What If ... Your Past Came Back to Haunt You (9 page)

SEND OFF ALI

Sometimes getting rid of one problem just makes room for a new one.

“I
love this time of year,” Coco said. She and Haley sat in the back of the chauffeured SUV with Spencer and Ali, rolling down the West Side Highway toward Penn Station. The closer they got to seeing Ali off on the train to New Haven, the more Coco radiated relief, even joy. “I mean the time after Thanksgiving, when the Christmas decorations start to pop up everywhere. Of course, by the time Christmas vacation begins and people start coming home from college, the charm of the season has worn off. But now—these few short, happy weeks—I love them!”

Coco was clearly thrilled to be getting rid of Ali again.
Don't make it too obvious, Coco,
Haley thought, worried that Ali might suddenly decide to stay home and take the rest of the semester off if it meant messing with the head of her little sis. Spencer sat slumped in his seat, looking about as upset as Haley had ever seen him (which wasn't too terribly ruffled—he tended not to let much get him down). Ali seemed cranky about going back to school, too, in spite of all the wonderful things she'd said about it.

The car pulled up in front of the station, and the driver got out to open the back door and help Ali with her suitcase.

“Okay, then,” Coco said, not leaving her comfy heated seat. “Bye, Ali! Have fun at school! See you at Christmas!”

“Aren't you going to come down to the train and see me off?” Ali snapped.

“I don't know about Coco and Haley,” Spencer said. “But I'll see you off, Ali.”

“Then we're going too,” Coco said, pushing Haley out of the SUV. They left the driver with the car while Spencer rolled Ali's suitcase into the station, then went downstairs to the track where the train to Boston—with stops at all the usual places, including New Haven, Connecticut—sat waiting.

“Guess this is it,” Spencer said, hugging Ali. “Hillsdale's so dull without you, Al. We'll party down heavily at Xmas.”

“Abso-friggin-lutely,” Ali said.

This hug was going on far too long for Coco's comfort level, so she inserted herself between her boyfriend and her sister. “Better get on the train, Ali. You're going to miss it.”

“All right.” Ali heaved her suitcase onto the train. “See you in a few weeks.” She waved at all of them, but her eyes were trained on Spencer. The bell rang and the doors closed.

“Here's a hanky.” Coco tossed Haley a silken square. “Wave goodbye.” The train pulled away, and Coco nearly screamed, “Goodbye! Goodbye! And don't come back!”

“Coco, that's not nice,” Spencer said. “Your own sister . . .”

Coco put on a fake sad face. “I'll miss her, I really will.”

“Now you're just being sarcastic,” Haley said.

“If she's my own sister, she ought to act like it,” Coco said. “Besides, if college is so much frickin' fun, let her stay there. Let's go, Haley. We've got tons of errands to do back in town.”

“We do?” Haley said. This was the first she'd heard about it. Typical Coco, to just assume Haley would be at her beck and call without even asking. Still, what choice did Haley have? She was in the city now, and Coco was her ride home.

“Yes, we do,” Coco said. “My birthday is coming up, in case you forgot, and my party is going to be the most amazing bash in the history of Hillsdale. I was hoping to have it at the governor's mansion, but there's some silly little rule barring occupancy before the inauguration in January. So my parents are throwing a tea on our lawn. Governor Eton and several other state officials will be in attendance. So, I'll need your help with the preparations.”

“A tea in December?” Haley asked, taking this all in. “And the governor?”

“Duh. Yes, of course. She is practically my mother-in-law. And don't worry, we're bringing in enough heat lamps to give everyone a sunburn. We've got to hit the stationer's first, then the florist, and I haven't bought a dress yet, so we might look at a few if we have time. . . .”

They rode the escalator back up to street level and got back into the waiting SUV. Spencer was busy with his high-speed PDA. He looked at Haley and smirked.

“Ugh, you're not on that stupid site Hillsdale Hauntings, again, are you?” Coco asked, clearly annoyed.

“What's Hillsdale Hauntings?” Haley asked innocently.

“Oh, you'll find out soon enough,” Spencer replied.

“It's just some stupid Web site,” Coco explained, “that's supposedly posting risqué videos of girls in our grade. I don't even know if I'm on it, nor do I care!”

Probably,
Haley thought, guessing that there were quite a few people out there who might wish Coco De Clerq harm. She tried to imagine what it would be like to have embarrassing footage of yourself out there on the Web, but then thought,
Oh, silly, what have you ever done that could make Internet headlines?
Still, now that practically everyone had camera phones, you never knew when someone might snap an unflattering picture, or worse, video.

“You need some kind of secret password to get to see the good stuff,” Spencer added.

“Secret password?” Haley said. “Isn't that kind of like your specialty, Spencer?”

“Yeah, you're the king of secret passwords,” Coco said. “I'm sure you'll have it cracked within the hour. And anyway, how do we know that you're not the one behind Hillsdale Hauntings in the first place?”

Spencer smirked. “We don't.”

“Well, when you get the password, call me,” Coco said. “And promise not to look at it without me?” She bit her lip and batted her eyes, a move Spencer had never been able to resist.

He put his arm around her. “I promise I'll share the password with you as soon as I get it.”

“Lovely. I've been waiting for a good scandal,” Coco added. “Hillsdale's been so boring lately.”

“Well, ladies,” Spencer announced, looking at his watch, “much as I'd love to follow you around like a lapdog carrying all your stuff, I don't have time today. I've joined the basketball team, so I thought I better run a few laps or something before my first practice next week.”

Coco's pretty little mouth fell wide open. “What? You what?”

Haley understood Coco's astonishment. The idea of Spencer playing a team sport—and taking it seriously—somehow did not compute.

“Since Highland is out for the season, I figured the team could use me,” Spencer said with a shrug.

Coco laughed, a brittle, piercing sound. “Okay, I get it. You're joking, right? You're on the basketball team. Ha-ha. Now can we get back to planning my party?”

“I'm not kidding,” Spencer said, and Haley could tell he was dead serious. “I'll be kind of busy, since I've got practice every day after school.”

“Practice?” Coco said, still clearly having trouble believing this. “Every day? But . . . what about me?”

“I'll still see you plenty, honeybunch. Just not as much.” Spencer tweaked her ear playfully. Coco glared at him, clearly not in the mood.

“What? Aren't I allowed to have a life too?”

“I thought you had a life,” Coco said. “With me.”

“Well, now it'll be even better,” Spencer said. “Come on, it'll keep things interesting between us. We can't spend all of our time together.”

Coco turned to Haley. “This all sounds very familiar to me.” Coco was thinking of Reese's desappearing act, and Haley read her mind.

“See you ladies later,” Spencer said, hopping out.

“Guess it's just you and me now, babe,” Coco announced. “We'll get more done this way. Now for the invitations. Letterpress? Calligraphy?”

Haley shivered slightly at that thought. Since when had she become Coco De Clerq's gofer?

So, Spencer playing hoops. Practicing every day, running laps, maybe even giving up drinking . . . Is this for real? Spencer is putting on a pretty convincing act if it isn't. Now Coco will find out how Haley feels, always wondering when Reese will make time for her. Chances are Coco is not going to like it one bit, and when she suffers, everyone suffers. If you think Haley should check out Spencer's ball-handling skills, go to
HOOP DREAMS
.

Next shocker: the racy videos of Hillsdale High juniors. You know Spencer is all over that like white on rice. Or brown on rice, if you're a healthy eater like Haley. Whose little tushy could be on that Web site? If you think Haley would like some TIME ALONE to check out the site in the privacy of her own home, go to
TIME ALONE
. If you think she'd rather hear more about the school's reaction to the scandal, go to
PRINCIPAL CRUM'S LITANY
.

Shopping with Coco might not usually be Haley's idea of a good time, but there are exceptions in play here. For one thing, Coco has an unlimited budget, which makes shopping a whole lot more fun. For another, if Haley tags along, maybe she can influence the direction this megabash takes. If you think she can't resist playing personal assistant, go to (
LADY-IN-WAITING
).

What with upheaval on the basketball team, the party of the year and the latest Web scandal, things are heating up in Hillsdale. How could Coco say the place is boring? The key to navigating these rocky shoals without getting hurt: making smart choices. Haley's role in all this is in your hands. Choose wisely.

MAMMA MIA

Melted cheese and emotional meltdowns: perfect together.

H
aley bit into her gooey turkey-Gruyère-and-arugula panino as Sasha swiped one of her french fries. Haley had met up with Sasha, Johnny, Cecily, Drew and Whitney at Bubbies Bistro, and she was glad she had. The kids were flying high after the basketball pep rally, in spite of the fact that with their star forward, Reese, injured and out for the season, the team would have to struggle to beat their closest rivals. Johnny and Drew played varsity hoops, and Cecily was captain of the cheerleading squad, so they all had a lot riding on Reese, though none of them as much as Haley.

“Who would've thought Spencer Eton would come to the rescue,” said Johnny Lane, rubbing the dark stubble on his chin in annoyance. Johnny worked part-time as a busboy at Bubbies but was off that night. It wasn't his first choice as a hangout, but then Bubby never let him pay for his food.

“What are you talking about?” Whitney asked.

“Spencer just joined the varsity basketball team,” Drew explained. “He wants to help out now that Reese is sidelined. Wonder how Coco is going to handle that news, especially when she was relying on him to plan her birthday tea with the gov.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Sasha said, slinging an arm over Johnny's shoulder. “Is Spencer good enough to play varsity? Remember freshman year, when he quit the team before the first game?”

“We'll see,” Drew said. “The coach must have thought he had the right stuff. He does possess a wicked hook shot.”

“But that's pickup ball,” Johnny countered. “Game play is a whole other story. It's different when you've got a rival team breathing down your neck, and not just one of your buddies. Spencer's a ball hog, plain and simple. He doesn't know how to play with a team.”

“Give him a chance,” Cecily chimed in. “Maybe being part of a team is exactly what Spencer needs to . . . I don't know . . . turn himself into a better person.”

Haley nodded in agreement, then flushed, feeling silly and Pollyanna-ish. She really did believe a little discipline couldn't hurt him. She'd heard his grades had improved, and that was already a step in the right direction.

Sasha laughed. “Spencer, a better person? It's going to take a lot more than a little b-ball to accomplish that.”

“Yeah, Spencer's got a ways to go before he picks up any philanthropy awards,” Drew said. “He told me about this new Web site called Hillsdale Hauntings—have you guys seen it? It's supposed to be pretty hot.” He glanced briefly in Haley's direction, then quickly looked away.
What was that about?
Haley wondered.

“People post pictures and videos of chicks from our school.” Again Drew's eyes darted over to Haley, who dropped her sandwich and shifted uncomfortably. She didn't like those quick glances, but she couldn't be sure what they meant—and she was afraid to ask.

“Like who?” Whitney said.

“Like . . . Mamma Mia over there.” Now Haley followed Drew's eyes to the corner booth, where Mia Delgado sat with a slick, older-looking guy, who was wearing a black turtleneck sweater, black pants and stylish black glasses. Mia herself looked stunning and chic in boots, a pencil skirt and a low-cut V-neck sweater. They'd huddled in the booth all evening, talking intently in low tones. Haley wondered who the man was and what Mia was doing with him. But then Mia's past was so checkered and glamorous, anything was possible.

“There's also some footage of other people we know,” Drew said—again with the look in Haley's direction. Johnny coughed and added, “Boob tubing” under his breath. At least, that was what Haley thought she'd heard.

“What was that?” Haley asked.

Sasha shot Johnny a strange glance. “Oh, nothing,” Johnny said.

Haley had the uncomfortable feeling that she'd missed something—that Johnny had made a reference that just flew completely over her head. Something was going on, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was.

Suddenly a sob came from the corner booth. Mia ran past their table in tears and dashed into the ladies' room. The man in black stood up and stormed out of the restaurant looking highly pissed off. Haley and everyone else at the table craned their necks to watch him hop into a sports car parked in front of the restaurant and race away.

“What was that all about?” Sasha said.

“Hey, Mike.” Johnny called over one of his coworkers, the waiter who'd handled Mia's table. “Who was that guy?”

“Just a sec.” Mike swiped the check off Mia's table and glanced at the name on the credit card slip. “Philip Fogelman.”

Whitney nearly jumped out of her seat. “Philip Fogelman! The fashion photographer?”

Mike the waiter double-checked the name and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

“I love his work!” Whitney blurted out. “He's so cutting-edge! I wish I'd recognized him sooner. I would have gone over to say hello or something.”

“I think he was a bit
preoccupied,
” Haley said. “Judging from Mia's meltdown.”

“Well I can't stand his ad campaigns,” Sasha said. “They're so perverse. What's the point?”

“I wonder if he has anything to do with the videos of Mia on that Web site,” Cecily said.

“There's only one way to find out—watch the footage,” Johnny suggested.

“Man, I've got to get on that site,” Drew added, shaking his head.

For a fun night out with friends, this one has ended with a lot of drama. What was Mia doing with a big time photographer, in Hillsdale? And why was she crying? Even more mysterious is this Hillsdale Hauntings Web site. Who's on it? Why did Drew keep looking at Haley? And what was with Johnny's cryptic “boob tubing” comment? Is there something on the site Haley should know about? Or maybe it's something she'd be better off not knowing about. As Johnny says, there's only one way to find out. If you think Haley's dying to see the Web site everybody's talking about, go over to Whitney's house and search the Web on
BOOB TUBING
.

If you're more curious to hear the school administration's reaction to the latest online scandal, turn to
PRINCIPAL CRUM'S LITANY
.

Speaking of drama, now that Whitney and Sasha are acting like the closest of sisters, what's their former leader, Coco, up to without them? Does she have any friends left? Who's going to help her plan her magnificent seventeenth-birthday-party tea with the governor now that Sasha, Whitney and Cecily are out of the picture? And meanwhile, who throws an outdoor tea in December? If you think Coco needs help with the party, and that Haley's just the girl for the job, go assist the
LADY-IN-WAITING
.

Finally, if you want to see how the Hillsdale Hawks play with Spencer on the team instead of Reese, go to
HOOP DREAMS
.