make me go away like
your parents did?”
Annie felt her hand move before she knew she was doing it. Her palm connected with Sherrie’s cheek,
and the sound of the slap echoed through the store. Sherrie’s head whipped to the side, and when Annie
pulled her hand back she saw a bright red welt rising up on the other girl’s skin. Her own palm stung, but
it was a delicious kind of pain. She’d never felt anything like it. She’d never felt so full of pure, focused
power.
Jessica’s mouth had dropped open. Over at the table, the salesgirl was standing, a half-folded shirt in her
hands, as she kept her eyes on the scene being played out a few feet away. Nobody was moving. They’d
all been frozen, transfixed by what had just occurred. Annie continued to stare at Sherrie, who was now
pressing her hand to her cheek and looking as if she didn’t know what had just happened.
“That’s your first strike, Sherrie,” Annie said calmly. “Two more and you’re out. Got it?”
She turned, plucked her bag from the counter, and walked away. She knew that everyone was staring
after her, and she was glad that they were. She wanted them to remember her, and she wanted them to
remember what she’d done. She just wished
more
people who knew Sherrie had been there to witness
her comeuppance. She wished Cooper and Kate could have seen it. But she could tell them about it
later. For now she had the satisfaction of knowing that she’d bested Sherrie once and for all.
She strolled down the street, trying to decide what to do next. She could shop some more, but she had
everything she needed. She could go home. It was nearing time for dinner, and she’d promised her aunt
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and Meg that she would make her famous burritos for them that night. But she didn’t need to rush for
that. She could take her time. She’d discovered a new joy in just walking down the street since she’d
developed her new attitude about life. She liked looking at people, and she liked it when they looked at
her.
As she passed a record store she peered in the window and remembered that she wanted to look for
something. She pushed the door open and went inside. Then she headed for the jazz CDs. Recently her
aunt had been playing some music that Annie had really liked. When she’d asked who it was, Aunt Sarah
had told her that it was a singer named Sarah Vaughan. Annie had liked her voice. It was smoky and
sweet at the same time. Plus the songs had been great, elegant and soulful, unlike the stuff she heard on
the radio now. Most of all the music reminded her of her mother, who had often played jazz music while
she worked. Annie wanted to get some CDs so she could play them in her room.
She went to the jazz section and began looking through the CDs. She didn’t really know anything about
jazz, so she wasn’t sure what she was looking for. She tried to remember the names of the singers her
mother had liked, but she couldn’t come up with any. She did find the Sarah Vaughan CDs, though, and
she looked through them trying to decide which one she should get.
“Do you need any help?” someone asked, making her look up.
A guy was standing beside her. He was smiling and looking at her appreciatively. Annie smiled back. He
was cute, she thought—tall, with sandy brown hair and blue eyes.
“I’m not exactly sure what I want,” she said.
“Do you like jazz?” he asked.
She nodded. “I just don’t know a lot about it. Do you?”
“Well,” he said. “Not as much as I know about blues, but enough to help you out. What are you looking
for?”
“I was thinking about Sarah Vaughan,” Annie said. She couldn’t help noticing that the guy was looking
as much at her as he was at the CDs.
“She’s certainly one of the greats,” he told her as he scanned the selection. “A lot of people prefer Ella
Fitzgerald, but I happen to like Vaughan better. Have you tried this one?”
He held up a CD. Annie glanced at the cover. “I don’t really know,” she said. “I just heard someone
playing her and I liked her.”
“Well, this is a great one to start with,” the guy said, handing it to her.
“Thanks,” said Annie, pushing her hair behind her ear.
“No problem. And can I recommend something else?”
“Sure,” Annie said. She was enjoying the attention the salesclerk was paying to her, and she was happy
to follow him as he led her to the next row of CDs.
“This is one of my favorites,” he said, handing her another disc. “It’s a singer named Cassandra Wilson.
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She’s more contemporary than Vaughan, but if you like that sound I think you’ll like this one.”
Annie looked at the CD, trying to decide if she wanted to buy it or not.
“If you don’t like it you can bring it back,” said the clerk. “What have you got to lose?”
“Nothing,” Annie said lightly. “I’ll take it.”
She followed the guy to the counter. As he totaled up her CDs he looked at her and smiled again. “I’m
Brian, by the way,” he said.
“Annie,” replied Annie.
“I must say, we don’t get a lot of people your age coming in here and buying jazz,” Brian commented.
“My age?” Annie said. “You don’t look much older than I am.”
“I’m seventeen,” Brian told her.
“Only a year older than me,” replied Annie. Actually, Brian was a year and a few months older, but he
didn’t need to know that. Fifteen sounded too young. Sixteen seemed more sophisticated.
“You don’t go to Beecher Falls High, though,” Annie said. “I’d remember seeing you if you did.” She
couldn’t believe she was being so flirtatious. It wasn’t like her at all. Normally she would freeze up if a
guy talked to her.
“I will in the fall,” Brian answered. “My folks just moved here at the end of the school year. I’ll be a
senior.”
“That’s rough, spending your senior year in a new school,” said Annie.
“Tell me about it,” Brian said, snorting. “I would have done anything to stay in my old place. But what
can you do?”
“Well, now you have at least one friend here. I’ll be a junior at BFHS,” Annie said warmly.
Brian grinned. “Thanks,” he said. “I’m glad you stopped in.”
“Me, too,” Annie responded. “Thanks for the CD suggestion. I’ll let you know what I think.”
She turned and walked toward the door.
“Hey,” Brian called after her.
Annie looked back. “Did I forget my receipt?” she asked.
“No,” said Brian. “I just didn’t want you to walk out before I could ask you if you wanted to go out
sometime.”
Annie paused. She didn’t know what to say. Had Brian really just asked her out? She thought so, but
she couldn’t quite believe it. No one had ever asked her out before. Now that someone had, she wasn’t
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sure how she was supposed to respond. But as she expected to fumble for the words to say, she found