Perfected (Entangled Teen) (4 page)

I sat up a little straighter. “I can do your hair if you’d like.”

She reached up to touch the wild mess of curls that stuck out from her head. They weren’t like Twelve’s curls, which fell in perfect ringlets over her shoulders. They were an odd combination of tight curls around the front of her face that tapered off into smaller waves and finally to a few patches of hair that were nearly straight on the ends.

While we were at the training center, we spent plenty of time learning how to groom our own hair and sometimes after our baths they let us practice on the other girls, too. I hadn’t had a lot of practice with hair like Ruby’s, but I’d taken a lot of care to learn to keep my own hair smooth and sleek. Most days I wore mine up in a thick braid that twisted around the crown of my head, but today Miss Gellner had insisted we all wear it down, so mine still hung down my back nearly to my waist, loose and untethered.

Ruby stood up to grab a brush from her dresser and then sat down in front of me. She scooted back so that she was lying across my legs with her head in my lap. “It might be kind of snarly,” she said, handing the brush to me. “My mom doesn’t really make me do it since it’s summertime.”

I ran the brush through the ends, working to free the tangles as I moved my way closer to her scalp, grateful to finally be doing something I was good at.

“And maybe I can do your hair, too,” Ruby said softly. She sat, reconsidering that for a second. “Well, maybe I can just brush it, since I’m not very good at braids or ponytails. But you could teach me.”

For years I’d been dreaming about what it would be like to move in with my new masters, but I’d never imagined someone like Ruby. All our Conversation classes centered around the adult dialogue that we were supposed to be able to follow and comment on. If the kennel had known that we were going to be around children, why hadn’t they taught us how to speak to them, too? Maybe that’s why the other pet had avoided playing with Ruby, not because she disliked her, or preferred spending time with the congressman. Maybe she was too afraid to make a mistake.

We sat in silence for a long time while I worked the knots out of Ruby’s hair and began braiding it into two neat French braids to frame her face. After a while, her breath became slow and heavy. I was about to try to wake her when she spoke, moving her head slightly in the direction of the large bookshelf at the other end of the room. “Oh my gosh,” she whispered, as if she was suddenly remembering something very important. “I forgot to ask you what your favorite book is.”

Miss Gellner had made sure to introduce us to plenty of books at the training center. She read aloud to us while we practiced sitting still during Poise class. For hours at a time we listened to
The Vivian Masters Complete Book of Etiquette, Theory and Practice of Grace
, as well as
Rules of Manner and Conversation
, which she would quiz us on later to make sure we’d truly been paying attention. Pets were meant to be showpieces. To do so we needed to be able to quiet our bodies and learn to sit like statuary if we needed to.

Most of the books that Miss Gellner read to us were dry and boring, but every once in a while she would read us the biography of what she called “a great American.” Those books were never boring. They were filled with stories of powerful men like the ones who would someday be our masters.

“Oh… I… I don’t know,” I finally said, my fingers stalling above her shoulders. “What’s
your
favorite?”

Ruby snorted. “Well it changes every week, seeing as my favorite book is usually the last one I read. Like last month I was going through a classics phase, so all my favorites were obviously classics. But this month I’m kind of into fantasy. I just finished
A Wrinkle in Time
this morning, so right now that’s on the top of my list, even though the author kept using the word “tangible,” which kind of bugged me. But other than that, it’s my new favorite book.”

Miss Gellner had certainly never read us anything about time wrinkles.

Ruby’s body had started moving while she talked and her voice was animated now, not sleepy at all.

“You can borrow my books any time you want,” Ruby said.

My mind stuttered, trying to find the words to talk about something else.
If the conversation is drifting into areas you’re uncomfortable with, simply change the subject
, I’d learned in countless classes, but my mind was blank.

“I…well…what time is it?” I finally said. “Your father said I was only to stay an hour.”

Ruby groaned. “It’s not even late yet. I don’t want you to go.” When I got to my feet she sighed with resignation. “Okay, but we’ll do something really fun tomorrow, okay?”

I curtsied. “Good night, Mistress Ruby,” I said, walking briskly out the door and shutting it behind me with a loud click.

Maybe it was easier to stick with the things I already knew.

Five

I
lay on top of the covers of my new bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. A few hours earlier, I’d changed into my new nightgown, which oddly enough, was as fancy as the dress I’d changed out of. It was long and flowing, with billowy fabric that swung softly against my legs whenever I took a step. It looked new, but maybe it had been worn before. All the clothes in my closet might have belonged to the other pet. It should have been a comfort, to think that all of the things in my room had been shared with another pet, someone just like me, but the thought didn’t console me. It only reminded me that she’d been sent back.

I fidgeted. The nightgown didn’t feel anything like my normal cotton one and I was suddenly worried I’d be expected to sleep elegantly. I practiced lying the way Miss Gellner had taught us to recline on a divan or a chaise lounge during our Poise lessons: my feet crossed at the ankles and my arm draped delicately across my body. But I didn’t think there was any way I could last the whole night in this position. I’d never given any thought to how I slept until this very minute, but now I was afraid to close my eyes, afraid that as soon as I slipped into sleep I would roll onto my stomach with my legs sprawled crudely across the bed.

It didn’t help that the bed was luxurious, with mounds of pillows and a feathery comforter I sank into the moment I lay down. I fought to stay awake, but the bed was too soft. I rolled onto my side, wishing that I felt comfortable enough to close my eyes for just a few minutes.

The house had been quiet for hours, and even though I assumed everyone had long since fallen asleep, I kept glancing at the doorway, worried I would look up to see the congressman standing there, even though he hadn’t even stepped foot in my bedroom since the afternoon. From outside I caught the unmistakable sound of laughter. It was a light, tinkling sound. I sat up in bed and peered through the window at the pool.

The underwater light turned the pool turquoise, a rectangle of clear blue against the dark night surrounding it. From where I sat, I could make out two people floating in the deep end. Under the water, their bodies looked small and undulating as they treaded water next to one another.

There was another small peal of laughter and a moment later they swam to the edge of the pool, pressing up against one another along the wall.

Curiosity drew me out of bed. I knelt in front of the window, moving as close to the glass as I could. There were no curtains for me to hide behind, and the tall bank of windows running from the floor to the ceiling left hardly any wall to conceal me. I just hoped the shadows would be enough.

The window was cold, but I leaned my forehead against it anyway, peering out at the two people lit from below in the crystal water. All I could see was the back of their heads, but then they moved a quarter turn, and Penn’s face came into view. His lips moved, speaking to the girl, although I couldn’t hear their words from here inside. The girl laughed, throwing her head back so the ends of her wet hair dipped into the water. And then, before I could look away, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

I scooted backward, pulling my knees up to my chest. I didn’t want to see anymore, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. His lips only brushed hers for a moment, but the gesture made me catch my breath. I closed my eyes, trying to push away the feeling that was moving up through the middle of me like warm water rising through my limbs.

I didn’t want to feel this way.

I climbed back into bed, a bed that the other pet probably slept in, too. This time I crawled underneath the covers and pulled them up around my head, burying myself beneath the pillows, hoping I could hide inside them.

My hands shook and I tucked them against my stomach. Why was my heart jumping this way? I willed myself to be still. Images of Penn and that girl floated across my mind, but I pushed them away, let them drift to some far corner where I wouldn’t have to watch them anymore. Slowly, I sank down into the soft nest of blankets, into the cool, deep place where even dreams couldn’t find me, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

W
hen I woke, the sun lit my room with the blush of early morning. The house was quiet. Outside, the pool reflected the soft hue of the sky, as smooth and still as a mirror.

I rolled over from my stomach. Sometime during the night I’d stretched out so my arms and legs were flung wide across the queen-size bed, exactly as I feared I would. I glanced around, hoping no one had seen me in such a degrading position, but I was alone.

The view out my window was beautiful at this time of morning. I hadn’t had a good chance to study the grounds the day before because I’d been so consumed by the house itself, but now I stood in front of the windows near the loveseat and stared out across the expanse of lawn that sloped down on the south side of the house. In the distance, the rows of manicured hedges and flowerbeds wove in and out of the grass, and beyond those, what appeared to be a small orchard of fruit trees. Out my other windows, beyond the pool and the patio, a white gazebo sat at the bottom of the hill.

If one of my talents had been painting, I would have picked up a brush that very second. It was intoxicating. Living at the kennel, and then at the training center, I hadn’t had much of an opportunity to spend time outside. Now the grass and the flowers gently blowing in the breeze seemed to call me. I swung open the French doors leading out onto the patio behind my room and stepped out into the cool morning air.

The gauzy fabric of my nightgown wasn’t quite enough to keep me warm, but I didn’t want to spend another minute inside looking for something else to wear. I wrapped my arms around my chest, aware that in the morning light the sheer white cloth was almost transparent. It wasn’t appropriate to be parading around in my nightclothes, but the house was completely still. No one would see me.

The grass was wet against my toes as I made my way across the lawn. I didn’t have any particular destination in sight. Instead, I wandered past the flowers, stopping every few feet to smell the blossoms or glance back at the sleeping house.

At the bottom of the hill I came to the gazebo. The tall topiaries that stood on the inside of each of the white pillars made it feel as if I’d walked underneath a floating roof. I sank down onto one of the soft lounge chairs in the center of the room and stared back up at the house. It didn’t seem so intimidating from this far away. And for a moment, at least, it didn’t seem so hard to believe I could live here now.

My gaze traveled across the windows along the back of the house. Ruby’s room overlooked the front of the house, but one of those windows might belong to Penn. The thought of him made my face flush.

I shook my head, trying to clear it. My feet were cold from walking barefoot across the lawn, and I laid them in a patch of sun at the bottom of the cushions and closed my eyes, breathing in the sweet smell that drifted off the vines growing along the railings.

Instead of thinking about Penn, I imagined the wall of books in Ruby’s room. I shouldn’t have let it worry me the way I did. Not being able to read was nothing to be ashamed of. I wasn’t brilliant, but I wasn’t a dolt. Sure, Miss Gellner hadn’t read us any fanciful tales, but we’d listened to biographies on all the American presidents and last year we’d spent months learning about the Kings of England. If our masters had wanted pets that could read and write, Miss Gellner would have trained us to do so. Besides, I could read music. That was a kind of reading. The next time Ruby asked about books I would point that out to her, instead of running off the way I had the night before.

The sound of footsteps brought me out of my reverie, and I opened my eyes to see Penn standing on the other side of the gazebo holding a tattered notebook in his hand.

“Oh, sorry,” he said when I turned to face him. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, pardon me,” I said, tucking my legs up underneath me and folding my arms across my chest, trying to cover up my thin nightgown. “I didn’t realize there was anyone out here.”

“I was just going to work on some lyrics.” He shrugged. “I can do it somewhere else.”

“I… I’m sorry,” I stuttered. “I didn’t realize…”

“You don’t have to apologize to me,” he said. “You’ve got as much right to be here as I do. It’s your house, too, right?”

His words appeared kind, but his tone of voice confused me. It was cold, detached. He pressed his notebook to his chest and turned to leave.

“Wait…you don’t have to go.”

Penn stood with his back to me. Finally, he turned back around and lowered himself onto the edge of one of the chairs.

His gaze traveled slowly over me, finally stopping at my face, but still he didn’t smile and I folded my arms a little tighter across my chest.

“It’s very beautiful down here,” I said. “I’ve never seen so many flowers.”

“Yeah, my parents went a little overboard with the landscaping,” Penn said. “They’d like you to think it looks like this naturally, but believe me, it takes a half-dozen gardeners to keep it this way. I guess it’s pretty, but I like things a little wilder.”

“I think it’s lovely,” I said. “It’s so much better than being inside.”

Penn cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. The expression on his face made me think I’d said something wrong.

“They didn’t let you go outside?”

“Oh no. I…they let us…I mean…we went outside. Every day,” I stammered. I shouldn’t have said anything about my life before. This wasn’t what I meant. I only wanted to compliment the flowers. “I just meant that it wasn’t like this. It feels like I’m inside a painting.”

“Yeah.” Penn nodded and slumped back in the chair, staring out at the flowers. His eyes were distant.

I plucked nervously at the hem of my nightgown. The silence was heavy, but I didn’t dare speak again. Everything I said seemed to be wrong.

Finally, Penn spoke. “I didn’t think my dad was actually going to go through with it again. Not after…” His voice trailed off and he shook his head. “You’d think he’d at least wait a little while. Out of respect, or whatever. But instead he just plows ahead and pretends like nothing even happened. He’s so obsessed with what it would look like if we don’t have one after all the time he spent getting the legislation passed and everything.”

I wanted to ask him to go on, but the scowl that pulled at his mouth told me it wasn’t a subject he was too happy with.

Penn stared down at the notebook in his lap, silently playing with the worn cover. After a few minutes he shook his head. “I think I’ll go back inside.”

As he stood to go, he leaned down to pluck a pink flower out of one of the large pots next to my chair. “Sometimes I think my dad likes beautiful things a little
too
much,” he said, spinning the blossom between his fingers.

He leaned down and placed the flower behind my ear. When he pulled his hand away, his fingers brushed the side of my cheek.

“See ya around, Ella.”

As he walked back up the path toward the house, I reached up and touched the velvety petals of the flower he’d placed in my hair. I could still feel the warm touch of his fingers against my cheek, and his words felt like they’d left their own heat behind in my mind.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to quiet my breathing. I didn’t dare head back to the house so obviously agitated. By the time I finally stood, the pounding in my heart had subsided. It was completely light out now, and I wanted to get back to my room before the others woke up. I didn’t know yet what the congressman expected of me. Maybe he would be the kind of owner that simply wanted me to sit quietly on the furniture, smiling prettily.

Something told me life here wouldn’t be that dull. I’d probably be spending a lot of time with Ruby. Even though I hadn’t been trained to play with children, I didn’t mind the idea of spending time with her. She was lively and friendly, far more interesting than spending hours sitting perched on a couch.

But as much as I enjoyed Ruby, I was really hoping the congressman would ask me to play the piano for him today. I usually spent at least a few hours playing each day, but the past week had been crazy with the preparations for meeting our new owners. The short concert we’d performed at the training center was the only time I’d had a chance to play all week, and I was aching to sit down at the keys.

At the top of the hill, I stopped, the wind whipping lightly at my nightgown while I stared back at the gazebo one last time.

“There you are.”

I jumped at the sound of the congressman’s voice and spun around to see him stepping out of the French doors that led to my room.

“You had me nervous for a second there,” he said, walking to stand next to me. “I came in to tell you that our housekeeper, Rosa, will be serving your breakfast on the patio near the pool. When you weren’t here I worried that you’d run away during the night.” He laughed, but his eyes weren’t smiling.

My voice caught in my throat. “I was just looking at your beautiful gardens.”

The congressman took a step onto the little patio behind my room and sat down on one of the small wrought iron chairs. He glanced at the yard as if he was considering its beauty. “Yes, this is the loveliest time of year. It seems like everything blooms at once.”

His gaze skimmed my nightgown and then quickly went back up to my face. The blush that crept up my neck and onto my cheeks made me feel more exposed than the sheer fabric, but I didn’t make a move to cover myself for fear I’d offend him.

Finally he spoke. “Once when I was little, we had a beagle that ran away from home. I hung signs all over the neighborhood, offered a huge reward, but we never got her back.” He frowned as he wrapped a strand of my hair around his finger. “You wouldn’t ever run away, would you, love?”

I paused, trying to find my voice. I didn’t like being compared to a dog. Maybe I was misinterpreting his story. Maybe he’d simply been trying to tell me about a time when he lost something important to him…something he loved. I swallowed. “Of course not,” I finally said. “Why would I ever leave a place as beautiful as this?”