Pretty Little Devils

by Nancy Holder

  “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.”

  “Bonne nuit,” Ellen said sweetly.

  “Bonne nuit,” Megan replied, lifting a beer to her lips.

  Carolyn blew Hazel a kiss. “Bonne nuit, Haze.”

  “Good night,” she said to the group.

  “Uh-uh-uh.” Sylvia wagged her finger. “Dis-nous, ‘Bonne nuit.’”

  “Bonne nuit,” Hazel said shyly.

  “Not a bad accent,” Sylvia told her. “You’ve got potential.”

  YOU HAVE ENTERED

  The Pretty Little Devils Chat room

  THIS IS A PRIVATE CHAT ROOM FOR INVITED MEMBERS ONLY

  Members in chat room:

  PLDCARO

  PLDMEG

  PLDSLY

  PLDSLY: H is perfect!

  PLDCARO: H is cool. Oui.

  PLDMEG: Still like just us 4.

  PLDSLY: Ellen factor, remember?

  PLDMEG: OK. I guess oui. But El’s not here 2 vote.

  PLDSLY: It’s cool. She luvs H. She already told me.

  PERSONALBLOG

  HAPPY2BME

  THE PLDS LIKE BEING SCARED? WAIT TILL THEY FIND OUT WHAT I DID.

  POOR KITTY, KITTY THAT WILL NEVER COME HOME. IT WAS A GOOD WARM-UP, BUT IT’S TIME TO WORK MY WAY UP THE FOOD CHAIN!

  CHAPTER THREE

  “You were there, Hazel. I saw you!” Lakshmi whispered in the cafeteria the next day.

  “Saw her where?” LaToya asked.

  “At a PLDs’ party,” Lakshmi continued. “I was at my grandmother’s house last night. On my way home I saw all these cars and everyone going into this house. Trina Esposito, Stephan Nylund…It had to be a PLD party. And Hazel’s car was there—parked right next to Sylvia Orly’s!”

  “Oh my God,” LaToya gushed. “Hazel, is it true?”

  Hazel nodded. She felt guilty about being at the party without the rest of the group, but they were bound to find out eventually.

  “They were hanging out in someone’s backyard,” Lakshmi continued. “And they were smoking pot!”

  “Whoa!” Jamie gasped. “Hazel, did you do it?”

  “No, I—” Hazel stared at Lakshmi. “Wait. How do you know about that?”

  Lakshmi shrugged. “I saw your car. I wanted to find out what was going on. I snuck around the back and peeked over the fence.” She turned to the others. “You guys, the entire football team was there!”

  “That’s so amazing,” LaToya gushed. “Hazel, why didn’t you tell us Sylvia invited you?”

  Hazel frowned. “She told me to keep it a secret.”

  “Well, how was it? Was it as wild as everyone says?” Jamie asked eagerly.

  “Yes…and no,” Hazel answered.

  “You have to get us invited to the next one,” LaToya insisted.

  Hazel just stared. It was kind of sad, really. Lakshmi, LaToya, and Jamie had no clue. The chances of them actually being invited to a PLD party were slim to none.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” she fibbed. “In the meantime, Sylvia asked me to sit with her and the PLDs at lunch. Is that cool?”

  “The coolest,” Lakshmi said. Her smile seemed genuine, a mixture of pride and happiness for one of her closest friends.

  Jamie and LaToya nodded like bobbleheads. Their awe knew no bounds. “Go on. Tell us all about it later, okay?”

  “Of course,” Hazel said, unsure if she was lying or not.

  Tray in hand, she made the long walk over to Sylvia’s table. As usual, the PLDs were looking fine. Sylvia was dressed in a sweet, blue-flowered, ruffled skirt and a blue stretchy top. Megan had on tan capris and pointed metallic flats very much like the ones Hazel had worn to the party.

  Hazel had ransacked her closet for the perfect outfit, coming up with a black skirt and kimono top. The skirt was just a bit too long. But she had good black boots, so that helped.

  Hazel couldn’t help noticing that people were watching her as she made her way toward the PLDs. At every table, heads turned and kids nudged each other, taking in the new development.

  Then Hazel saw that Matty’s eyes were on her too. He gave her a nod, almost as if he were offering her encouragement. Her face went hot.

  “Hey,” she said as she reached the PLDs’ table.

  “Bonjour,” Sylvia greeted her. “Have a seat.”

  Hazel set down her tray and pulled out the chair next to Ellen’s. The four PLDs shifted, leaning forward.

  Sylvia folded her hands. “Get home okay?”

  “Yes, thanks. I mean, merci,” Hazel corrected. “Did you find the cat?”

  “No,” Sylvia told her, her full lips pouting for all they were worth. “Poor kitty.”

  “It’s okay,” Ellen cut in. “I’m sure he’ll turn up.”

  “Well, it was a great party,” Hazel said.

  “Just a typical little soiree,” Sylvia said airily. “Nice to see that Matty Vardeman accepted his invitation, no?”

  “Yes. Thank you for that.”

  “He’s looking straight at you,” Sylvia informed her.

  Hazel shrugged. “Lots of people are looking at me.” As if Matty’s attention made no difference. Sylvia’s smile grew.

  “Speaking of invitations,” Sylvia continued, “we’ve been thinking about inviting you to something else.” She paused dramatically. Hazel’s eyes darted to each one of the PLDs’ faces. Her stomach gave a little flip.

  “God, Sylvia, cut the drama. You’re going to make her nuts,” Megan said.

  Sylvia shot Megan a glare before continuing. “Here’s the deal. We’ve been talking about adding another person to the PLDs. How would you feel about joining our little group?”

  Hazel blinked in astonishment. Was she dreaming? This wasn’t just beyond comprehension, it was…too good to be true.

  “Sylvia,” she began in the calmest voice she could muster. “Is this a joke?”

  “Why would we joke? You’re smart, you’ve got style and attitude, and we think you’re cool. You’d make a perfect PLD. There will have to be a probationary period, of course.” Sylvia paused. “And you’ll have to earn your place.”

  “Like an initiation,” Megan supplied.

  “It sounds crass, but Megan’s right. It is like an initiation. We have stages.” Sylvia raised a finger. “Stage one is party conduct. You passed that.”

  “Stage two—prank,” Carolyn said, holding up two fingers. “She passed that.”

  “Then you’ll have to do a babysitting job,” Sylvia said, “Which is a no-brainer. I mean, who hasn’t babysat by the time she’s a junior in high school?”

  “So that’s it?” Hazel asked. “That’s all it takes?”

  “Well, there are some other things. But you’ll find out about those later.” Carolyn gave an impish grin.

  “We have a chat room and everything,” Ellen cut in excitedly. She grabbed Hazel’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You’ll love it.”

  Sylvia bit her bottom lip as if she were hesitating to deliver bad news. “You will have to get a cell phone.”

  “Um, I don’t know if my parents will—” Hazel began.

  “Oh, don’t worry about them. I’ll just buy one and you can pay me back with your share of the sitting money.”

  “Really?” Hazel asked. “Wow. Thanks!”

  The sitting money. The parties. The status. It was all beginning to sink in.

  Just days ago Hazel had been wishing for the chance to belong to a group as cool as the PLDs. Now they wanted her as one of their own.

  “So, do you think you’d like to give it a go?” Sylvia asked with mock innocence. “It’s not too horrible an idea?”

  Sylvia knew Hazel would be an idiot to say no.

  “Oh, I suppose it’ll help me pass the time,” Hazel replied, using the same nonchalant tone Sylvia used. “That is, if I don’t get too tire
d of all of you.”

  “Well, mes amies?” Sylvia prompted.

  Megan, Carolyn, and Ellen produced little wrapped gifts, which they placed on Hazel’s lunch tray.

  “Welcome, Haze,” Sylvia exclaimed. “We’re happy to have you.”

  “Oh,” Hazel said, thrilled. The others smiled at her, obviously pleased.

  “Allez,” Sylvia said, gesturing to the presents. “Go on. Open them.”

  “That one’s from me,” Ellen said, pointing to a rectangular box wrapped in purple foil.

  Hazel quickly unwrapped it. Inside was a miniature plastic bottle of lavender body lotion.

  “Thank you,” Hazel said sincerely. She uncapped the bottle and smelled the lotion. “Oh, it’s nice.”

  Ellen nodded. “I buy it all the time.”

  Hazel’s hand ranged over the other gifts as she wondered which one to open next. She chose a purple bag, its handles tied with curly ribbons. There was something hard wrapped in white tissue paper inside. She drew it out. It was a purple candle.

  “Short notice,” Carolyn said, as if apologizing for her gift.

  “I love it,” Hazel assured her. She smelled it. “Lavender?”

  “Spring rain,” Carolyn corrected. “Purple and lavender, it gets kind of old.” She looked at Ellen. “No offense.”

  Ellen shifted a tiny bit. “No problem.”

  “Mine’s kind of twisted.” Megan picked up an oblong object about the size of Hazel’s palm, wrapped in purple tissue paper.

  “You? Twisted? That would be new,” Sylvia joked. Megan gave her a little bat on the arm, and everyone laughed.

  Hazel pulled the tissue paper away. It was a replica of a human brain, made out of something purple and squishy.

  “The brain!” Ellen cried. “Oh my God, Megan. You’re giving away your brain?”

  “I stole it from my brother a long time ago,” Megan explained to Hazel. “Because it’s purple, which is our color. Also, because I used to use it on the kids I babysat. I would tell them it belonged to someone who misbehaved. It’s yours now. And trust me—you’re going to need it.”

  Everyone cracked up.

  “It’s true. A lot of the kids we sit are monsters,” Sylvia said. “But their parents realize it, so they pay us a lot of money.”

  “Hey, Sly, what about your present?” Carolyn asked.

  “I’ll give mine to Hazel after school.”

  Hazel’s head reeled. As if being a PLD wasn’t present enough!

  She glanced around the lunchroom. Lakshmi and LaToya caught her eye. They smiled and each gave Hazel a thumbs-up.

  Hazel quickly turned back to her lunch, pretending not to have seen them.

  Ellen slurped the last of her Diet Coke. “Out of soda,” she announced. “Anyone else?”

  Carolyn shook her head. “No thanks, but go ahead. We’ve got time before the bell.”

  Ellen headed toward the serving line. Hazel watched as Brandon left the jock table and joined her there.

  Cosmic soda coincidence? Probably not, Hazel thought.

  The two of them chatted as they went through the line. Brandon stooped slightly, listening carefully to every word Ellen had to say. Hazel was caught off guard by the gentle expression on Brandon’s face. He didn’t seem like the same guy who had destroyed that girl in geometry last year. Maybe Ellen brought out something different in him.

  “They are so not right for each other,” Sylvia mumbled to herself.

  “Really?” Hazel said. “I think they look kind of cute.”

  Sylvia snorted. “You don’t know Brandon like I do.”

  She glared at the pair—like a cat watching the quick, scurrying movements of a mouse.

  Then Josh appeared behind her, and the storm clouds parted.

  “Hey, sexy.” She beamed at him and gave him a kiss.

  He reciprocated, then took in the packages surrounding Hazel. “You guys have presents? Is there a birthday?”

  “We’re celebrating Hazel’s induction. She’s in the club.” Sylvia smiled broadly.

  “No way! Good for you,” Josh congratulated her. “These guys could use some fresh meat.”

  “Don’t be disgusting,” Sylvia said lightly.

  “Well, where’s my present?” he whined, nuzzling her cheek.

  “You’ll have to earn one. Just like Haze.”

  Sylvia turned again to stare at Brandon and Ellen. They were laughing now. Brandon had his arm around Ellen’s shoulders. Sylvia’s lips pressed together to form a grim line.

  “I know!” Sylvia looked at the group and clapped. “Why don’t we learn the word for the day?”

  Hazel had heard about this. For fun, Sylvia taught her friends dirty words in French. Then they worked them into regular conversation, making everyone wonder what they were talking about.

  “Why don’t we wait for Ellen?” Hazel asked.

  “She looks busy,” Sylvia scoffed. “Today’s word is salope. It means ‘whore’ in French, only it’s more shocking than if we say whore in English.”

  “Context?” Carolyn ventured.

  “Breona is a salope,” Sylvia provided.

  The girls giggled and Josh turned slightly pink.

  “Hazel, on the other hand,” Sylvia continued, “is as far away from a salope as one can get.”

  “Oui,” Carolyn agreed. “She has good hair, good style. Hazel rules.”

  “You want her,” Megan sneered.

  “Shut up, Megan,” Carolyn snapped.

  “Now, ladies.” Sylvia put her arm around Hazel. “We all want her. Everyone is in love with Hazel. She’s our one true love. Someday we’ll move to Canada—French Canada—and marry her.”

  Sylvia and Carolyn beamed at her, and, as silly as it all sounded, Hazel was flattered.

  The bell rang and Hazel gathered up her presents. The PLDs walked out of the lunchroom in a pack—first Sylvia, then Megan and Caroline, then Hazel and Ellen. All of them turned heads as they went. Josh came up beside Sylvia, and Matty fell into step with Hazel.

  “Hey,” Matty said.

  “Hi,” she said softly. He tentatively put his arm around her and Hazel leaned into him. As they passed by a group of senior girls, Hazel noticed them whispering, shooting her envious glances.

  This is what it’s like being a PLD. You get the most attention, the hottest guys. And I’m one of them now! Hazel realized, amazed. I’m one of them and there’s no way I’m ever going back! She gazed up at Matty and smiled.

  “Jenna Babcock’s skirt is way too short today,” Carolyn said. “She looks like a total salope.”

  “Mais oui,” Sylvia replied. “And good usage, ma cherie.”

  “Wait,” Ellen ventured. “Is that a new word?”

  “Bien sûr,” Sylvia replied.

  “Bien sûr,” Carolyn said.

  “Well, what does it mean?”

  Sylvia only laughed. Ellen looked from Carolyn to Megan. They both shrugged.

  Finally, Ellen turned to Hazel. “Do you know what it means?” she asked.

  “Of course she does,” Sylvia informed her.

  Ellen suddenly looked panicked. “What did I do? Is it my hair? I’m getting a new cut, I swear.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Sylvia drawled. “But if you want to know what the word means, maybe you should ask Brandon.”

  She chuckled as Josh wrapped both his arms around her waist and murmured, “Salope,” in her ear.

  Ellen stopped dead in her tracks. She wore a strange expression.

  Was it sadness? Concern?

  “Ellen?” Hazel asked. “Are you okay?”

  “Sure,” Ellen whispered. She stared as Sylvia and the rest of the group strolled away with Josh.

  No one looked back.

  After school the PLDs met Hazel at her locker. “We’re going to Starbucks,” Sylvia said. “Time to give you our last gift.”

  The group settled around a table by the window. Hazel offered to order everyone’s drinks, but Sylvia waved her h
and. “Don’t be silly. When you’re a PLD, the drinks come to you.”

  As if on cue, one of the counter people—a good-looking college guy—approached the table. Sylvia flirted with him for a minute or two, leading him on just enough to give him a tiny bit of hope. Soon after, each of the PLDs was gifted with the Frappuccino of her choice.

  Hazel took a sip. It was a small thing, she knew, but real evidence of the kind of influence a group like the PLDs could have.

  Everyone chatted for a while, eager to let off steam about school before getting down to PLD business. Hazel stirred her Frap with her straw. She glanced up when the door opened.

  And swallowed when she saw who walked in.

  Lakshmi.

  What was she doing here?

  Hazel knew Lakshmi wanted to be in with the popular crowd—maybe even more than Hazel did—but didn’t she know how pathetic she seemed, following the PLDs around like a puppy?

  Lakshmi caught sight of Hazel. Her face broke into a broad smile. She waved and started to approach.

  Oh God, Hazel thought. Don’t come over here. Not now.

  She frowned at Lakshmi and shook her head subtly—almost imperceptibly—hoping she would get the hint.

  Lakshmi stopped, confused. Then realization dawned. She changed course and made her way to the register to order her drink.

  Whew, Hazel thought. That was close.

  “And now, Haze, it’s time for your final present,” Sylvia announced. She pulled out a small, rectangular package in purple wrapping and placed it in front of Hazel.

  “You guys know you didn’t have to do this,” Hazel gushed. “All the gifts were so unexpected.”

  “Just open it,” Sylvia commanded. “This one is the most important of all.”

  Hazel unwrapped the package and found that it contained a small purple notebook. It had been carefully decorated with stickers, mostly of purple flowers. The center of the cover read:

  PURPLEHAZE

  PLD HANDBOOK

  Hazel opened it. There was a sparkly pen topped with a purple feather lying on the first page, which read, RULES.

  “It looks silly, but we wrote these up in middle school, so we tried to make yours look like a little replica of the originals,” Sylvia explained. “We’ve made a few amendments, but the rules are basically the same ones we started out with.”