Pretty Little Devils (5 page)

The silence was broken when Trina returned.

“Hey, guys.” She had an extra water bottle in her hand. “Brought this for you,” she told Matty.

“Thanks,” he said

The three of them made small talk about classes and teachers and then about their favorite shows and bands. Hazel tried to keep up her end while inconspicuously drinking Matty in.

He was into Green Day. Trina liked Maroon 5. Hazel confessed her secret nerdy thing for the Beatles.

“I think that's just sweet,” Matty said.

“Hey, did you see what happened to Breona today?” Trina ventured. “Seriously harsh.”

Matty scowled. “I think there is something seriously wrong with that girl.”

He seemed about to elaborate when Megan walked up to Hazel and touched her elbow. “Got a minute?” she murmured.

“Sure,” Hazel replied. She looked at Matty. “Back in a few.”

Megan grabbed her by the sleeve and steered her toward the opposite side of the yard. Along the back, a weathered wooden fence rose above some untrimmed bushes and woody geraniums. Carolyn and Ellen were huddled together in the midst of them, looking very freaked out.

“Problem,” Ellen murmured.

“It's Isotope,” Carolyn said under her breath. “Come here and see.”

Carolyn stepped among the geraniums. She pulled back a couple of runners and pointed.

The moon shone down on something white and furry—and very, very still.

“Oh no,” Hazel whispered.

Then Carolyn bent down, picked up the dead cat, and threw it hard at Hazel.

Hazel screamed. She batted at the body, knocking it to the ground at her feet.

Breathing hard, she stared down at the poor creature.

Matted fur, dirty paws, and…glass eyes?

Oh my God,
Hazel thought, relieved.
It's a stuffed animal. Only a stuffed animal.

Megan and Carolyn burst into gleeful shrieks. Ellen covered her mouth, her eyes glittering.

“That is so not funny!” Hazel protested as they doubled over. “You guys, that's really twisted!”

“Relax. You've been pranked!” Carolyn announced. “Everyone gets pranked at their first PLD party.”

Hazel shook her head as different feelings battled inside her. The whole thing was kind of mean-spirited. But the girls were laughing, tossing the stuffed animal back and forth.

Everyone gets pranked at their first PLD party.
Did that mean they accepted her? That she was really a part of the cool crowd now?

Hazel looked at the stuffed animal, a rabbit, with its crossed eyes and buckteeth. How could she ever have mistaken this for a dead cat? She definitely needed to lighten up.

Megan and Carolyn walked back to the house, still laughing. Ellen trailed behind.

“It was just a joke, really,” she explained. “And it's a good thing. We wouldn't do that to someone we didn't like.”

“It's cool,” Hazel assured her. “I just have to know—was the whole thing a setup? Does Charlie even
own
a cat?”

“Yeah, he really does. And he really is missing.” Ellen touched her arm. “Are you sure you're okay?”

“Sure,” Hazel said. “It was just a joke.”

Ellen smiled. “Good. I wouldn't want you to be mad or anything.”

Carolyn was right. Ellen
was
really sweet.

She stayed on the deck as Hazel moved inside. She didn't see Matty in the kitchen, so she waited, leaning against the counter and helping herself to some more guacamole. She chatted with a few other girls before wandering into the living room.

There she found Trina making out with a guy in a nearby armchair. Hazel was curious. Who had Trina pounced on? She lingered for a moment, but as long as the two were lip-locked, there was no way of telling. Time to move on.

Megan and Carolyn sat on the rug, examining a shelf full of DVDs. Sylvia and Josh were curled up on the couch.

Sylvia turned to Hazel. “Hey. I heard you found Isotope?” She picked up her square glass and peered at Hazel over the rim while she drank.

“Yeah,” Hazel replied. “That was, um, pretty extreme.”

Sylvia smiled. “But brilliant for a last-minute prank, don't you think?”

“Cool!” Megan exclaimed, interrupting. “They
do
have
Scream
.”

“We could watch that,” Sylvia said. She turned to Hazel. “You in? Scary movies are part of the PLD party tradition.”

“Sure,” Hazel told her. She glanced around, wondering where Matty was.

As if she could read her mind, Sylvia pointed down the hall. “He went to talk to Charlie. Nice guy.”

Hazel warmed. Comforting the kid who lost his cat? That was nice.

“Thanks.” Hazel turned to go, then said suspiciously, “This isn't another trick, is it?”

“Go down the hall and find out,” Sylvia urged her in a mock-creepy voice. “Wahahaha.” She put her arms around Josh's neck, pretending to chomp him like a vampire. He laughed back, grabbing her around the waist and doing the same.

“No worries,” Hazel said, making a cross with her forefingers. “I'm armed.”

She went on down the hall, scooting around a couple engaging in serious PDA.

At the end of the corridor was a door marked
CHARLIE'S LABORATORY
. A little picture of Dexter from TV decorated the bottom of the sign. Hazel knocked, and the door swung open. An electronic voice said,
“Enter, carbon unit.”

She smiled and did just that. Inside, she found a little boy in flannel pajamas and enormous, thick glasses sitting on the edge of a twin bed. A comforter featuring galaxies and rocket ships was bunched around him. There were electronic parts, wheels, gears, and disassembled toys everywhere.

“Mind if I come in?” she asked.

“Hi,” the little boy said. “I'm Charlie. This is Matty.”

“I'm Hazel.”

Matty sat in a straight-backed chair beside the boy. He seemed to be sketching something in the black three-ring binder in his lap.

“Hey, Hazel,” Matty said, looking up at her. “Check it out.” He held up the binder to display a drawing of a Siamese cat.

“Wow.” Hazel gasped. “That's really good.”

“Matty is going to help me make reward posters for Isotope. That's my cat.”

Hazel melted. “That's so sweet. But maybe he's not missing. Maybe he's just hiding because of the party.”

“Maybe,” Charlie said. “But you can't be too careful.”

She remembered Charlie's mother and nodded. “You're probably right.”

“How's this?” Matty asked Charlie, tapping the sketch with his pencil.

Charlie squinted, thinking. “He has darker markings around his eyes.”

Hazel and Charlie looked on as Matty shaded the almond-shaped eyes.

“Yep. That's Isotope,” Charlie said wistfully. “It looks exactly like him.”

“Don't worry, Charlie. I'll scan it in. Then we'll type the rest of the information and create a poster,” Matty said. “What's your e-mail?”

Charlie told him. Matty wrote it on a blank sheet of paper. Then he looked up at Hazel. “What's yours?”

She couldn't contain her smile. He handed her a piece of paper and the pencil he had been using. She wrote down
PURPLEHAZE
and the rest, adding, “That's my IM name too.”

“Got a cell?” Matty asked her.

“I'm between phones right now,” she lied smoothly.

Matty slipped the paper into the pocket of his jeans as he stood up.

“Okay.” Matty turned to Charlie. “Looks like I'm done here. Good night, kiddo. I hope your head feels better.”

“Good night,” Charlie said. “You won't forget to scan in the picture, right?”

“I'll e-mail you a jpeg as soon as I get home,” Matty assured him. Hazel followed him out the door and eased it shut behind her.

“I have to go soon,” he said, staring deep into her eyes. “But we could talk for a little while. Unless you want to watch the movie.”

“I've seen it a million times,” she confessed.

Matty led her past the living room and outside. In the silvery moonlight, she saw Ellen and Brandon sitting together, deep in conversation. Matty gave Brandon a nod. Then he steered Hazel over to a couple of chairs.

They talked for what seemed like minutes but must have been much longer. Hazel memorized all the little details that came out during their conversation.

Matty's favorite color was blue. His favorite artist was Picasso. He had a dog named Clyde when he was a kid. He hated asparagus. His sister was a waitress and they didn't get along.

“Of course, all the phone calls haven't helped matters between us,” he said.

She was about to ask him what he meant when Stephan Nylund staggered up.

“Yo, Matty, you leaving soon?” he asked, running a hand through his red hair. “I caught a ride over with Brandon, but I gotta go and he wants to stay.”

Matty checked his watch. He swore under his breath. “Man. I'm gonna be late. What part of town do you live in?”

“Over by the mall,” Stephan said. “On Lemon.

“Cool. That's near me.”

They headed inside. Hazel accompanied them through the darkened living room to the front door. Stephan opened it and walked on ahead.

Matty lingered with Hazel on the porch. “So, see you tomorrow?”

She wasn't exactly sure what he meant, but she liked the question anyway. “Sure.”

“Okay. Well, later.” He leaned forward….

Oh my God, he's going to kiss me!
Hazel felt her cheeks flush in anticipation. But then Matty pulled back, as if he wasn't certain that was the way to go. He smiled down at her. “You know, you have the prettiest eyes.”

He turned and walked down the path, toward a dark blue PT Cruiser.

Totally amazed, Hazel watched him go.

As he and Stephan got into the Cruiser, she waved. The headlights winked on and off, and then the car pulled away.

When she came back inside, she realized that the movie was almost over. Having seen it so many times, she knew exactly where they were in the plot. She perched on the arm of a chair to watch the ending—a total gore-fest—and realized the person sitting in the chair was Trina, disentangled from her smooching partner.

“Oh my God, Hazel. Matty is so into you,” Trina whispered in Hazel's ear.

Hazel giggled. “You think?”

“Duh.”

Hazel grinned and then stifled a yawn.

“I should head out,” she whispered. She waved good-bye to Trina, then walked into the kitchen. There she found Sylvia, Megan, and Carolyn leaning against the counters, talking in whispers. Hazel hung back, not wanting to intrude, but Sylvia spotted her, catching her gaze with her laser blue eyes.

“Hey.”

“Hey. Thanks for inviting me,” Hazel said. “I had a great time.”

“You're welcome. So.” Sylvia raised her eyebrows. “Matty. Sparks?”

Hazel smiled shyly. “Maybe.”

Sylvia sipped from her square glass. “I love playing matchmaker.”

Ellen walked with Brandon into the kitchen. Sylvia ticked her glance over to them, shooting Brandon a hard, appraising look.

“Let me guess,” Sylvia said coolly. “No sign of the cat?”

Ellen shook her head. Brandon put his arm around her shoulders and gave them a squeeze.

“Don't worry, he'll turn up,” he murmured reassuringly.

Sylvia frowned deeply. “It's time to wrap things up. Brandon, be a dear and get rid of whoever is left in the living room. You know your way out.”

“Okay.” Brandon gave Ellen one last squeeze. He grabbed his jacket and headed for the living room.

Sylvia tipped her head sideways, pressing the rim of her glass against the line of her jaw. “That one,” she said softly, “cannot be trusted.”

Hazel turned to stare at Sylvia. “What do you mean?”

But Sylvia had already moved on.

“Come sit with us at lunch tomorrow, Hazel. We need to talk.”

“Lunch? With you?” Hazel stopped short. Being invited to the party was one thing; being seen at school with the PLDs was so very much another.

“Okay,” she said, keeping calm. “What are we going to talk about?”

Sylvia shook her head. “Tomorrow.” She turned to the rest of the group. “Well, ladies, say
bonne nuit
to Haze.”