same, table piled high with papersand magazines, clothes flung all over the place. It reeks of incense, like Genjko got a bulk deal. He should lay off that stuff.
Jewell unzips her leather boots and pads in stocking feet to the coffeemaker. I sit in my usual seat at the table. We don’t converse. Usually she’s so chatty, asking me about my life and just talking girl talk.
She sets my coffee in front of me and says, “Have you seen Swanee’s cell phone?”
Blood rushes to my cheeks.
“I’m betting Joss stole it, even though she swears she didn’t. She’s such a little liar and thief. She was always taking money from my purse, and I know she’s been rifling through Swanee’s room. Did Swanee tell you about the time Joss downloaded a bunch of porn onto my computer? It got some virus and I had to take it to the geeks to fix. You should’ve seen how they looked at me.”
Swan did tell me about it. She thought it was hysterical. Joss, not so much. It was a dare for Joss to do it. Even if she didn’t want to participate in Swanee’s pranks, or was afraid of the consequences, she would never say no to Swanee.
Jewell takes her coffee and moves behind me toward the hall.
“Jewell.” I twist in my seat. “Can I ask you a question?”
She stops and checks her watch. “I have a hair appointment in twenty minutes.”
“Um, did you know Swanee was seeing another girl?”
Jewell laughs. “Only one?”
I don’t laugh. She lifts her cup to her mouth, sips, andthen licks foam from her upper lip. “I told Swanee she was too young to be serious about just one person. At her age, I had guys lined up. Girls, too.” She winks.
I just look at her. Did she know about Liana?
She says, “It’s not like you were engaged, Alix.”
My heart heaves and a whirring sound fills my ears. I manage to croak out the question, “Would you mind if I went in Swanee’s room one more time? She… she borrowed this book, and I need to get it back to the library.”
Jewell sighs, like it’s a huge imposition. “Just for a minute.” She retrieves her bag and digs around for a set of keys. I follow her down the hall and see that a deadbolt has been installed on Swanee’s door.
“I saw the For Sale sign on the Smart car. Are you not keeping it for Joss because of the porn thing?”
Jewell whirls around. “That car would never have gone to Joss. If she told you that, she was lying.” A cell phone rings in Jewell’s bag and she says, “I’ll be back to lock up when you’re done.” She answers the cell, “Hi, baby,” as she enters her room and shuts the door.
I just stare after Jewell, thinking, Who is this person? She’s changed. Or maybe I’ve never seen through her outer layer before.
I rummage around in Swanee’s drawers again, feeling for a ring box. It could be anywhere on her floor or desk, or behind books. If the ring had been on her finger while she was running, it’d be in the hospital bag. I feel around in there and come up empty.
Joss was right. There is no ring. Liana was lying, and nowit’s possible that she was lying about a lot of things. All of it. That she and Joss and Swanee were in on it together and the joke was on me. I sit on Swan’s bed, feeling disoriented. Dizzy. Automatically, to stop the motion, my fingers slide under her mattress.
What’s this?
I stand and lift the mattress a few inches. Money. A lot of it. Mostly twenties. If I had to estimate, I’d say there was four or five hundred dollars there.
It makes me mad because I was the one who always had to pay whenever we went out. Even when Joss was with us, Swanee said she was broke, and would I mind charging it on my Visa? Of course I didn’t mind. I loved her.
Jewell’s door opens and closes. She calls, “Alix, are you almost through? I need to go.”
I leave the money, even though I should take it as reimbursement.
Beside the bookcase I see a couple of library books, so I grab them, inadvertently knocking over a trophy.
Jewell unzips her leather boots and pads in stocking feet to the coffeemaker. I sit in my usual seat at the table. We don’t converse. Usually she’s so chatty, asking me about my life and just talking girl talk.
She sets my coffee in front of me and says, “Have you seen Swanee’s cell phone?”
Blood rushes to my cheeks.
“I’m betting Joss stole it, even though she swears she didn’t. She’s such a little liar and thief. She was always taking money from my purse, and I know she’s been rifling through Swanee’s room. Did Swanee tell you about the time Joss downloaded a bunch of porn onto my computer? It got some virus and I had to take it to the geeks to fix. You should’ve seen how they looked at me.”
Swan did tell me about it. She thought it was hysterical. Joss, not so much. It was a dare for Joss to do it. Even if she didn’t want to participate in Swanee’s pranks, or was afraid of the consequences, she would never say no to Swanee.
Jewell takes her coffee and moves behind me toward the hall.
“Jewell.” I twist in my seat. “Can I ask you a question?”
She stops and checks her watch. “I have a hair appointment in twenty minutes.”
“Um, did you know Swanee was seeing another girl?”
Jewell laughs. “Only one?”
I don’t laugh. She lifts her cup to her mouth, sips, andthen licks foam from her upper lip. “I told Swanee she was too young to be serious about just one person. At her age, I had guys lined up. Girls, too.” She winks.
I just look at her. Did she know about Liana?
She says, “It’s not like you were engaged, Alix.”
My heart heaves and a whirring sound fills my ears. I manage to croak out the question, “Would you mind if I went in Swanee’s room one more time? She… she borrowed this book, and I need to get it back to the library.”
Jewell sighs, like it’s a huge imposition. “Just for a minute.” She retrieves her bag and digs around for a set of keys. I follow her down the hall and see that a deadbolt has been installed on Swanee’s door.
“I saw the For Sale sign on the Smart car. Are you not keeping it for Joss because of the porn thing?”
Jewell whirls around. “That car would never have gone to Joss. If she told you that, she was lying.” A cell phone rings in Jewell’s bag and she says, “I’ll be back to lock up when you’re done.” She answers the cell, “Hi, baby,” as she enters her room and shuts the door.
I just stare after Jewell, thinking, Who is this person? She’s changed. Or maybe I’ve never seen through her outer layer before.
I rummage around in Swanee’s drawers again, feeling for a ring box. It could be anywhere on her floor or desk, or behind books. If the ring had been on her finger while she was running, it’d be in the hospital bag. I feel around in there and come up empty.
Joss was right. There is no ring. Liana was lying, and nowit’s possible that she was lying about a lot of things. All of it. That she and Joss and Swanee were in on it together and the joke was on me. I sit on Swan’s bed, feeling disoriented. Dizzy. Automatically, to stop the motion, my fingers slide under her mattress.
What’s this?
I stand and lift the mattress a few inches. Money. A lot of it. Mostly twenties. If I had to estimate, I’d say there was four or five hundred dollars there.
It makes me mad because I was the one who always had to pay whenever we went out. Even when Joss was with us, Swanee said she was broke, and would I mind charging it on my Visa? Of course I didn’t mind. I loved her.
Jewell’s door opens and closes. She calls, “Alix, are you almost through? I need to go.”
I leave the money, even though I should take it as reimbursement.
Beside the bookcase I see a couple of library books, so I grab them, inadvertently knocking over a trophy.
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