Pretty Little Devils Part 3

"Don't be fresh, Stephan," Sylvia scolded. "This is Hazel."

Hazel glanced over her shoulder at Stephan Nylund.

"Hey-zel. Lookin' good." His eyes scanned her up and down. "We're going outside for a while," he said, making quotation marks in the air. "Want to come?"

"Going outside?" What did that mean? Hazel looked to Sylvia for help, but she was pouring herself a drink. "Maybe later," she told him. "I just got here."

"Cool." He gave her another long, lingering gaze before sliding open the gla.s.s door. "By the way, Meg, how's it hangin'?" he shouted as he sauntered out.

Megan glared at his back and hissed, "Ignore him. He's such an a.s.shole."

"You'd do well to follow your own advice, ma pet.i.te," Sylvia put in.

Megan clamped her mouth shut.

Hazel's eyes returned to the picture on the refrigerator. "So where's the little boy?"

Sylvia gestured with her head. "Up in his room. He gets these really bad headaches. He has to lie down a lot. Ellen will check on him in a little while." She threaded her arm through Hazel's. "But don't worry about him. Let me show you around. This is your first time at one of our parties. They're not like the keggers you're probably used to."

Lowering her voice to a purr, she added, "We're low-key, but we have a h.e.l.l of a lot more fun."

"So I've heard," Hazel said.

Sylvia shrugged. "Gossip is so decla.s.se. People who have lives don't bother chattering about people who do."

"I couldn't agree more," Hazel replied.

Sylvia gave her an appraising look. Hazel stayed cool.

"Tell me, how did you wind up with Lakshmi Sharma as your best friend?"

"She's not my best friend," Hazel shot back, the vehemence in her voice surprising even her. "I inherited those guys."

Sylvia nodded. "From Joy. What the h.e.l.l was she doing with them?"

"I don't know," Hazel admitted. "I wondered that myself."

"Well, you need to move on, girlfriend," Sylvia drawled. "They are going nowhere fast."

"I know that."

"And...so? What's stopping you? Are they blackmailing you or something?"

"Yeah. They're blackmailing me. Holding my pet goldfish hostage. Isn't that how everyone keeps their friends nowadays?" Hazel bantered.

Sylvia laughed. "You're s.p.u.n.ky."

"And witty," Hazel added.

"I like that." Sylvia laughed harder. "I knew you were the right person to drench with Diet c.o.ke."

"Actually, I planned the whole thing," Hazel continued, sensing she was on a roll. "It's the next step in my plan to achieve world domination."

"The world is a very big place. You'll need help." Sylvia winked. "Come with me-you can see how this half lives."

Sylvia walked her out of the kitchen, waving her hand and saying a brisk "Excuse me" to anyone who stood in their way. They headed into a hallway behind the living room, where she pointed to the nearest door.

"That's Mr. Pollins's study. Anything illegal goes in there." Illegal? Like drugs? Hazel covered her shock with a quick nod.

Sylvia chuckled. "You'll see. People wander in and out of the room all night."

Hazel shook her head. "How do you guys get away with all this?"

"We're very careful about cleaning up after ourselves, and the people who party with us know they won't get invited back if they're careless."

"Right." Hazel glanced down and realized she had carried her cup of Amaretto out of the kitchen. "Oh. Sorry!" she blurted.

Sylvia smiled kindly. "That's okay. You're new." She took the cup from Hazel's hand and sipped. "Our philosophy is basically maintain and don't leave a mess. Use your manners and don't cause problems and you can do pretty much anything you want here." Sylvia stopped in front of another doorway on the hall. "This is the guest bedroom." She turned the k.n.o.b and strode into the darkened room. "You can probably guess what goes on in here."

"Hey! Occupied!" came a girl's voice. Hazel heard the sound of another girl stifling a laugh. She did a double take and then squinted at the two figures entangled on the bed.

"Carolyn?" she blurted.

"Out!" Carolyn snapped. "Haven't you two ever heard of knocking?"

"Come on," Sylvia said. She pulled Hazel out of the room, laughing as she slammed the door behind them.

"Wait a minute," Hazel said, confused. "If that was Carolyn, is she...I mean, was that-"

"Was Carolyn fooling around with another girl?" Sylvia finished. "Yes. Carolyn is gay. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, not at all. I just didn't-"

"Good. It's not information we spread around, because it's none of anybody's business. You know what they say: what happens here stays here."

"Cool," Hazel said, taking a minute to absorb the information. "So, what about Charlie? The kid you're sitting?"

Sylvia shrugged. "He's this little science geek. He has weird electronics stuff all over his room. He stays in there and works on his projects," she said. "He would never tell his father about us. We've been his sitters forever. Before his mother got sick, even."

"Wow."

"Yeah. So he just doesn't mention it. And we all go home happy." Sylvia spread her arms. "Now you know the lay of the land, so to speak."

"Thanks," Hazel said. She craned her neck, peering into the crowded kitchen.

Sylvia crossed her arms and tilted her head. "Looking for anyone in particular?" she asked.

"Maybe," Hazel replied coyly.

"He'll be here," Sylvia murmured, "I invited him-just for you."

Someone cranked up Gwen Stefani on the stereo. The ba.s.s thumped so loudly that paintings shook against the wall. Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Gotta go check on that. We keep things quiet for the neighbors so we don't get busted." She air-kissed Hazel and said, "Mingle, ma cherie. Go on, have some fun."

Hazel worked her way into the kitchen, back toward the counter where she had spotted a bowl of guacamole and tortilla chips. She was about to scoop up some guacamole when someone b.u.mped into her from behind. She dropped the chip into the bowl.

"Hey!" She laughed and whirled around. It was Brandon.

"Hey, yourself," he said. "Do you know where Ellen is?"

Hazel looked over his shoulder. "There," she said nodding toward the doorway. Ellen caught her eye and came up beside them. She was frowning. Upset.

"What's wrong?" Hazel asked.

"Charlie's worried because we can't find his cat, Isotope," she said, her brow creased with concern. "Hazel, have you seen him?"

She shook her head. "No. Did he forget to shut his door or something?"

"He says he didn't. He's always so careful." Ellen sighed. "I've looked everywhere for that cat."

"You're such a good sitter," Brandon said. He wrapped his fingers around Ellen's tiny wrist. "Come on. Maybe he's out back. I can help you look for him."

Ellen gave him a pained look, but her cheeks went pink. "He doesn't like strangers."

"I'm not a stranger," Brandon insisted. "I'm here all the time."

Hazel took in Ellen's slightly embarra.s.sed expression.

Whoa. Is something going on between Brandon and Ellen? she wondered. Everyone knows Brandon is bad news.

Ignoring Brandon's hand, which was still on her arm, Ellen turned to Hazel. "Isotope is an indoor cat. If he got out..." She made a little face. "Charlie doesn't need any more grief. He just lost his mom."

"Yeah, I heard." Hazel shook her head. "It's a Siamese, right?"

"Seal point. But yeah. Same look."

"If I see him, I'll grab him for you."

Ellen smiled gratefully.

Brandon searched inside his letter jacket for a pack of Marlboros. He slid one out and put it to his lips.

"I could use one of those," Carolyn said, coming up from behind. She s.n.a.t.c.hed the cigarette from his mouth and then put out her hand. Brandon sighed, handing over the lighter, and pulled out another cigarette for himself. Carolyn gave Hazel a mischievous grin while she lit hers.

"You'll have to excuse me for snapping at you back there," she said with an exhale of smoke. "You guys just took me by surprise."

"Oh, um, yeah. No problem." Hazel waved her hand like it was nothing. "Sorry we burst in like that."

Brandon squinted at Hazel, trying to place her. "Are you new?" he guessed.

Hazel blinked. Maybe she wasn't popular, but she hadn't been completely invisible for the past two years...had she?

"No, I'm not new. Are you blind?" she shot back.

Brandon gaped, surprised, and waited for her to continue.

"She's Hazel," Ellen filled in the blanks. "Hazel Stone."

"I'm in your geometry cla.s.s," Hazel reminded him. "We see each other every day."

"Oh. Sorry." Brandon sounded almost apologetic. Then he turned to Ellen. "Listen, I do want to help look for the cat."

Carolyn snickered. "I bet you do."

"No, I'm serious," he insisted. "Charlie's a good kid."

Ellen sighed. "Fine. Come and help me." She looked at Hazel and Carolyn. "You coming too?"

"Sure." Carolyn linked arms with Hazel and they went out the back door. One whiff and Hazel understood the allure of "going outside": this was where everyone went to smoke, probably so there wouldn't be any telltale odor in the house. Hazel had to hand it to the PLDs. They partied, but they were very careful about it.

Brandon and Ellen moved on ahead, greeting a group beside a barbecue. Stephan offered Brandon a joint, but he shook his head.

"Come on. You don't want any, man?" Stephan asked.

"Naw, I'm cool," Brandon insisted. Stephan glanced at Ellen, who had her arms crossed and was peering into the bushes against the house.

"Aw, I see how it is," he said. He giggled and making a whipping sound.

"Shut up, man," Brandon said weakly before steering Ellen away to look for the cat.

Beside Hazel, Carolyn groaned. "G.o.d, I wish Stephan would just go home." They sat down on a bench, just out of range of the group. Carolyn glanced around. "Where's Megan, anyway?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"I want to tell her to stay away from Stephan. He's getting loaded and she's got PMS and they do not get along."

"Why not?" Hazel asked.

"Long story. Too long for tonight." Carolyn grinned at her-a slightly tipsy grin. "You having fun?"

"Yeah. A lot." Hazel smiled back. They were silent for a moment, then Hazel said, "Did you hear Breona got expelled for possession today?"

Carolyn smirked. "Hear about it? Who do you think called it in?"

Hazel's astonishment must have been obvious. Carolyn laughed and nudged her with her elbow. "Hey, zero tolerance. She was the one who brought them to school. You can't blame us for reporting her."

"Wow," Hazel said. "That's...harsh."

"I know, but she deserved it. She's a total dork." She shot Hazel a look of warning. "Just don't tell anyone it was us."