The Mag Hags (14 page)

The formal was taking place in just four weeks' time, so who was going with who was the topic on everyone's lips. When Cat heard from Jodi Mark that Nate had a date, her brain went into overdrive. Apparently Nate had told Glen McDonald, who told his sister Marav, who told Imogen Smith, who told Jodi Mark, that Nate was bragging that he had pulled the hottest girl of the year as his date, but wouldn't divulge any more. This, of course, sent Cat's blood pressure skyrocketing.

A hundred faces and possibilities went through her mind. If it was that cheap-as-nylon Kylie Mannigan, well, she would consider some form of harakiri. It wasn't until two days later, at water polo training, that Nate told Glen McDonald, who told his sister Marav, who told Imogen Smith, who told Jodi Mark, who told Cat, making the daisy chain of gossip complete, that the mystery girl was, in fact, one Corabelle Askew, the millionaire's daughter, who had apparently said yes without a moment's hesitation.

When Cat heard about this, she flipped out. There's something about breaking up with somebody and then
later finding out that they have made someone else the object of their affection. It cuts like a nick when you're rushing to shave your legs. There's a lot of blood, but when you wash it away, you see that the cut was only surface deep. Cat hadn't washed away the blood by the time she confronted Belle in the playground at lunchtime.

‘Can we have a word?' said Cat with a grimaced smile, looking Belle directly in the eye. ‘In private?'

‘Sure, Cat,' said Belle, excusing herself from the usual cast of sycophants wanting a go on The Vultron.

The girls walked across the quadrangle to the seats on the far side of the school, beneath the huge trees that dropped red berries in the summertime.

‘Are you going to the formal with Nate?' said Cat, and before giving Belle time to answer, cried, ‘Nate was, my … my … my boyfriend.'

‘
Was
being the operative word,' said Belle. ‘Get over it, Cat, you were together for two weeks and you've been broken up for ages!'

‘You don't get it, do you?' said Cat. Her heart thundered and a flush of red spread across her throat and into her cheeks. ‘I've been going to kickboxing classes to help you out, making my sister help you too. But do you ever say thanks? No, you just expect it, don't you? Then you go to the formal with the love of my life, the man who, who …'

‘The man who what?' said Belle, standing up defiantly, her hands on her hips.

‘Never mind,' said Cat with a sigh of defeat. ‘But you know how I feel about him …'

‘Cat, I'm only going to the formal with him,' said Belle. ‘It's not like we're getting married or something. Please don't turn this into an
issue
. Okay?'

But Cat stared straight through her, her eyes dead and said, ‘Yeah, yeah whatever', a word she used when she really didn't know what to say because to express everything she felt would be far too scary.

 

On Saturday morning the girls had arranged to convene at Mag Hag Central after Belle and Wanda had finished playing in the Saturday netball league. It was one of those bipolar weather days, big black and stormy in one part of the sky; bright blue and lit up by the sun's rays in another. Like the weather, the atmosphere in the room was decidedly unsettled.

Cat was dreading having to spend time with Belle after the Nate conversation; Belle had lost at netball in the dying minutes of the game and still had her dad's wedding to contend with and Wanda's internalised rage at having her sewing machine confiscated was bubbling like Mount Vesuvius at its molten core. Maggie was definitely
so
over her sister's wedding and still hadn't heard anything about the exchange program in Holland. She wanted to be anywhere but Deadwood. Not to be left out, Mand was fed up with her fly-by-night dad, breezing in
and then disappearing without even suggesting they have breakfast together. Add to the mix that four of the five girls were experiencing the effects of PMS, and you've got the female equivalent of dynamite.

Maggie had insisted on a four-hour intensive work session, as there was so much work to be done, and she wasn't averse to a bit of whip cracking. After all, the deadline was looming, and there were still stories to be written, pictures to be chosen, words to be proofed and layouts done.

After tucking into a plate of mini muffins and a jug of orange juice that Mrs Biggins had left for the girls, Maggie called the meeting to order.

‘Okay, let's have a look at the list of stories. Cat, how's the Tyler interview going? Have you heard from your contact?' she asked.

‘No, not yet, I've been texting the guy like a deranged stalker,' replied Cat. ‘I swear I've sent him over twenty messages. I just hope he doesn't report me to the police!'

‘And the celebrity quiz?' asked Maggie. ‘That was supposed to be in two weeks ago.'

‘You'll have it when it's ready,' said Cat in a huff. ‘Unlike you, I do have a life outside of the magazine.'

Once this kind of snarly reply would have made Maggie blush furiously and keep her mouth firmly shut. Now she knew Cat better she didn't seem so scary after all.

‘Mand, what about your global warming story that was due last week too. We're falling behind schedule.'

‘I'm interviewing this chick from Friends of the Earth over the phone next Monday. I'll file the copy at our Wednesday meeting,' said Mand.

‘And have you all done your music reviews? They were actually due yesterday,' said Maggie with a distinct tone of impatience.

‘Maggie, before you get some sort of “beloved leader” complex, you need to take a chill pill, love,' said Belle. ‘Let me show you some of the layouts I've been working on.'

‘I think you mean,
we've
been working on, Belle,' said Wanda, in the huffiest tone the girls had heard come out of her mouth.

‘Obviously, Wanda,' said Belle, whose cute little white laptop was the central point of command, where all the files for each individual page were saved. ‘Everyone knows
we've
been working together. I didn't think I needed to state it every time I speak about the magazine. Anyway, check this out girls, it's Mand's body image story.'

‘That looks great,' said Mand, getting in for a closer squizz. ‘But why have you used a chick with the body size of an undernourished ant for the main picture when the story is about being comfortable with your shape, no matter what size you are?'

‘Well, I did ask you if you wanted to help me spend
hours trawling the net looking for free photos,' said Belle defensively, as she had stayed up until midnight working on the design of the story.

Mand didn't have a comeback, so she kept silent. The rest of the girls were quiet too, settling in to work. After about an hour of intense concentration, Wanda broke the stifling silence.

‘So has anybody got a date to the formal yet?' she said, as she sat working with Belle, knitting a scarf with the contraband knitting needles and wool that she had bought in town. ‘Or are we going to be a bunch of old spinsters going alone?'

Belle flushed bright red and didn't say anything.

‘I think Belle's the only one with a date,' said Cat, glaring at her.

‘Really,' said Wanda. ‘Who is it?'

‘Nate,' said Cat, with a venomous sneer.

‘Whooooooo!' said Mand with a little chuckle, even though she knew that Cat would be chewed up inside. ‘You're going with Nate. What? How? When?'

Belle felt all eyes upon her. ‘He came over with Billy Prince. My dad was meeting Billy's dad about some business, and Nate came too because Mr Prince had picked the guys up from water polo training. They were having a turn on The Vultron and we got talking, you know, and then last week he sent me a text and asked me.'

‘And how do you feel about that, Cat?' said Mand, pretty sure she knew exactly how Cat felt. ‘I had high hopes for you and Nate. After all, you were the Romeo and Juliet of Baywood High. Without the suicide bit, of course!'

‘Stop stirring, Mand, okay,' said Maggie. ‘It is pretty obvious how Cat feels, isn't it?'

With that Cat burst into tears. ‘You are a complete cow, Mand,' she sobbed. ‘At every available opportunity you try and make me look like a complete fool.'

‘I was only joking.' Mand said, feeling guilty. ‘You weren't together very long, were you? I can't believe you're taking it so seriously. Just go and date someone else.'

‘That's what I said,' said Belle. ‘You should never get stuck on a guy, especially if he's not into you. Seriously, Cat.'

‘He's not just a guy!' said Cat. ‘He's, he's, he's …'

‘He's what?' said Belle.

‘He's the guy who took my, my, my …' Cat couldn't bring herself to say the word, but the others seemed to know what she meant. ‘And then he dumped me by text. Okay! Are you happy now? And I can't believe I was so stupid. I'm probably already the laughing stock of Baywood High.'

The girls sat in dumbfounded silence. They looked at one another, not knowing what to say. Maggie walked over to Cat and put a gentle arm around her. ‘It's okay, Cat,' she said, and that only made Cat sob harder. She hadn't even
told the Us Crew what a bastard Nate had been.

Cat felt mortified. She couldn't believe that (a) she had blabbed a secret that she had been holding so close for so long, and (b) she was hyperventilating in front of the girls. It felt like a big bucket full of shame had just been dumped upon her head.

‘Oh my god!' said Belle. ‘I didn't know.'

‘Of course you didn't know,' said Cat bitterly. ‘I don't know who Nate told but I wasn't going to broadcast it to the school that the man I thought I loved had got what he wanted and then dumped me. Before that, it was beautiful, I thought it was the real deal, that's why I … And now he won't even talk to me.'

The girls all rallied around Cat, even Mand, who now felt like a heartless cow.

‘Men!' said Wanda. ‘What are they like?

‘I don't know,' said Maggie. ‘What are they like?'

‘Jesus, Maggie,' said Mand. ‘You live with the Jones sisters. Surely they must share their knowledge with you. You must have picked up something, if only by osmosis …'

‘My sisters don't even know I'm alive, let alone tell me anything about their love lives!' cried Maggie. ‘I'm four years younger than the youngest one, Lisa, so they're always having chats without me. Bet will say, “Caro, Lisa, can we talk behind closed doors?” And I'm left with my two-year-old brother Billy, feeling like a little kid. They don't tell me anything.'

‘Ask them!' said Cat, who knew all about the Jones sisters, who were, after all, legends. The girls were held up like demigods. They had dated brainiacs, sports stars, tradesmen, an ambulance driver, musicians, older guys, younger guys, hot-yet-dumb guys, smart-but-not-hot guys, players, stayers, hunks, hulks, jocks, nerds – they must know all there was to know about boys.

‘You could interview them and write an article called “What every chick should know about guys”, ' said Mand.

‘It would be wicked if they were in our magazine!' said Cat, cheering up a little. ‘The Jones sisters spill the beans on boys.'

‘Well, if you think it would help …' Maggie was not sure if she really wanted to know the intimate details of her sister's love lives but she was prepared to talk to them if it made the magazine a winner. ‘Okay, I'll ask them, but you guys have to help me come up with the questions.'

The girls came up with a list of questions the length of Maggie's arm, including, ‘When do you know if he's using you?', ‘What's the difference between love and lust?' and ‘Why do girls who do it get called sluts and guys legends?'

Once all the hoohah had died down, Belle asked Cat to come outside for a chat, in private. They walked out of the office, closed the door, and sat on the cream carpet runner that ran down the grand marble staircase. ‘Look, Cat, I don't have to go to the formal with Nate,' said Belle. ‘I really am genuinely sorry that he
treated you so appallingly. I know you've had a rough time lately.'

‘Do what you want, Belle,' said Cat. ‘I'm glad I've been honest. But at least now you know, you can make up your own mind about Nate. Maybe it was just timing with him, I don't know. But the fact he refused to even talk to me, it just hurt so much.'

‘Yes, I guess it would,' said Belle, who kept her virginity tucked tightly under her pillow. ‘I would hate his guts if I were you, so why do you still love him?'

‘I don't know if I do,' admitted Cat, finally questioning how she really felt about Nate. ‘Maybe I just wanted to salvage something. I wanted my first time to be special, but it wasn't. But weirdly, I feel better that I don't have to carry this secret around anymore. You won't say anything, will you?'

‘Nah, of course not, and neither will the others,' said Belle, who was going to make the others swear not to utter a word, particularly Mand. ‘Promise.'

Just then Cat's mobile, which was in the front pocket of her pink utility dress, started to vibrate and ring out with a hip-hop tune which reverberated all around the house, making Mrs Biggins pop her head out of the kitchen to find out what all the racket was.

Cat pulled the phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen; it was an unknown caller.

‘Hello, Cat Dean speaking.'

‘Hello, Cat. This is Felix, Tyler Grey's assistant. Sorry I've been so elusive. Tyler's schedule has been crazy but he is making an appearance on the
Saturday Night Show
with David Jay tonight. So, if you're at Channel 19 at 6.30 pm, you can have your interview.'

‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,' said Cat, holding the phone away from her. ‘Okay, that's great Felix,' she said into the mouthpiece when she'd regained her composure. ‘I'll be there. Of course, I'll be bringing my photographer.'