College Weekend (8 page)

“Whoa!” Chris cried. “That's impossible.”

“Go back!” Tina insisted. “Hurry!”

“It's a one-way street,” he explained. “I'll have to circle the block.”

“Hurry!” Tina urged. She wrapped her arms around Chris as he lurched back into the traffic.

What is happening? Tina wondered. Why did Carla lie to us?

Hurry! Hurry! she urged Chris silently. I have to confront Carla. I have to find out the truth!

But as Chris started a left turn, the scooter stalled.

“Nooo!” Tina wailed.

“I don't know what's wrong,” Chris apologized. “Hang on. Keep your feet on the pegs.”

He tried to turn the engine over. Nothing happened.

Cars rumbled by.

“What's wrong?” she demanded.

“I don't know,” he replied. “Get off.”

He pushed the scooter to the side of the road and studied the engine.

I could run back to where I saw Carla, Tina thought. But all the one-way streets are so confusing.

Chris tried the engine again and again. “Think I flooded it,” he muttered.

“Let's run!” she pleaded.

“Here it comes,” Chris said. “I feel it.”

The engine coughed, then finally turned over.

“Hop on!” he cried.

Once again they cruised down the street. Chris made one left turn after another.

Where's he going? she thought. He's driving too far back.

“This street!” she yelled in his ear. “Turn here.”

“Where?”

Tina searched the parked cars. “Over there! By that van!”

Chris pulled beside the van. No one there.

“I know it was Carla,” Tina insisted as she climbed off the scooter. “Why is she still here?”

“She's not,” Chris told her. “She can't be. She took my Jeep.”

“But she was acting weird. Maybe she never left.”

“Why would she lie?” Chris demanded.

Tina swallowed hard. Someone was lying. It had to be Carla.

“I don't think she left because for some reason she doesn't want me to see Josh,” Tina blurted out.

“Carla and Steve have a date for the dance tonight,” Chris reminded her. “She wants the guys back as much as you do.”

As they argued, two girls passed on the opposite side of the street.

“Look at them,” Chris said, pointing. “At the short one.”

The girl wore jeans and a white shirt with the words
PATTERSON MAVERICKS
on the front and back. From a distance she could easily be mistaken for Carla.

“Okay. You got me,” Tina admitted.

“Feel better?” Chris asked.

“Sort of,” Tina lied. She didn't feel any better at all.

Every girl on campus could be wearing the same thing. The girl Tina saw was Carla. No doubt in her mind.

“We'd better get going,” Chris urged. “We don't have much time left.”

A few minutes later they turned onto a narrow, bumpy road. Tina held on tightly to Chris.

He slowed down in front of a large apartment building between two empty lots.

Vines snaked up the walls, covering most of the brick and framing the windows.

Chris pulled up the driveway. He revved the engine once before killing it. Then he hopped off.

“The studio is in the basement,” Chris told her. He led her down a stairwell on one side of the building.

At the bottom of the stairs he unlocked a door that opened onto a long hallway. It smelled mildewy. A single bulb cast a dim light onto the dirty carpet.

“How did you ever find this place?” Tina asked.

“It took me a while,” Chris replied. He strode to the door at the far end of the hall. “I wanted someplace quiet. Since it's in the basement,
there's hardly any noise from the outside. It's perfect.”

Chris unlocked the dead bolt and the two locks beneath it.

Why does he have so many locks? Tina wondered. I bet no one even knows this place is here.

“I have a lot of really expensive equipment inside,” he explained, as if reading her thoughts. “You can never be too careful.”

He swung open the door and stepped aside to let Tina in first.

As she entered the room, he flipped a switch. The lights flashed on, along with a song by the Psycho Surfers.

“I have the whole place wired through this switch,” he explained, hanging his keys on a nail by the door. “I know the music is loud, but it helps me get in the right mood to work.”

Tina's pulse raced with excitement. Everything in the room called for her attention. She didn't know what to study first.

The only outside light flowed through two small windows at ground level.

Soft beige carpeting covered the floor. Photographs and posters of models in gorgeous clothes lined the walls.

Wow! Tina thought. I recognize some of these
models. These photos must have been taken by his uncle.

But the shots of the unknown girls were equally striking. I wonder if my pictures will turn out this good.

“Look around,” Chris said proudly. “I have to check on something in the darkroom.”

He disappeared through a door on the far side of the room.

Tina walked around slowly, in awe of everything.

A long table with all kinds of props ran along one wall. A tripod, a tall fan, and a spotlight stood next to the table.

On a shelf stood several cameras, lenses, and dozens of film canisters.

In the far corner she spotted his desk. And next to that a stereo and a TV.

This is an awesome studio, she thought.

Excited, she wandered back along the wall, studying the photographs more carefully. She came to a display of girls in evening gowns. Each girl had signed her picture. The names Gabrielle, Francesca, and Tahnee jumped out at her.

She mumbled her own name. “Tina.” How boring. I'll have to change that.

Next she came to a section of unusual photos. Lots of special effects.

“I thought I'd do one like this of you,” Chris offered, putting his hands on her shoulders.

Startled, Tina turned around.

“How do you do that?” she asked.

She pointed to a photo of a girl sitting on the sand. The girl had deep red lips and nails. A blue shovel rose out of the sand next to her toe. The rest of the picture was in black and white.

“I color the black-and-white photos with these special pencils,” Chris explained. “To get the effects I want. I could give you brown hair and green eyes.”

“Well, you're the photographer. You can do whatever you want with me,” Tina said.

Chris widened his eyes. “Whatever I want?”

Tina felt herself blush. “You know what I mean.”

I shouldn't have said that, she scolded herself. I have to be careful. I can't lead him on again.

She turned back to the wall. Her eyes landed on a photo of a dark-haired girl with green eyes.

A chill crept down her spine.

Who's that? she thought. She looks like me. We could almost be twins, except for the hair and eye color.

The girl smiled at the photographer, her mouth half open, ready to speak. I can almost hear her voice, Tina thought.

What is she trying to tell me?

It gave her a shiver. She forced herself to turn away and continue down the wall.

Chris stayed close by her side.

She came to a photo of a sailboat. Its yellow and orange sail billowed in the wind. “Is this your boat?” Tina asked.

Chris didn't answer. He gazed at her, a solemn expression on his face.

I did it again, she thought. Why can't I remember to keep my mouth shut? He's thinking about Judy.

His eyes skimmed over her face and then drifted past her shoulder. He's reliving the accident, she thought.

The same way he did on the Ferris wheel.

Tina held her breath. Don't freak out again, Chris. Please.

Chris pulled his glasses out of his pocket and put them on. Then he ran his fingers through his hair.

“It
was
my boat,” he replied bitterly, staring at the photograph.

A heavy silence fell over them. Tina pretended to study another photograph on the wall.

“There's makeup in the bathroom,” Chris said softly. “Go put some on. You know, a lot of eye shadow and lipstick. And then we'll pick an outfit.”

Chris turned away and busied himself choosing the correct lens and camera.

Tina made her way across the room. I wonder which is the bathroom, she thought. She knew the far door led into the darkroom. Two other doors stood side by side.

Tina chose the left one.

She reached for the doorknob.

“Don't open that!” Chris screamed.

Tina jerked her hand away.

Why did Chris sound so angry? she wondered.

He hurried up to her. “I'm sorry,” he apologized. “There are a lot of chemicals in there that can't be exposed to the light.”

Tina relaxed. “I thought it was the bathroom,” she said. “I guess it's the next room, huh?”

Chris nodded. “I should have told you. It's my fault.”

Tina opened the door and flipped on the light. Nothing happened.

“Oh, I forgot,” Chris called in. “Use the switch by the mirror.”

Tina slowly made her way through the dark bathroom, stretching her arms out in front of her. It's so dark in here, she thought. I can't see anything.

Her foot hit something hard. What's that?
Tina knelt down and ran her fingers across the floor.

Then she felt hair. Human hair.

Someone lay on the bathroom floor.

Still. So still.

Still as death.

“
C
hris!” she screamed. “Chris—help!”

She heard his hurried footsteps.

He plunged into the darkened room. She heard him click on the light.

She blinked. Stared down in horror at the body sprawled on the floor.

The mannequin body.

A mannequin wearing a red dress and a brown wig. The painted lips curved into a smile. The blue eyes stared blankly up at Tina.

“Oh! I—I'm sorry!” Tina stammered. “I thought—”

“That's Mary,” Chris explained. “I use her to
test my lighting. I shouldn't have left her in here. Are you okay?”

“Yes. Fine.” Tina struggled to slow her beating heart. “I'll get ready now.”

Tina peered at herself in the mirror. The bright vanity lights revealed every pore on her face.

I have dark circles under my eyes, she thought.

She'd read about putting on makeup for a photo session in the fashion magazines. But this was her first real shoot.

She studied the makeup lining the counter. Chris had everything. Lipsticks of every color. Bright red. Deep brown. Magenta. White. Eyeliners and eye shadows. Creams and pencils and powders. I could stay in here all day, Tina thought.

“Start with the foundation,” Chris instructed. He held his hand up to her face. “Ummm. Medium light.”

Tina poured the liquid onto her hand and rubbed it into her face. Normally Tina wore very little makeup, but today was different. She applied charcoal-gray eyeliner on the top lid and the bottom. Then she added taupe shadow and lots of black mascara. She highlighted her cheek-bones with a light coral blush and then put on a bright red lipstick.

She felt Chris watching her every move.

“More lipstick,” Chris suggested. “And then
use this.” He handed her a thin lip-liner brush. “Use a darker color to outline your lips.”

“How's that?” She turned and smiled at him.

“You need to powder your face so it won't be shiny under the lights.” He opened a drawer and removed a round container. Then he approached her with the powder. “I'll do it,” he said.

This feels really weird, she thought as Chris dabbed her face. His eyes burned into hers as he worked, but she felt as though he were no longer looking at her, Tina Rivers. He was looking at her as if she were his creation.

From her fashion magazines she knew that Rob Roberts pampered his models during the photo shoots. He acted like their best friend. Then, after a big job was finished, he spent weeks on his yacht without talking to anyone. Only his cats.

Weirdness must run in the family, Tina told herself.

“Perfect,” Chris said, stepping back. “Brush out your hair and let it hang loose. In the closet behind you are some outfits. Why don't we start with the red miniskirt and white crop top? And put on the red heels, okay?”

“Whatever you say,” Tina replied.

“See you in a minute.” Chris strode quickly from the bathroom.

Tina slid open the closet door. Along with the outfit Chris suggested, she saw several bodysuits, hip-hugger jeans, a gorgeous silk blouse. And half a dozen expensive-looking evening gowns.

Wow! she thought. Where did he get all these great clothes?

These are exactly what I'd buy at Dalby's in Shadyside. If I could afford to shop there.

She flipped through the dresses. Size six. Size six. Size six. Her size.

Helps to have money, she thought. Chris must go out and buy outfits all his models.

She changed quickly. A full-lenght mirror hung on the back of the door. She twirled around in front of it.

I can't believe how perfectly everything fits, she thought. Josh would love me in this outfit. Maybe I can buy it from Chris.

The music changed to something she'd never heard before. She wondered what group it was.

“Ready?” Chris called out over the pounding music.

Tina opened the door. Chris stood at the camera, a serious expression on his face. He wore his glasses again.

“Where do you want me?” she asked shyly.

“Sit in the love seat and turn your head away from the fan.”

Tina did as he said. The fan blew her hair. The bright light felt hot on her face.

Chris began clicking the shutter. Over and over.

“Give me a dreamy look,” Chris said briskly. He pulled the camera off the tripod and moved closer to Tina. He lowered himself to his knees. “Cross your legs. Now look pouty.”