The Clique

by Valerie Thomas

  Amanda frowns. “Excuse me?”

  “You’re going to step down as President,” Maddie repeats. “Or, I’m going to tell the Principal about how you snuck into the boys’ locker room to take photos of Dominic Rose.”

  “Yeah, right. Why would I do that?” There’s a panicked edge in Amanda’s voice.

  “You mean step down as President or take photos of Dom? I don’t know the answer to the second, but as to the first—“ Maddie pulls out her phone and flips to an explicit picture “—this is your answer.”

  “Oh god.” Amanda covers her gaping mouth with a hand. “B-but I could just tell them it was you! You took that picture!”

  Maddie smiles, a Devon-ish smirk. “Now, I was told that I was the last in a chain of girls to receive this. A chain that includes all your friends, a few ex-friends, and begins with you. Do you seriously think if the Principal looks into this little incident, that she won’t figure out who’s responsible?”

  Amanda closes her eyes; a single tear works down her cheek. “I didn’t want to. It was a stupid dare, for Cheer. They told me it would be funny. And then my friends wanted to see and—“

  “And now here we are,” Maddie finishes. “Don’t worry, I can keep your secret. If you help me become president, then I’ll help you by forgetting I ever saw this. Just tell Mrs. Hopkins that you have too many demands on your time, and you need to refocus on what’s important to you. Okay?”

  “You’re horrible! I was—I was nice to you!”

  Maddie grimaces. “I’m sorry. I really don’t want to do this, but—I just want to be good enough.”

  Amanda sniffles. “Good enough for what?”

  The questions stops Maddie, forcing her to think about what she’s doing. But it’s too late to back down. Maddie shrugs, putting on a mask of calm. “By the end of Student Council today, I expect to hear that you’ve stepped down.” She steps out of the conference room, leaving a shivering, sniveling mess of what used to be the junior class president. Oh God, she thinks. What am I doing?

  Five minutes before the end of Student Council, Amanda makes a quiet announcement that she won’t be able to fulfill her obligations any more. It takes a second for everyone to realize what that means, but once they do, Maddie’s friends clap her on the back, careful not to celebrate too much. Even Aude cracks a tiny smile.

  Afterwards, Maddie heads to a small park by her house. Even though she isn’t on the Patriots yet, she can still practice the routine, and the dancing helps take her mind off of her conversation with Amanda. The idea of sharing today’s news with her father and, better yet, her mother, is energizing.

  She stretches for a few minutes, then launches into the first moves of the routine. Even though it’s supposed to be a dance routine, there are some simple tumbling moves in the middle that Maddie knows she has to work on. She starts to practice on the soft grass, working her way through those sections of the choreography.

  “Maddie? Maddie Smith?” Maddie turns to locate the speaker. Jonah Beattie, her date to the Back to School Dance, looks back at her. “Didn’t know I’d be seeing you after the dance.”

  She smiles, trying to figure out what Hannah or Aude would say. “Yeah, well, I couldn’t let a boy like you go.”

  Jonah runs a dark hand through his hair. “So you’re stalking me?”

  Maddie giggles. “I think you were stalking me. I was here first.”

  “See, I don’t think so. I think you knew that this was the route I always take home after practice, and you were here waiting for me.” His Under Armour shirt clings to his chest, making each rib and pec visible.

  “Practice? Oh, right, football… How’s your team this year?”

  Jonah grins. “Good, good. Better than that patchwork quilt you call a team over at GW.”

  Maddie shrugs. “Yeah, I don’t really care. Our dance team, though, is gonna kick Fairview’s ass.”

  “Oh, really now?” Jonah takes a few steps back. “Let’s see what you got.”

  She handsprings backward into a twist, ending with a back tuck.

  “Not bad. Not bad. But those girls we’ve got, they can do all kinds of shit.”

  Maddie laughs. “If you’re so interested in Fairview’s girls, how come you’re talking to me?”

  “Well, I didn’t say they were as cute as you. They must have something in the water at GW, cause you and your friends? Damn.”

  “Me and my friends? So not just me?”

  “Well, what do you expect? You and me just went out on one date. And that short friend of yours, she was fi-ine.” Jonah laughs.

  Good lord, Maddie thinks, this is exactly the kind of guy I don’t want. Aude or Hannah would be all over him for sure; he has tall, dark, and handsome down pat. But Maddie still hasn’t given up on finding someone interested in her for—well, her. “Yeah, Aude’s taken. And besides—“ she thinks of Devon, Sean, and Gabe “—you’d be at the end of a very long line.”

  Jonah snorts. “Nah, I was just playing. She’s cute, but I bet she gets annoying too. You, though, I could talk to you all night. Hell, I did talk to you all night.”

  “Aha, thanks... Well, I’d better get back to practicing.”

  “Just like that? Come on, at least lemme get your number.”

  “Hmmm.” Maddie pretends to think about it. “No thanks.”

  Jonah frowns. “Was it ‘cause of the fine comment? Because that was just a joke.” He smiles. “I promise, I’m not really like that. You were there for the after-party. Was I that bad?”

  “No, I guess not. Okay, here.” She gestures for his phone.

  Chapter Seventeen

  As Kate opens her front door, she notices the moon’s already out. The sun hasn’t quite gone down, but there’s the moon, jumping the gun.

  “Hey Kate!” Aude smiles sweetly.

  “Don’t think this means anything, Aude. I just needed a ride to this party. And since you’re hell bent on being my chauffeur, I figured you could interrupt your Friday night to take me.”

  Aude shrugs. “Okay. Where are we going?”

  Kate tells her the address, and then returns to her silent game. She can’t manage to pretend to forgive Aude like Devon wanted, but she’s getting her to the stupid party.

  “So, Gabe believed me,” Aude says. “He said that he couldn’t understand why you didn’t. And Maddie, well, she told me she wasn’t actually sure that she saw what she said she did.”

  Kate doesn’t answer; instead, she turns the radio on and cranks up the volume. They listen to teen pop at about ten times reasonable volume until Aude finds the correct house. She pulls up to the curb and waits for Kate to get out.

  “Come on,” Kate says, “I’ll need a ride home.”

  Aude looks at a blue light coming from the house’s open garage. “Call me. I’ll come pick you up. But my parents want me home soon so uh, no thanks.”

  Kate puts on her not-messing-around face. “If you’re serious about wanting to fix our friendship, you’ll come inside.”

  “I’m serious about fixing our friendship. But I don’t want to go in.”

  “Aude, if you don’t come in, I won’t let you drive me to school anymore. And I’ll never talk to you again.”

  Aude sighs. “Okay, fine.” She follows Kate, into the garage and the house.

  Someone obviously spent a lot of time and effort on the party. Every room is lined with a different color of light. Kate leads the way from a red kitchen over to the green living room, where most of the partyers—and more importantly, the alcohol—are.

  She fills up a red cup, and another, and hands one to Aude. “I’ll find you when I’m ready to go,” she says.

  Even in the dim light, Kate can tell Aude looks confused. “Um, I can’t drink, can I? If I’m gonna drive you?”

  “Sure you can. Drink up. Drink, Aude.”

  Aude takes a small sip.

  “Keep going.” Once she’s finished the first, Kate thinks, that’ll be enough. She’ll start drink
ing on her own, right? But she doesn’t. Kate has to keep an eye on her, babysitting her ex-friend and demanding that Aude drink. The party starts to feel less like relaxation and more like a job.

  A short senior boy starts hitting on Aude. She brushes him off, at first.

  Kate pulls him aside. “Stay here. She’ll get pretty wild in a bit, I promise.”

  “I dunno. She said she had a boyfriend.”

  “So? It isn’t anything serious.” No, just a two-year long relationship. Nothing serious at all. For a moment, Kate feels almost guilty. But then she remembers the sinking feeling of hearing her best friend betrayed her.

  True to form, Aude gets tipsier and tipsier as the night progresses. Soon, she doesn’t need Kate to tell her to drink; she fills up her cup and empties it again in a matter of minutes. “I’m kinda sick of talking. Let’s find something to do!” It’s almost as if she’s forgotten Kate is no longer her best friend.

  “I have an idea, Aude! You wanna play truth or dare?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Perfect.” They find a few boys, and begin a game. Kate demands the seat to Aude’s left, and endures a few tedious truths before it’s her turn. “Truth,” she says.

  “Okay.” The boy to her left has a weird scar running along his eyebrow. Kate tries not to stare. “What is your most, like, exotic fantasy?”

  Kate snorts. “To have a boyfriend that doesn’t cheat on me. Your turn, Aude.”

  Aude’s eyes go in and out of focus. “Um, truth.”

  “Nah, I think you want a dare.”

  “I do?”

  Kate smiles. “Yeah, of course. Don’t you always say truth is the wimp’s way out?”

  “Uh huh, I guess. Okay, dare then.”

  This is gonna be good, Kate thinks. She points to the senior boy eyeing Aude hungrily. “I dare you to give him a lap dance.” She slides her phone out of a back pocket.

  “Oh. I, uh, I dunno. What if Gabe found out?”

  “Come on, we won’t tell him.” Everyone in the group nods. “Here, let me help you out of that.” For added effect, Kate pulls her friend’s shirt off, revealing a pink lace bra. She’s so malleable drunk, like a little doll.

  “Uh, okay.” Aude obediently slides over to the boy, takes a steadying breath, and leans back into him, grinding against his lap for several seconds. She even gives a small wink. All on Kate’s phone.

  “Okay, Aude, you stay here. I’m gonna go make a call.” Kate finds a secluded room, turns on a lamp, and watches the video. Aude’s face is clearly visible, and for five seconds or so she seems to actually be enjoying herself. Kate sends it to Devon.

  He replies, This is perfect. I’ll make sure the right people see this.

  Kate doesn’t ask who the right people are. She takes a few minutes to savor her revenge, and then rejoins the party.

  Aude is nowhere to be found. Kate searches every room on the main floor, but can’t spot her. Finally, the second floor is the only place left to look. There are a few rooms in the hallway, but only two with their doors closed. Kate closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and opens the first.

  “Hey!” a dark-skinned boy yells, nearly jumping off the toilet. “What the fu—Kate?”

  Kate frowns, recognizing the boy. Jonah. She gives a weak apology, closes the door, and crosses to the other. There are definite sounds of kissing coming from the other side—she takes another breath and shoves the door open.

  The boy Aude was dancing on turns around, his eyes wide like a frightened raccoon. “Don’t you know how to knock? Oh, it’s you… You were right, your friend really is wild.”

  Kate’s eyes move from the boy to the form under him—the familiar shade of blonde, the protesting movements and sounds, too weak to fight anyone off. “Get off her,” Kate demands.

  The boy laughs. “Why? We’re just having fun.”

  “Do what she says.” Kate turns and nearly bumps into Jonah; his face is set in a snarl, and he looks ready for a fight.

  The boy on top of Aude smiles. “Dude, look at it this way: two girls, two guys. It’s perfect.” When the offer doesn’t do anything to change the situation, he holds up his hands and moves off Aude. “Okay, I don’t wanna fight. I’ll just, uh, go.”

  “Yeah, you do that.” Jonah moves aside to let the boy through. He holds out a hand. “I’m Jonah. From Nate’s party?”

  “Yeah, I remember.” Kate feels bile rise in her throat at the mention of that night. “Can you help me get Aude to her car?”

  “Sure.” Jonah lifts Aude, and brings her down the stairs.

  Kate leads the way to her ex-friend’s SUV. “Thanks. I can drive her home.”

  “Hold on, how much have you had to drink?” Jonah asks as he sets Aude down in the back seat.

  “Uh, not much. Don’t worry, I can drive.”

  Jonah shakes his head. “No, I don’t think so. Where do you live?”

  Kate hesitates, but gives him her address. He crosses to the driver’s side. Kate opens the passenger door and climbs in. “So you aren’t drunk?”

  Jonah laughs. “No, not at all. I just came to hang out.” He stops at an intersection, frowns at the rearview mirror. “Can I ask what’s going on?”

  “Huh?”

  “With her. I mean, I saw you pumping drinks into your friend. Why?”

  Kate shrugs. “She isn’t my friend anymore. She—well, she had sex with my boyfriend.”

  “Oh...” Jonah shakes his head. “I’m really sorry to hear that. But still, you put her in a lot of danger back there. Should I take a left here?”

  “Uh huh. Look, you don’t understand.” Kate sighs and looks out the window. “I just wanted to get payback, to hurt her like she hurt me.”

  “Oh, I understand revenge plenty. I just don’t agree with it.” He pulls up to Kate’s house. “Is it safe to leave you two alone?

  “What do you mean?”

  “You aren’t going to try to get revenge again, right?”

  Kate nods. “Yeah. I promise.”

  Jonah gives Aude one last look, then turns back to Kate. “No matter what someone does, they don’t deserve what almost happened to her. She could’ve gotten raped. You understand that, right?”

  “I know. And I’m glad she didn’t.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Aude nearly trips over a waiter. “Whoa, sorry!” The waiter shakes his head and pushes past. Ugh, I should’ve skipped date night this week, she thinks. I’m so tired.

  “Aude, keep walking. You’re gonna lose the host guy.”

  “Yeah, okay.” Aude follows the man to a red leather booth. She sits down and scoots over; Gabe sits down beside her.

  “Damn, it’s Aude!” Devon and his brother look like they’re having a great time in the booth across the aisle.

  “Just ignore him, babe.” Gabe takes the menus from the table and hands one to Aude.

  It isn’t Devon who speaks next, but Dom. “Yo, Gabe. How come you’re still with her? Didn’t you hear her and Sean got real friendly last week?” He moans loudly.

  Gabe rises to his feet, bumping the table as he does. “That was just a rumor! And you know what? At least I have a girlfriend. Not like you, out with your bro on a Saturday.”

  Dom comes to his feet as well. He only comes up to Gabe’s shoulders. “You’re right. Why don’t I get a girl? Hey Aude, you wanna fuck me too?”

  It only takes one look at Gabe’s face to realize what he’s about to do. Aude grabs his arm with both hands, hoping to keep him back. “Gabe, come on, let’s just sit down. Okay?”

  “He insulted you, babe. And he’s spreading those fucking lies!”

  “I know, I know, but it’s okay. Here, come on, just sit down in the booth. There you go. What do you want?” Aude glares at the boys.

  “I could take ‘em, Aude. You know that.”

  “Oh, I know you could. But you know what? It wouldn’t mean anything. They’re gonna say what they’re gonna say, and you can’t stop them.”

>   Gabe takes a breath and smiles. “How did you get so wise?”

  Aude giggles. “By not using cuss words.”

  “Oh, that’s the secret, huh? Then I’ll never cuss again.” They take a look at their menus as the waitress approaches.

  “Welcome to Chili’s! Can I get y’all anything? Something to drink, an appetizer?”

  “Um, yeah,” Gabe says. “Can we get some chips and salsa, please?”

  “Chips and salsa.” The waitress takes a note. “And to drink?”

  Aude waits for Gabe to order first. “Root beer, please.”

  “Just water, please.”

  “Okay, water and root beer.” The waitress flashes a smile. “Date night?”

  “Yup,” Aude answers. “It was our two year anniversary last week.”

  “Oh, isn’t that just adorable! I’ll go put your orders in.”

  She’s barely taken four steps when Dom says something under his breath. Aude doesn’t quite catch it, but Gabe and Devon do. Devon smacks his brother as Gabe struggles to get to his feet.

  “Sorry, Dom can be an asshole sometimes,” Devon says.

  “What did he say?” Aude asks, looking at Gabe.

  “Nothing,” he answers, sitting back down.

  “No, tell me.”

  “You don’t wanna hear it. Trust me.”

  “Okay.” The conversation drops off while they wait for their food. Devon and his brother finish and get up to leave. Dom walks by with an embarrassed expression.

  Devon waits at Aude and Gabe’s table until his brother’s out of earshot. “I’m sorry about him,” he says. “Truth is, he’s just jealous. Thanks for not killing him, Gabe.”

  Did Devon just—? Aude frowns at him. Wow, that seems almost mature.

  “No problem.” Gabe nods to the other boy. “Listen, though, you’d better get him straightened out before Monday. If I hear him saying that shit in school…“ he leaves the threat unfinished.

  “Yeah, I gotcha. Don’t worry about it. Well, I’ll see you around, guys.” He walks out of the restaurant.

  They get their appetizers, order a sampler platter to share for their main course, and Gabe even splurges on a small lava cake.