Chapter 22 - A Proud Look

School started the Tuesday following that hot night in Daniel’s car. I thought for sure I’d see him throughout the week, but turned out we didn’t have any classes together. In the population of Master’s Elite students, Daniel’s presence evaporated.

No calls.

No texts.

No contact.

Six silent weeks passed. I couldn’t believe it. My stupid heart never liked him more than when he stopped calling. I looked up his schedule. I knew where to find him. This morning I woke up determined to make him see me.

The double doors of my walk-in closet opened like the gates of heaven. Gloria Gaynor’s "I will Survive" blasted from my iPod stereo. I grabbed my freshest pair of Jimmy Choos from a shelf, black heels with a blood-red bottom. My heart soared. Daniel would be powerless once he saw me in these. I lifted a couple of hangers and leaned clothes against my body. I needed something sexy yet appropriate for school.

The black mini skirt.

Yes!

Thin lines of red ran through a subtle pleated plaid. Too cute. A lacy, red camisole under a button-up white blouse would give me an awesome schoolgirl look. Master’s Elite required modesty, so I buttoned the top.

The French-tips on my nails remained perfect as did the blonde highlights from my stylist. I twirled a smooth strand of hair around my finger. Perfect. Unless he'd become blind, Daniel would be calling me by the end of the day.

The soundtrack ended. Time to go. I abandoned my unmade bed. Nanny Bella would shake her finger at me when I got home. Whatever. I couldn't be late, not if I wanted Daniel to see me before first period. I hurried down the grand stairs, careful not to trip.  My heels clacked through the foyer to the front door.

My red Mercedes waited at the peak of the circular driveway, its top already removed. A clear forecast. Another wonderful sign. Even the sky had decided to support my flawless day. I snaked my way down the cement driveway toward the George Washington Parkway. The sun pushed long shadows across the road. The commute took me through old town Alexandria, past historic buildings, then into Arlington. While I liked to drive fast, I couldn't go to school with messy hair, so it took me more than forty-five minutes to get to Arlington National Cemetery. I turned right and crossed the Memorial Bridge into D.C.

Historical monuments reached to the sky. Statues gawked at me as I entered the capitol of the most powerful country in the world. The morning sparkled like a movie star's smile.

Cars crammed the parking lot of Master's Elite Academy. On the furthest end, near the gym, I found two empty slots next to each other. I pulled in at an angle, taking both slots to prevent careless dings to the paint. A bit far from the main building, but I would use the distance to practice my walk.

I flipped open the sun visor and examined my face. A fresh coat of lip gloss brightened my mouth. I slid my tongue over straight white teeth then practiced a big smile. Designer shades finished the look. It took a couple of breaths to fight back the butterflies. I had to pull this off without Bailey knowing how important this was to me. She could never know Daniel and I had sex. She was the biggest gossip in the entire world. Besides, it was none of her business. Far as I knew, my cousin was a virgin and no doubt she believed the same about me. I stepped out of the car.

A couple of struts along the pavement loosened my nerves for the larger catwalk ahead of me. The sky shone with the right amount of teal-blue and rose-red lighting. I had to give props to Bailey. Her clout at school made my transition to Master's Elite smooth. Nothing could be more lame than being a “new kid” your senior year of high school. My cousin prevented any awkwardness in that area.

"Hey Courtney, great glasses. Are they new?" Two girls from the country club caught up with me.

"These old things?" I laughed. Not only were the glasses new, they were direct from Milan, a gift from Uncle John. Inside, the smell of floor wax gagged me. The girls went straight as I climbed the next flight. Voices bounced off lockers and walls. The excess energy crackled. I seriously needed to calm down. I was in my element, no need to be nervous. I’d been with enough men to know they were controlled by their junk. Simple as that. Once I got his temperature up again, I’d be back in the driver’s seat. And this time, I’d dump him.

"No, you didn't, girl," Bailey stood at my locker with a hand planted firmly on her size zero hip while still holding two disposable coffee cups. I posed, one foot in front of the other, and threw my head back like America's Next Top Model.

"You'd better stop that before you break something," Sam shouted to me from down the hall. The cute Lacrosse player was sweet. Although he wasn't my goal, the male attention provided validation. I dipped my head down to peer at him over my shades. Bailey leaned against the wall and snorted. Her quirky laugh made us all roar. I took off my glasses grateful for my cousin. I hugged her. What an awesome start.

The locker dial whirled beneath my fingers. Above my head, a pink page killed my buzz. An up-coming, father-daughter, community-service event. We’re they kidding?

"What are we, in sixth grade?" My locker door banged as I slammed it open. "Why would the student council include our parents? Who wants to spend the day with their father?" I stuffed my backpack inside. What a joke.

Bailey handed me my mocha latté. "I think it's kinda cool."

"What?!?"

"Yeah, they want us to help the community, you know, take care of the old people who can't do things by themselves."

"That's fine, but why set it up as a 'father-daughter' deal? If my father wouldn't cancel his business trip for the San Diego father-daughter cotillion when I was ten, he won't attend this.” I ripped the page from the wall. The last thing I needed was distraction. Parents had no place in high school hallways. "They can count me out."

Bailey leaned against the wall and watched the regular parade of kids pass by as I tore the pink paper to shreds. "Your dad's not as bad as my mom."

"Yeah, right." My cousin seriously had no idea. I tossed my handmade confetti into the air. While Aunt Constance is practically Amish, she at least loved her daughter. My cousin couldn't attend a school dance until she was sixteen. Her parents controlled every move of their only daughter's life. Her father loosened her leash on occasion while I, on the other hand, didn't even have a curfew.

"Look, the student council didn't consider all circumstances." I shouldn't have to explain myself. “Some kids don’t have fathers.” I should be already half-way down the hall to Daniel’s class demanding his attention, not thinking about this stupid stuff.

"You could bring Uncle John."

"Like I said, lame." I slammed my locker closed. The whole thing sounded awful. I took a sip of my coffee, its heat burning the roof of my mouth and tongue.  

"I’m serious."           

"Right. He's supposed to leave Capitol Hill to come help me clean the yard or paint the house of some wrinkled antique. Beyond lame."

Bailey lifted her shoulders. "You are his favorite. He'd come."

"He would, but it would be too much to ask." Uncle John never told me no. He gave me everything I asked for, primarily because I didn't abuse his generosity. No, it was better to stay home and not bother him about it. Besides, I didn’t want to think about my uncle today. I kicked at the pink slips of paper and changed the subject. "Where's Kylie?"

"Still getting her books." Bailey took a sip of her coffee and pointed down the hall.

"What's taking her so long?" I shifted my books to my other arm. Bailey, Kylie and I had math on the opposite end of the school from Daniel's first class. I needed to convince them to do a drive by before the bell rang.

"She's chatting up a certain someone."

Down the corridor, I saw the other part of our trio huddled in thick conversation with Alex Hayman. A Cheshire-cat smile spread across my face. Kylie didn't like Alex, but she promised to flirt with him for me. I liked that Bailey's friend had my back. As sure as two plus two equaled four, wherever you saw Alex, you'd soon see Daniel. And vice versa.

“This is perfect.” The Harvest Costume Ball was at the end of October, a great place to dump the jerk. I guided my cousin toward Kylie. We were running out of time. The 5 minute warning signal could start playing at any moment. 

Bailey took another sip as we moved forward. "I heard they were Christians."

Random. “Why do I care what Alex or Daniel does on Sunday morning?” Bailey has no idea that Daniel’s as corrupt as any other man I’d known. Based on the action in the BMW, he had plenty of experience.

"It's important." She shrugged. “I found out which church they attend.”

“I’m not wasting my Sunday.” I had my limits. Besides, I couldn’t possibly wear this outfit in front of Nanny Bella’s baby Jesus.

"Shut up!" Bailey's voice shook. I almost spilled my coffee as she yanked me by the arm into a side hallway. Music started playing from the sound-system overhead. Class would begin in five minutes.

Great. Her stupid stalls were ruining everything. “I want Daniel to see me before school starts.”

"He's out there." She hissed and pointed a straight arm toward the main hall.

What? Oh, my gosh. Seriously? This was perfect. My heart pumped double time. Not only could he see me, I wouldn’t have to stalk him to the other end of the school. I straightened my skirt. "Okay, let’s go."

"Courtney, no." Bailey prevented me from moving out into the hallway. Her grip, freakishly strong.  

“Stop it!" I pulled away, but gorilla woman grabbed me again and held me tight.

She shook her head. “Daniel's not alone."

The marching beat of my heart rested for a split second then started to run. Not alone, what does that mean? After a tiny shake of my head, I froze.

She stared hard into my eyes and nodded. “He’s not alone.”

I exhaled, confused. He could be with Kylie and Alex. Bailey loosened her grip on me. This couldn't be happening. It had only been six weeks. Bailey had to be wrong, she just had to be. "Who's he with?"

Please be a guy. Please be a guy. Please be a guy.

As if she could read my mind, she wagged her head back and forth until the word “Nicole” shook loose.

I squeezed my coffee cup tighter. I didn’t know anyone named Nicole. This was crazy. It shouldn’t ruin my plan. I swallowed and stood up straighter. “Whatever.” The word barely squeaked out of my mouth. I cleared my throat and said it again with more confidence. “Seriously, whatever.”

Bailey pressed her eyebrows together. I wanted to smack the look of pity off her face. I tried to move toward the main hallway, but she shoved me back against the wall.

“You need to stop doing that.” I pushed her back.

She ignored me and peered around the corner like a spy. Bailey seldom spazzed out like this. What was the deal? Who's Nicole? Bailey should relax. I counted the bricks on the wall across from me. Nicole who? For the life of me I couldn't think of anyone I'd met with that name. Besides, this Nicole person couldn’t possibly be dressed as fly as I was at this moment. She just couldn’t, simple as that. Could. Not.

"Okay. Here's what we'll do." Bailey's index finger came a little too close to my nose so I slapped it away. "We go out there and walk toward Kylie." She paused for a moment and tapped her cheek with the rejected finger. "When we get out there, look down the hall toward the office." My stressed-out cousin looked around the corner one last time. "Look right, past the fire extinguisher, you'll see them." Bailey turned me toward the traffic in the wider corridor. "Brace yourself."

"Cut the drama, Bay." My innocent cousin wasn’t helping. But I didn’t stop her from linking her arm in mine. She gripped hard as we moved forward. My palms started to sweat. We rounded the painted wall and I followed her instructions. I looked toward the office, my stomach over digesting the little bit of coffee it contained. To the right, about fifteen feet in front of us, a red fire extinguisher. Stay calm. I tried to concentrate. She couldn't be that big of a threat. It's no big. . .

Then I saw them.

Daniel Orbach and Nicole". No sense searching my mind for her last name, because it didn't occupy a space there. This girl started at Master's Elite at the beginning of this year, just like me. She sat in the front row of my history class. Day one, I determined this too-fat-make-up-free girl wouldn't be a threat. She wasn't even repulsive enough to arouse conversation.

Until now.

Now, a million words formed in my head.

The once unimportant girl leaned on the wall next to Daniel with her hand draped on his forearm. They stood close, like old friends. Daniel's casual laugh, the one that used to tickle my ears, now drilled holes through my brain.

Bailey tugged on my hand. "Let's go."

This couldn't be happening.

Bailey pulled so hard that my black-and-red-clad feet stumbled forward. The sight of the couple possessed me. I stared at them. The two were so into each other they never noticed.

Every deep-rooted feeling of jealousy and anger within me gathered into a ball. We would pass the hag soon. I reached down to the bottom of my gut. This disgusting girl couldn’t win. Never. Through the vessels in my head, I pushed all the blood toward my fist. A wad of hate came from my very soul and tightened into the size of a rock. I cast the weapon from my eye long and hard at Nicole, summoning the girl's attention with all the power inside of me.

Look this way, hag, look this way.

In a flash, our eyes met.

Without speaking a single word, the girl knew the game was on.