by Diane Hoh
The result was a fresh, very appealing, natural look.
“But,” Nell joked, “those pigtails have got to go!”
They were still laughing when Robert Q suddenly opened the door and stood there, an annoyed look on his face. When he saw Darlene’s hair arranged in pigtails sticking up behind each ear, his frown deepened. “What is that!” he cried.
“Some people are incredibly rude,” Nell said in a haughty voice. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock?” As she spoke, she smiled sweetly at Darlene, who was struggling to remove the rubber bands from her hair.
“The door wasn’t locked,” Robert Q said, striding over to yank at Darlene’s head. She winced in pain as a rubber band, and with it several strands of dark brown hair, came off in his hand.
“Do something with your hair and let’s get going,” he barked. “Everyone’s waiting.”
It made Hailey sick, then, the way Darlene flushed and jumped up, her hands fumbling with her hair, and followed Robert Q out of the room, murmuring her thanks and her good-bye as she went. In the doorway, she half-turned to say quietly, “I wish you two were going to this party.” Then Robert Q yanked on her hand and she was gone.
“Doesn’t that just turn your stomach?” Nell cried as the door closed. “The way she trotted after him! Like a puppy.”
“She really seems to think they’re going to be together forever,” Hailey said worriedly. “The way she went on and on about him …”
Nell shrugged. “She sure seems determined. Head over heels, that girl. Changing her hair, her makeup. I wouldn’t do that for any guy, least of all someone like Robert Q.”
Nell returned to her studying then. But the happy, expectant look on Darlene Riggs’s face haunted Hailey’s thoughts. She tried to concentrate on a math assignment, then an English paper due in a few days, but it was hopeless.
Darlene Riggs was going to get hurt.
And although she couldn’t have said why, Hailey couldn’t shake the weird feeling that something far worse than a simple broken heart was in the works.
Chapter 3
ALTHOUGH HAILEY FOUND HERSELF glancing around in classrooms and on campus, she only saw Pete Torrance’s dark-haired friend once, near the student center with Pete. But she saw Darlene frequently, on campus with Robert Q and at the mall with Puffy, Susan, and Lindsey. Darlene always stopped for a few minutes to talk to Hailey. She seemed happy.
Hailey was surprised that Darlene’s relationship with Robert Q was lasting so long. It had been two whole weeks and still he showed no sign of dumping her.
Then she didn’t see Darlene for a while, and wondered if that meant that Robert Q had tired of her. Was Darlene home crying her eyes out? Hailey hoped not, for Darlene’s sake, although she couldn’t help feeling that any girl would be better off without Robert Q.
Hailey and Nell were invited by Pete Torrance to a party at the Sigma Chi house. Pete didn’t belong, but he had friends who did.
Nell couldn’t go because she had a gymnastics meet, but Hailey went with Jess and Ian. She was sitting in a corner with them when Robert Q arrived with a girl on his arm, a girl far more his usual type than Darlene.
Hailey stared in dismay.
The girl was sleek and slim, with smooth, shiny dark hair brushed up and away from her face. She was beautifully dressed in expensive rust-colored suede jeans and a silky cream-colored blouse. As the pair entered the room, she glanced up at Robert Q adoringly.
“Oh, no,” Hailey breathed. “I knew it! He’s dumped Darlene! She must be devastated!”
“That is Darlene, Hailey,” Jess said.
Hailey stared. The girl with Robert Q grinned and waved.
“Haven’t you seen her lately?” Jess asked.
“No, I … she looks so … different,” Hailey said in a stunned voice. “I really didn’t recognize her.”
“A whole new woman,” Ian said. Jess heard admiration in his voice and stabbed him with an elbow.
“I liked the old Darlene,” Hailey grumbled. “What this campus doesn’t need is another Puffy or Susan or Lindsey. Darlene was an original. I liked that.”
An hour later, Hailey was in the kitchen getting ice cubes, when a voice drifted in from out in the hall. “Did you hear what she said?” Puffy Wycroft’s voice. No one else on campus whined like that. “She actually thinks Robert Q is going to give her his fraternity pin. Can you believe it? I nearly died! It was hard to keep a straight face.”
“You didn’t keep a straight face,” Susan Grossbeck said. “You were smirking.”
“Whatever.”
Hailey’s hand had frozen in midair between the refrigerator and her glass. They had to be talking about Darlene.
“Well, she doesn’t know about Gerrie yet,” Susan’s voice came again. “I heard Robert Q tell Richard that what the townie didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.” She laughed. “So he’s been taking her home and then meeting Gerrie afterwards, trying to work things out with her. Now that they’ve made peace, Darlene’s out on her ear. Only she thinks she’s about to be pinned. Can you believe how naive she is?”
Hailey was horrified. So Robert Q had only been playing with Darlene, just as Hailey’d suspected. His friends thought that was funny? Could people really be so cruel?
“Serves the girl right,” Puffy said out in the hall. “Does she really think a new hairdo and suede jeans are all she needs? She’s still just a diner waitress. Anyway,” she added with a disdainful sniff, “when will these townies learn they don’t belong with college boys? They should stick to their own kind.”
Cold fury flooded Hailey as the voices moved away and faded. She leaned against the refrigerator door for support.
Someone came into the room.
A deep voice said, “Hey, you okay?”
Hailey looked up. It was that dark-haired guy, the one she’d seen at the diner with Pete Torrance. That night, she’d thought she wanted to meet him. But not now, not tonight. Darlene needed her.
“You okay?” he repeated. “Your face is the same color as that appliance you’re hugging.” When Hailey said nothing, he added, “I’m Finn Conran. Can I help? Are you sick?”
“No,” Hailey finally managed.
But she was sick. Sick from thinking about Darlene expecting to be given the fraternity pin of a boy whose friends called her “the townie.” What would Darlene do when instead, Robert Q dumped her?
Hailey lifted her head and looked into Finn Conran’s eyes. They were, as she’d imagined, brown. A warm, chestnut brown. With green flecks. “You aren’t by any chance a friend of Robert Q’s, are you?”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” was his answer.
“Good! Well, then, I’m Hailey Kingman. And I’m sorry, but right now I have to go find someone. Excuse me.”
What was important was finding Darlene.
She had no idea what she would say when she found her. No matter how carefully she phrased the truth, her words would slice Darlene into a thousand pieces.
Hailey reluctantly returned to the raucous, crowded, massive living room in the big, old house, and immediately realized with a sickening lurch of her stomach that she might not have to search for the right words, after all.
Because Darlene was sitting alone, her back rigid, on a wooden chair off to one side of the area cleared for dancing. Her eyes, wide with disbelief, were fixed on Robert Q.
He was on the dance floor, his arms tightly wrapped around Gerrie Northrup, elegant in a blue silk halter dress. Her head was nestled cozily against Robert Q’s shoulder. His head rested on hers. The two seemed totally unaware of Darlene’s eyes on them.
They look like someone glued them together, Hailey thought with renewed rage. And Darlene looks like she’s being stabbed repeatedly with a very sharp knife.
Hailey hurried over to crouch beside Darlene’s chair.
Never taking her eyes off the entwined couple, Darlene said in an emotionless monotone, “That’s a really pretty sweater, Hailey. Blue i
s your color. You should wear it all the time.” She turned toward Hailey then. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears.
“Darlene,” Hailey said, placing a gentle hand on Darlene’s arm, “it’s okay.”
A sudden commotion at the front door caught their attention. Hailey looked up to see a guy the size of a small mountain shouldering his way through the crowd. He was headed straight for Darlene, his square face dark with anger. His thick, dark brows were drawn together in a scowl, his jaw jutting forth with grim determination.
“Bo!” Darlene jumped to her feet. “What are you doing here?”
Hailey, too, stood up. So … the ex-boyfriend. Had Robert Q even noticed the new arrival? Hailey glanced toward the couple, still entwined on the dance floor. Her guess would be that Bo Jessup could probably drag Darlene by her hair from the frat house without Robert Q lifting a finger to stop him. But Robert Q was watching now. He looked mildly interested.
Hailey had never seen anyone as red-hot with anger as Darlene’s ex-boyfriend. And he was certainly big enough to reduce to kitty litter anyone dumb enough to get in his way. What was it Darlene had said? Something about Bo going after any boy she talked to. … And Darlene and Robert had done a lot more than just talk.
Bo parked himself directly in front of a red-faced, open-mouthed Darlene. “There!” he shouted, drawing the attention of all the party guests as he pointed at Robert Q, “are you satisfied now? You see what a worm the guy is? Hitting on another girl right in front of you. He’s a pig, Dar. Where’s your pride? Are you too stupid to know when you’re not wanted? I want you to come with me. Now!”
Tears flooded Darlene’s eyes. Her cheeks were blazing. “Bo, please …” Then her voice hardened. “I’m not leaving.”
“You don’t belong here.” He hadn’t lowered his voice. Snickering and giggling sounded throughout the room. “Come with me now, Dar. My truck’s right outside.”
From somewhere behind Hailey, Puffy Wycroft said loudly, “Now how did I know this guy had a truck?”
And Richard Wentworth, looking amused, said, “The townie looks pretty shook. But if you ask me, this guy is perfect for her. He can sling her over his shoulder and haul her away caveman-style. Townies probably like that kind of stuff.”
He was silenced by an icy look from Hailey. Bo didn’t sling Darlene over his shoulder. Instead, after giving her one last look, which Hailey interpreted as half-plea, half-contempt, he turned on his heel and made his way back through the crowd. When he reached the front door, he whirled to shout, “I’ll be waiting outside by the truck. You show up, Darlene. These people will just chew you up and spit you out.”
Suddenly, he whirled and stomped over to Robert Q, still standing with Gerrie on the dance floor, an amused smile on his face. The smile quickly faded as Bo approached.
“You stay away from Darlene, you hear me?” Bo shouted, waving a fist in Robert Q’s face. “She’s too good for the likes of you. If I catch you near her, I’ll turn you into Silly Putty, and that’s a promise!”
Someone tittered as he spun away from Robert Q, and Bo’s head jerked up in response. His dark eyes swept the room. “Go ahead, laugh!” he said coldly. “But I’ll be the one having the last laugh!”
Chapter 4
THERE WAS COMPLETE SILENCE then as Bo strode out of the room.
The door had barely closed after him when Darlene spun away from Hailey and rushed out of the room.
There was a heavy sigh of relief from the crowd. Scattered applause followed Darlene’s exit. Hailey’s eyes blazed in a sweeping, disgusted glare that silenced every snickering, applauding onlooker it grazed. Then, through an indignant silence, she ran after Darlene.
Behind her, Robert Q and Gerrie resumed dancing.
Hailey found Darlene in the downstairs bathroom. She was standing in front of the mirror, staring into it. She had stopped crying. As Hailey entered, Darlene’s hands reached up to touch her new hairdo, then slid down to pat her perfectly applied makeup.
“Darlene …” Hailey began.
But she stopped when Darlene turned to her with bewildered eyes to ask, “What did I do wrong?”
“You didn’t do anything,” Hailey said vehemently. “It’s him, Darlene. He’s a total slime.”
Darlene shook her head. “No, no, he isn’t. Robert Q is smart and sophisticated. And he’s so popular. How could he be so popular if he was slime, Hailey? Everyone knows Robert Q.”
“That doesn’t mean they like him,” Hailey said sharply. “He’s a jerk.”
But Darlene wasn’t listening. “It’s that girl,” she said angrily, her eyes narrowing. “She went after Robert Q tonight, when she knew he was with me.” She looked at Hailey. “Does she expect me to just wimp out and let her have him?”
“Darlene! What you should do is go back out there and have a good time. Don’t let them see how upset you are. There are lots of guys out there who would kill to dance with you. Please, Darlene. Go have fun. And tell Robert Q to take a hike.”
“She’s not going to get away with this,” Darlene vowed, as if Hailey hadn’t spoken. “He loves me. He said so. I’ll go back out there, all right. I’ll rescue Robert Q from that tarantula. Believe me, Hailey, he’ll be grateful.”
Hailey gave up. Darlene wasn’t going to listen to anything she had to say.
They were about to leave the bathroom when, for the second time that night, Hailey heard unwelcome voices from a distance.
Darlene heard the voices, too. Her face lit up. “That’s Robert Q!” she cried. “He’s come looking for me. See, Hailey, I told you!”
But then they heard Robert Q’s voice as clearly as if it were being broadcast over a PA system. “Look, Richard, twenty bucks is my final offer. You take the townie home. Get her out of here. Just drop her at her house. It’s on Fourth Street. Not that far. Twenty bucks for twenty minutes, that’s not bad.”
Hailey froze. Her eyes went to Darlene, who was listening carefully.
“Why can’t she go home with that hunk of lunk with the truck?” Richard Wentworth’s voice whined. “He wants to take her home. You wouldn’t even have to pay him. Anyway, why should I leave you a clear field with Gerrie? I was making real progress with her until you decided to dump the townie.”
“Twenty-five,” Robert Q said, “and that’s my top offer. It’s highway robbery, but Gerrie says either Darlene goes or she goes.” He laughed. “No contest. And face it, Wentworth,” he added, “you’re not in Gerrie’s league.”
Richard gave in. “Okay, okay! I’ll get the townie off your hands. C’mon, time flies. Let’s go get her before I change my mind.”
The voices ended.
In the silence that followed, Hailey searched frantically for comforting words, but found none.
Darlene’s face was stark-white. But her eyes blazed. “Did I hear that right?” she asked Hailey, her voice low. “He thinks he can just hand me over to someone else? He goes running back to Gerrie and gives me to that cretin, Richard? That is what I heard, isn’t it?”
“Darlene—”
“No! Don’t say a word, Hailey!” Darlene stood up very straight. “Not one word. I know what I heard.” She picked up her purse. “If I were still in fifth grade, I’d get my big brother Mike after Robert Q and Richard. But I’m not in fifth grade anymore.” Now her cheeks flamed with color. “I’m going home with Bo now. But you haven’t seen the last of me, and that’s a promise. Robert Q Parker the third needs to learn that Darlene Riggs isn’t a toy.” Her lips formed a thin, straight line. “He can’t just toss me away. He made promises.” The thin, straight line became a smile without humor. “It isn’t nice to break promises.”
The smile chilled Hailey to the bone.
“If Robert Q should ask,” Darlene said coolly, “tell him I went home and that I’ll explain when he calls me tomorrow. And,” she added grimly, “if he knows what’s good for him, he will call me tomorrow.” Then, in a lighter voice, she added, “See you, Hailey. Have fun.” And
she hurried out of the room, leaving Hailey standing at the sink, with wide eyes and an open mouth.
Things had turned around so quickly, Hailey couldn’t think straight. Darlene was going home with Bo? Was that smart? He’d been so angry … all those threats … was Darlene safe with him?
Telling herself that Darlene wasn’t the one Bo had threatened, Hailey turned and followed Darlene from the room.
She had just left the restroom when Richard Wentworth, a petulant expression on his face, approached her in the hall.
“Hey, Hailey, you know that townie, right? I saw you talking to her earlier. You seen her anywhere?”
Hailey wanted to slap him. She wanted to slap someone. “If you mean Darlene Riggs,” she said icily, “she was bored to death with this party. So she left.”
Her irony was lost on Richard. He looked delighted. “Yeah? No kidding?”
Cretin! “No kidding. You just lost twenty-five bucks, Richard.”
His mouth opened. “How did you … ?” Then he shrugged, grinned, and hurried back to the party.
When Hailey had rejoined Ian and Jess and filled them in on the disgusting details, she added, “Did you know that Darlene has a brother on campus? Do you know anyone named Mike Riggs?” Maybe, if she could explain Darlene’s situation to her brother, he could talk some sense into his sister.
But they both shook their heads. “Didn’t even know she had a brother,” Ian said.
Hailey confessed, “I have this really bad feeling. I know it sounds stupid, but—”
“Oh, please don’t say things like that!” Jess cried. “We’re just getting over what happened to us at Nightingale Hall. Please, no dire premonitions of more trouble, Hailey.”
Hailey knew all about the old, off-campus dorm. It had been nicknamed “Nightmare Hall” because a girl had been murdered there last spring. The death had been made to look like suicide, and all sorts of strange things had happened there. Jess’s face still paled whenever the subject came up.
“Sorry, Jess,” Hailey murmured. She couldn’t shake the bad feeling, but that didn’t mean she had to depress other people.
