Winter White (22 page)

Maybe it was Hayden’s confession or maybe it was the guilt getting to her because instead of having a normal reaction, Mira completely lost it. “I did not sign up to be Izzie’s babysitter!” Mira said shakily, and her mother gaped. “I did like you asked, tried to help Izzie when she got here. I bent over backward telling her about EC and how things worked, but she basically ignored me. I’m sure that’s what she does to everyone else at school, too. It’s got nothing to do with Harborside, Hayden,” Mira said, and even as the words were coming out of her mouth, she knew they were a lie. “She never tried to fit in, so now she doesn’t. That’s why people ignore her.”

“Maybe Izzie ignores you because she sees right through you and your friends. She knows a fake when she sees one.” Hayden’s words were like a slap in the face. “But why would you care how Izzie feels? The only person you care about is yourself.”

Mira hated the way Hayden was looking at her. They hardly ever fought, and when they did, Mira got sick over it. She trusted Hayden more than anyone in the world and now he thought she was as bad as Savannah. Well, she was, wasn’t she? She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. There was no way she could tell them that Izzie took the fall for Millie now. Hayden would really hate her then. What had she turned herself into? She wasn’t always this way. When had things taken such a wrong turn?

“She’s not coming back, is she?” Mira’s mom’s voice was small. She looked at Mira’s dad, who had reentered the room. “Why would she when things are as bad as you say they are?” That’s when they heard the key in the front door.

When Izzie saw them standing there, she jumped so high that Mira thought she was going to hit her head on the ceiling. Her face was blotchy, like she’d been crying, and her bob was windblown. Mira noticed her jeans had sand stuck to the knees. Mira’s mom embraced her, crying, which was a shock to both Izzie and Mira. But Mira felt another emotion, too: relief. Izzie was okay. Physically, at least, she was okay.

“Don’t ever do that again!” her mom told Izzie. “We thought you’d run away.”

“Run away?” Izzie looked surprised. “I’m sorry. I just lost track of time. I took the bus back to Harborside to see my friends and I didn’t realize how late it was.”

Mira’s mom and dad looked at each other. “You were in Harborside?” Mira’s dad said. “You told me you were too sick to go to the auction.” Izzie didn’t say anything. “I understand that there may be some things you don’t want to do with this family, Isabelle, but you can’t just go off without permission. Especially to Harborside. What if something happened to you?”

Izzie’s laugh was bitter. “I think I’m in more danger here than I ever was in Harborside.”

“Your aunt was very upset,” Mira’s dad said, ignoring Izzie’s comment. “You’re our responsibility now, and that means you need to abide by this family’s rules.”

“I can take care of myself just fine. I’ve been doing it for years,” she said, her eyes getting watery even as her voice maintained its sharp clip. “The people in Harborside aren’t anything to be scared of. They are decent and kind. They always had my back. No one judges me the way everyone does here,” she snapped.

Izzie had never come back at Mira’s parents like that before. No one knew what to do next, probably because they knew Izzie had hit a hard truth.

“You’re right. We shouldn’t judge Harborside like that,” Mira’s dad said quickly. “Old money can be… shall we say, stuffy. Believe me, I know. But I also know your mother would want you to try harder here in Emerald Cove.”

“My mother would have been forty-one today,” Izzie whispered almost to herself. “I shouldn’t be blowing out candles on a cake without her. I want her here!” she yelled at no one in particular. “I don’t want to live in Emerald Cove. I want to go home!” Izzie broke down, and Mira’s mom tried to hug her.

All the times Mira had thought about how much having Izzie around inconvenienced her own life, she’d never thought about Izzie’s old one. Izzie had a life before EC. She was someone’s daughter, too. Mira couldn’t imagine what her life would be like if she didn’t have her mom in it.

“I’m sorry, Isabelle. I didn’t—we didn’t know what today was.” Mira’s mom looked desperately at her husband. Hayden hugged Izzie, too, but Mira couldn’t move. She felt so conflicted.

“I’m so sorry,” Mira’s dad said awkwardly. “We’ll make things right.”

Izzie wiped her eyes. “I’m fine,” she said like she was repeating a mantra. “Someone reminded me recently that I’m a fighter, and I am. Maybe I forgot that today, but I won’t again,” she warned. “I’m not going to let this place break me.”

“I know people are going to love you once they get to know the real Isabelle Scott,” Mira’s mom said. “You’ve got the swim team now, and you know what would be really fun? If you joined the Social Butterflies.”

Izzie and Mira looked at each other. “Yeah, I’m not so sure that would be good,” Izzie said.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Mira’s mom looked encouragingly at Mira, like she hadn’t heard a word her daughter had said earlier. “Don’t you, Mira?”

Lucas walked in before Mira could answer. His gaze locked on Izzie and she noticed her cousin’s face change. “Isabelle, you’re here. Thank goodness. Everything okay, I hope? There’s no
new
problem we have to deal with, is there?”

“No, we took care of it,” Mira’s dad said, smiling at Izzie. “We’re just glad she’s back.”

Lucas kept his eyes on Izzie. “Yes, me, too,” he said quietly. “We certainly don’t need any more surprises, do we?”

Izzie actually answered him, sounding much calmer than she had a few minutes ago. “Not at all, Lucas.”

“Good,” Lucas said, but Mira felt uneasy.

Lucas was being especially creepy, even for him.

Seventeen

Hot yoga class or frozen yogurt machine for the cafeteria? The Butterflies’ adviser, Mrs. Fitzgerald, was perplexed as she listened to the passionate debate among the thirty-odd girls assembled for the club’s first fall meeting. The group had already doubled its donation to Save the Children thanks to last year’s carnival, but now it still had a small stash of cash left over. Usually that was spent on the end-of-year party, but last year’s lavish bash had been sponsored by Savannah’s parents (some said in a bid to get her elected club president that fall), which meant the Butterflies now had money to burn, and in EC, money never sat idle for long. So now their adviser was being tortured with this yoga-versus-yogurt debate. Lea was in the middle of her speech on why the cafeteria needed a dessert that had less trans fats when Mrs. Fitzgerald heard a welcome knock on the door.

“Hi. Is this where the Social Butterflies meet?”

Mira heard Izzie’s voice and immediately looked up from the meeting agenda. She couldn’t believe Izzie was actually taking her mom’s advice to join the Butterflies. But there was her cousin, standing in the doorway wearing her school uniform and holding her swim bag over her shoulder. Izzie looked like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to come in or bolt.

“Is it too late to join?” Izzie asked tentatively.

“Of course not!” Mrs. Fitzgerald said, practically yanking Izzie in by the arm. “I’m Mrs. Fitzgerald, or you can call me Mrs. Fitz. There is only one requirement for this club,” she said, her voice adopting a serious tone. “We need to know why you think you are right for a butterfly transformation.”

The only thing annoying about this group Mira adored so much was Mrs. Fitz’s need to turn the club’s name into something more meaningful. She was constantly talking about the girls’ metamorphoses and how they related to the good the girls did in the club. When it came to anything Butterfly-related, Mrs. Fitz took matters seriously. Even a discussion on what color paper club flyers should be printed on turned into a cause for reflection and celebration.

“Um, I’m not sure I get what you mean.” Izzie leaped to the safety of Violet and Nicole, who were sitting near the front.

“What. Is. She. Doing. Here?” Savannah hissed, practically spitting in Mira’s right ear.

“I don’t know,” Mira admitted. Was Izzie trying to fit in after all? Ever since Izzie talked about her mom the other night, Mira couldn’t stop thinking about what it was like to be Izzie. It was the first time she had put herself in her cousin’s shoes since Izzie had arrived and it had been an eye-opener. Mira was starting to realize how hard it had to be leaving behind everything Izzie knew and starting over in a place where she didn’t know a soul. No wonder Izzie sometimes came across as standoffish. It made Mira feel guiltier than ever for the things she had said that night to Hayden and her mom.

“We’d love to know what would make you a good Butterfly,” Mrs. Fitzgerald tried to explain again, and flapped her arms for effect. “Our group is all about metamorphoses.”

There was that word again.

“And we like members who want to help save the world, one day at a time.”

Club motto.

“We’ve been doing that since 1944, the first year girls were allowed to matriculate at Emerald Prep,” Mrs. Fitz added, tapping the insignia of the club that was stickered on her folder. “Isabelle, have you done anything that would qualify as Butterfly behavior?”

Savannah leaned over to Lea and Lauren. “Does being on the receiving end of club donations count?” The girls snickered.

“Well, I…” Izzie looked at Nicole and Violet, who nodded encouragingly. “I taught free swim lessons at our community center.”

Mrs. Fitz clapped excitedly. “That’s perfect! You are definitely Butterfly material.”

Savannah, smelling like the honeysuckle perfume she had spritzed on during an after-school touch-up, leaned over to Mira. “This makes zero sense. Why would Izzie want to be a Butterfly? Unless she’s trying to find a way to get back at us for Tryout Day.”

“Maybe she likes the club.” Mira shifted uncomfortably.

Savannah’s eyes narrowed. “No, that’s not it. She’s up to something, and I’m going to find out what it is.”

“Before you arrived, Isabelle, we were discussing what to do with our ‘fun’ money from last year,” Mrs. Fitz told her. “We can’t decide between a yoga class or a frozen yogurt machine, and the vote is tied.” She looked hopeful. “Maybe you could be our tiebreaker.”

Lauren groaned. “What does she know?” she whispered to Mira. “She’s probably never had the money for either.”

“I don’t know if anyone here really wants my opinion,” Izzie said, turning her head slightly toward the sound of Savannah’s giggling.

“Of course we do,” Violet told her.

“Okay, well, to be honest, I wouldn’t do either,” Izzie said. “If the Butterflies really are a charity club, then why not give the extra money to another charity? Or buy a frozen yogurt machine for a school that doesn’t have a lunch program?”

Savannah applauded Izzie mockingly. “Mrs. Fitz, I think you’ve found the Butterflies’ new spokesperson!” The sarcasm was lost on Mrs. Fitz, who beamed proudly.

“You’re right, Savannah. This is the type of Butterfly leadership I’m talking about, ladies,” Mrs. Fitz said. “It’s settled, then. We’ll buy a machine for another school.” Lauren moaned. She kind of had her heart set on that hot yoga class. Mrs. Fitz looked at Savannah and Mira. “Let’s move on to our next topic. New club presidents, do you want to fill Isabelle in on this year’s first fall event?”

Mira tucked her hair behind her right ear and looked down at her notes. “We’ve reserved the Monica Holbrook Arts Center on Saturday, October eighteenth, for our event. That gives us a three-week lead on the Emerald Cove Country Club’s Founders Day party.”

“EP’s football game is during the week, so we pretty much have a lock on the weekend,” Savannah added, reading from her own notebook. “Not that we’d have competition anyway. Everyone would rather come to a Butterflies event. We just need a killer idea for a party that will blow the town away.” Mira and Savannah had spent weeks trying to imagine the perfect fall mixer, but Savannah’s head was so wrapped up in her own sweet-sixteen planning that all she could think about were fire jugglers and henna tattoos (Savannah’s sixteenth was going to have an Arabian nights theme).

“It can be difficult,” Mrs. Fitz said, nodding. “We’ve had such winners in the past. Any suggestions?” She smiled at Mira. “We need something worthy for our esteemed senator. He already cleared his calendar to join us and, word has it, might say a few words about his upcoming run.”

Nicole shot her pale hand into the air. She was the tallest girl there, so her hand was the highest. “What about a variety show?”

“I don’t think we have enough time to get one together,” Mrs. Fitz said sadly, pursing her pink lips. “Maybe in the spring. I’m already working on a lovely twenty-minute piano piece.”

Think of a great excuse not to have Mrs. F. do a piano solo
, Mira jotted down in her notebook.

“Plus, we’ve done variety shows, like, six times already,” Savannah said, sounding bored. “No one wants to hear someone sing ‘Defying Gravity’ off-key again, Nicole. Mira and I want our first event as copresidents to be different. Come on, girls. We need new ideas!”

“Game night?” suggested Lauren.

“Country club is already doing one,” Savannah said as if it were obvious.