The It Girl (24 page)

A dreadful pause hung over the air as Marymount surveyed each of the DC members’ hands. Easy stared at the floor.

Finally Marymount sighed. “All right. This is what we’re going to do. Mr. Walsh, this is your absolute last warning. We’re going to put you on probation. Again. Two weeks. You can’t go to the stables unless there’s an emergency with your horse. No town privileges, and no visitation privileges. You’ll go to chapel, to class, and to meals, but that’s
it
.”

He kept talking, but nobody could hear him. Alan, Benny, and the two senior girls let out collective, grateful sighs. Brett squeaked back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, trying not to smile.

“Wait,” Jenny whispered to no one in particular. “What’s happening?”

“It means the old bastard’s letting me stay,” Easy murmured. But in his voice, she could tell how glad he was. And from the meaningful look he gave her, Jenny thought maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with her.

Brett rifled through her gray nylon Hervé field hockey bag and pulled out a sixteen-ounce bottle of Gosling rum. “We have to celebrate,” she announced dramatically. The three girls sat exhausted on the floor of Dumbarton dorm room 303, Jenny and Brett from the stress of DC, Callie from the stress of
not
being at DC.

Jenny watched as Brett poured rum slowly into each of their chipped Crate & Barrel highball glasses. She kind of felt like she had at the Black Saturday party—warm, gooey, and included. This was what she’d dreamed life at Waverly would be like, and now it was real. Her dreams had come true.

At least, she felt that with Brett. Callie still seemed a little cold. Sure, as soon as Jenny had come back in the room and told Callie the news, she’d quickly run over and given Jenny a huge hug, saying how eternally grateful she was that she hadn’t named her. But there was still some unfinished business between them.

“To the new year at Waverly,” Brett toasted.

They clinked glasses.

“And,” Callie interjected, “to us putting this whole Tinsley thing behind us.”

“Right,” Brett agreed.

“I didn’t even know that was upsetting you guys so much,” Jenny ventured.

“It’s a long story.”

“There were rumors,” Callie explained. “People were talking about why Tinsley was kicked out. Some said I did it, others said Brett did. Neither of us knew what to believe.”

“Speaking of rumors,” Brett began. Jenny noticed that Brett’s eyes were tinged pink, and her fingernails, normally polished and buffed to perfection, were bitten down to nubs. “Um, did either of you hear anything about me and Eric Dalton?”

“No,” Callie answered a little too quickly. Jenny gave her a puzzled look.

Brett rolled her eyes. “I mean, I know you both know. Anyway, I’ve been having this … this thing with Mr. Dalton.”

“Did you sleep with him?” Callie asked.

“No. But I almost did.”

They were silent for a moment.

“But, um, Jeremiah caught me coming off his boat yesterday,” Brett continued evenly, pushing her hair behind her ear. Jenny noticed a huge hickey on her neck. “And I’m wondering how he knew I’d be there.”

Jenny mashed her lips together and noticed Callie was doing the same thing. She hadn’t said a word to anyone, but Callie certainly had. Although … how had Callie found out? Did Brett think she had told on her?

“I had no idea,” Callie repeated, not looking at Brett directly.

“Okay,” Brett muttered.

“Are you okay?” Jenny asked. “With Mr. Dalton and everything?”

Brett shrugged. She wasn’t sure what to say. She wished she could be more adult and tell them the truth, that while she’d been watching Eric undress, she’d actually missed the way boys her age with fumbled around nervously, getting tangled in their clothes, like they couldn’t believe their luck, being with a girl like Brett. Eric’s obvious experience had freaked her out. She wished she could go back to him and confidently say,
Hey, big boy, take me now
. But she couldn’t. She wasn’t ready. Of course, she wanted to tell Callie and Jenny all of that, but she’d told Callie that she’d lost her virginity years ago to that Swiss boy in Gstaad. What would she think if Brett admitted the truth now?

The girls silently sipped their drinks, waiting for Brett to respond. Jenny leaned back. She felt lucky. She wasn’t Easy’s girl-friend, but she knew that if anything ended up happening between them, it wouldn’t feel wrong at all. It would feel exactly right. Now if only Callie would get back together with Brandon… .

“Hey.” Callie broke the silence. “I have an idea.” She scrambled to her feet and ran out of the room. Quickly, she returned holding a thick, red, leather-bound book. It said
WAVERLY
OWLS
, 2000. “The lounge has these dating back to the fifties.”

“An old yearbook?” Brett asked. “We’re not in this one yet.”

“No, but Mr. Dalton is.” Callie smiled wryly.

“Oh my God, open it,” Jenny exclaimed.

They opened the book to seniors, then
D
, for
Dalton
. There he was, in a graduation tux, with that same, I’m-up-to-some-thing-but-you’ll-never-find-out smile. He did look five years younger but still every bit as cute. They stared at it in silence.

“I thought maybe we’d find out he was a huge dork who was obsessed with PlayStation and had a whole bunch of zits,” Callie admitted solemnly. “I thought that might help.” She shrugged, “That definitely doesn’t appear to be the case.”

“Please,” Jenny countered. “All we have to do is find his freshman yearbook. I guarantee he looked like a total freak. I mean, everybody looks dorky when they’re a freshman.”

“Even you?” Callie asked good-naturedly.

“Oh, no. I was never a dork. You should see my pictures from seventh grade. I had this Old Navy fleece thing happening. It was totally hot.”

“Ew.” Callie laughed.

“Yeah. When you meet my dad, he’ll definitely show you pictures.”

Brett hit her with a pillow. “You’re so weird.”

Jenny started giggling and hit Brett back. A feather shot out of the pillow and landed on Callie’s sticky MAC-lip-gloss-coated lip, causing Jenny to laugh even harder. Maybe it was the rum, but she felt manic.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The girls froze.

“The rum,” Callie whispered. “Under the bed.”

They scrambled to hide the cups and, in their hurry, even hid the 2000 yearbook. Callie flung the door open to see Marymount, Angelica Pardee, and Mr. Pardee, all crowded by the wooden threshold.

Oh God
, Jenny thought.
They’ve changed their minds. We’re all getting expelled anyway. Shit, shit, shit
.

“This room is definitely big enough for four,” Angelica mused, looking around.

“All we’d need is an extra bed,” Mr. Pardee added. “There’s already a free desk.”

Callie, Jenny, and Brett looked at one another.
Four?

“Um, can we help you?” Brett asked. She tried to keep her mouth as closed as possible while she talked, so the teachers wouldn’t smell her rummy breath.

“Girls,” Marymount announced, “I have some interesting news that I think you’ll be happy about.”

“What?” Callie was perplexed. “You’re sticking another girl in here with us?”

“Not just another girl.” Mr. Pardee smiled. “Your old friend Tinsley.”

All three roommates fell silent. Callie and Brett stared at each other, eyes widening. Jenny’s eyes darted back and forth, between them.
Tinsley?

“Wait,” Callie squeaked. “What are you saying?”

“You heard us,” Marymount boomed. “The faculty has decided to reinstate Tinsley.”

“And she’s moving back in … here?”

“That’s right.”

“Wow,” was all Brett could say. The other girls nodded.

“Jeepers,” Jenny added.

Jeepers
pretty much said it all.

Instant Message Inbox

CallieVernon:
You’re just across the room, but I don’t want Jenny to hear what I have to say.

BrettMesserschmidt:
Okay, shoot.

CallieVernon:
I don’t know if there’s room on this campus for Tinsley and Jenny.

BrettMesserschmidt:
What do you mean?

CallieVernon:
I know you know what I mean.

BrettMesserschmidt:
Okay, yeah, they both have that … something.

But maybe they’ll be BFF?

CallieVernon:
Or scratch each other’s eyes out.

BrettMesserschmidt:
It’s going to be an interesting year …

CallieVernon:
I’ll say.

BrettMesserschmidt:
How do u think Tinsley got back in, anyway?

CallieVernon:
Maybe she gave Marymount a lap dance … I hear he likes that.

BrettMesserschmidt:
You’re so dirty.

CallieVernon:
But that’s why you love me!

BrettMesserschmidt:
I do. For now, anyway …