Masquerade of Lies (6 page)

My mom didn’t feel like cooking, so we decided to pick up a pizza for dinner. I wasn’t hungry, so I didn’t eat any of it. Finally, I asked her if I could be excused. She said yes, so I went up to my room and plopped myself on the bed. I started thinking about the day Brooke and I first met, how close we’d become in just a month. She was my one true friend at Willowdale High, and now she was gone. I closed my eyes and wept silently.

***

When I woke up the next morning, I had a headache and my eyes were puffy from crying the night before. I really didn’t feel like going to school; I just wanted to hide from the outside world.

I sat on the edge of my bed and stared at the scars on my wrist. I wanted the pain of losing Brooke to go away, and I remembered how good cutting myself made me feel. I was tempted, but I decided I didn’t want to go down that road again; instead, I reached for my phone and decided to call Marisa. At that moment of weakness, I really needed my best friend.

***

That afternoon, Claire wanted to cut class to go shopping for homecoming dresses. I suggested we go on the weekend instead of missing class, especially since I couldn’t really afford to buy anything, but Claire was used to getting her way all the time.

We walked out of the doors that led to the student parking lot and headed towards Claire’s car, which was parked in her spot. Jessica opened the front door on the passenger side.

“Uh, new girl is sitting in the front,” Claire ordered.

“Hanna,” I said, correcting her, but everybody ignored me.

“But I always sit in the front,” Jessica protested.

“Well, not this time.”

“Really, it’s okay. I’ll sit in the back,” I offered. The last thing I wanted to do was get between Claire and her friends.

“I insist,” Claire said in a pushy tone.

Jessica had a look of fury on her face; if looks could kill, I’d be dead.

The leather seat squeaked as Claire sat down. She then clicked her seatbelt and turned on the ignition. She put her dark brown, big framed Gucci sunglasses over her eyes and combed her hands through her hair, then put the car in reverse, backed out of her parking spot, and accelerated down the street.

“Our social calendar is filling up, ladies. Tomorrow night is Angela’s party, and next week is the homecoming dance.”

“I know, right?” Katie uttered.

Jessica sat in the back, pouting, with her arms crossed over her chest.

“I have to find the perfect dress. Remember, girls, pink is
my
signature color, but for homecoming it’s baby blue” she said, not taking her eyes off the road.

“Right,” Jessica mumbled from the back seat.

“Problem, Jessica?” Claire said as her eyes met Jessica’s in the rearview mirror.

Jessica’s arms relaxed, and she drummed up a smile. “No…no problem,” she responded.

Claire glanced at me and smiled as she turned right at the next intersection. We ended up downtown, where palm trees and light posts lined the streets. Behind them stood clusters of white and brown office buildings, and amongst them was an upscale- looking hotel. There were blocks of retail stores and restaurants, and posh men and women swaggered down the sidewalks.

“That’s where we’re going, ladies,” Claire commanded as she parked in front of
So Chic
. Apparently, they had
the
best dresses.

Claire cut the engine, and we all got out of the car. There was a set of double doors and a display behind each window. The mannequin to my left was wearing a long blue beaded mesh dress, and the other a pink strapless couture dress. A potted plant sat outside the door, a
SALE
sign was pasted on the glass.

The door jingled as Claire pulled it open, and we all gathered in behind her. Claire went straight to a specific rack, like she’d been there before. Jessica followed her, and Katie darted towards the dresses against the wall. I wandered around the store and settled at a circular rack of beautiful dresses, sifting through them while the hanger scraping the metal made a screeching noise. I picked up a yellow Armani strapless ball gown with pick-up beading shirring and sequins. When I turned over the tag, my eyes swelled at the price. Claire caught me looking at that dress and walked over to where I was standing.

“That’s a nice dress. You should try it on,” she said.

“There’s no point. I can’t afford it,” I said, hanging up the dress.

“It won’t hurt to try it on.”

She took the dress off the rack and handed it back to me. I could tell she wasn’t going to let it go, so I let out a big sigh and asked the sales lady for a dressing room. While I was trying on the dress, I could hear the clinking of jewelry and the sound of the cash register opening and closing. The murmur of people chattering wafted throughout the store.

I overheard Jessica whispering something to Claire.
Claire, what’s the deal? Why are you being so nice to her? Do you think she suspects something?

Claire said, Ssh! “Come on, new girl! Hurry up already!” she badgered from the other side of the door.

Once I was dressed, I opened the door and stood in front of a mirror. Claire stared for a moment, then smirked. Katie was looking at some earrings and did a double take at me.

“Hanna! You look ah-
may
-zing!” Claire gushed.

“Thanks,” I said.

She was right. I did look amazing. The color of the dress complimented my blonde hair and fell perfectly at my waist. I just wished I had bigger breasts to fill it in a little more. It didn’t matter, though, because I couldn’t afford it.

“Oh my gosh! Hanna! What happened to your wrists?” Katie blurted.

I could feel my cheeks burning, and I immediately crossed my arms over my chest, trying to conceal the scars.

“I...uh...my cat scratched me.”

“Really?
Your
cat?
” Claire asked, dubious.

“Oh. Well, you should put that cat down,” said Katie.

“I know, right?”

I tried to laugh it off, but I could tell Claire wasn’t buying it. Jessica stood behind her with her hands on her hips, not saying a word.

“
Anyywayyys.
You’re getting that dress,” Claire said, pointing at it.

“But I can’t–”

“I
know
. You can’t afford it,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I got it.” A
ding
blared from her purse, and she scoured through her bag and took out her iPhone.

“What? I can’t,” I protested.

“You can, and you will. Oh, and just FYI: I don’t take no for an answer. I have a hard time with rejection, so just say thank you and smile, k?”

I could see Jessica smiling insidiously from the corner of my eye.

“Why would you do this for me?” I asked.

“Because we’re friends, and friends do things for each other.” 

“O-okay, thanks, Claire. I owe you.”

“I know,” she said as she texted.

She didn’t take her eyes off her phone. She spun on her heels and walked over to Jessica, and the two of them giggled.

As I turned around and stared at myself in the store’s body length mirror, a knot formed in my stomach. I felt like I’d just made a deal with the devil.

CHAPTER SIX—SKELETONS IN HER CLOSET

The next day before first period, I was collecting books from my locker when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw a familiar looking girl in front of me.

“Hi! Remember me?” She was the girl that had cut me off in the hall the day after Brooke was murdered, the one who wanted to write a column about what happened.

“Yeah, I do.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name last time.” 

“I’m Hanna. I’m sorry if I was a little rude before. I wasn’t myself that morning.”

“Completely understandable. No worries. Do you want to get together for coffee or something so we can chat? I’m doing a piece on teen crime, and your story would be a great addition.” She beamed. “Plus, this will give you a chance to tell your side of the story.”

“Okay, sure. I’ll meet you in front of the library after school.”

“Okay, I’ll be there. See you later.”

I watched as she disappeared into the crowd, then I spotted Claire in the hall. She noticed me, too, as she darted towards me.

“Hey, new girl.”

“Okay. I think we’re past the
new girl
thing, don’t you?”

“Whatever. So what are we gonna wear to Angela Blaine’s party tomorrow night?”

“I don’t even know if I’m going.”

“What?! That’s social suicide!”

“Isn’t it a little soon for us to be going to a party? Brooke just died. It almost feels like we’re celebrating or something.”

“Look, we can’t change the past. Not going to the party isn’t going to bring her back, so we might as well go and have a good time.”

“Well, my mom is being so weird lately, so I haven’t told her yet.”

“So don’t. Just sneak out.”

“Yeah, right.”

“How hard could it be?” she said as she tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder.

“How am I gonna get past my mom?”

“Seriously? Haven’t you ever done anything you’re not supposed to do?” 

I had to think about that for a second. I remembered this one time Marisa and I were hanging out at the mall. We went into
Zaire’s
, our favorite clothing store. We were having fun trying stuff on, then Marisa had this great idea of stealing something, which I never understood because her parents gave her whatever she wanted. There wasn’t much to do in Deerwood, so I think she just liked the thrill. She was my best friend, so at first I went along with it. Our plan was to try on what we wanted and leave the store with it under our clothes. Marisa went through with it, but I couldn’t. I secretly paid for the clothes and told Marisa I stole them. She still doesn’t know to this day. So, I guess the answer to Claire’s question was no; I’d never done anything I wasn’t supposed to do–but there’s a first time for everything.

“Okay, I’ll figure out a way to get past my mom.” I bit my lip.

“Coolness!” Claire exclaimed.

A group of girls on the cheerleading squad strutted by. “Hey Claire! Hey Hanna!” a girl with long straight brown hair and a thin face called out.

“Hey!” Claire and I said in unison.

The shrill blare of the bell alarmed me. I shut my locker, and Claire hooped her arm around mine as we strolled to class.

“Let’s just blow off English and go shopping. I need to find something to wear to Angela’s party.” 

“Didn’t we just go shopping?”

“Yeah, but that was for homecoming. This is for Angela’s party. You wanna look hot, new girl, because you never know who you’ll meet. Josh and I met at one of Angela’s parties. My friends and I decided to play that drinking game,
I Have Never
, and I got totally wasted. Josh pretty much babysat me all night. Everybody thinks we hooked up that night, but we never did. I mean, I threw myself at him, but he didn’t feel right doing it while I was drunk. That was a first. Guys don’t usually turn me down,” she said as we skirted around a bunch of girls in the hall. “Anyway, Josh worships the ground I walk on. He would do an-y-thing for me,” she simpered, impressed with herself.

She was right about one thing, though: she was lucky to have Josh. I’d liked him from the moment we met, but I knew better; if you mess with the queen bee, you’re gonna get stung.

“That’s cool, Claire. You guys make a great couple.”

“I know, right? Let’s go shopping.”

We scurried through the hall and bolted out the door that led to the student parking lot.

***

When we got back to school, I noticed Detective Walters sitting in his car in the parking lot. Claire parked and turned off the ignition. As we got out of the car, Detective Walters walked towards us.

“Shouldn’t you girls be in class?”

“We had a few errands to run,” Claire answered.

“I can see that,” Detective Walters said sarcastically, pointing at the bags in the backseat. Claire flashed a wry smile. “I need to have a word with you, Claire,” he continued.

“Really? About what?” she asked as she tossed her hair over her shoulder.

“I spoke to some of the students at your school, and they all said you and Miss Tillier didn’t get along. In
fact
, a lot of students witnessed the two of you fighting in the hall, and you said she’d better be ready for her own funeral.”

Claire flashed a devilish smile as she leaned against her car with her arms crossed at her chest.

“Duh…everybody knows Brooke and I didn’t get along, but I’m not a murderer. And just for the record, I said she’d be dressed for her own funeral because she always wore black. It was a figure of speech,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Miss Miller, where were you on September 25th, between 8pm and 10pm?”

“If you must know, I was hanging out with Jessica at her house.”

“The whole time?”

“Yeah. We were going over our cheer routine for the homecoming game.”

“Okay. I’ll be in touch,” Detective Walters said, then walked back to his car. As soon as he padded away, Claire collected her iPhone from her purse and started messaging somebody.

“Who are you texting?” I asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she snapped back.

She clutched her phone as her fingers rapidly pounded the screen. As she bit her bottom lip with a perturbed look pasted on her face, I couldn’t shake the feeling Claire was hiding something–and I had to find out what.