Livin' La Vida Bennet

by Mary Strand

  Kirk wouldn’t land me in reform school—at least, I don’t think so—but he was the coolest guy I knew. He could control an entire room, including even the teachers. And, from what I’d heard, he made the girls he dated very happy. Well, until he dumped them.

  But that wouldn’t happen to me.

  I smiled at him as I bit into my burger, feeling more like myself now. “So what’s the party scene these days? Anything going on this weekend?”

  Kirk glanced across the cafeteria, where I finally spotted Drew and Chelsea, alone at a table and having a heated argument.

  “I hear you’ve already been scoping out the party scene.” Kirk tilted his head, but his grin didn’t falter the way it would with most guys. Kirk wasn’t the kind of guy who’d be jealous of Drew or anyone else. “According to Drew.”

  I grabbed a few fries, waving them in the air before inhaling them. God, I’d missed burgers and fries at Shangri-La, where they tried to kill us with lettuce wraps and granola. I actually liked healthy food, but I drew the line at tree bark. “We have Speech together. He usually knows what’s going on.”

  “Right now he’s having a little trouble figuring out what is going on.” Kirk’s eyes twinkled. He’d always appreciated a good joke. “What’s up with that?”

  “We’re old pals.”

  “Unlike, for instance, you and Chelsea?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I winked at Kirk. “But now that you mention it, I do think Drew could do better. Much better.”

  “Like . . . you?”

  Shaking my head, I almost mentioned Cat, but something told me I shouldn’t bring her up to Kirk, even though I couldn’t believe her version of how everything went down last spring with Kirk and Tess. They were still nice to me, weren’t they? So were Drew and everyone else other than Chelsea. And let’s face it: she reeked.

  “Lydia? That was my purse.”

  “Oh?” I glanced up to see Amber glaring down at me, her tray in one hand and her other hand on Kirk’s shoulder. Seriously? Kirk and Amber? “Sorry. I didn’t know whose it was.” And Kirk obviously didn’t stop me from moving it, so the two of them couldn’t be all that. “But there are other chairs free.”

  “At the other end of the table.” Amber set her tray down in the nonexistent space between Kirk’s tray and mine, jostling everything including my mood. “I’m sitting next to Kirk.”

  I’d always liked Amber as far as follow-the-leader girls went, but she was starting to annoy me. Didn’t she remember that I owned this crowd and had the power to kick her out of it? That I’d known Kirk since long before she’d shown her pointy little nose in town?

  “Sorry. Like I said, I didn’t know whose it was. But I’m sitting here now, and Kirk and I were talking, and I guess you can talk to him whenever.”

  Like, whenever she wasn’t sucking face with him, based on the proprietary look she zapped me right now.

  “I was sitting here, Lydia.”

  Her clenched teeth didn’t do a thing for her looks, but that was Amber’s problem.

  “But you left.” I patted her arm, which went rigid beneath my touch. “But I’m sure you can sit with Kirk tomorrow. I mean, if you get here before me.”

  “Which I did.”

  “Then maybe you should ask Kirk to save your seat next time.”

  I sneaked a peek at Kirk, who didn’t look the least bit bothered by this whole conversation. Bored, maybe, but not bothered. Another reason why I liked him. He could give Drew a few tips on how to handle Chelsea.

  He shrugged. “Sorry, Amber. We can talk later, okay? I haven’t had a chance to catch up with Lydia since she’s been back.”

  Fuming, Amber grabbed her tray off the table, banging it hard against mine, then slammed it down at the far end of the table next to Tess. Tess stared at me but didn’t say a word. Not to me, but not to Amber either.

  No doubt about it. All the players had changed, along with the game, and I was still at the starting line, trying to figure out the new rules.

  I couldn’t wait to make my first move.

  Lauren didn’t show her face in Accounting class, but after a lifetime of hanging out with guys more than girls—except for Cat—I’d taken enough crap from girls today to last me. Besides, Ms. Frey was chill again with me, and Lauren’s absence probably helped.

  I caught a ride home in the Jeep with Cat, with Cat behind the wheel even after I pointed out a million times that I’d always been the one to drive. Sure, Mom told me this morning that Cat was in charge of the Jeep for now, but Mom wasn’t here, so Cat should’ve caved.

  Amazing what a boyfriend and working this past summer at a waterpark in Wisconsin Dells could do to Cat’s ego.

  I shrugged. I could bring her back down to earth.

  “Does Jeremy still play in that band? Kirk’s band?”

  She gave me a cold look before returning her gaze to the road. “It’s not Kirk’s band.”

  “Yeah? That’s not what I hear.” Actually, I hadn’t heard much of anything, but Kirk would be the leader of any band he played in. “They’re still playing, right? Who else is in the band?”

  Cat turned the Jeep radio to blare level.

  I turned it off. “You can’t ignore me. You’re my sister. My twin. We live together.”

  “Until you go away again.”

  “Don’t hold your breath.” I leaned back against my headrest, wondering when I’d be done clawing and scratching for even the simplest conversation. It was almost worse than reform school. Almost. “So what’s the big deal? Why is the band such a secret?”

  Cat’s hands gripped the wheel so hard, they must hurt. Finally, she blew out an exasperated breath. “It’s not. It just . . . annoys me.”

  “Why? Because Jeremy still plays in the band that humiliated you? According to you?”

  “The band didn’t humiliate me. Tess did.” Cat glanced at me, her eyes looking like a stranger’s. “With Kirk’s help.”

  I shrugged. “I’m sure it was just a joke. I mean, why would they want to humiliate you? You guys are still friends, right? Tess and Kirk are nice to me.”

  Tess not as much, but it wasn’t as if we had any classes together. Okay, she didn’t say much in the cafeteria, either, but she didn’t say much to anyone. Not even Amber, and they’d always been tight the way Cat and I had been.

  “You don’t have a clue.”

  Cat’s voice was so soft, I almost didn’t catch her words.

  “Me? Not have a clue?” I laughed.

  She didn’t say anything more, which was fine by me until the silence started to get annoying. I hated silence. It forced me to think too much.

  “So. You don’t like the band, or you don’t like Jeremy playing in it. But is the band still playing? Who’s in it these days?”

  Cat rolled her eyes, almost as if I was a moron for asking. Or maybe for asking ten times and still expecting an answer. “They didn’t play much this summer after Jeremy and I left to work in the Dells, but they’re back together again. Except for Mary, of course.”

  “I can’t believe they let her in the band.”

  “She’s good.” Cat’s eyes stayed on the road, probably so she wouldn’t have to try to keep a straight face. “She picked up guitar really fast, I guess.”

  I couldn’t help it. I snorted. “According to Jeremy? Or someone who actually plays guitar?”

  “You don’t have to play guitar to know if someone’s good. But for your information, all the guys in the band seemed to think Mary was pretty good.”

  “But she’s—”

  Cat held up a hand. “I don’t wanna hear it, okay? Been there, done that, and you don’t have a clue about Mary.”

  I crossed my arms and scowled at her. “So I don’t have a clue about Mary, and I don’t have a clue about anyone in our old crowd. Pretty convenient for you, huh?”

  Cat frowned. “Convenient?”

  “Yeah.” I nodded to myself, even though part of me felt a littl
e sick. I mean, this was Cat. My best friend since forever. “If you can freeze me out, you slide right into my spot as head of our gang. Maybe it’s why you’d go out with an outsider like Jeremy. He doesn’t know you’re not top dog.”

  When all I got was silence, I finally twisted in my seat to look at Cat. Her lips twitched a moment before she started laughing out loud.

  She finally wiped her eyes with one hand. “Oh, God. You are too funny. You and Tess make quite a pair.”

  I frowned. “You and I used to make quite a pair, but apparently that doesn’t work when you have a boyfriend.”

  Finally, the laughter left her eyes. “You really don’t get it, but I guess it’s not all your fault. You’ve been gone so long.”

  “Only a year.” I glanced out the window. Nothing had changed in Woodbury while I’d been gone, but everyone acted like it had. “But feel free to clue me in if you really think I need it.”

  Cat kept driving without saying anything, but I wasn’t going to beg. I stared out the window, forcing myself to appreciate the gorgeous blue sky, the shrieks of kids playing kickball in the street, even the roar of lawnmowers. Totally normal, but it felt brand-new. Almost like being a born-again virgin.

  I bit my lip. Hard.

  “That’s actually what Tess tried last year.”

  My head jerked when Cat finally spoke. Tess tried to be a born-again virgin last year? Wasn’t she still a virgin in the first place?

  “What?”

  “She tried to be you. Tried to be the new leader of our gang, the queen bee of the school.”

  I shook my head. “Nothing against Tess, but she doesn’t have it in her. Even on her best day.”

  “She’d totally disagree with you.” Cat turned onto our street, parked at the curb, and turned off the engine. “At least, she would’ve disagreed last year, but that’s why she was such a bitch to me. She thought I might step into your shoes, so she did everything she could to stop me.”

  Cat wasn’t a leader, either, but no need to point out the obvious to her. We were still sharing a room, and I didn’t want to walk into our closet to find toenail clippings or Dad’s shaving cream or worse in my shoes.

  I opened my door to the Jeep and walked ahead of Cat to the front door. “Yeah, well, no one needs to fight over being leader anymore. I’m back.”

  Behind me, Cat just laughed.

  Chapter 3

  At first there seemed danger of Lydia’s engrossing him entirely, for she was a most determined talker.

  — Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Volume I, Chapter Sixteen

  I don’t eavesdrop. I mean, why bother? Everyone has always given me the scoop directly. For some reason, though, the usual crowd must not know my new cell phone number, because it wasn’t ringing. So when Jeremy called Cat after school, I admit I was curious. For news. Any news. I didn’t need to hear any of their lovey-dovey crap.

  The instant Cat hung up, I pounced. “It sounds like the band is practicing today? You’re not going?”

  Cat frowned. “You were listening?”

  “I couldn’t help it.” Even when Cat went into the upstairs hallway to take the call, she hadn’t bothered to shut our bedroom door all the way. “But don’t worry. I didn’t gag too much when you got all mushy with the guy.”

  “I didn’t get all—” Cat broke off, rolling her eyes. “Whatever. Yeah, they’re playing at Michael Gallagher’s house at five, but I work today. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Like I’ve told you a million times.”

  She acted like I didn’t listen to a thing she said. Totally not true. I listened when she said something worth paying attention to, but her job at Nickelodeon Universe didn’t qualify.

  “I can’t believe you work there. Even after you managed to escape for the summer.”

  I also couldn’t believe Dad had let her escape to Wisconsin Dells, of all places. It hadn’t done anything good for me, and it seemed to make Cat a lot snottier than she’d started out.

  I leaned back against the headboard of my bed, forced to tickle Boris under his belly when he had the nerve to leap up beside me. Cat bustled around our room, then changed into a hideous Nickelodeon Universe uniform that would’ve mortified her a year ago. She’d changed, all right, and it wasn’t an improvement. No matter how happy she pretended to be.

  She finally stopped her whirlwind of activity and paused at the door. “They’re nice to me. I have good hours. And it’s cold, hard cash, which will come in handy next year in college.”

  “College?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Something else you’re probably too good for.”

  As she sailed out the door, I whipped her the bird. Not that she noticed or cared.

  Michael Gallagher. He’d been a year ahead of us, but I barely knew him and hadn’t seen him since the end of sophomore year. I remembered a tall guy with red hair cut in wild spikes, but that was it. I couldn’t barge into his house uninvited.

  At least, not easily.

  As I pondered an excuse for stopping by the band practice, I drummed my fingers on Boris’s back, which only made him purr more loudly. Stupid cat. Obviously so starved for affection, he’d take anything I gave him.

  Hmmm. I could call Drew, but he was Kirk’s best friend, which I’d already realized was going to cause problems. I could call Kirk, but the thought actually made me a little nervous, even though nothing ever made me nervous, including Kirk. Weird.

  I could call Amber or Tess. After what happened at lunch today, though, Amber wouldn’t cross the street to help me if I was being knifed to death. Besides, she seemed to be with Kirk—at least in her own mind—so hanging with her probably wasn’t my best tactic for hooking up with Kirk.

  Which left Tess. Who was impossible to predict.

  Before I could talk myself out of it, I grabbed my cell phone and last year’s school directory and punched in some numbers. After a few rings, I heard a surprised “hello.”

  “Drew?” I took a deep breath as I told myself I could do this. I was still Lydia Bennet, after all: a girl who could do anything and usually did. “I hear Kirk’s band is playing this afternoon. Wanna go?”

  A long pause. Too long. Followed by the answer I wasn’t totally sure I wanted.

  “Absolutely.”

  As I waited for Drew to pick me up—his idea, not mine—I wondered if I should’ve tried harder to think of a way to get to Michael’s house without Drew. Riding with Drew limited my options, not only today but maybe indefinitely, at least when it came to Kirk. But Kirk didn’t have to find out, right? More important, Cat had nabbed the Jeep to go to work.

  Maybe I could catch a ride home from Kirk. He lived closer to me, after all, and he didn’t have to worry about racing home to return his mom’s car.

  Unlike Drew.

  A horn honked in front, which was actually a relief. Maybe Drew wasn’t treating this like a date after all. I peeked out the tiny window in the front door. Sure enough, Drew. In his mom’s silver Mercedes.

  I mean, not that I could talk. It was a Mercedes, and I just shared a dinosaur of a Jeep with Cat—and from the looks of things so far, not often.

  I hustled out to the curb before Drew could change his mind. “Hey, Drew, thanks. It’s so great of you—”

  I hauled up short at the sight of Chelsea in the back seat.

  Drew motioned me inside, but he looked even more sick than the first time I had a beer.

  Against my better judgment, if I had any, I climbed into the front seat. “Hey, Chelsea.”

  She didn’t say anything, but her breathing sounded like a dragon’s, and if I turned around in my seat I wouldn’t be surprised to see fire coming out of her mouth.

  Drew glanced at me, his mouth grim, his shoulders tense. Purely for Chelsea’s benefit, I patted him on his arm. “Like I started to say, it’s so great of you to give me a ride.” Twisting my head enough so Chelsea could see, I batted my eyelashes at Drew. “Very sweet.”

  Chelsea leaned forward, brea
king my light grip on Drew’s arm. “Yeah, well, I guess he felt sorry for you. I mean, you don’t have a car and you’re sisters with Cat. Even I have to sympathize.”

  Drew frowned into the rearview mirror. “I never said that, and Cat’s great. We’ve always been friends.”

  More than friends for a little while, but I decided not to mention it. From the pissed-off look on Chelsea’s face, she already knew. Besides, I wanted to keep my options open with Drew, even though he wasn’t my end goal. Okay, he wasn’t even my beginning goal, but he’d been nice when no one else talked to me, and I was grateful. I also got a kick out of annoying Chelsea, and that was even before I had to smell her cloying perfume up close.

  I smiled innocently at her. “I guess you don’t have a car, either? Drew’s sure become a humanitarian since I last saw him.”

  I nudged him with my elbow, and he glanced down at my boobs before giving me a sideways grin. I heard Chelsea breathing hard in the back seat, but she didn’t have a comeback. No surprise.

  A hostile five minutes later, we pulled up in front of a house not too far from school. Drew got out, then helped Chelsea out of the back seat from the driver’s side, leaving me to fend for myself.

  Lucky thing I was good at that.

  Drew practically ran inside the house, obviously having figured out at some point in the car what a stupid thing he’d just done, but I was surprised when Chelsea came up next to me. And dug her nails into my arm.

  “He’s mine. Don’t even think about it.”

  “I think about everything. I guess that’s what happens when a girl has a brain.” I pried her nails loose from my stinging arm, ran a hand over the traces of blood from the gouges she’d made, and wiped it across her cheek. “You’re not in my league, so don’t tell me what to do. And for the record? You reek.”

  Eyes wide, she sniffed the air, trying to look like she wasn’t.