“Okay. What’s first?”
“Wait to see if any of the boys approach you with the offer. Maybe it’s all talk. If it isn’t, however, Ashley will expect you to be indignant, angry about it, and chase the boy off. He’s probably hoping for that and getting his explanation for that all ready, but you’ll surprise him by accepting the offer. Now he’ll have to put up or shut up, and he’ll put up,” Rae explained.
“He won’t want to look stupid to his friends,” Taylor added.
“Right. So you’ll have a date and a place,” Rae continued. “I’ll tell my father and we’ll plan out the trap.”
“This is great,” Taylor said. “I can’t wait.”
“One thing,” Rae continued. “We don’t want to spook them, so Taylor and I won’t be friendly with you in school until afterward, okay?”
“They’re not stupid,” Taylor said. “If they see the three of us consorting, they’ll back out or do something to ruin the sting.”
“Just write down when and where and slip a note into my locker. It’s number 103. You pass it every morning on the way to your classroom, okay?” Rae said.
“We’ll call you the night you get the note into my locker and give you whatever instructions Rae’s father wants you to have.”
“What if he doesn’t want to do it?”
“Are you kidding? My father is a very strict disciplinarian. He thinks kids are way too free today and would jump at a chance to make an arrest like this,” Rae replied, “especially if there are any drugs involved, and especially with someone like Ashley, who thinks he’s above the law. My father doesn’t like his father either. He says he’s helped too many criminals escape justice.”
They both got up.
“Remember, locker 103.”
I nodded and they walked away. At the door, Taylor turned and gave me a small wave good-bye.
Life in the perfect suburbs was turning out to be just as nasty as life in my neighborhood, I thought. One good thing that would come out of this would be my aunt Mae Louise would have to stop riding on her high horse and bragging about how much nicer and safer it was living here. That alone seemed reason enough to go through with it.
Nothing happened that afternoon, and no one approached me during lunch the next day. I was beginning to think it was all just a lot of talk, just as Rae thought it might be, something the boys bantered about to show how brave and sophisticated they were. And then, as I was walking back to class, two boys I had seen with Ashley came up beside me. One was about my height, with curly black hair and a pug nose. He was wide in the shoulders and wore a wrestling team jacket. The other boy was taller, with long straw-colored hair and a sharp, pointed nose over thin lips and a cleft chin.
“Hi,” he said. “We heard how you got into trouble.”
“Good for you,” I said, and kept walking.
“We don’t think it’s right that all the other girls in the school are such snobs and don’t have anything to do with you,” the boy on my right said. “They should be welcoming you here, not ostracizing you.”
I continued walking, keeping my gaze straight ahead, and they remained right alongside.
“Is that right?” I asked.
“Yes, it is. I’m Gerry Balwin. My friends call me Grog. And this is Skip Lester.”
I stopped and turned to him.
“Okay, what do you want?” I demanded.
He smiled and looked at his friend.
“We just thought that maybe you’d like to come to a party we’re having.”
“What party?”
“A cool party,” Skip said. “There’ll be some other girls there, but three of us really want you to come. We thought, that is…”
“We’ll give you three hundred dollars, that’s a hundred apiece,” Grog offered quickly. “That’s what you got before, isn’t it?”
A big part of me wanted to lash out and slap the side of his face so hard his head would spin around. My heart was thumping with anger I didn’t expect, but I figured Taylor and Rae were right about how to get back at these boys. Just smacking them wouldn’t do much and in the end, they would surely deny what they had said and I’d be the one getting in trouble again.
“Where’s the party?”
“It’s at Ashley’s house. I wrote down the address for you,” Grog said, “with the time. It’s Saturday night.” He handed me a slip of paper. “We’ll have the money there and promise to give it to you as soon as you come. We’ll keep it a secret, too.”
“Most of the other girls in the school, the ones who look down on you, will be jealous you got invited and they didn’t. We won’t tell them why. You’ll be invited to other things afterward,” Skip assured me.
“What kind of a party is it going to be? I hope there’s something else to do,” I added.
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Grog said, smiling. “Ashley’s prepared. He’ll have some good stuff.”
I looked at the slip of paper and then from one boy to the other.
“Three hundred as soon as I get to the house?”
“Guaranteed.”
“I want half tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
“We got to trust each other, don’t we?” I asked.
They looked at each other.
“Well?” I said, seeing the hesitation in their faces. “You want me there or not?”
“You’ll have it lunchtime,” Grog assured me.
“Then I’ll be there for sure,” I said, smiling. “Now you go break open your piggy banks,” I told them, and walked away.
I heard them laugh and saw them hurrying excitedly back to the cafeteria. When the police pounced on them, I would have sweet vengeance, but I’d also have one hundred and fifty dollars, and I had no intention of giving it up.
At the end of the day, I passed locker 103, paused, and dropped the slip of paper through the slot. That night, to my aunt’s surprise, I had a phone call. She came to my room to tell me there was a girl on the line asking for me.
“She said her name is Rae,” Aunt Mae Louise told me, her eyes full of suspicion. “Who is she?”
“Just some girl I met in school. Her father’s a policeman,” I added.
She relaxed.
“Oh. Well, we want you to have nice friends here, Phoebe. We’re just going to always be concerned about your welfare,” she explained.
She tried not to make it obvious, but I knew she was following me to the kitchen. She should be working as a spy for the government, I thought.
“What?” I said instead of a hello.
“I’m just calling you to confirm I have your note, and I’ve spoken to my father. He’s very excited about this, and he wanted me to tell you thank you beforehand,” she said quickly. “He says just pretend to be going along with everything, and he’ll take it from there.”
“What’s that mean?” I asked, keeping my voice as low as I could. Although she wasn’t in the kitchen, I was sure Aunt Mae Louise was just outside the door eavesdropping.
“You know, start like you’re going to go through with it so they can’t claim it wasn’t what we know it is. You’ll have to go into the bedroom with the first boy after they pay you. They’ll do some Ecstasy first to build up their courage, and my father and his partners will be watching all the time. I know you’re probably afraid, but…”
“I’m not afraid and I know what to do,” I said. I didn’t need my courage built up by the likes of them.
“Good. We’ll have our own little celebration afterward. I promise,” she told me, and hung up.
“Where’s the party?” I pretended to ask after she hung up. “I’ll have to ask my aunt and uncle. Thanks,” I said, and hung up.
As I anticipated, Aunt Mae Louise was right outside the door.
“The girls are having a party this weekend and asked me. Is that all right with you?”
“Where is the party?”
“At Rae’s house. Her mother and father will be there,” I said. “It’s like
one of those pajama parties, girls getting to know each other and all.”
“That sounds fine. I’ll see about Uncle Buster taking you there.”
“He doesn’t have to,” I said quickly. “Rae’s going to pick me up.”
“Oh. What’s her name again?”
“Rae Landau,” I said. “Her father’s a detective.”
She made a mental note of it and told Uncle Buster. I overheard them talking about it. He phoned someone to check on my story. They were being extra careful all right, I thought. However, when he returned and reported I was telling the truth that there was indeed a Detective Landau, I had to admit to myself I felt better about it, too.
Anticipating Saturday night and how sweet my revenge would be put some excitement into my life. I actually looked forward to going to school and seeing how the boys looked at me, Skip and Grog smiling and winking, and how excited both Taylor and Rae looked whenever I confronted them.
On Friday, right after I entered the cafeteria and got my lunch, Grog came up beside me and handed me an envelope.
“Just put it away quickly,” he said, looking around nervously. “We can both get into lots of trouble for this.”
I dropped it into my purse and later, in the girls’ room, I took it out and counted seven twenties and one ten. I smiled with glee. Won’t those rich arrogant boys be surprised? Just the thought of it put some pep into my steps and gave me new energy. I worked hard in class, so hard Mr. Cody gave me a compliment.
“You keep going like this, Phoebe, and you’ll be on reading level and back where you belong before you know it.”
The others looked at me with envy.
That’s exactly where I’d like to be, I thought. Back where I belong.
That evening and all the next day, I tried to be Miss Perfect at home. I didn’t want anything to happen that would interfere with our plans. I offered to help Aunt Mae Louise with the dishes before she asked. In the morning right after I rose and dressed, I started to vacuum, cleaning my room and then going into the halls and the living room.
Aunt Mae Louise smiled and nodded. Later, Uncle Buster asked if I would like to go with him, Barbara Ann, and Jake for some frozen custard. I thanked him and told him I had to get myself ready for my party. I chose the most conservative thing I had to wear and asked Aunt Mae Louise’s opinion, something that took her by complete surprise.
“Yes,” she said, “that’s appropriate.” She thought a moment and said, “Once your father’s estate is straightened out, we’ll use whatever there is to buy you some new clothes, Phoebe. A girl your age needs a nice wardrobe. Some day you’ll go off to college or a business school and need nice things to wear.”
I nodded. Me in a college, even a business school? Get real, I thought, and then, for a moment, I tried to imagine it. Every image seemed silly. I was sure I’d end up like Mama, a waitress in some restaurant. It made me angry and even more eager to go to this party and turn those rich boys and their friends upside down.
Rae and Taylor showed up exactly at seven o’clock. Aunt Mae Louise insisted I bring them into the house to meet her. They looked more nervous about it than I was.
“I think it’s real nice of you girls to welcome someone new to the community like this,” Aunt Mae Louise told them. “It shows a warm heart, a charitable and compassionate heart, and that’s how we all walk in the light of the Lord.”
They smiled at her and looked to me to get them out quickly. As soon as we left, Rae pounced.
“You didn’t mention the sting operation to your uncle and aunt, did you?”
“No. You don’t have to worry about that. I know what to say and what to do,” I told her sharply.
These spoiled girls with their fancy clothes and cars weren’t going to make me feel innocent and incapable of handling myself. They hadn’t seen half the things I had. If they had, they’d be the ones hiding in a closet, I thought.
“Rae’s father told us we’re supposed to act like we don’t know anything,” Taylor explained. “The boys will be sitting around, drinking. There’ll be music and then Ashley will bring out the Ecstasy. You should take it just to keep them from being suspicious. You ever do that before, take drugs?”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Where I come from, it’s like candy,” I said.
“I bet. After this is over, I want to have a real party at my house so the girls can get to know you. Some of them are so naive and simple, they’ll think you’re out of a movie or something.”
“But not you, huh?” I said.
“Taylor and I are a lot more sophisticated than our friends,” Rae explained, “mainly because of things I hear my father talk about, things he doesn’t even know I’ve seen and heard.”
“That’s nothing. That’s like watching it on television,” I said.
They were both quiet. We traveled through another neighborhood where the houses looked bigger and more expensive than the ones in my aunt and uncle’s development. It had been mostly cloudy all day and had grown darker and darker until the wind picked up and some drops of rain struck the windshield. By the time we drove up a long driveway lined with lanterns and beautiful cypress trees pruned to the exact same height all the way up to the circular driveway, the raindrops had become a steady drizzle.
I was impressed with the size of Ashley Porter’s house, but I didn’t want to gape and sound like I was. It was a two-story home with a steeply pitched roof and tall, narrow windows. I could see the chimney on the left side. The walls of the house were solid brick. I saw five other cars parked in front.
“Looks like everyone’s here,” Rae commented.
“Where’s your father?” I asked, gazing around.
“They’re either here already or right behind us,” Rae said. “Don’t worry about them. If we can see them, then the boys might be able to see them.”
The moment we opened the car doors, I could hear the loud music within the house.
“They’re starting early,” Taylor said. “Good. They’ll be too wasted to be careful.”
The front door was slightly open, which explained why the music leaked out so loudly.
“Hey, we’re here!” Taylor cried.
We heard a whoop from the room on the left. I tried not to gawk at all the artwork, the statues, expensive-looking rugs, and gilded mirrors. In the living room there were pieces of furniture that looked built for giants. The fireplace was the biggest I had ever seen, not that I had seen that many.
I recognized most of the boys and saw only one other girl. Some of the boys were sitting on the floor and some on the long sofa and oversized chairs. What looked like two bottles of vodka were on the large, oval coffee table with soda water, juice, glasses, and a bucket of ice. Most everyone was smoking, and it didn’t smell or look like plain cigarettes.
Ashley, who was in front of a stereo, turned and smiled. There was no doubt in my mind that something slippery and ugly was hidden beneath those laughing eyes.
“Hey, the party’s here!” he cried. The boys cheered.
I had seen people my age wasted on drugs and drink. I had been at many a party where sex, booze, and drugs were common, but there was something about this scene, about being among so many rich kids that made me nervous, as well as our secret plan I had to make work. Maybe it was just the size of the house and all the expensive things. I was in unfamiliar territory, and even though I wasn’t afraid of any of them, I couldn’t help feeling like a fish out of water. Even a shark has trouble there, I thought.
“What would you like to drink?” Ashley asked. “Or do you just want to go right to the party?”
I looked at Rae and Taylor. Rae nodded slightly.
“Why waste time? Ain’t time money?” I fired back at him, and the boys all whooped again.
“Well, enjoy an E,” he said, and handed me some Ecstasy. “It’s a fringe benefit.”
“Thanks,” I said, and pretended to take it, but kept it in between my fingers.
Grog jum
ped up.
“We already decided,” he said. “I’m first.”
“Lucky you,” I said, and there was another cheer.
I looked at Rae, and again she nodded. I glanced at the windows. Were the police watching? Were they already in the house? Could they hear everything?
“Right this way,” Grog said, taking me by the right elbow.
“Hold on,” I said, glancing at Rae. “Where’s the rest of your money?”
“Oh, right, sorry,” Grog said, and dug into his pocket to produce a fifty-dollar bill. He held it up.
The other boys seemed hypnotized, even Ashley. Soon, he would be choking on his nasty words, I thought.
Taylor and Rae watched me pluck the bill from Grog’s fingers and stuff it into my purse. I tried to make the action as big as possible so Rae’s father would be satisfied, wherever he was. Then I turned toward the door.
“He won’t be long,” Skip Lester called after us. There was another whoop of laughter.
We crossed the hallway and entered what looked like a big office.
“Right through here,” Grog said, continuing to a door in the rear.
I walked slowly behind him, anticipating Rae’s father’s arrival any moment. Grog opened the door to what looked like a small bedroom that had been created out of a big closet.
“What is this?” I asked, surprised.
“Ashley’s father’s little hideaway. Perfect, huh?” he asked.
I shook my head. There wasn’t a window. Behind me, the music got louder. Where were Rae’s father and the other policemen?
“Well, let’s get to it. Just pretend we’re in the nurse’s office in school,” Grog said, unbuttoning his shirt quickly and then undoing his pants.
I looked back. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Silent screams stuck in my throat when my heart began to pound warnings.
“What’s up?” Grog asked, standing there with his pants half down.
I turned without replying and headed back across the office, but when I reached the door, all the other boys were standing there.
“Where are you going, Phoebe?” Ashley asked. “He wasn’t that fast, was he?”
I tried to look past them for Rae and Taylor.