Mean girl_A dark, disturbing psychological thriller Page 15

  Nobody talked to her, nobody made fun of her, and nobody praised her. Jacob was already in his place when she came in. He frowned, looked at Jane, but said nothing. Corby heard whispers about Sylvia and Vera, but she didn’t hear anything new. She remembered that she had completely ignored them yesterday, her new friends, and that she needed to visit them today.

  Mr. Preston, the algebra teacher, entered the classroom right after the bell. Algebra was always Corby’s favorite subject, but today she sat quieter than ever. If he called on her and asked about her homework, she wouldn’t be able to answer. She didn’t do her homework at all. Her hopes weren’t realized, because the young teacher, fresh out of college and dressed like he was going for a photo-shoot in a fashion magazine, spoke to her first. He got used to the fact that she was always ready, but not to the fact that she would press her lips and stare at him.

  “What? You don’t know where to start?” the teacher asked.

  “I’m not ready,” Corby said. She actually still could try and work through formulas with him, but she didn’t want to take the risk and she didn’t want to be in front of her class. Not today.

  The teacher frowned.

  “Not ready? Why?”

  Corby didn’t answer.

  “At all?” the teacher asked.

  Corby nodded.

  “Okay. Payton, how about you? You’re looking at Mackentile with such envy. I think you want to answer,” the teacher said.

  “No problem,” Molly said. “I’m ready.”

  “I think our Mackentile was replaced by aliens,” one of the students joked.

  “Or she has a crush!” another said. “On Glasgow!”

  “Go to hell, you moron,” Jacob snapped.

  “He’s a superhero now. Of course she fell for it.” It was Jane. “He protects the weak, stupid and fat.”

  “River, your comments are not the best,” Jacob said.

  Corby couldn’t believe her ears and looked at Jane. Jane’s face was covered with red spots.

  “You’d better reconsider your comments, Glasgow,” she hissed.

  “I love drama,” Mr. Preston said, “but when it’s written by talented authors. Your creations you can comment on after class.”

  “Wow,” someone at the back of the class admired. “Cool answer!”

  “Thank you for appreciating my teaching style,” Mr. Preston retorted and turned toward Molly. “Please, Payton.”

  “You’re dead, Mackentile.” Corby heard Jane’s whisper behind her back. She winced, but didn’t turn and had only one thought on her mind. If she did something to Jane now, she would become a suspect.

  After class, Corby expected Jane to attack her, she expected her attack in the cafeteria, but nothing happened. Jane sat at the table with Molly, who looked happy despite the bruise on her face and didn’t even look at Corby. Everything inside Corby churned from a premonition of something terrible coming, something that would make her leave the school or think about suicide, but she drove such thoughts away. Jacob Glasgow stood on her side! Jacob Glasgow himself! No one, absolutely no one laughed at her today or told her anything nasty. No one—except Jane. And now that she knew about her physical strength, she would not allow anyone to mock her. Also, she had a plan in case it should become really bad. It was a risky plan, but it was better than suicide. Killing herself wasn’t an option.

  When lunchtime was almost over, Corby heard the signal of a received message on her phone. She frowned, fished it out of her bag, and looked at the screen, confident that it was her mother. She shivered and looked at Jacob when she saw his name glowing on the display. He smiled briefly and turned to his friends.

  Corby opened the message.

  I think we need to talk. When? Where?

  Corby typed the answer fast because it was in her head for a long time.

  I’m in my dad’s shop all the time after school.

  She saw Jacob look at the screen a few seconds after she pressed the send button. While he typed the response, one of his friends tried to grab the phone and Jacob pushed him away. All the boys laughed.

  All right. Is six okay? Tonight?

  Corby restrained herself from smiling from ear to ear.

  6:30. Cleaning lady is still there at 6.

  Ok, I’ll come.

  Corby hid the phone, so she wouldn’t be tempted to write some kind of gratitude for his kindness. Jacob turned to her while walking out of the cafeteria. Jane did the same, but from Jacob’s gaze her heart fluttered and from Jane’s it dropped.

  Something most beautiful and most horrible was going to happen in her life very soon.

  CHAPTER 26

  Corby had never exercised as intensely as she did today, but she had a motivation. First of all she was meeting Jacob. One-on-one. Second motivation was the scale. Because of the stress lately she ate much less than usual and when she stood on the scale in her mother’s bathroom while her mother was on the phone in the living room, Corby found that she’d lost seven pounds. It didn’t seem like much, but it was more than a little. Certainly it was something inspiring. If she lost seven pounds, she could do more. She could become as skinny as Jane. She didn’t necessarily like it, but it still would be nice.

  When she took a shower, dressed, and went downstairs to go to the shop, her mother was waiting for her by the door.

  “What are you doing?” Corby asked.

  “Where are you going?” Mother asked. An expression of concern settled on her beautifully made-up face.

  “To the shop,” Corby spread her hands. “Where I go every day. I have no friends.”

  “Stop that. Did you do your homework?”

  “Yes.” Corby winced. “Why are you suddenly interested?”

  “I’m always interested,” Mother said.

  “I have to go.”

  “I got a call from your school. You failed two tests.”

  Corby didn’t know yet that she failed two tests. So her school told her mother before her? It turns out that her school cares about her performance more than her parents.

  “I’ll fix it.” Corby wanted to go to the door, but her mother blocked her way.

  “What does that mean, you’ll fix it? What’s happening to you? Look how much weight you’ve lost! Do you feel all right?”

  “Yes! It’s not that much and that’s what you wanted! You wanted me to lose weight!”

  “Yes, but ... No ... Honey, your health is the most important thing.”

  “Then you don’t have to worry. I feel better than ever. I feel great.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “But your teacher said ...”

  “Mom, they always do that. They care only about scores! They want to be the coolest school and we are the ones to help them achieve it.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  Corby looked at the wall clock. It was a quarter to six.

  “Mom, I’ve got to go.”

  “I talked with your dad and he agreed with me. You can suspend your work in the shop until you improve your grades.”

  “You and Dad agreed to that? Did you ask me?”

  “Corby! You’re so rude! What’s going on with you?”

  “I have to go, I’m serious. I can’t stand it in here!”

  “But your homework.”

  “I’ll do my homework. Mom, let me go.” Corby zipped her jacket.

  “Are you going to be here for dinner?”

  Corby looked at her mother, thinking and weighing her options, counting and trying to figure out the best answer in this situation.

  “I’ll be here.”

  “Good. At seven, please.”

  “Okay.”

  Corby passed her mother, who didn’t move, and ran out the door.

  It was raining outside and she pulled the hood over her head and ran to the shop.

  Gaby was finishing the floor and Corby went to the bathroom right away, holding a lip gloss and mascara in her hand, which she
stole from her mother’s makeup table, hoping she wouldn’t notice. She threw her jacket on the sofa in the lounge before locking herself in the bathroom and taking the mascara out. She opened the tube, sniffed the contents, and slowly ran it along her eyelashes. She blinked and mascara touched her eye then spread over the eyelid.

  “Damn.”

  Corby washed her face, tried again, and one eye was ready. She smiled, started the second one and it went well until Gaby shouted that she was leaving and Corby had to wash her face again.

  The third time it came out neatly and she couldn’t believe how simple mascara changed her appearance. She looked cheerful and her eyes were bright blue. She added some lip gloss on her lips and even laughed, she was so pleased with her look. She came out of the bathroom and waited for Jacob, adjusting flowers and placing napkins. She wanted to say hello to Sylvia and Vera, but was afraid there wouldn’t be enough time before the boy appeared. She was nervous and regretted not taking more calming pills from her mom’s orange bottle.

  Corby almost jumped when she heard the knock on the door ahead of time. Her hands were shaking, her legs gave away, colored circles swam in front of her eyes. She wasn’t going to kill anyone, especially her first love, but somehow she felt as if something was about to happen.

  Jacob didn’t smile when she opened the door, but he was shaking from the cold rain.

  “How did you get your parents to let you out of the house so late?” It was all Corby managed to say as she closed the door.

  Turning to her, Jacob smiled, shaking the drops of rain from his jacket collar. His long eyelashes were also wet and Corby realized for the first time what “melting from love” meant. She felt as if she were melting.

  “Well, my father doesn’t live with us and my mother’s working. It wasn’t difficult.”

  “What’s her job?” Corby asked and hoped it wasn’t a rude question.

  “She owns a charity company and she hosts charity events several times a week. I rarely see her.”

  “You don’t have a babysitter?” Corby joked and held her breath. What would he think about a joke like this? She didn’t know what to say or how to act with others on any given day, so they wouldn’t think of her as a complete idiot, but now she was also nervous. A great recipe for failure.

  Jacob laughed and said nothing, just stared into Corby’s eyes.

  “Wow,” he said.

  “What?” Corby hastily ran her hands over her face, thinking that she’d smeared lipstick or mascara over her skin.

  “I’ve never noticed the color of your eyes. My mom has these earrings and the stone in them is exactly this shade of blue.”

  “Topaz?”

  “I have no idea. It’s clear and blue.”

  Corby looked down, her heart stuck in her throat.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “You’re welcome.” When Corby decided to look at Jacob again, he was examining the room. “I’ve never been here before.”

  “You live far from here, right?”

  “Not really. Couple of miles.”

  “Not far. Would you like coffee or tea? We have a coffee machine but I don’t know how to use it, and we also serve sandwiches for lunch,” Corby blurted out on a single breath.

  “Thank you. I’m not hungry and I don’t drink coffee much. Actually ... what kind of sandwiches do you have?”

  “With meat. We sell meat, we have everything with meat.” Corby shrugged.

  “I actually didn’t have dinner. We have a woman who cooks and cleans almost every day, but I left early today.”

  “Of course, just a second.”

  Corby flew to the fridge, hoping that something was left from lunch. Usually customers bought everything and the cook made fresh food every day. To her delight, she saw a foil wrap. While warming the sandwich in the electro-oven, Corby thought about what to say to Jacob and what she initially wanted to do to him. The same thing that she did to Sylvia. How could such a terrible thought come into her head? How could she do anything like that to such a handsome boy with such beautiful eyelashes? She also thought about his compliment. It was a compliment and he liked her eyes. He compared her eyes to topaz. It was the most romantic compliment ever. Not that she’d received a lot of romantic words before, but so far it was the best.

  She put the sandwich on a plate, added chips, took out a bottle of cola from the refrigerator, and moved everything to the table.

  “Wow! Looks great,” Jacob admired.

  “Thank you.”

  “Thank you. I have a beautiful waitress.”

  Corby knew that her cheeks became just a glowing surface, but couldn’t do anything about it.

  “Can I sit down?” he asked.

  “Of course!”

  Jacob pulled the chair out, settled at the table, and looked at Corby.

  “What about you?”

  “I’m not hungry,” she waved.

  “I hope you can at least sit with me.” Jacob smiled.

  “Yes, of course.”

  Corby hesitated for a few seconds. She had never sat so close to a boy, except in elementary school. Especially to one of the most popular boys in her school, the boy she liked. The boy she loved. She loved him and she didn’t doubt that. She turned her back to the counter because she couldn’t look at meat. She hadn’t eaten any in two days and had no desire to have it in the future. Meat suddenly became associated with murder for her, associated with her new friends sleeping in the fridge.

  It seemed to her that heat came from Jacob when she dropped on the chair. Her face was burning, there was a revolution going on in her stomach, she even felt a little nauseated. She hoped she wouldn’t get sick or they would experience a pretty unpleasant scene. Corby knew she had to calm down and she started to think about her conversation with Jacob. She scrolled it in her head once more.

  Jacob took a bite of the sandwich and nodded.

  “Wonderful. I’ll tell my mom and my friends about this place.”

  “Thank you. Dad will be glad to see new customers.”

  Jacob nodded and ate half of the sandwich before speaking again. Corby watched his every movement. She watched him bringing the sandwich to his mouth, taking a bite of it, chewing. To her he did everything beautifully, even biting and chewing. Not like everyone else.

  “What did you want to talk about?” He finally looked at her again.

  Corby fidgeted in her chair. She didn’t want to lie to Jacob. Or, she didn’t want to lie to him anymore. She wanted to tell him the truth, but would he understand it? How could he understand what it was like to be attacked every day, laughed at, humiliated? How it felt going to school every day and not knowing what to expect, afraid of looking at somebody the wrong way or saying something they wouldn’t like. How could he understand that?

  “I wanted to tell you something, but now I’m not sure you need it.”

  “If you wanted it that means I need it.”

  He looked at her with sincere interest, kindly. Could she imagine that he would look at her like this? And why? Why was he here and looking at her this way? She was fat, unpopular, and quiet. Corby wanted to know, but didn’t dare to ask. Maybe some other time, if he was willing to see her again. Although she didn’t know why he would want to see her again when he found out what she wanted to say. She shouldn’t forget why he had come here. He didn’t come to gaze at her beautiful eyes enhanced with mascara. He came to talk, and she should provide what she had invited him for. Just a couple of days ago she had planned a different fate for him following this conversation, but now he would leave here alive, with a head full of thoughts. “I wanted to tell you the same things I told the police.”

  Jacob frowned. “Is it about Sylvia or Vera?” he asked.

  Corby nodded. She didn’t want to lie. “Do you know that Vera came here on the day she disappeared?” she asked.

  “Yes, I’ve heard that. You saw her last.”

  Corby ran her hand across her forehead, hoping he wouldn’t real
ize she was lying. The detective didn’t, but what if Jacob was more sensitive or more attuned to his surroundings. He was younger and he knew her a little.

  “Vera was here only for a few minutes, but she told me many things. I don’t know why.”

  “Was she rude to you?”

  “No, the opposite. She was very nice and talkative.”

  Jacob smirked.

  “We are all different in and out of school. She may have even been ashamed that she acted like a bitch toward you.”

  Corby couldn’t believe he used the word bitch out loud. She would never curse in front of other people.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “She talked about going somewhere for Christmas, I don’t remember, then she talked about Sylvia and Jane. She told me …” Corby paused to make a more dramatic effect.

  “What?” Jacob asked impatiently.

  “She said that all three of them liked you.”

  Jacob shook his head and chuckled.

  “They pretended that only Sylvia had a crush on you. Vera and Jane didn’t want her to know.” Corby continued. “Vera said that Jane hated Sylvia because of it.”

  “Can’t be.”

  “I don’t know. This was what Vera said. Then she left and I haven’t seen her since. No one has.”

  “Now I understand why the police questioned me about Jane. But we’ve never hung out. She... It’s not important. You think... You think Jane could have done something to them? Because of me?” Jacob laughed. “That would be bizarre.”

  “I don’t know.” Corby raised her hands. “I’m telling you only what Vera told me. I told the police about it because they interviewed me and I was the last to see her.”

  “I understand.”

  “But I thought you should know, because it was all about you.”

  “I would never go out with anyone from that trio.”

  Corby rejoiced inside and wanted to ask what caused that decision, but she felt it would be better to remain silent.