by Nora Cobb
“Speaking of competing, how are you holding up?”
I shrug. “Not in the frying pan this week, so I’m getting a lot of work done. I shot another botany video with my dad, but I’m not going to show it in class. And Dad’s not interested in social media.”
“Don’t blame him.” She stares off into space. “Even if you post the perfect video, you’ll have a hater.” She looks me in the eye. “No more porn videos.”
I laugh. “Nope. Wow, you went right there.”
She picks up her pickle and shakes it for emphasis. “Kids are insane. They act like they just came up with it or something.”
“Do you know what JustFriends is?”
Talia leans back and rubs her eyes. Maybe I went out of bounds.
“Why do you ask?” she says.
“You know the misery column?” I explain. “Well, I saw it mentioned there.”
“It’s a paid app that posts a lot of porn. It’s linked to a pay app, so if someone wants to see something, they can pay to see it.”
“Like a cam-girl site?”
“Yup, without the middleman. If you want to live a happy life, you won’t look at it.”
I grin. “You know I will now.”
She tosses her sandwich down on the paper. “The misery column is a toilet, but JustFriends is the shit.”
I don’t mention it again during our conversation on the drive back to the dorm. But before Talia gets out of the car, she offers me some advice. “If you’re going to check out that site, use a burner. You don’t want that shit on your phone.”
I nod. And wonder if I should tell my brother. Better not. Troy would have a fit if he knew.
***
As I’m pulling up to the building, I see Luna standing out front with Dom under the archway that connects the front path to the parking lot in the back. They’re laughing, and she looks happy to talk to him. In fact, they make a cute couple. She’s almost as tall as him. They both have golden-brown skin that accents lean-shaped bodies. They could sell surfing to a person with aquaphobia. My FOMO is flaring up like a bad rash, but I can hardly pull the car over and ask them what they’re up to. They’re so absorbed in their conversation that they don’t notice me drive by. I’m not sure if I want to run into the two of them so happy together. I hurry up the back steps and slip into the suite when I hear their laughter approaching below.
The school paper is on the small dining table beside the kitchen. Our kitchen isn’t large or fancy, nothing like the one at Dad’s house. It’s just a wall with the appliances tucked under cabinets. The stove is actually a microwave, and the fridge only holds enough food for a week. Students with housing are expected to use the main cafeteria, but since I have a car and I’m a senior, I wasn’t required to buy the meal plan like Theo, who lives in the dorm.
The dining table by the galley kitchen is a crap-free zone, so we always have a place to eat or study. Luna put a large wooden box by the table, so if anything is left on the table, we toss it there. A lot of my stuff ends up in that box.
I quickly slump down in a chair as the suite door opens.
“Vicki, you’re back,” Luna smiles. “How was your dad’s?”
“Fine,” I nod my head. I want to ask, but we chitchat idly about stupid shit before I lose it and I have to ask.
“I saw you talking to Dom when I drove up.”
Luan leaves me hanging as she looks into the fridge with more interest than in our conversation. “Oh that. He asked me to the Halloween Ball.”
“Are you going?” I ask.
“Sure,” she shrugs her shoulders. “Why not? You’re not allowed in without a date. I was sort of surprised he asked me. We don’t have classes together. He also apologized for being a dick when we first met. He blamed it on you.” Luna pauses. “Are you okay? Your cheeks are red.”
“That’s a stupid question.” I just blurt it out. I blurt out exactly how I feel.
“You don’t like him, so I figure.” Luna bites into an apple. “I mean, I know he kissed you, but he said he asked you, and you said no.” Her eyes widen. “Wait. Are you pissed?”
I’m not sure how I’m feeling about this. Is Dom playing with me, or is Luna on his radar? Luna is arm candy, plus her personality skews toward sweet. She’s not dumb, but she doesn’t feel the need to prove that to anyone. Though at times I wonder if she’s a bit naïve, like right now.
“He did ask me out first,” I reason. “I wonder what his game is.”
Luna stares at me, and I know I’m being a bitch. Maybe more like a brat. She sits down at the little table with me. Her gaze doesn’t leave mine.
“I can go tell him no,” she says.
My head dips and rolls as I wonder what the hell I am feeling. Dom knew what he was doing when he asked Luna. I don’t know what I want to do, and I doubt that Luna knows either, but right now I’m being a real jerk to my best friend.
At least that’s how I feel about Luna, but she may not be into me if I keep this spoiled brat shit up. I told the guy no, and he moved on. Quickly.
“No,” I reply. “I’m being a silly bitch. He should ask you. Dom wants to be seen with the prettiest girl on campus.”
Luna smiles as if she’s been handed an award she could really give two shits about. “We know he asked me to make you jealous. He’s using me just as much as I’m using him. He’s one of the most popular boys on campus. I’ll have my picture posted beside Mel Vaughn’s son.”
I laugh. “You always surprise me.”
Luna frowns. “It’s really not that hard.”
I chuck a balled-up piece of paper at her, and we’re friends again.
“If you’re going,” she says, “you have to ask someone soon. Like Noah’s ark; people are pairing up fast.”
I roll my eyes and laugh. “Dom wants me to be jealous, so it won’t be that hard to make him jealous by asking someone else.”
“Who are you going to ask?”
I spin a pencil around in a circle. “One of the other boys.”
The conversation stops, and all the ambient sounds in the suite suddenly become deafening.
“You’re not going to ask Silas?” she asks.
I hug my shoulders so tight I feel as if I’m curling into a ball. “No, I’ll ask Chase.”
“That’s good. After all, he came to the hospital that day.” Luna looks at my hair. “You need a trim even if you grow it out. And a decent dress.”
“You don’t think they’ll let me go in a plaid floral gown?”
Luna cringes as if she can see it in her mind’s eye. “This is not something to joke about. This will be the first public appearance of your career, and if Chase takes you, your picture will be posted. People also know your dad, so they’ll ask about you.”
I feel sick. Dad has kept my past hidden, but people will want to know it. Will they post my name and Dad’s together? Vicki Saunders, daughter of Greg and former user.
I toss the pencil into the box. “Chase has to say yes first.”
“He will. Trust me, he will.”
Chapter Five
I decide to play it cool and borrow a little of Dom’s nonchalant attitude. I’m going to act as if I’m handing out an olive branch, just like he tried to do. After all, Chase was the one who went to the hospital, and he’s the only one who bothers to talk to me when he sees me around the town house. Silas looks at me as if I stink. And Dom looks over my head if Silas is around.
It’s not hard to track down Chase. There are five town houses—one in the center and two on each side. The buildings are almost identical, except the center town house is slightly taller than the four buildings that flank it. Chase shares a suite with Dom in the center building. I wonder why Silas opted to live in the building on the far left. He had to have been given a choice.
Walking across the courtyard to the stairs, the sound of someone strumming a guitar drifts out of an open window. An old song plays, but not fast or showy; the person is putting their energy into each chord of the guitar.
I pause on the steps, and it’s pretty good. I almost stay for the next song, but I hear a door shut somewhere and I hurry up to my suite.
It was Chase, and he plays guitar as a hobby. He wanted a suite in my building. The center suites don’t have recording studios. They have a screening room instead, and I wonder why Chase didn’t room with Silas. Or vice versa. Maybe Silas is too much for him too. He pretty much said it.
A few minutes later, I go outside to my car and start the engine. I turn on the radio and flip open the hood. A curtain moves in a window above me, and faster than I can say come and get it, Chase comes down the stairs. I admire the fact that he doesn’t avoid me. He immediately walks over and looks at the engine of my Pony. I’m surprised half a dozen guys don’t join him. What is it with a hood up?
He leans into the car. “What’s up?”
“Checking the oil.” I switch off the ignition but leave the battery on. “I have to change it this weekend.”
He nods. “Taking it to the shop?”
I shake my head. “I’d rather do it myself.”
He nods again with a slight grin on his face. He looks up when “Sweet Home Alabama” comes on the radio. Chase starts to bop his head as he plays the chords against his thighs. I glance down at his powerful legs. The hard muscles look as if they can kick down a steel door.
“You like classic rock?” he asks softly.
I nod while I wipe the dipstick clean. “I grew up listening to it. That and classical.”
He scoffs. “Who’s your favorite composer?”
I pause, looking at the level on the stick, and push it back in. He watches me as I do it. I sense his gaze on me before I turn to see if he’s watching. His gaze is on my legs. He makes fun of my shorts, but he always checks me out.
“Saint-Saëns. He composed Danse Macabre,” I reply. “Speaking of scary things, are you going to the Halloween Ball?”
He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Not sure. I’m not really dating right now.”
“Does that matter?” I ask. “It’s a time to be seen. We could go together.”
“What about your dad?” He twists his lips. “Won’t he be jealous?”
I frown. “You know what? Be a jerk on your own.”
What a dickhead. Just when I think Chase isn’t 100 percent asshole. That he has some redeeming value other than his looks.
“Even good looks can’t save a jackass,” I grumble, and push the hood shut. “I’m going to be seen. So you’re off my list. I’ll go ask Silas who he’s taking.”
“Don’t do that.” His voice is hard. And he swiftly walks toward me. This time I’m a little faster as I step around the car, making sure that hunk of metal is between us.
Chase narrows his eyes. “I told you about him.”
“No.” I lift a finger to him. “You told me your opinion of him. You didn’t tell me why.”
“What do you think?” he asks. “You should know?”
I touch my hair and say nothing. Chase turns away and leans against my car. He folds his arm and blows out air. I’m almost offended by his attitude, but no telling what he’s thinking because he won’t tell me.
“You’re worse than Dom.” I move a little closer, but make sure he can’t touch me.
“He asked you,” Chase shoots back in a hoarse voice. “Why’d you turn him down if you wanted to be seen?”
“You know why,” I reply coldly.
“You think I know why,” he replies. “You accuse me of not being upfront, but you’re also guarded.”
“You obviously talk to one another. I’m surprised it’s not in the misery column.”
Chase leaps off the car, and I take a quick step back. He narrows his eyes on me. “What the fuck do you think I’m going to do to you? I’m the one keeping you out of trouble.”
I don’t say anything. I have never really thought of Chase as independent of the other two. Sure, he has his own things going on, but I think of him as the foot soldier. I’ve never seen him as the general. Am I wrong? Can he control Silas?
I sigh loudly, tiring of the cat-and-mouse game. “So, is that a no?”
He glances up toward my building, but the windows in Silas’s suite face the front. He can’t see us unless he’s with Dom. I glance over at Dom’s window, and Chase catches me looking. He shakes his head.
“I don’t get you girls,” he smirks. “Except you know how to play the game better than any boy. Sure, I’ll go with you, but you better dress up.”
I scowl. “Of course I’m going to get dressed up.”
He shakes his head. “I’m not talking about blowing your allowance at the mall, princess.”
“You know I hate being called that.”
“Well,” he says, “you better show up looking like a queen. The ball is a showcase of mad skill and talent. It’s no time to be timid. It’s a lip sync this year. Rock and R&B.” He looks at my hair and frowns. “You want a list of places to go?”
“You’re an ass.”
“You’re my date, and you better not look like you don’t give a fuck.”
Chase stalks off, and I glare at his back. He doesn’t turn around. I wonder if Dom saw any of that. If he did, he’s probably laughing.
***
“What are you wearing?” I ask Luna, who’s scouring the internet for a vision.
Luna frowns. “It’s a secret, nosy B.”
“It’s not like I’m going to show up in the same dress.”
We decide to work on our projects in Theo’s room, but I’m still creeped out being in there.
I look around. He’s pulled his art off the walls and his space looks institutional. “Maybe we should burn sage.”
“No!” Theo shouts, lifting his head off his bed. “I’ll get kicked out for burning stuff in my room.”
“It’s not weed,” answers Luna.
“It’s a plant,” he continues, “and it’s just as bad as far as the admins are concerned.”
“You know your place gives me the creeps.” Luna frowns as she looks around. “I feel like someone is watching me.”
Luna and I stare at each other, and then at Theo. We don’t speak. We jump up and search the room for anything hidden. We pull furniture away from the walls and use our hands to wipe the walls, feeling for devices.
“Nothing,” Theo scowls at the disarray. “And now my room is a sty.”
I push a pile of clothes into the corner. “We’ll help you clean up later. I need a real good idea for the ball first.”
“Have you worked on the idea for the film festival?” asks Luna.
I hesitate. “I had a few loose ideas, but not sure where I’m heading with them.”
Theo and I push the bed back. “Maybe you can tie the two together?”
I place my hands on my hips and make a face. “You know what? I’m sorry, but your room still gives me the creeps. Let’s go to my dad’s and work there. We can use my bedroom and leave our stuff spread out.”
“After we clean up,” bosses Theo.
We toss stuff into the closet until the floor is visible again, and then we take off for Dad’s house. He’s not home, but I leave him a message that I’m here. He sends back a message that he’s in San Francisco until tomorrow.
Dad: Don’t leave a mess.
Theo laughs when he reads the text. “He knows you so well.”
The kitchen is our usual hangout, but with Dad out of the house, we go into the rec room towards the back. The deck stretches around the house, and the windows only have a sheer curtain. The woods fade into the sky that shifts from purple to gray as we work late into the day. I don’t know why I don’t spend more time in this room. Or why I don’t move back into the house. But if I was living at home, I’d never have had the opportunity to ask Chase to the Halloween Ball.
“I can’t get over that you asked him,” says Theo. “But in an odd way, the two of you look good together. You’re like the old photo of Lady Gaga and her hot bodyguard.”
“Vicki’s
prettier than Gaga.” Luna speaks firmly.
“They’re both from Jersey,” replies Theo testily.
I give Theo the evil eye but cut it out. He’s drawing my secret costume. “Who are you taking to the ball?” I ask him.
“Talia. We’re not dating, obviously. But we do make a good pair.”
“Any thought on your costume?” I ask him.
“We thought about Sonny and Cher. I’ll be Cher, of course.”
