Playing with Fire (10 page)

One look at the expression on her brother's face and Zoey knew something was up. And it had to be something major for him to be approaching her at school.
What now?
she wondered. It had already been a weird day. First the bad joke Kelly had played on Alison, who she hadn't seen all day. And now her brother. He looked pretty flipped out when he reached the table. Zoey was not in the mood.

“Is it true?” he blurted loudly. “Did you really burn down the school?”

A bunch of kids at the next table turned to look at them. Zoey felt the whole room tilt. Oh,
no. Why was Tom bringing this up now? And how did he find out?

“Sit down,” Zoey said, trying hard to ignore all the people staring at them. “And be quiet.”

Tom didn't sit. “So it's true,” he said. “It's actually true.” He ran a hand through his hair, and Zoey noticed he was shaking a little.

“Tom, please,” Zoey begged. This was going to be all over school by sixth period. “It's not like it sounds. And anyway, who told you?” Stupid question. She looked across the lunchroom at Kelly and the smirk on her snide face. The queen bee had stung again. But who told
her
? And why couldn't she be like other bees and lose her stinger and die after she struck?

Well, a school was not the only thing Zoey could bring down in flames.

She shot up from her seat, brushed past her brother, and positioned herself in Kelly's face. “That's it, Kelly Diamond Reeves,” she said, planting her hands on her hips. “Or should I call you cubic zirconium since you're a total fake? You're not fooling anybody—there is nothing real about you. You don't even have
real friends.” Beside Kelly, Chad shrank back a little and winced.

Kelly's stared up at her evenly. “Are you kidding?” she hissed. “My popularity is as real as your little habit of playing with fire.”

“Which you know nothing about,” Zoey said flatly.

“Except that it got you kicked out of at least one boarding school,” Kelly shot back. “Really, Zoey, how pathetic.”

Zoey stared at Kelly like she was dog poop on the bottom of a new pair of sandals. “You want to talk about pathetic?” she replied evenly. “How about the way you kiss up to your rich grandmother every chance you get? It's a good thing she, for one, can see right through you.”

Kelly was silent, but her eyes were full of fury.

“You'd better be careful, Zirconium,” Zoey warned. “When you're knocked off that pedestal of yours it's going to hurt. A lot.”

“Oh, I'm so scared,” Kelly said, finding her tongue. “I think I'll run home to Mommy.” Her eyes looked at Zoey tauntingly. “Oh, wait, that
was you, wasn't it? What was it, fifth grade? Making you cry was so easy it was pathetic.”

So it was Kelly's fault
, Zoey thought. Her mind reeled. Of course. Kelly was the mastermind of every cruel, demented trick in the book.

As she looked at Kelly's smug face, Zoey felt confused. Maybe she was going after the wrong fish. But why hadn't Alison stopped her? A real friend would have stood up for her—she knew what had been going on at home, that her mom's depression had been getting worse. That her parents' marriage was falling apart. Of course, Alison couldn't have known that Zoey's mother would be
killed
that night, but still…Alison had done absolutely nothing to stick up for Zoey in front of Kelly and the other girls. They were both bad news. It was in their blood.

“Hello?” Kelly said snottily, interrupting Zoey's thoughts. “Anybody home?”

While the kids around her laughed, Zoey smiled down at Kelly. “What would you do if you couldn't use your money to buy popularity? You think Chad and my brother hang out
with you because they actually like you? Your own family doesn't even like you. I dare you to find a single person who does, Kelly Reeves.”

Kelly stared up at her, her mouth hanging open slightly. She looked thoroughly incensed, and Zoey was pretty much done here—why should she waste any more time on Kelly? She was beyond caring about what Kelly—or anyone at Stafford—thought of her.

With a parting glare, Zoey turned and walked back to her table, picked up her tray, dropped it off, and left the lunchroom. The silence she left behind was deafening.

When the bell rang marking the end of fifth period, Alison shoved her history book into her bag and rushed out of the classroom. She didn't look at anyone or anything. She didn't stop at her locker. She simply headed for the door.

“Hey, Alison. Trotting off to snuggle with your unicorn friends?” a voice called out as she reached the school exit. Alison turned around and found herself looking at some girl she didn't even really know. Tiffany, she thought her name was.

Alison pushed the metal bar on the door. “Actually, no,” she replied, stopping just long enough to answer. “I'm just trying to get away
from all the swine.” Without waiting to see Tiffany's reaction, she opened the door and stepped into the warm autumn air.

Alison wasted no time. If she was going to cut school she'd better not be busted on the front steps. Skipping down them two at a time, she hurried up the block. All morning long she'd put up with taunts and snickers about that stupid photo. At first she'd ignored it. She told herself that if she could handle her mother being in jail and Chad being with Kelly, she could certainly handle this. But the past couple of weeks had worn her down. She was exhausted, and the picture had proven to be the final straw.

Putting one foot in front of the other, Alison waited for some relief. She'd had to get out of there—had to get someplace where she could think.

The image of her tear-and-mascara-streaked face and her kiddie sleeping bag flashed in her head. She could see people's faces, mostly taunting but some even worse—pitying. She'd managed to run into Kelly only once—not easy since they had lockers right across from each other. And then there was Chad…

The expression in his eyes when he saw her outside of geometry was hard to read. Did he look guilty? Sad? Sorry he'd ever known her? She used to feel like she could tell him anything. He used to tell her stuff, too, about his parents fighting and his slacker brother, Dustin…He used to trust her and she'd trusted him, too. Fat lot of good that did.

Alison could feel the warm tears streaming down her face and didn't even bother wiping them away. Instead she slumped at the base of a giant oak tree and put her head in her hands. How could she have been so stupid? Getting one up on Kelly only forced her to raise the stakes. The girl knew no mercy. She was barely even human. But Chad…

Why had he chosen to be with Kelly instead of her? Why did he go along with humiliating her in front of the whole school?

Because of Kelly,
Alison thought miserably.
Nobody can say no to her. I never did.

A memory flashed in Alison's face. She was six and on a swing. She asked Kelly to give her a push—and, happily, Kelly did. She pushed her off the swing, hard. Alison had gotten to her feet
and run to their grandmother for comfort. But Tamara had only looked at her sternly.

“If you let her push you and do not push her back, you are the fool and you deserve what you get,” she'd said. Alison was shocked. Was her grandmother telling her that pushing was okay? She'd always been told that it
wasn't
. Turning around, Alison saw Kelly swinging high in her place, her pale legs pumping hard in the air. The victorious smile on her face had said it all.

Alison lifted her head and looked around. She sniffed and wiped her cheeks with her sleeve. Grandmother Diamond had been right. She couldn't let Kelly get away with this. It was time to push back.

She knew where she had to go and what she had to do. It was a long walk—Grandmother Diamond's mansion wasn't anywhere near the academy. But Alison was getting used to walking. She would walk all day if she had to.

As she headed down the street Alison could feel her anguish lifting. The sun was shining, the sky was bright blue, the autumn leaves were just starting to turn, and a slight breeze helped push
her along. By the time she was halfway there she felt positively giddy with the devilishness of her plan. The Diamond inside her sparkled. It was positively perfect.

As she punched in the code to unlock the gate, Alison hoped Aunt Christine and Grandmother were away for the day or at least busy bickering over lunch together. Walking around to the side of the house, she spotted Aunt Christine sunning herself by the pool in a Versace bikini and Gucci rhinestone shades.

“Poor Aunt Christine,” she murmured. “She's so busy perfecting her tan she has no idea there's a thief on the property.”

Alison slipped up the walk, through the back door, up the spiral staircase, and into Aunt Christine's room. The diamond earrings were right there on the dresser, waiting for her.

“Hello, beauties,” Alison said quietly as she lifted them out of the box and slipped them into her bag. “I really appreciate your willingness to help me out with my little project…”

Suddenly Alison heard a noise in the hall. Holding her breath, she closed the empty box and placed it back on the dresser. Then she
crossed the room, pressed her back against the wall, and waited.

Silence.

Peeking out into the hall to make sure the coast was clear, Alison darted back out the way she had come in. Twenty-five minutes later she was back at school. As she glided down the hall to her locker, she realized that nobody was looking at her. There were no heckles.
Weird
, Alison thought. It had been a long time since she'd felt invisible. It felt great.

She could see Kelly and Chad out of the corner of her eye as she twirled the combination lock on her locker. They looked…tense. Alison smiled. All was not perfect with the golden couple. Then a nearby conversation caught her ear.

“Can you believe that's why she got kicked out of boarding school?” Audra, the class brain, was saying. “Why would someone
do
something like that?”

“I know, right? She's clearly psycho,” her friend replied.

Zoey
, Alison thought.
They must be talking about Zoey.
She scanned the hall for her only friend. Where was she?

Zoey sat across the table from Jeremy at Hardwired. They were supposed to be working on geometry, but they were talking instead. And Zoey was having a hard time not noticing how long and beautiful Jeremy's eyelashes were…even while she spilled her guts about the confrontation with Kelly at school.

“I just wanted to smack her. She thinks she can say and do whatever she wants. Like, who died and made her queen? The way she gets such a high out of ruining other people's lives…” Zoey said, not caring that she was babbling. “I don't understand why people can't see her for who she really is. My brother and
Chad follow her around like pathetic little puppy dogs, and she steps all over them. It's sick. She's totally nasty—and evil. And I thought Alison was bad…”

“Really?” Jeremy said, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you and Alison were close.”

Zoey grimaced. “It's complicated,” she said. “Actually, she's kind of my worst enemy. She totally deserted me when I needed her most. It was a long time ago, but…”

“Isn't Alison having an incredibly hard time now? I mean, her mother's in jail. And from everything you've been saying, it doesn't sound like things are going so smoothly for her at school, either.”

“Yeah, well, it's almost time for her to hit rock bottom,” Zoey said.

Jeremy leaned forward. “Seriously, Zoey,” he said. “I don't know what you're planning, but Alison needs you as a friend. If you do to her what she and Kelly did to you, are you any better than they are?” He looked at her pointedly, his blue eyes questioning. “And besides, don't you kind of need her, too?”

Zoey flinched. It was true. Alison was her only
friend. Not even her own twin brother had backed her up in the lunchroom today.

Jeremy sat back, and Zoey could tell he was waiting for a reply. His gaze made her uncomfortable…mostly because she knew he was right. But she'd been consumed with revenge for so long. She couldn't just let it go.

“
She has to run home to Mommy
…” Alison's voice echoed in Zoey's head. She closed her eyes. If only she'd been able to. By the time Zoey got home it had been too late. There'd been a terrible accident. Her mother was dead. Zoey had been shipped off to boarding school right after the funeral. She'd never even opened the letters Alison had sent her there.

Zoey's cell phone rang and she glanced down at the number. “It's Alison.”

“Take it,” Jeremy said.

Zoey flipped open her phone. “Hey,” she said, trying to sound casual. “What's up?” She could feel Jeremy's eyes boring into her from across the table, but she kept her gaze on the floor.

“Zoey! I'm so glad you picked up—I needed to hear a friendly voice. I was so upset about the picture Kelly sent out that I left school right
before lunch. And I didn't see you when I got back.” She paused for a second, but Zoey didn't say anything. “How are you, by the way? Is everything all right?”

Zoey looked across the table at Jeremy, who was still staring at her intently. “Fine, everything's fine,” Zoey said quickly. Alison had obviously gotten wind of the latest Kelly-instigated rumor and was digging for dirt. But Zoey didn't want to talk about it.

“I was hoping we could hang out tonight,” Alison said. “Any chance?”

“Tonight? Uh, I'm kind of busy,” Zoey said, ignoring Jeremy, who was nodding at her.

Alison got kind of quiet on the other end. Zoey caught herself almost feeling bad for her. Then she remembered that she
wanted
Alison to feel miserable. “Okay,” Alison finally said. “I guess I'll just see you tomorrow.”

Zoey thought fast. Maybe tonight was the perfect time to see Alison. Maybe now was a good time to strike. Before she lost her nerve. “Actually, I'm almost done here. Why don't we meet at my house in half an hour?”

“Great,” Alison said, sounding relieved. “See you then.”

“Then it is,” Zoey agreed. She closed her phone with a snap. There was only one question: Was she going to turn on her only friend or not?

Half an hour later Zoey opened the door to a smiling Alison. Zoey greeted her coolly, but Alison rushed in and plopped down on the sofa, totally oblivious. “I'm so glad you invited me over,” she said. “Today has been awful.”

Zoey closed the front door but didn't turn to face Alison right away. Confusion crashed over her like a giant wave. Alison was right, of course. The day
had
been awful—for both of them. Her argument with Tom, her confrontation with Kelly…Zoey suddenly felt exhausted. She just wanted to sit on the couch with a friend and tell her all about it. And right now, her only friend was Alison. Too bad Zoey was about to dump her. Maybe.

Zoey felt kind of dazed as she walked over to the sofa and sat down. “Right, the photo,” she
said. She still wasn't sure what she was going to do. She studied Alison's face, trying to get a read. Alison looked pretty wiped out, too. “Did I see Percy Puppy in that shot?” Zoey thought she had glimpsed Alison's old stuffed dog.

Alison groaned. “Nice, huh? At least
he
looked good,” she joked. “I wish Kelly had at least gotten my good side.”

Zoey was impressed by Alison's ability to laugh at the situation. She'd grown up a lot since fifth grade.

“You don't have a bad side, Alison,” Zoey said, surprising herself. “But your cousin has two.”

Alison looked hard at Zoey. “Yeah, so what happened today?” she asked softly. “I um, I heard some kids talking about a fire…And that you and Kelly had a big fight. About why you left boarding school.”

Alison trailed off, waiting for Zoey to pick up the story. Zoey hesitated. She had never told anyone what really happened that day.

“We don't have to talk about it,” Alison offered. “But I'd like to hear the true story. Not the Kelly Reeves version.”

Zoey bit her bottom lip. No one had ever
asked for her side of the story. Not the headmaster at school, not her father, not her twin.

Alison studied Zoey's face. “Never mind,” she said. “Let's talk about something else.”

Zoey shook her head. She wanted to talk about it. She wanted to get the whole story out. She wanted Alison to know. She took a deep breath.

“Boarding school was terrible,” she said flatly. “All of them. The kids were all evil and perfectly dressed and the teachers thought they were your parents and your principal all rolled into one. I didn't mind the teachers too much at first. After Mom died, Dad could barely stand to look at us, so I kind of needed all the parents I could get.”

“Oh, Zoey,” Alison said softly.

Zoey kept talking. “The last school I got kicked out of was the worst. Everyone thought they knew me—that they could put me in some kind of box. But nobody had any idea who I really am, and nobody cared. So I started to cut class, like I did at the other schools. And my grades slipped. Again. And slipped some more. And then, when I heard the dean was
looking for me, I holed up in a supply closet in my dorm.”

Zoey was talking fast. She knew she had to get it all out before she lost her nerve. “It was great in there. It was the only place I could be by myself where no one could find me. But it was crowded. And I needed some light so I could write in my journal…I had a candle…” She could feel her eyes begin to water again as the memories came flooding back. The dark closet. The loneliness. She could smell the cleaning supplies. “Before I knew it, the closet was on fire and smoke was pouring into the dorm.” She sniffed. “No one was hurt, but…I was expelled that same day—my fifth expulsion in four years, so I had to come back to Stafford. And my dad had to pull some serious strings for them to take me.”

Zoey wiped her cheek on her sweater and looked over at Alison, half expecting her to laugh. How stupid to start a fire in a supply closet and then blubber about it like a baby.

But Alison was not laughing or sneering. She was looking at Zoey with the saddest expression Zoey had ever seen.

“Oh, Zoey,” she said again, moving over to hug her. “You must have been so miserable! How could they not have seen how great you are? I wish I had been there. What a bunch of losers!”

Zoey sniffled again. “Yeah, well, it definitely felt like
I
was the loser.”

“Zoey Ramirez, you are not a loser,” Alison said firmly. “You are the coolest person I know. You're tough. And funny. And way braver than I am.” Alison looked like she really meant it. “Besides, you have a fabulous sense of style and you're the best friend I've ever had.”

Alison paused for a second, then went on. “I've been meaning to say…Well, I'm so sorry about that night. You know, in fifth grade? I should have backed you up. But Kelly…well, there's no excuse, really. You're my friend, and I treated you terribly. And then your mom…I didn't know—” Alison gulped. “I'm so sorry.”

Alison's eyes welled up as she searched Zoey's face. “I didn't know what was happening until it was too late. I wanted to talk to you at the funeral, but everything was so weird and your dad was acting like a prison guard or
something. And then, before I knew it, before I could tell you I was sorry, you were gone.”

Zoey looked up. “Like my mom,” she said sadly. “Sometimes I still can't believe she's gone, you know?”

All Alison could do was nod dumbly. She wondered how she would feel if her mom were dead instead of in jail. A tear slid down her cheek and she brushed it away impatiently. She felt like she had been crying forever. But it felt good to do it for somebody else. “I just wish I could take it back. I wish I could make it better.” Alison's eyes were sad and sincere and questioning all at once.

Zoey sniffed and leaned over to give Alison a hug. “I wish I could make things better for you, too,” Zoey said, squeezing tight.

There was a weird silence while Zoey ran out to grab some tissues. She handed the box to Alison, then cracked a smile. “So how are things otherwise?”

“You really want to know?” Alison asked, hoping she would say yes.

“Of course.” Zoey nodded.

“Well, my dad is totally losing it. He's drinking all the time. I'm not even sure if he's going to work anymore. And my mom's trial…It hasn't started yet, but it's going to be ugly. It sounds like they have a lot of evidence against her, whether it's real or not.”

“Ugh,” Zoey said.

“And here's the weirdest part,” Alison said, almost in a whisper. “In spite of everything, I kind of like having her in jail. It makes me feel…free.”

Zoey grimaced. “Now if we could only get Kelly incarcerated…”

Alison laughed so hard she felt limp. “Yes,” she gasped. “Please. Let's get to work on that.”