The Clique
Page 16
“I think we both know the answer to that one,” Massie said. “And hey, there’s always oatmeal if our bites get really severe.”
“Wait. Really? That was you?” Claire said. “Thanks.”
She pulled a Ziploc bag filled with gummies out of her side pocket and held it open for Massie.
“You want?” Claire offered.
“Yeah, totally,” Massie said. She took the piece of pink gum out of her mouth and wrapped it up in a leaf and buried it in the dirt. Claire watched her navigate around the inside of the bag, trying to avoid contact with the green ones.
“I thought you hated gummies,” Claire said. She wasn’t trying to start a fight. She was genuinely curious about Massie’s change of heart. “Did you skip dinner or something?”
“No, I love gummies,” Massie admitted. “I just hate what they do to my thighs. See, you’re lucky you don’t have that problem. You’re a twig.”
Claire looked at Massie’s charm bracelet as it batted around the inside of the bag.
“I can’t believe you’re actually wearing the charm my parents bought you.” Claire shook her head.
“Oh yeah. Well, it’s cute,” Massie offered.
“Really? I thought you’d hate it,” Claire said. “I told my parents to go with the gold crown or the letter M but they insisted on the microphone because they said you used to like singing.”
“The truth is, I kind of did.” Massie gave Claire a tiny, genuine smile. “I actually went through a phase where I really liked musicals. I’d lock myself in the sauna room and sing songs from Annie and Pippin.”
“Are you serious?”
“If you tell anyone, I’ll make your life miserable,” Massie said, but she was kidding. Sort of. The two girls spent the next two hours hiding in the azaleas talking about TV shows, celebrity crushes, favorite Web sites, and disgusting smells.
They didn’t even hear their fathers cheering because they got all the money by the time they hit sixty-eight. They finally tuned in to the party once it was all over and the band was saying good night.
“Well, I guess it’s safe to come out of hiding now,” Claire said. She didn’t realize how chilly she was until she stood up.
Massie and Claire faced each other. Even though they had just talked for hours, they were both speechless. Claire wondered if this was what the awkward is-he-going-to-kiss-me-good-night moment at the end of a date was like. If it was, she hoped she’d never be in a position to find out.
“Well,” Massie said. She slid her charm bracelet up and down her arm. “Thanks for saving me tonight.” She dropped her gaze toward her pointy shoes and massaged her temples with one hand. Her troubled expression reminded Claire of an actress, desperately searching her memory for a forgotten line. “I had fun.”
I had fun.
I had fun.
I had fun.
Those words played over and over again in Claire’s mind while she got ready for bed. When she was finally under the warm covers, she reached for her Elph and scrolled through her pictures. She raced past the shots of OCD, Layne, expensive price tags, and celebrity-size mansions until she found the shot she was looking for. The one she’d taken of herself the night of the sleepover at Massie’s, the one she’d decided to call “Rock Bottom.”
The night she’d taken it, she made a promise to herself. And by looking at the image of her sad eyes, she was keeping it. It was supposed to remind her not to ever, under any circumstances, believe that she and Massie could be real friends.
Only this time she had a feeling things were different.
Of course Claire wouldn’t know for sure until Monday.
THE BLOCK ESTATE MASSIE’S BEDROOM
1:07 A.M. October 4th
Massie dried off after her twenty-five-minute steaming hot shower and slipped into her purple silk pajamas. Her body ached from sitting cross-legged for three hours and her insides were still chilled, even though her skin was red from the scalding water. She sat down on her bed and scratched Bean behind the ears.
“Well, Bean,” she said. “Only one thing left to do.”
CURRENT STATE OF THE UNIONINOUT
MOTHERS FATHERS
CUTE BOY ON DANCE FLOOR CHRIS ABELEY
WITH DORKY LOAFERS
CLAIRE CLAIRE
Massie spent twenty minutes longer than she wanted on her State of the Union because she didn’t know where to put Claire. She wasn’t exactly “out” anymore, but she certainly wasn’t “in.” When Massie thought about how hard they’d laughed in the bushes, she moved Claire to the “in” column. But when she remembered how annoying it was to have a tagalong, she put her in the “out” column. Finally, when she couldn’t stay awake any longer, she came up with a suitable plan. She would start a W.A.S. column for times like these when she would simply have to wait and see. That way she could take her time and decide next week.