The Clique (15 page)

              “No,” the boy frowns. “They aren’t laughing at you. How could anyone laugh at you?”

              “No offense, but you must not know girls very well. I mean like, as a species.”

              “Huh?”

              “Girls can laugh at anything and anyone. If you wear the wrong clothes, the wrong makeup, bad makeup, whatever. Even if you do everything right, it’s not like you get a free pass. All the other girls will just wait until you do one tiny thing wrong. One mistake, and they’ll blow it out of proportion and all your supposed friends will shun you.”

              “Is that what happened to you?”

              Aude rolls her eyes. “No, I did worse. I did the right thing. The only thing I could do, to save my friend from having her heart broken.”

              “Okay, now I’m lost.”

              “That’s alright, I don’t really feel like explaining anyway.”

              “Uh, okay then. Well I’m supposed to clean the wood shop...” The boy turns toward the exit.

              “Okay. Thanks for listening.” Aude plays Minesweeper on the teacher’s computer until the end of the hour.

              During Econ, she gets a
We need to talk
text from Gabe. They arrange to meet up seventh hour, in the parking lot.

              “Hey.” Gabe looks almost relaxed, leaning on the hood of his car. “So, you wanna get in?”

              “Yeah, sure.” Aude gets in, making sure to shut the door behind her.

              “I heard some, uh, rumors earlier today,” Gabe says, shutting his own door. “Apparently you cheated on me?”

              Aude allows herself to find hope in his tone. It isn’t accusatory, just questioning
.
“Gabe, I didn’t cheat on you.” She tells him the story of what happened. “And then Maddie said that she saw me doing more, and Sean did too. But I don’t know why she would do that!”

              Gabe massages her hand. “Calm down, Aude. I believe you.”

              “You do?”

              “Yeah, of course. I mean, just because two people come up with a lie, that doesn’t make it true. You and I could say—I dunno, the Sun is an illusion or something—but anyone who believed us just because we both said it would be an idiot.”

              “Thanks. I’m glad you believe me.”

              Gabe laughs. “Plus, I know how you feel about sex. And how you act when you’re lying.”

              “You do?”

              “Of course, silly. Remember that time when we were trying to play soccer inside, and you broke my chandelier? When my dad came home and asked how it happened, that story you came up with was—”

              Aude laughs. “Yeah, he didn’t really buy it. Like at all.”

              “Exactly. No offense, Aude, but you’re a terrible liar.”

              “Then why doesn’t Kate see that?”

              Gabe frowns. “Could be she doesn’t want to. Like it’s easier to believe the lie?” He glances out the window. “I never told you, but lately Sean’s been talking to me about getting a new girl. Saying Kate might not be the one for him.”

              “But they’re so good together!” Aude argues. Gabe raises an eyebrow. “Okay,” she says, "I mean, they were good before all of this crap happened.”

              “Maybe they weren’t. Maybe there was stuff going on that we never saw. That’s what I’m saying. It could be that Kate’s using the story as a convenient excuse to blame you for the relationship ending.”

              “That doesn’t make any sense, though.” Aude sighs. “And in the meantime—“ she looks down at her rumpled skirt “—I just wish my punishment didn’t involve wearing Amish clothes.”

              Gabe grins. “I think they look good, actually.”

              “You do?”

              “Yeah, you look like a sexy schoolgirl or something.”

              Aude giggles. “Thanks! That kinda gives me an idea.” She leans over and plants a kiss on his cheek. “So, why do you think Maddie would lie?”

              “I dunno. But I have a theory. Actually, it just occurred to me.”

              “Okay, what?”

              “Well, what if she was the one who slept with Sean, and to cover it up they decided to blame you?”

              “But then, why would he have kissed me? And why would they need to cover it up if she was the only one who saw?”

              “Um, I have no idea.”

              Aude turns to look at the rows of motionless cars. “I guess we won’t find out for a while. All I know is, no matter what, I’m going to keep my friendship with Kate. Even if she believes that lie, I’ll find a way to show her the truth.”

              “I know, babe.”

You have got to be kidding me.
The Aude at Kate’s door on Thursday looks completely different than the past two days. Same clothes, basically, but she’s rolled up the long sleeves on her light blue button-up, found a set of small, rectangle glasses, and hiked her skirt up to just below her knees. Aude’s makeup is light, but visible. Kate didn’t even know she had makeup of her own. And worst of all, the part that makes Kate scowl, is that she actually looks cute.

             
Kate’s hand clenches into a fist. “You know I’m never gonna let you in, right?”

              “I know.” Aude turns and plops down on the front stair. “Like I said yesterday, I’m just here to give you a ride.”

              “Fine.” Kate changes into a red cami and shorts, endures a silent car ride to school, and spends four more hours sulking.

              “Doesn’t it kinda piss you off?” Kate recognizes Devon’s voice. “I mean, you tried to punish her and she just shrugged it off.” There’s no question who the
her
is: they’re both watching Aude and Hannah chat happily, headed to fifth hour.

              “I didn’t try to punish her,” Kate says.

              “Really? I thought that’s what the clothes thing was all about. Whatever, I guess it doesn’t matter. Wanna come to lunch with me?”

              Kate scoffs. “Like I’d go anywhere with you.”

              “Why not? You’re not still talking to Sean, are you? So who else would you go to lunch with? Do any of your other friends have this hour off?” He gestures at the leaving cars.

              “No,” Kate admits. “But I still don’t wanna go with you.”

              “Aw, come on. My house isn’t that far. We can walk. And besides, I think I can help you out, with your Audrey problem.”

              “How could you help me out?”

              Devon shrugs. “I have some ideas. C’mon, walk with me.”

              Kate knows she shouldn’t. Devon’s the enemy. But the offer is too good to turn down. Revenge on Aude is just what Kate’s looking for. She follows Devon to a spacious two-story only a couple of blocks down the road, and nearly stops when he heads for the door. “Um, I’m not sure…“

              “What do you think’s going to happen?” Devon asks. “I just didn’t pack a lunch today, so I want to get something to eat.” When she stays on the sidewalk, he sighs. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s just a house.”

              “Yeah, I know.”

              “So are you going to come in?”

              In response, Kate gestures for Devon to lead on.

              “Great. Want a soda?” Devon heads to the door and opens it, leading the way to a breakfast bar. He sits down on one of the mahogany stools.

              “No, thanks.” Kate sits on the other one. “So, you said you had ideas on how I could get back at Aude?”

              Devon smirks. “Whoa, right to business. Okay. Well, the way I see it—“ he stands up and crosses to the fridge “—Audrey has two very important relationships in her life right now. Her boyfriend, and her parents.”

              “But Aude doesn’t like her parents,” Kate protests.

              “I know, but no matter how much she may say she dislikes her parents, she actually cares what they think. If she didn’t, there would never have been any need for her to borrow clothes from you. And, also, her parents have a lot of power over her life.” Devon pulls out some bread and jam.

              “They do?”

              “Of course. Think of it this way: if her parents wanted, they could pull her out of school, ground her, send her away. But we don’t want that.”

              “Huh?”

              “We want her to stay here, so that she can be punished for what she did to you. That was such a betrayal, I just don’t…“ he trails off.

              “Why do you care?”

              Devon stares at his finished sandwich. “Okay, this is really hard to admit, but—“ he looks at Kate with puppy eyes “—I like you, Kate.”

              Kate snorts. “What?”

              “Please don’t laugh. I like you. You’re so down-to-earth and cool. I’ve liked you since that party at Hannah’s.”

              “But, you have a crush on Aude!” Kate blurts out.

              “No I don’t.” He takes a deep breath. “Well, I did, but then I noticed you. Always in her shadow, just because the school was taken in by a pair of green eyes. When I saw her and Sean—oh, Kate, my heart broke for you. I just want to help you get justice.”

             
He liked me.
A small smile creeps onto Kate’s face.
All this time, we thought it was Aude, but he liked me instead.
“Wait, I thought you had a picture of her in your room. Why would you do that if you liked me?”

              Devon shakes his head. “No, um, here. Come with me.” He leads Kate up to his room. “See?”

              Sure enough, above the red-sheeted mattress, the picture taped to the wall isn’t of Aude. It’s Kate: she recognizes the dorky braces from sophomore year. “Wait, but Hannah said—“

              “Hannah freaked when she saw you. She actually told me that I had a crush on the wrong girl, that Audrey was the one I oughta be looking at. But I only have eyes for you. So I guess, when she told you, she edited the story.”

              It doesn’t quite make sense, but Kate accepts it. He wanted her, not Aude.
Even though it is, as Aude said, very weird, the knowledge that she’s the recipient of Devon’s crush gives Kate a sense of validation.
Take that, Aude!

             
Devon leans against a small desk. “So, back to the main point. Gabriel, and Audrey’s parents. I’m thinking a two birds with one stone kind of situation. You pretend to forgive her, or at least enough that she lets her guard down. There’s a party on Friday that I’ll send you the details for. You bring Audrey, she’ll drink, like she always does. Only this time, you wait until she does something stupid, and you film it.”

              “What if she doesn’t do anything stupid?” Kate asks.

              The smirk returns to Devon’s face. “Oh, I think she will. It’s a senior party, so there’ll be lots to drink, a lot of older guys, and, most importantly, no Gabe. The way Aude acts when she’s drunk, I think it’s only a matter of time before she does something that Mommy, Daddy, and her precious boyfriend won’t like.” He spits out the sentence with a vicious hiss. “Then you send the video to me and I’ll show it to the right people.”

              “But still, you’re just assuming she’ll do something stupid? She might not. I mean, I’ve seen Aude get too drunk a few times and just like pass out or find a corner to sit in.”

              “Look, it’s simple. Before that happens, if you think that’s how the night’s gonna go, you suggest something. It could be anything, really. Get her to take her shirt off, fondle some guy, whatever. As long as it’ll make Gabe angry, and show her parents how she really is.”

              “I dunno.” Could she really do that to Aude? They’ve been friends for such a long time, but the memory of how it felt to find out about her best friend and Sean comes fresh to Kate’s mind.
She did way worse to me,
she thinks
. This is just payback.
“Okay, on Friday. I can do it.”

              “Perfect.” Devon holds out his cellphone. “And I know this is weird to ask, but uh, could you give me your number? So I can get that video.” He smiles, and almost manages to look sweet. “I promise I won’t use it for anything else. Unless you want me to.”             

Maddie catches up with Aude in the hall, walking to Student Council. “Hey, Aude.” She taps her on the shoulder.

              Aude jumps. “Oh my gosh! Maddie, what are you--?” her expression turns into a glare. “You know what? I need to talk to you, actually.” The pair turn off, to a deserted hallway. Aude stops by the back door of the weight room. “How could you tell those lies about me to Kate? I thought we were friends!”

             
Don’t admit to lying,
Devon had said.
You just relayed what you thought you saw. You have to get back in with Aude if you’re gonna be able to help me.
“I didn’t lie.” Maddie schools a trembling hand. “I just—that’s what it looked like from Nate’s door. Like he was pushing you against the glass and—“