of eight of leukemia, which made her seem human for the first time ever. But that was it. Nothing else interesting. And when I really thought about it, I realized that neither of them had been acting at all strangely since Cheyenne's death. Missy had ice in her veins, so I could maybe believe that of her, but Lorna... Lorna would never have been able to pull off a murder plot without losing it a little. She would have been paranoid, jumpy, weepy, something. But she had never been any of the above. It just didn't add up.
Up at the counter, Amberly let out a tinkling laugh and I cringed.
103
Amazing how the list of people I couldn't stand was growing exponentially, even as my list of suspects dwindled. The only people left on it now were Astrid, Marc Alberro, S.O., and Ivy.
Speak of the devil.... At that moment, Ivy walked through the door, clutching Josh's hand, their heads bent close together as they whispered to each other. The sight of them was a cattle prod to my ass and I immediately stood up to gather my things. There was no way I was going to sit here and watch the two of them get all touchy-feely over lattes. No way in hell.
My sudden movement caught Ivy's attention and she smiled at me triumphantly, reaching up to kiss Josh's cheek as they continued on their way. Josh, luckily, was oblivious to my presence. I wasn't sure if I could deal with the humiliation of him seeing the look on my face right then. I shoved my notebook into my bag and headed for the door, but my scarf got snagged on an empty chair. I struggled to free it, and when I finally did, I stumbled back a couple of steps. Right into Amberly Carmichael.
There was a sputter and a splash and suddenly my sneakers were covered in light brown liquid.
"Ugh! You bitch! Look what you did!" Amberly blurted.
Her white coat was covered in what appeared to be chai latte, and some had splattered on her white sweater as well. She held the almost empty cup out as the liquid dripped from the hem of her coat to the floor. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing and glanced over at Rose and Kiki, who along with Missy, Lorna, and Portia were
104
hovering around Amberly. Rose and Kiki both glanced away. Of course.
"Sorry," I said with a shrug.
"You are so paying for the dry cleaning," Amberly said, slapping the cup down on a nearby table and grabbing some napkins. "This coat is one-of-a-kind."
She wasn't yelling, just fuming. Fuming and trembling. As I watched her long, pale fingers work at dabbing the stain, I felt this eerie sense of deja vu, but try as I might, I couldn't place where it was coming from.
"I'm not paying for anything," I told her, shouldering my bag. "It was an accident."
"Oh, you so are," Amberly said, glaring at me. Her blue eyes pierced right through me like ice picks. Clearly just a few days in Billings had taught her how to intimidate and awe. "And it's not going to be cheap," she said, looking me up and down with a sneer. "Better start saving your pennies now."
Forget queen bee. Try queen bitch.
Missy, Lorna, and Portia laughed and my skin burned. I even saw a smile playing on Rose's lips for the briefest second and felt as if I had just been stabbed through the gut Caesar-style, betrayed by the people who were supposed to have my back. Kiki was the only one who didn't react, but maybe her iPod was turned up so loud she couldn't hear what was going on.
"Don't hold your breath," I said through my teeth.
105
"I'll be wanting the Carma Card back," Amberly replied. "And I will get my money."
"Yeah. Good luck with that," I said with a scoff.
Then I shot my former friends a scathing look before striding out.
106
TWO LISTS
I spent Saturday afternoon in the library. Everyone around me was studying. Pencils scratched in notebooks. Whispered debates were being held on everything from the feminist movement of the early 1900s to the history of space travel to the merits of Monet and Manet. At the other
Up at the counter, Amberly let out a tinkling laugh and I cringed.
103
Amazing how the list of people I couldn't stand was growing exponentially, even as my list of suspects dwindled. The only people left on it now were Astrid, Marc Alberro, S.O., and Ivy.
Speak of the devil.... At that moment, Ivy walked through the door, clutching Josh's hand, their heads bent close together as they whispered to each other. The sight of them was a cattle prod to my ass and I immediately stood up to gather my things. There was no way I was going to sit here and watch the two of them get all touchy-feely over lattes. No way in hell.
My sudden movement caught Ivy's attention and she smiled at me triumphantly, reaching up to kiss Josh's cheek as they continued on their way. Josh, luckily, was oblivious to my presence. I wasn't sure if I could deal with the humiliation of him seeing the look on my face right then. I shoved my notebook into my bag and headed for the door, but my scarf got snagged on an empty chair. I struggled to free it, and when I finally did, I stumbled back a couple of steps. Right into Amberly Carmichael.
There was a sputter and a splash and suddenly my sneakers were covered in light brown liquid.
"Ugh! You bitch! Look what you did!" Amberly blurted.
Her white coat was covered in what appeared to be chai latte, and some had splattered on her white sweater as well. She held the almost empty cup out as the liquid dripped from the hem of her coat to the floor. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing and glanced over at Rose and Kiki, who along with Missy, Lorna, and Portia were
104
hovering around Amberly. Rose and Kiki both glanced away. Of course.
"Sorry," I said with a shrug.
"You are so paying for the dry cleaning," Amberly said, slapping the cup down on a nearby table and grabbing some napkins. "This coat is one-of-a-kind."
She wasn't yelling, just fuming. Fuming and trembling. As I watched her long, pale fingers work at dabbing the stain, I felt this eerie sense of deja vu, but try as I might, I couldn't place where it was coming from.
"I'm not paying for anything," I told her, shouldering my bag. "It was an accident."
"Oh, you so are," Amberly said, glaring at me. Her blue eyes pierced right through me like ice picks. Clearly just a few days in Billings had taught her how to intimidate and awe. "And it's not going to be cheap," she said, looking me up and down with a sneer. "Better start saving your pennies now."
Forget queen bee. Try queen bitch.
Missy, Lorna, and Portia laughed and my skin burned. I even saw a smile playing on Rose's lips for the briefest second and felt as if I had just been stabbed through the gut Caesar-style, betrayed by the people who were supposed to have my back. Kiki was the only one who didn't react, but maybe her iPod was turned up so loud she couldn't hear what was going on.
"Don't hold your breath," I said through my teeth.
105
"I'll be wanting the Carma Card back," Amberly replied. "And I will get my money."
"Yeah. Good luck with that," I said with a scoff.
Then I shot my former friends a scathing look before striding out.
106
TWO LISTS
I spent Saturday afternoon in the library. Everyone around me was studying. Pencils scratched in notebooks. Whispered debates were being held on everything from the feminist movement of the early 1900s to the history of space travel to the merits of Monet and Manet. At the other
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