The Clique (2 page)
“Feber. Headache. Stuffed up doze, you doh, duh usual.” Massie added a sniff and an “uuugggghhh” for effect.
“Dylan’s right. We’ll bail,” Kristen said. “It won’t be the same without you. Who’s going to squeeze my hand when I get my eyebrows waxed?”
“And who’s going to tell me if I look fat when I try stuff on?” Dylan asked.
“The mirror,” Alicia said.
Kristen let out her famous raspy, phlegm-filled cackle.
“Massie, please don’t leave me alone with them,” Dylan joked.
Massie smiled with relief. They wanted her with them. They
needed
her with them. And that, as always, was all that mattered. But she also knew how quickly they could change their minds.
“You all go. But I want to hear every detail of what happened.” Massie momentarily forgot her sick voice. “Every single one.”
T
HE
B
LOCK
E
STATE
T
OP OF THE
S
TAIRS
1:10
P.M
. September 1st
Unfortunately, the Lyons family arrived right on time. When the doorbell rang, Massie crouched below the banister on the second floor and watched. Her parents were gathered around the Blocks’ daughter, Claire.
“Claire! What a knockout you’ve become,” William Block said. He turned to his wife. “Kendra, who does she look like?”
Massie leaned forward to sneak a closer look, but they had already started walking toward the dining room.
“Gwyneth Paltrow!” Kendra announced. Massie thought her mother sounded like an overly excited contestant on a game show.
“Where’s
your gorgeous
daughter?” a man’s voice asked. Massie assumed it was Mr. Lyons.
“Good question,” Massie’s mom said.
Massie stood up and tiptoed into her bathroom for one last look at her “first-impression” outfit. She had no intention of becoming friends with Claire but still thought it important to let the girl know what she’d be missing. Massie checked the back of her satin cargo pants for panty lines and examined her white Hermés scarf (worn as a belt, of course) to make sure the knot was sitting flat against her hips. Her white cashmere tank top was free of dog hair and her amber eyes looked bright. No one would ever know she had cried herself to sleep the night before.
“Massie, the Lyonses are here,” her mom broadcasted over the intercom.
“’Kay.” Massie said into the speaker. She slicked a coat of clear gloss on her mouth, gave her hair a final flip, and made her way toward the dining room.
“There she is!” Judi Lyons had such a big smile, the tops of her chubby cheeks almost touched her eyes.
“Massie!” Jay Lyons reached his arms out to hug her. Massie looked back at him blankly.
“Hey,” Massie said. She lifted her right hand and swiveled it from side to side, just like a queen.
William walked around the long oak table and put his arm around his daughter.
“Massie, Jay is my oldest friend,” William said.
“Wait a minute, let’s not bring age into this,” Jay joked.
Everyone burst out laughing except Massie, who glanced at Claire and then quickly looked away. Despite the speedy once-over, Massie managed to detect a pair of overalls, white Keds, and straight blond hair with bangs. She looked like one of the cast members on
Barney and Friends
.
And then she looked to Claire’s right and saw Todd, Claire’s ten-year old brother, sticking his pudgy fingers in Bean’s ears.
“That’s my dog, not a baseball glove,” Massie barked.
“Todd, leave the dog’s ears alone.” Jay grinned.
“Sorry about my brother,” Claire said in a kind voice. “I’m Claire, the normal one in the family.” She extended her hand for a shake. Massie met it with a grip so tight Claire giggled uncomfortably and contorted her body in an effort to get loose.
Claire’s arm was covered in a stack of bracelets, obviously homemade. Some were made out of colored beads and others of braided string.
“You okay?” Massie asked. She raised her eyebrows and tipped her head to the side, like she had no idea why Claire was so jumpy.
Kendra clapped once. “All right. Well, why don’t we all sit down?” she said. “Jay and Judi can sit over there on William’s left.” Kendra pointed. Massie noticed that her mother’s diamond rings were turned around, which Massie knew meant that the Lyonses didn’t have a lot of money. Kendra always did that when she didn’t want the “less fortunate” to feel uncomfortable.
“Massie, why don’t you sit over there next to Claire,” Kendra said.
Massie sat down without making eye contact. She had an idea or two of her own about where her mother should sit.
Once the food was served and everyone was distracted, Massie took out her cell phone and held it under the table. She kept her head up while her thumbs typed a text message.
MASSIE:
U THERE?
ALICIA:
YEAH
MASSIE:
??? R U DOING?
ALICIA:
K IS CRYING.
WON’T LET SVETLANA WAX HER OTHER BROW
MASSIE:
WANT ME 2 TALK 2 HER?
Massie moved a stuffed mushroom cap around her plate with her fork while she waited for Alicia to answer.
ALICIA:
G2G. FEEL BETTER
Massie’s heart started beating quickly. She could picture everyone in Svetlana’s tiny waxing room standing around Kristen, laughing hysterically and trying to convince her not to walk out with uneven eyebrows.
Inside joke number one.
Massie decided to send a text message to Kristen anyway. She wanted to be the one to convince her to endure the pain so Svetlana could finish the job.
MASSIE: STAY STRONG. PAIN IS BEAUTY
She glanced down for a spilt second to make sure she got the smiley icon in the right place before she hit Send.
“Massie, no phones at the table,” Kendra said.
“Sorry,” Massie lied.
“Why don’t you take Claire upstairs and show her your room?” Kendra suggested.
“’Kay.” Massie glanced down at her cell phone, but Kristen was clearly too busy to type a response. Massie sighed and bit her lip.
2:25
P.M
. September 1st
“I heard West Chester is like the Beverly Hills of New York,” Claire said. She stood in front of the bay window in Massie’s bedroom and looked down on the tennis courts, the swimming pool, and the stone guesthouse. She was working hard to sound relaxed, but really, Claire had never been in a private house this big before.
“What’s West Chester?” Massie asked. She sounded utterly confused. “Oh, wait, do you mean Westchester?”
“Yeah, isn’t that what I said?” Claire turned away from the window and looked back at Massie. She twisted and turned the bracelets on her arm.
“I can’t believe you made those in kindergarten and they still fit you,” Massie said. “You must have super-tiny wrists.”
“I didn’t make these in kindergarten.” Claire’s voice was kind and understanding because she didn’t want Massie to feel stupid for making such a ridiculous assumption. “My best friends made these for me when I left Florida.” She looked proud. “They also gave me this so I could send pictures of my new school.” Claire pulled a tiny silver camera out of the chest pocket on her overalls. “And my new friends,” Claire continued. She aimed the lens at Massie and snapped a picture. Massie moved. Claire checked the shot to see if she would have to take it again.
“Oh, it’s all blurry.” Claire sounded disappointed.
“I’m not surprised,” Massie said. “Those cameras pretty much suck.”
“Hey, where did you get that cool mannequin?” Claire asked. She was referring to the headless figure that stood on a metal stand by Massie’s closet.
“I get a new one every year for my birthday,” Massie said. She sounded proud.
“Why every year?” Claire asked.
“Because I grow.” Massie gave a tiny eye roll.
“Do you ever think it’s going to come to life in the middle of the night and try to murder you?” Claire asked. She tried to sound playful.
“Never,” Massie said.
Claire quickly looked around for something new to talk about and walked toward the corkboard that hung above Massie’s desk.
“Who are
they?
” Claire noticed that the girls in the pictures looked so much older than her friends back home.
“My best friends in the whole world,” Massie said. “We’re really close.”
“Is this one a model?” Claire pointed to a sultry-looking girl with impossibly glossy dark hair.
“Not that I know of,” Massie said. “That’s Alicia.”
Claire thought Massie sounded bored. Claire saw pictures of the four girls screaming on roller coasters, lying on sleeping bags waving, and dressed up as gun-toting cowgirls. She assumed the costumes were for Halloween because each girl had a line of fake blood dripping from her mouth and Bean wore a cowboy hat and a sheriff’s badge. The shot of the girls posing with Santa Claus at the mall made Claire laugh out loud.
“I can’t believe you did that to Santa,” Claire said. She was referring to the bunny ears Massie was making with her two fingers behind his head.
Massie didn’t respond. She was too busy checking her cell phone for messages.
“You guys look like you have a lot of fun together,” Claire said. “I can’t wait to meet everyone.”
Massie lifted her eyes as if she was peeking out over a pair of sunglasses.
“I’m sure you’ll meet a bunch of other people you’d rather hang out with.”
“Doubt it,” Claire said.
“You should definitely try,” Massie said. “My friends and I have our own thing going and you’ll probably feel weird if you try to join in. You know, because we’ve known each other for so long.”
“I’ll be okay.” Claire forced a smile. Massie had stopped paying attention.
The phone by her bed rang and she raced toward it as if she had been expecting an important call.
“Uccch, what, Mom?” Massie sounded annoyed.
Claire used this time to take a look around Massie’s bedroom.
Her shelves were filled with first-prize horseback-riding trophies and ribbons. In the center of them was a black child-size velvet riding helmet and a framed picture of a white pony.
There was a doggie sleigh bed on the floor that was an exact replica of the human-size one above it.
Massie slammed the cordless phone down on her night table.
“Come on, I have to show you the guesthouse,” Massie said.
“It’s okay, I can see it from here.” Claire pointed at the window. “You don’t have to take me.”
Massie gestured to the phone. “Actually, I do.”
Massie slid open one of her closet doors and Claire saw at least fifty pairs of shoes tucked away in different cubby-holes. Massie tapped her lip with her index finger and examined her selection. She picked out a pair of chunky orange Prada flip-flops and slipped them on her feet.
“Why are you changing?” Claire asked as she picked at the coral polish on her nails. “Aren’t we just going in the backyard?”
“’Yeah, but my heels get stuck in the grass and it ruins them.” Massie looked down at Claire’s feet. “I’d offer you a pair of flip-flops, but you don’t care if those get a little muddy, do you?” Massie pointed to Claire’s Keds.
Claire didn’t know how to respond.
“Didn’t think so.” Massie shoes slapped against her heels as she shut off the lights and walked out of her room.
Claire picked a pink chip of polish off her nail and watched it land on Massie’s white rug. Normally she would have reached down to pick it up, but she decided to leave it. She figured the room could use a little color.
4:15
P.M
. September 1st
An hour later Massie was sitting next to Isaac, her family’s driver, in the plush leather passenger seat of the family Range Rover. They were on their way to Galwaugh Farms, where Massie was going to burn off meeting the Lyons family with a nice long ride on her horse, Brownie, on a private trail.
For the first time all day Massie relaxed. The windows were open all the way and the wind felt good against Massie’s face.
“I can’t believe that family is taking advantage of Daddy like that,” Massie said.
“What do you mean?” Isaac asked.
“Why don’t they get their own place? I’m sure there’s a YMCA around here somewhere,” she answered.
Isaac gave Massie one of his you-did-
not
-just-say-that looks and ejected the “Cheesy Pop” CD from the stereo. Massie knew that meant he was going to say something important.
“I think it’s nice that your parents are helping out their old friends. And it’s not forever,” he explained. “It’s just until Mr. Lyons finds a house of his own.”
“What’s so hard about buying a house?” Massie asked. “Are they poor?” She said “poor” the same way her mother said “fat.”
“No,” Isaac said. “But not everyone can afford everything they want, exactly when they want it.”