Secrets of the Sisterhood (The Cinderella Society, Episode 1) (18 page)

I’d never spent much time around couples before—hello? Not so fun—but the Cindys and their boyfriends were pretty entertaining to hang with. They didn’t overdo the PDAs, they all joked around like the old friends they were, and they teased each other in a playful but nice way. Best of all, the guys treated the girls like equals instead of acting like possessive jerks. No wonder the Cindys called them Charmings.

I quickly discovered, however, that this kind of good, wholesome fun did not extend to every male at MSH. The Villains were nowhere near as stable and had a tendency to snarl and get into arguments at the drop of a hat. They thrived on the same kind of drama as the Wickeds. I shuddered to think what kind of offspring they’d produce if given the chance to procreate. Satan Jr. came to mind.

Dale nabbed us chairs in the corner by the outdoor kitchen, where Ben was guzzling a Coke and Kyra was sipping a peach freeze.

Ben and Kyra scooted their chairs so we all had a piece of sun, and Dale helped Gwen tuck her towel over the chaise. We settled in and watched the drama unfold in the middle of the pool deck where, naturally, the Wickeds and Villains had positioned themselves. The perfect place to command attention.

I’d begun to realize something about the In crowd. The Cindys/Charmings and the Wickeds/Villains had to coexist in the social fabric of high school. Case in point: Lexy and a few other Wickeds being invited to Kyra’s party. Exclude them all and it could turn into a big deal. But invite a few and you kept things kosher. A definite irritation, but I had to admit it was smart politics.

The groups weren’t chummy by any stretch, but they were civil. Even friendly on occasion, if only on the surface. A few people, like Ryan, seemed equally at ease with both groups. But for the most part, people stuck with their own. It made me glad I was firmly on the side of the Cindys, because the Reggies didn’t have the benefit of an unspoken truce. Reggies were fair game, as Heather and I knew well.

Ben and Dale got up to take orders. A peach freeze for Gwen, another for SJ, and a—

“I thought a Coke would be safer to start,” Ryan said, sneaking up behind me. He handed me a tall blue cup, still foaming from the pour. “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.”

We stayed like that, grinning at each other longer than we should have, before Ryan looked away. “Pool volleyball starts in fifteen minutes. Coed teams, Dale and I are captains.”

“It’s a summer tradition,” SJ explained. “Ryan and Dale have been playing against each other since the summer before sixth grade. It’s the only time they’re ever on different sides.”

Gwen stripped down to her athletic Speedo in record time and huddled close to Dale, whispering about strategy. Strategy for pool volleyball? Were they serious?

The series was tied at three and three, so this was a critical year. I couldn’t wait to watch. Seeing Ryan dive and pound the ball, muscles a-ripplin’? I should’ve brought popcorn.

The rules were that they had to alternate girl and guy picks. I made Ryan promise not to pick me before he hopped into the pool to join Dale. Ryan won the coin toss, gave Dale an evil grin, and took the all-state Gwen to get back at Dale for winning last year’s battle. Dale sized him up and called out his own first pick. “I get Jess!”

I froze. I was
not
a volleyball player. Dale gave Ryan an evil grin right back, and I saw that Ryan’s own smile had disappeared. But there was no way I was jumping into the fray and making a fool of myself, so I resisted the pressure of thirty or so pairs of eyes.

“Sorry,” I begged off. “I hurt my shoulder at work yesterday.”
Liar, liar, tankini on fire.
A slight exaggeration, but a small price to pay for my self-esteem.

Dale raised his eyebrow at me in suspicion, then looked at Ryan, who had a triumphant gleam in his eye. Dale nodded knowingly, then went on with the picking. With everyone’s attention on Dale, Ryan gave me that killer smile again. My heart skipped a beat.

They finished picking sides, and the game started. My refusal to play had given Sarah Jane an easy out to keep the teams even. She collapsed next to me after a quick conference with Dale and Ryan. “Thank you,” she said. “I’m always the worst player on the team.”

A few minutes later, I understood why. This was no ordinary pool volleyball game. These kids were pro material.

They bumped and set and spiked the ball, diving over each other, calling shots. I would’ve been a total nuisance to Dale’s team. Or Ryan’s team. Which reminded me . . .

“Why did Dale—?”

“Exactly why you think.” She turned to me, her eyes tinged with mischief. “Ryan’s definitely got you in his sights.”

Things like that didn’t happen to me. Not unless there was a punch line coming. “But he’s way out of my league. What could he possibly see in me other than I’m a new challenge?”

“No Wicked chatter. You should know exactly what he sees in you. You’re smart, funny, and a total cutie. And you’ve got a good heart. Charmings always go for the girls with good hearts.”

I thought about Fake Blondie. “Always?”

“Well, mostly,” she hedged, clearly on the same wavelength. “Sometimes big boobs override their common sense.”

I took a sip of the drink poured for me by the object of my affection. I couldn’t deliver much in the cleavage department, but I might be okay if he went for good-girl types. Somehow I couldn’t see Fake Blondie fitting that bill.
 

I took another sip, wondering how much of Sarah Jane’s view was based on reality, when the volleyball came blasting onto my chaise, splattering Coke down the front of my new suit.

“Oops!” came the snarky voice. “My bad.”

I looked blandly at Lexy, who gave me her best Wicked Witch of the West stare in return. Until Ryan turned around and yelled at her.

Ha!

Lexy scowled at him and splashed away to her position in the back row. She flipped me off, then proceeded to ignore me for the rest of the match.

I went over to the hot tub and splashed water on my suit. SJ wiped down my chair and came over to join me.
 

“What is it with me and drink spills?” I grumbled. “I’m like a human magnet for stains.” With aim like that, Lexy should’ve been playing varsity volleyball instead of cheering. Though I’d never sic her on Gwen.

“The Wickeds love public fights. You handled that perfectly.”

“The Wickeds love public everything,” I grouched.

“They crave attention the way other people crave air. It’s how they measure their power. Being ignored is like having their power stripped away.” She bent to scoop bubbles from the jet into her cupped hands. “They don’t respond well to that.”

“Do they respond well to anything?”

“Not that I’ve seen. That’s why the Reggies are afraid of them.” She let the water stream through her fingers. “They never know what’ll set the Wickeds off.”

I looked down at the wet splotch on my tankini, courtesy of Lexy’s whim.

Sometimes neither did we.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Sarah Jane and I dangled our feet in the bubbling hot tub water as we watched the volleyball players. I’d never seen that kind of ferocity off an actual court. Even with Gwen being first-team all-state, I was shocked by how many other kids held their own against her power spikes.

The game wore on, and it was down to the wire with Dale’s team serving. The volley lasted forever, with a brilliant save by Dale that I thought for sure was going out of bounds. Kyra set up the shot to use the surprise save to their advantage, and Dale spiked it in for the win.

You’d have thought it was the Olympics. Seriously. Dale’s team erupted in cheers and screams and several loud renditions of “We Are the Champions” as Ryan’s team faked heart attacks and moved to slap hands with the winners. Ryan and Dale tried to dunk each other for the next few minutes, but neither one showed signs of superiority or grief.

Life without drama was bliss.

“Too bad Parker bailed with her fake injury,” Lexy said too loudly from her prime location mid-pool. “We’d have crushed ‘em for sure.”

Morgan and Tina giggled loudly. Not that I cared. In fact, it was hard to be upset about anything. We were having fun, Ryan might really be into me, and it was a perfect sunny day among the Populars.

Ryan came out of the pool. “Got any hugs for the losers?” he asked, dripping all over the concrete.

Always.

“Sure,” I teased. “Go dry off, and I’ll see if I can find a girl to soothe your ego.”

“What?” He faked another heart attack. “You’d forsake a dying man his final wish? After being humiliated on the battlefield—”

“Pool.”

“In the pool. I guess I’ll have to play the part of conqueror then,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

The butterflies were ready to party in support of that idea.
Chill, girls. Play it cool.

With the volleyball championship decided for another year, the party gradually started to wind down. People offered their thanks to Ryan for the party and gave Dale high fives for winning.

SJ handed me my beach bag and towel.

“Let me walk you out front,” Ryan said, taking my bag and carrying it for me. SJ and I exchanged hugs with Kyra and Gwen and headed to the convertible. Being the super cool big Sis that she is, Sarah Jane skirted the car and busied herself with something in the trunk to give Ryan and me some privacy.

Ryan leaned a hip against the passenger door. “I’m sorry about my sister and the stray shot. She’s not really as bad as she seems.” When I didn’t meet his eyes, he retracted that. “Okay, maybe she is. My mom died a couple years ago. She’s had a rough time.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” From what Nan had told me, Mrs. Steele’s death in a car accident had been a blow to the whole community. “But hasn’t it been rough on all of you?”

Now Ryan wouldn’t meet my eyes. “It’s been worse for her.”
 

I remembered that part too.
Because she’d been in the car.

“Let me make it up to you,” Ryan said, smoothing over the dip in mood. “The new Adam Sandler movie came out last weekend. Why don’t we grab dinner and go check it out? How about tomorrow?”

“I can’t.”

“Oh.” He straightened and slid my beach bag into the backseat, looking disappointed but casual. “No problem.”

What?
Oh.
“No!”
No no no no NO!!!
“No, I mean . . . it’s not that . . .” I stopped and tried again, more relaxed and less freak girl this time. “I have to work tomorrow, that’s all.”

“Tuesday?”

I breathed normally again. “Tuesday would be great.”

“Awesome.” He opened my door for me like a gentleman. “I’ll pick you up around six?”

I nodded, and he knocked me out with another For Jess Only wink. I feared an addiction to them was not far off.
 

“See you then, gorgeous.”

He patted the car and sent us on our way with a double finger swing toward the road before heading back across the lawn. I watched him go, but movement in an upstairs window caught my eye. Lexy stood there looking like her head might spin around in fury.

I stood my ground—sat it, whatever—and stared right back. She held my eyes and pointed at me, then pointed to the ground. I might be protected with SJ at my side, but Lexy had no intention of backing down anytime soon. The wickedest of the Wickeds was plotting to take me down.

But for once—just once—I didn’t even care. When I finished my training and was stronger and wiser to Lexy’s slippery ways, I’d stand up to her face to face. Until then, I’d keep my distance. My only concern was my Alpha training.

And my very first date.

Sarah Jane must’ve been my fairy godmother. Because my real-life fairy tale?

It was finally coming true.

Chapter Thirty

Our Monday Alpha class included a recap of the Image Plan work we’d done so far and a progress pow-wow for each of us with Gaby and our big Sister. I was keeping up with my assignments—
go me!
—and had gotten enthusiastic praise for creating a signature style that was genuine and made me feel confident. Definitely a day for the win column.

Best of all, I’d finally found my comfort zone in the world of belonging. That alone was worth the price of admission. But considering I also had a date with Ryan—in less than thirty-three hours (but who was counting?)—things were on a major upswing on all fronts. A girl could get used to the fairy tale life with a fairy godmother like Sarah Jane Peterson in her corner.

We started clearing our stuff out of study hall when Sarah Jane and the other Gammas came out of the Gamma office. Paige led the pack.

“Hang on,” Paige said. “We’ve got a tradition to take care of before you leave.”

More Cindys piled into study hall from the lounge until we were packed around the huge table. Gaby had everyone take a step back, and she hit a button next to her office door. A buzzing sound followed as the legs under the table folded and the whole thing lowered itself until the top was flush with the rest of the floor.

I’d wondered what they did to fit everyone in if the entire Cindy group was here all at once. But this? Totally James Bond. If James Bond were a teenage girl.