Days Of St Croix

by Felicity Pepper

Twenty

  Tibby's phone rang and she fished it out of her purse as she marched down the long driveway that led from St Croix to the road. Her taxi was arriving any minute, and she finished off the cigarette she had lit up once she was out of sight of the main school building. The air was still, crisp but not cold, and she exhaled the smoke in a large cloud as she flipped open her phone. It was her mom again.

  "Hey mom. I'm on my way now. I should be there in about fifteen minutes."

  "Sweetie, something's come up at home. I won't be able to meet you for lunch."

  Tibby's stomach lurched and she stopped walking.

  "What? Mom!"

  "I know, sweetheart, I'm sorry. Etienne is still going though, I called him a moment ago. He's very excited to meet you."

  "But mom, I need you there! I can't do this without you."

  "Sure you can, Elisabeth, you'll be fine. Etienne is a very nice guy."

  "Mom, it's just-"

  "What, honey?"

  "Well, it's scary!" Tibby closed her eyes and exhaled silently. She had never admitted being nervous to her parents before. Her mom didn't seem to get how huge this was.

  "It's exciting, sweetie! Don't worry, he'll love you. Call me after lunch and tell me all about it!"

  Tibby stared out at the lacrosse fields, at the figures throwing balls to each other. Their voices carried across the distance and sounded comforting. Suddenly, she didn't want to leave St Croix. She didn't want to have lunch with Etienne Girard. She wanted to go back to her room and lie on her bed and be angry with her mom for deserting her. But then she'd have to explain to her parents why she had stood up a famous director for lunch, and she knew she'd feel even worse. She felt like throwing up.

  "Okay, mom."

  "Great, sweetheart. Look, I've got to go, the damn radiator burst and the apartment is full of water. Your father's still in California. The superintendent is on his way. I knew you'd understand."

  Tibby smiled weakly.

  "Bye, mom."

  "Talk to you soon, honey."

 

  Tibby saw the taxi approaching. It rolled to a stop outside the school gates, and the driver peered out the window, up the driveway. Tibby waved and took a deep breath.

  "Alright, mom. Alright Etienne. This is fine. I can do this." She said out loud.

  She had never felt less sure of anything in her life.

  Jas knocked lightly on the door and waited. After Brand had told him about Amaranth, he had been so angry at Paige that he had run all the way into town, trying to figure out why she had lied about the package. He had managed to calm down a little, but he still felt betrayed. Had the whole thing been a set-up? Had Paige's brother found the package where Jas had left it, and decided to screw him over? Did Paige even have a brother? Jas couldn't understand how he had been so easily fooled, right from the start, but he was ready to confront Paige and get some answers.

  The door opened, and Jas nodded at Paige. She was dressed in her clothes from the night before and her hair was messy. Her eyes were red, and she looked tired and agitated. It was the first time Jas had seen her in the daytime, and he wondered if he would have been attracted to her at all if he had first met her like this. Compared to Mills, she looked totally average.

  "Have you got it?" She asked, as soon as Jas was inside the room. Jas laughed.

  "Hello to you, too."

  "Look, I need to get out of here, okay, so it would be easier if you just gave me the money right now."

  "Relax." Jas said, opening the minibar and taking out a bottle of Evian. He screwed off the top and took a sip. "I just have a question first."

  "What?"

  "I was just wondering. Did your brother tell you that the package was fake?"

  "What are you talking about?" Paige stood still in the middle of the room. Her voice sounded weak and thin.

  "Or were you in on it too? Perhaps it was your idea?" Jas leaned back against the dresser.

  "I don't know what you mean. My brother asked me to send him the shit from California. It's our fault that we lost it."

  "That's funny, because it was your idea to hide it in the toilet."

  "Jas," Paige said, walking towards him. Jas didn't move. He took another sip of water. Paige's eyes were pleading. "You don't understand. My brother keeps calling me. I need to give him the money now."

  "Well, that's going to be a problem, because I don't have it."

  "You're kidding." Paige sat down on the edge of the bed.

  "I'm afraid not. You see, the way I look at it, I don't owe anybody anything. That package was fake, and your brother set us up. Hell, I'm pretty sure you both set me up."

  "I have no idea what you're talking about."

  "Really? Let me guess." Brand took a step forward and pointed the bottle at Paige. "Your brother was one of the guys at the party at your house, right? You had seen me around before and figured that my family had some money and that I'd be a easy mark. You and him decided to try and get me to take your fake package to New York, then you'd have me leave it somewhere. That was all part of the plan. Then you'd claim it was gone, and I owed you fifteen grand. Fuck, I bet it wasn't even your house in Carmel, right?" Jas stepped forward again, putting down the water and confronting Paige. She squirmed onto the bed, moving away from him.

  "Jas. This is crazy. My brother went to the restaurant to pick up the package and it was gone. Someone must have found it."

  "That's what you said. Only problem is, your brother can't have gone to the restaurant when he said he did."

  "How do you know?"

  "I just know. Stop lying to me, Paige. I've figured out your little scheme. Whatever was in that package is still tucked away safely inside that toilet tank. My guess is it's worthless. You and your brother won't be getting any money out of me."

  "What are you going to do."

  "What am I going to do?" Jas said, laughing. "What am I going to do? I'm going to walk out of here in a minute and close the door and forget that I ever met you. You should probably get the hell out of here, too. Go back to wherever it is you're from."

  "You don't understand, Jas. My brother will come after you. He'll tell everyone that you stole his drugs. It doesn't matter if it was real or not. He has friends, Jas. He wants the money."

  "I have friends, too. And I'm not afraid of your brother. Tell him if he wants his money, he can come and find me." Jas turned and headed for the door.

  "Alright, okay." Paige climbed off the bed and walked over to Jas. "I knew about the package. It was just a bunch of vitamins. They weren't X. There's never any actual X. I didn't want to get you involved, I liked you, but my brother convinced me to do it. It usually works so well. I'm sorry."

  "It's too late, Paige. I'm outta here."

  "What am I going to tell my brother? He's going to blame me. You don't know what he'll do! He paid for my flight out here, and I'll have to pay him back."

  "Not my problem, Paige." Jas opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.

  "Fuck you!" Paige shouted, her voice trembling.

  "I'm glad I didn't." Said Jas, slamming the door behind him.