Belles

by Jen Calonita

  “Small world, huh?” Izzie said. She couldn’t stomach watching Savannah hang on him. They were definitely a couple.

  “Iz,” Brayden said, peeling himself off his girlfriend, “you’re bleeding. Maybe you should have your hand looked at.”

  “I’m fine, Brayden,” Izzie said tightly. She felt like the sound was being sucked out of the room. Suddenly she was angry with him. They had spent almost the entire summer together. How could Brayden not mention he had a girlfriend? Or have told her where he was from? Maybe they didn’t know each other as well as she’d thought.

  “Iz?” Savannah repeated Brayden’s nickname for her curiously, her eyes dark. “Do you two know each other?”

  Brayden looked at Izzie, and the pain in his eyes was way too obvious. “I… we…”

  Izzie quickly cut off his stammering. “No,” she said flatly, trying not to sound as hurt as she felt. “We don’t know each other at all.”

  Then Izzie turned and rushed out of the cafeteria before anyone could see the tear roll down her cheek.

  Eight

  “What happened to you?” Hayden dropped his backpack and plopped onto the leather chair next to Izzie in the den.

  Some mindless Fire and Ice show was on and Izzie hadn’t had the energy to find the remote and shut it off. She thought watching The Cliffs spin-off with Marleyna and Brooke would lighten her mood, but instead it made her feel worse. Marleyna and Brooke reminded her of Savannah, and when she thought of Savannah, she thought about Brayden. She didn’t want to think of Brayden ever again.

  “Izzie? You in there?” Hayden waved a hand in front of her face. “I thought I was supposed to give you a ride home after third period. I tried your phone three times.”

  “Sorry.” Emerald Prep was the first school Izzie had ever heard of that had parent-teacher conferences the first week of school. It was only her fourth day at EP and yet as she sat on the couch, her aunt was there giving Izzie’s teachers the lowdown on her. Izzie wasn’t sure if her aunt knew enough about her to talk about what kind of student she was, but she was grateful for the conference all the same. Getting out at eleven fifteen meant she got to skip lunch, which meant avoiding Brayden and the battle to find someone to eat with.

  Hayden pulled off his dress shoes and propped his feet on the ottoman. “How’d you get home?”

  “I walked,” Izzie said as if it were obvious.

  Hayden’s feet fell off the ottoman with a thud. “It’s over two miles.”

  She shrugged. “The boardwalk is that long, and we walk that back and forth all the time.”

  Hayden laughed. “You are nothing like the girls in Emerald Cove, you know that? Most would rather get a ride half a block than risk chipping their pedicures.”

  “Ah, so that’s why they want nothing to do with me.” The words slipped out before Izzie knew what she was saying. Hayden was watching her and she quickly looked away. She hated sounding so pathetic.

  “Hey,” he said, touching her knee. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing.” Izzie tried to ignore him by staring at the shampoo commercial on TV. Why did girls on commercials always act like washing their hair was so exciting?

  “Liar.” Hayden grabbed the remote from the couch and shut off the TV. “I know we barely know each other, but you can talk to me, you know.”

  Izzie didn’t know Hayden that well, but if there was anyone in the house she felt at ease with, it was him. Who else was she going to tell? Kylie didn’t get it. She thought taking a swing at a few of the future Miss North Carolinas would solve everything. Grams hadn’t been well enough to take a call from her, and her aunt just wanted to make sure Izzie had enough jewelry to accessorize her uniform. Izzie had to trust Hayden because if she didn’t unload on someone, she would be crushed under the weight of it all. She didn’t have swimming or lifeguarding at the moment, and that had always been her stress release.

  She sighed. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”

  “Why else would I ask?” Hayden grinned. “Talk!”

  “Okay.” She pulled a pillow to her chest. “I know I’m at a new school, and I’m not going to win prom queen overnight,” she deadpanned. “But I feel like a social leper.”

  “Seriously?” Hayden looked puzzled. “Because Mira said—”

  “People talk to me,” Izzie cut him off. She knew she was being confusing, but she was confused, too. She didn’t mention Mira’s behavior. She had a feeling they wouldn’t be the best of friends, but Mira’s attitude still stung. “Everyone’s almost too sweet when they meet me. But then the minute I try to make actual conversation with them, they brush me off, like they don’t want to be caught dead at the same lab table.” Her voice sounded pained and she hated that.

  “I don’t—why would they do that?” Hayden seemed as confused as she was. “My friends all thought you were cool.” He winked. “I guess us juniors are just more mature.” Then his face clouded over. “Did Mira’s friends give you a hard time? Because some of those girls I avoid like the plague.”

  She felt like she was treading on shaky ground. EP was Hayden’s school. Mira was his sister. Should she really be saying these things? “Maybe they’re acting this way because of all that stuff written about me in the papers,” Izzie said, not looking him in the eye. “I think the fact that I’m from Harborside freaks some of them out.”

  “That’s insane.” Hayden sounded annoyed. He leaned back in his chair with a thud. “Did any of them actually come out and say that?”

  Hayden was a good guy, which made what she was going to say next that much harder.

  “No,” Izzie admitted. “It’s just a feeling I get. Maybe some of them think I don’t deserve to be here.” She shrugged. “I can’t say I blame them. I did—as the papers say—become an overnight princess.” She gave him a look. “But it’s not like I asked for any of this. Two weeks ago, I’d never even heard of Emerald Cove. I didn’t even know I was coming here. But I’m here, and I’m giving this my best shot. I know Grams would want that, but now…” She felt hot tears spring to her eyes. “Hayden, they know everything about me. My mom’s death, how Grams couldn’t pay our bills, what my house looked like,” she whispered. “Some of these papers even interviewed my old neighbors. It’s like I never had a chance.”

  “Izzie, I’m so sorry,” Hayden said, shaking his head. “I didn’t think people here would be like that. My friends aren’t that way, I swear, but Mira’s grade thinks they rule the world already. Or at least Emerald Cove.” His face twisted angrily. “When I see Mira, I’m going to—”

  “No,” Izzie said sharply. “I can handle this. I’ve never been the kind of girl who just lies down and dies.” Her voice regained some of its strength. “I just wanted you to know why I may seem a bit mopey.” She had overheard Mira using that word to describe her the night before. “I’ll figure things out,” she said. “The TV and newspaper stuff just threw me.”

  “You have to know, Mom wanted to kill Dad over the news coverage and Lucas—I thought she was going to hang Lucas upside down by his Gucci loafers,” Hayden said. “She practically strong-armed all of us into not telling you what was going on. That’s why she fled with you to Atlanta. She thought you wouldn’t find out. Pretty stupid of us, huh?”

  “No.” Izzie smiled to herself. “It’s actually nice.” She was touched to think her aunt was trying to protect her. How could she be mad at her about that?

  “Dad’s a good guy, too. He’s just easily swayed by Lucas,” Hayden said. “That guy has never met a press opportunity he didn’t like. But he should have run it by you. They were wrong, just like Mira’s friends are. Don’t let Mira, Savannah, or their minions get to you.” Izzie looked down at the raw silk pillow still in her arms. “You can hang with my friends anytime. We’re family. We’ve got to stick together.”

  “I don’t really feel like family.” She was being honest.

  “Yeah, well, sometimes I don’t, either,” Hayden said, making Izzie curious. “
Or at least, I have my moments. Dad once told the world my life story at a press conference. He told everyone how he adopted me.” Her eyes widened. He picked up his backpack and pointed to the monogram: HDM. “Bill is not my real dad. This D stands for Denton. That was my dad’s last name. He was a Marine who died in the line of duty when I was a baby. Mom and Bill started dating afterward and pretty much got married right away. Lucas made Dad use the story in a speech last year.” He dropped the backpack on the floor. “Everyone at school was talking about me, too.”

  “That’s so unfair!” It made her angry to think of anyone giving Hayden a tough time.

  “I was too young to remember my dad.” Hayden stared at the empty fireplace. “But I was more angry that Lucas exploited my story like that.” She nodded. “Eventually I got over it. People stopped talking. I never wasted energy on the people who claimed I wasn’t a real Monroe. I know who I am. I’ve got my father’s picture in my room, but Bill’s the only dad I’ve ever known,” he explained. “Bill adopted me, so I’m officially a Monroe, but I don’t always think like one. I still see my dad’s family, and they definitely don’t have money like this.” He looked around the den, which was probably the same size as Izzie’s entire first floor at Grams’s. “I know how weird it can be living in two different worlds.”

  “My mom died when I was almost ten,” Izzie said suddenly. Her voice sounded foreign to her. “Car accident.”

  “That’s rough,” Hayden said. “I’m sorry. You never get used to it, do you?”

  “No,” Izzie agreed. It turned out she and Hayden had more in common than she’d realized. He might not remember his dad, but she remembered her mom and thought about her a lot. It was hard not to imagine how different her life would have been if her mom were still alive.

  “It won’t always be this rough,” Hayden promised her. “Give it a few weeks. There are a lot of cool people at EP. There has to be at least one person you’ve met who you like.”

  Brayden’s face flashed in her mind. Why was he there? He hadn’t even admitted to knowing her. Before she could think about that question further, she heard the front door open.

  The click-clack of heels was heard from the foyer. “Hello? Hayden? Isabelle?”

  “Thanks.” Izzie finally released the pillow she had been squeezing. She fluffed it up in its rightful corner.

  “Anytime,” he said, standing and stretching. “Watch. In a month, you’re going to love it.”

  “Love what?” her aunt asked, entering the kitchen with two shopping bags. Her blond hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and she was wearing a short-sleeve white sweater and khaki capris. Connor wheeled in a Star Wars backpack behind her and was followed closely by Mira, who avoided making eye contact. Things had been sort of awkward between them since their cafeteria encounter. Mira was polite to Izzie at school, but at home Mira hadn’t brought up what had happened, and neither had Izzie. If anything, Mira was being overly pleasant at home, especially when they talked about mundane things like toothpaste (“Do you want to use the Colgate Total Whitening or the Crest 3D White? It makes your teeth so white!”).

  Hayden winked at Izzie. “We were talking about the regatta this weekend.”

  “I forgot to tell you about that, Isabelle,” her aunt gasped.

  “The preparty is the kickoff of the fall season,” Hayden told Izzie. “Great place to be seen, as Mira would say.”

  Mira gave him a look. “Everyone from school will be there,” she said, falling into EC tour-guide mode again. “They have it at the boathouse, and Mom’s Emerald Cove Cares Club matches the money raised dollar for dollar. What’s this year’s cause, Mom?” She took an apple from the fruit basket.

  “Cardinals,” Aunt Maureen said without a hint of irony. “It is our job to ensure they are well-protected. They are the EC mascot and the North Carolina state bird.”

  Izzie bit her lip. The last she checked, the cardinal wasn’t an endangered species.

  Izzie’s aunt began unloading containers of fruit and bottles of seltzer. “I’m so sorry I didn’t remember to tell you earlier, Isabelle. We’ll need to go shopping again.” She paused, seltzer in midair. “Forgive me, sweetie, but I went through your closet the other day, and there is not a single dress in there.”

  Izzie wasn’t sure she could handle more shopping, but her aunt seemed to find it therapeutic. They’d spent three hours in Bed Bath & Beyond finding Izzie the perfect comforter to complement her personality.

  “You’re toast,” Hayden whispered, and flipped on the TV. “Run while you can.”

  “Do I have to wear a dress?” Izzie asked tentatively. “Can’t I wear those pants you bought me?”

  “Pants?” Her aunt said the word like it was tainted. “You can’t wear pants to a cocktail party.” She set the bag of apples she was holding firmly on the table. “That’s it. Clear your afternoon.”

  “I didn’t actually have anything planned,” Izzie said. Until swim tryouts next week, she had nothing going on. She hadn’t brought up the club lifeguarding job again. It sounded dull.

  Her aunt looked relieved. “Good. We’re going shopping!”

  “We don’t have to,” Izzie insisted. This was why she needed to find that girl Violet again and hang out with her—to avoid doing stuff like this. “You got me so much already. The computer and the phone…”

  “You needed them!” she insisted. “Just like you need more clothes. Isabelle, you don’t have anything appropriate to wear to cotillion practices.”

  “Cotillion?” Izzie looked at Hayden. He made a strangling motion.

  “But I’m getting ahead of myself,” Aunt Maureen said, her blond ponytail dancing as she shook her head. “That’s not till late fall. For now, we need some Vera Wang and maybe some cashmere.” She was talking a foreign language. “Mirabelle, want to come help me whip her wardrobe into shape?”

  “I’d love to, but I’m meeting Savannah,” Mira said between bites of apple.

  “You can meet her anytime,” Izzie’s aunt insisted. “Isabelle needs us.” She sounded so passionate that Izzie would have thought she was talking about her cardinal mission, not gown shopping.

  “I want to help,” Mira said smiling tightly at Izzie. “But Savannah—”

  “—will understand.” Izzie’s aunt headed toward the front door. “Let’s go, girls. Christoff’s is waiting.”

  Mira and Izzie looked at each other. Izzie really thought they did have one thing in common: Neither of them wanted to hang out together.

  “Aunt Maureen, it’s fine! Really!” Izzie tried one last time. “I’m not really a dress kind of a girl.”

  She saw the look of horror on her aunt’s face and wished she could take the comment back. It was as if Izzie had just told her she was a Communist.

  Then her aunt’s face relaxed. Her green eyes glowed as she opened the front door and grabbed her keys. “Honey, that’s just because you haven’t shopped with the right person yet.”

  Nine

  “We’ll start with Christoff’s, and if they have nothing special, we can go to Saks. Worst-case scenario, we head to Nordstrom tomorrow. If you need something altered, we really need to find it today so I have time to call in a favor with my tailor.” Her mom sounded like she was planning a battle as she explained the strategies of dress shopping to Izzie from the front seat of their Range Rover.

  Mira had her own battle brewing. Savannah hadn’t texted her back about Mira’s bailing again on her, and it was making her nervous. The last thing she wanted was to face Savannah’s wrath. She had been in a particularly foul mood about Brayden that week. She said she felt like he was acting weird—not that she wanted anyone to know that. Mira closed her eyes just as her phone started to vibrate.

  TAYLOR’S CELL: R U coming 2 practice today? Miss U!!!

  Mira groaned. Taylor! She had forgotten about his practice. She hadn’t made it to one yet, but she couldn’t tell him why. She hadn’t told anyone, but she’d decided to take an art class af
ter all. Actually, two classes, if she could make the scheduling work—painting and sculpting! (She had met with her guidance counselor and switched out of public speaking, and painting was during study hall, so hopefully that would work out, too.) Maybe she had an artist’s eye, like Mr. Capozo had said, but she wouldn’t know if she didn’t take the time to find out.

  She just had to keep it a secret. Her friends would think she was a total dork if they knew she was hanging out with the art geeks. That’s why she already had a plan: She was going to stash her art supplies in a cute bag at the bottom of her locker, and would wash meticulously to make sure she never left the art studio with dried paint on her hands like Kellen had. There was a part of her that hoped he’d be in one of her art classes, but she wouldn’t know till she started next week.

  MIRA’S CELL: Mom made me go shopping w/her & Izzie (don’t tell S). Tomorrow, I swear.

  “I don’t think we’ll have time to get everything today, but we can come back tomorrow after my Emerald Cove Cares meeting and find you shoes, and—sweetie, how are your bras?” Mira’s mom asked delicately. Her full lips formed a frown. “They don’t look like they’re doing their job.”

  Mira’s phone buzzed again. OK, Taylor wrote back. That’s it. OK. Was he mad? She texted him something mushy and tossed the phone in her bag. The Izzie situation was complicating everything. Didn’t her mom realize she had her own friends to take care of?

  “Bras are bras, right?” Mira heard Izzie say.

  Her mother laughed. “Good heavens, no! We have to introduce you to Victoria’s Secret. You’ll need some supportive, strapless numbers for your new dresses.”

  “You’re doing too much,” Izzie insisted. “I’ll be fine with one dress, and my bras are doing their job, I swear. And I already have black heels. I got a pair at Payless for a thing with my swim team.”