The Clique (25 page)

              “Then give him a second chance. But protect yourself, in case you get hurt.”

“I’m so sorry,” Maddie mouths.

              Devon pulls Aude into a hug. “Happy birthday!”

              “Uh, thanks. Everyone else is out back.” Aude points to her back yard. Devon swaggers off to join her friends and family.

              Maddie grimaces. “Sorry. I didn’t have a date.”

              “So you brought
him?
”

              “Yeah. Sorry.” Maddie holds out a thin, rectangular package. “Three guesses what it is.”

              “A new bible?” Aude jokes. “Here, you can put it on the picnic table. My mom’s probably gonna bring out the cake in a few minutes.” She closes the door and heads to the back of her house. The party couldn’t be more divided: the high schoolers are standing by themselves in one corner of the yard, Aude’s parents and their friends are loitering near the grill, and Jenna stands in the middle, as if torn between the two groups.

              Devon already looks deep in conversation with Aude’s sister, but she has no clue what they could be talking about. Aude walks by them, close enough to pick up a few words, but they just sound like normal small talk.

              “Hey Aude,” Kate says. “Cool party.”

              “Oh, thanks.”

              “No problem.” Kate looks around. “This is a nice day.”

              “Uh huh. Yeah, Dad bought tents in case it rained, but—I guess we won’t have to use them.”

              Kate’s date, Connor, cracks his neck. He looks almost bored. So does Hannah, and a few of the others.

              “You wanna play some soccer?” Aude asks. “I think we still have a ball in the garage.” Eager nods all around. She retrieves Jenna’s worn silver ball, covered in scratches from a million practices, and brings it out to the back yard. “Okay, so, um, I guess the fence on one side can be one goal, and the fence on the other side can be the other. What are we doing for teams?”

              “Guys against girls,” Connor suggests.

              Kate smiles. “Bet you we win.”

              “I don’t think so. I’ve played quite a bit of soccer.”

              The girls snigger. Aude and Kate share a who-should-tell-him
look
.
Aude shakes her head. “Hey Jenna—“ she turns to her sister “—we’re gonna play some soccer. Wanna join?”

              Jenna nods eagerly. “Of course.”

              They set up a mock field, moving the picnic table out of the way and shooing the adults farther onto the porch. The boys take first kick; Jenna intercepts it and sends it flying across the yard. Nate, the boys’ goalie, barely manages to get a hand on the ball. It flies into the fence, bouncing high into the air.

              Aude positions herself under it, and when the ball lands she manages to get a foot on it and pass it back to Jenna. Jenna spins past a slide tackle from Connor and drills the ball into the fence before Nate can block it.

              Jenna grins at Connor. “Okay, so I might be going to school on a partial soccer scholarship.” For the next half-hour, the girls’ entire strategy consists of passing the ball to Jenna and waiting for her to score. It’s fun to watch the boys get more frustrated each time they fail to stop her. When Jenna scores a ninth goal, they agree to call the game. The kids settle down to the real business of the party: singing happy birthday, eating cake, and having a good time.

              “Do you want to open your presents now, honey?” Aude’s mom asks.

              “No thanks.” Opening presents in front of her guests strikes Aude as childish… And besides, with her dad’s friends there, she knows that half the gifts are just going to be envelopes with cash. Not very exciting.

              Aude’s dad waves her over. “There she is,” he says, putting an arm around her. “My favorite daughter.”

              One of his friends, a tubby man with a black goatee, laughs. “You say that about all your daughters.”

              “Yeah, well—see, on their birthdays, it switches over. Aude’s my favorite for a couple weeks, then Jules, then Jenna and Jackie.” Aude doesn’t bother to point out that that would mean Jackie’s his favorite for about three times as long as the rest of them.

             
The adults insist on commenting on how big she’s getting, how they remember what she looked like as a baby, yada yada yada. Aude nods along, wondering when she can leave without being impolite. Across the yard, Devon’s speaking with Jenna again, and she doesn’t appear to be enjoying the conversation. Aude’s sister has a scowl on her face.

              Jenna spots Aude looking at them and crooks her finger in a come-here
motion.

              “Oh, it looks like Jenna wants to talk to me.” Aude ducks out from under her father’s arm. She walks over to her sister. “Hey.”

              “Hi.” Jenna turns to Devon. “You can go now.” He slinks away, and Jenna turns back to her sister. “Is it true that Dad called you a whore?”

              Aude glances to the ground. A bright red ladybug is trying to crawl its way to the top of a blade of grass. “Yeah, uh—he did.”

              Jenna raises Aude’s chin with her hand, so they’re looking each other in the eyes. “Okay. I don’t wanna ruin your party, so I’m gonna go. But when it’s over, text me. I have to—talk to Dad.” She works her jaw around.

              “Okay.” Aude watches her sister leave.

              Another hour, and the other guests begin to leave as well. The adults move into the living room. Aude, Kate, and Maddie are the only ones left in the back yard.

              “So, you’ve seemed kinda down lately,” Aude puts a hand on Maddie’s shoulder. “What’s up?”

              Maddie shrugs. “Nothing.”

              “Come on, you can tell us.”

              “Yeah,” Kate agrees.

             
“It’s just… I dunno. It’s stupid.” Maddie frowns at a fly flitting around her hair.

              “I’m sure it isn’t,” Aude cajoles. “You can tell us.”

              “I don’t wanna tell you, okay?”

              “Oh.” Aude frowns. “Well, okay then.”

              Maddie’s lips curl up in a weak imitation of a smile. “Happy birthday, Aude.”

              “Thanks. Sorry the party was so lame.” Aude sighs. “You know what? We should have a real birthday party, just the four of us. We could have it at Hannah’s house, and just talk about whatever we need to. Like group therapy, but with alcohol.”

              Maddie giggles. “How about tomorrow?”

              “Yeah, tomorrow works.”

              Aude’s friends leave, and—except for her dad’s goateed friend—everyone else does as well. He stays until dinnertime, and then a half-hour longer. Aude’s sister returns, and practically orders him to leave.

              “Mom, Aude, get in here.” Jenna’s standing in an arm-crossed, foot-tapping pose, directly across from her dad.

              “What’s going on?” he demands.

              “You insulted Audrey,” Jenna says.

              “What?”

              “Aude’s friend said you called her a whore, Dad.”

              A muscle in Aude’s father’s jaw tightens. “Don’t look at me like that. What, you think you’re a big girl now because you went off to college? Well who pays for your college? Oh, right, that would be me! If I want to reprimand your sister, I will. That’s my right as her father.”

              “That isn’t reprimanding,” Jenna argues. “That’s demeaning. You never—never—have a right to use a word like that.”

              “How dare you!” He leaps up from his chair. “Question
my
parenting abilities! Maybe when you have daughters of your own—“

              “If I had a daughter,” Jenna’s voice rises to match Dad’s, “And her father called her a whore, I would slap him!”

              “Uh huh.” Aude’s dad fakes a smile. “You didn’t see what she did.”

              “Whatever she did, that doesn’t excuse calling her a whore.”

              Aude’s dad scowls at her. “There’s a video of her online, dancing all over some guy in nothing but her bra. And it isn’t hard to see that she was drunk too. Audrey was acting
like
a whore, and that’s what I told her.”

              Jenna sighs. “I’m sorry, I just don’t think that was called for.”

              “Well, that isn’t your decision.”

              “No, but Dad, I think you owe her an apology.”

              “I don’t owe her an apology. If anyone should apologize, it’s her.” Aude’s dad crosses his arms. “What was it you called your sisters, Audrey? Oh, right—broodmares.” He laughs. “Broodmares.”

              Aude wishes she could run to her room and hide; the hurt look on her sister’s face is almost too much to take. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I didn’t mean it.”

              Jenna rubs her temples. “Audrey’s a child, Dad. She’ll say stupid things. But you’re supposed to be an adult. I don’t care what Audrey said, you need to apologize.”

              “Like hell,” her father spits out. “I’m not going to let you—my own child—come into
my
house and tell me how to parent.”

              “But—“

              He cuts Jenna off. “She went to a party, got drunk, and danced all over some boy! What the hell was I supposed to do?”

              Aude’s sister shoots her a disappointed glance. “This isn’t about what she did. This is about the way you reacted.”

              “No, this is done. I’m going to go get dinner.” He grabs his coat and leaves, slamming the door.

              “Mom,” Jenna says. “Where were you in all of this?”

              Aude’s mom sighs. “I—I agree with your father. What he said may have been harsh, but—“

              “What he said was wrong. Geeze, you’re supposed to be the compassionate one.”

              Aude’s mother covers her face with her hands. “I know, I know. But he was so mad, and then Audrey took the virginity test, and I thought everything was going to be fine.” She sniffles.

              “You did what?” Jenna looks bewildered. “Mom, I’m sorry, virginity test?” She falls into her father’s chair. “You can’t be serious. What are we, Middle Eastern fanatics?”

              “It was my idea,” Aude says. When Jenna looks at her, she explains, “Kate thought her boyfriend and I hooked up, and it was the only way to prove I didn’t.”

              Jenna shakes her head and returns her attention to their mother. “Mom, you have to stop things like this. That’s your job. You should never have let Dad call Audrey a whore, and you never should have let her take a virginity test. Okay? I’m gonna need some kind of response.”

              Aude’s mom gives a stiff nod.

              “Good. Because I’m not sure I feel safe going back to school, if there’s no one around to stick up for her. I know you can do it, just like you did when I broke that snowglobe. Remember? Dad was so mad, but you made him stay away from me until he’d calmed down. You have to do that for Audrey.” Jenna stands up and walks over to Aude. “And you—you’re such a handful, aren’t you?”

              “I’m sorry.”

              Jenna smiles. “Don’t apologize. It’s a great thing. I love how you’re so different from the rest of us. Can I tell you something?” She drops to one knee. “Dad’s been so hard on you, since we were little. My worst fear has always been that he’d find a way to—to take your uniqueness from you.”

              “Yeah, well…“ Aude sighs.

              “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not agreeing with the partying or anything else. I think you need to remember how special you are, without all of the bad decisions. It’s your personality that makes you my favorite little sister, but I think Dad trying to turn you into the rest of us can make you lose sight of that.”

              Jenna squeezes her sister’s hand. “If you ever, ever need my help, or Jules’, or Jackie’s, just call. I promise, if I have to drop everything and come on the next flight over, I will. Don’t let him push you around, and never let him take your heart away from you.” She pulls Aude into a hug. “I love you, little sis.”

We’ll be counting stars. Oh we’ll be counting sta-ars.
Maddie turns out in close synchronization with her teammates, executes the choreographed fall, and spins back to her feet. Her ankle scrapes the ground, but she maintains a smile. Almost done. She drops into the final pose—

About five seconds too early. Maddie feels her teammate’s eyes on her, already aware of the fact that she might have just blown the whole competition. Her heart thumps audibly as time seems to slow. She holds the position until the end of the song.

              “Maddie! What were you doing?” Mrs. Davis asks as the Patriots filter off the dance floor.