Verity

  “What the hell is your problem?” I said, too astonished to respond in any other way.

  “Back off, I said.” She shoved me, forcing me backward. Too stunned to react, I gaped at Tammie, waiting for her to laugh. She didn’t.

  Amelia stepped toward Tammie, but I couldn’t hear what she said. I was too busy freaking out inside my head. I didn’t recognise Tammie anymore. She looked Amelia up and down then stormed off.

  “Are you okay?” Amelia said.

  I nodded, still stunned. “Did that just happen?”

  “Oh, yeah. It definitely happened. Told you she’s a cow.”

  I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what was going on. I couldn’t think of anything that would make my best friend suddenly hate me.

  Nathan joined me at lunch. It was nice to have someone to talk to when Tammie and Joey sat down and ignored me. They instantly huddled together as though they had lots of secrets to share. Paranoia weaved itself around me. I was sure they were whispering about me.

  “Cheer up.” Nathan nudged me.

  “Consider me cheered,” I said, but I felt comforted by his presence.

  Things took a turn for the worse when Dawn decided to sidle over to the table.

  “Oh, my God, Nathan. You have to walk me home today.”

  “I do? Why’s that now?” His tone was even, but he looked like he was hanging on to his last thread of patience.

  “Didn’t you hear? I got attacked last night!” For an instant, the fear in her voice sounded genuine.

  “Attacked? Really?” I could tell Nathan already disbelieved whatever story she was going to come up with.

  She nodded. “This gigantic dog came after me last night, snarling at me with these huge teeth. It was terrifying, I swear. It ran straight at me then at the last second it, like, skidded to a stop and ran off.”

  “Maybe it caught your stench.” Tammie smiled sweetly at Dawn who scowled at her then turned back to Nathan.

  “You know I don’t like dogs, and you’re used to them, so maybe you could come with me, please? It was like a wolf, for real.”

  Nathan’s whole body tensed up, but Amelia turned up before Dawn could get an answer from him. Dawn didn’t wait; she told him she would see him later. Amelia took over the conversation, so I didn’t have to think. Or talk for that matter. I was in a daydream when Aaron sat down beside me. He touched my back lightly, giving me what he thought was a charming smile. I edged away; I didn’t like him, and I didn’t want his hands anywhere near me.

  “So, ladies,” he said, looking at me and Amelia. “You’re both coming to my party on Saturday night, right?”

  Amelia and I exchanged horrified looks. I couldn’t think of anything less fun. “Um, I don’t think…”

  “Yeah, of course we’ll come,” Tammie butted in.

  Aaron frowned. He hadn’t actually invited her or Joey. “Oh, okay. I’ll see you all there then?”

  Tammie snorted with laughter. “As if. No way would Perdy be allowed go. She’s not even allowed stay over in my house.”

  “Maybe her Dad just doesn’t like you, Tammie,” Amelia said coolly.

  Tammie glared at Amelia for a few seconds before turning back to Aaron. “Like I said, we’ll be there. No point even asking her.”

  Aaron looked completely confused by the proceedings. He gave a watery smile and left in a hurry. Actually, I was completely confused too. Tammie sounded hateful when she spoke about me. As though it was my fault my Dad was strict. As though she had a right to even bring it up in conversation when somebody invited me somewhere. She purposely tried to make me seem silly and childish.

  Whatever was up with Tammie and Joey, they had made me determined to go to the party. Normally, I wouldn’t have been the slightest bit interested, but seeing as she had pretty much called me out, I felt as though I had to go. The only problem was Dad.

  We had a rare family dinner that evening. Dad seemed like he was in a good humour, so I decided to broach the subject.

  “Dad,” I said, hoping I had a face a father couldn’t refuse. “I was just wondering… you see, there’s this party.”

  “No,” he said firmly, not bothering to look up from his food.

  “You didn’t even let me finish,” I said, annoyed at his resistance.

  “You’re not going to any party.”

  “But Dad…” Even I could hear the whine in my voice.

  “Stephen, at least hear her out.”

  Dad glared at my grandmother. My stomach ached. I sensed trouble brewing between them again. I hated when things were like this, but I had to go to that party.

  “Fine, Dad, give me one good reason why not.” I knew he wouldn’t have one. At least one that was good enough for me.

  He dropped his fork onto his plate with a clang. “You mean apart from your recent behaviour? Okay, I don’t want you at parties. I don’t want you anywhere unsupervised. I don’t want you near boys or any possibility of alcohol, drugs, or anything else. I want to keep you safe.”

  “By keeping me locked away? You’re supposed to be smart, but you can’t see how stupid your rules are. I’m going to move away to college as soon as I leave school. How am I supposed to know how to look after myself? How will I know how to deal with different situations or peer pressure or anything when you won’t let me have any kind of experiences now? You’re going to wait until everything is legal, and then let me go wild. Is that it?” My voice was now shrill.

  “Don’t scream at me. Go to your room.” He picked up his fork and went back to his dinner as if he didn’t even care how I felt.

  “With bloody pleasure,” I shouted, before stomping up the stairs and slamming my bedroom door behind me. Okay, maybe having a bit of a teenage meltdown wasn’t a good way to handle things, but quiet obedience obviously wasn’t doing anything for me either.

  I stayed in my room that evening, moaning to Amelia about my Dad through instant messaging, but I really wanted to talk to Tammie. I missed her. Even though she had been horrible to me.

  I left the house the next morning without speaking a word to my father. I could tell he was angry, but I did not care.

  At school, Joey confronted me as though I was in the wrong.

  “Perdy, what’s going on with you and Tammie? Why did you pick a fight with her?”

  “What are you on about, Joe?” I was seriously baffled.

  “You won’t sit with her, talk to her, or anything. You’re bitching about us behind our backs. What’s happening to you? She told me how you ditched her the other night and practically attacked her yesterday. What’s wrong with you, Perdy? Ever since Amelia and Nathan came along, things have been different. It’s not fair to ditch your old friends just ‘cos some new ones come along.”

  “Are you bloody well crazy? Or do you just believe everything that’s whispered into your ear?” I saw black spots in front of my eyes, I was so angry. “Next time somebody says I did something, maybe you should make sure it’s true before accusing me of things!”

  I stalked off in a temper. The males in my family were really getting on my nerves.

  ***

  At lunch the next day, all five of us sat around the table in awkward, tense silence. Joey had been looking thoughtful for about ten minutes. The kind of look that guaranteed he was chewing something over in his mind. When he spoke, we all paid attention.

  “Tammie, when did Perdy stop sitting next to you in class and on the bus?”

  All of our heads shot up as one. Amelia almost spat out her drink in her hurry to speak before Tammie, whose face drained of colour.

  “What are you talking about, Joey? Perdy always sits beside Tammie on the bus. Except when Tammie gets lifts with you,” Amelia said, quick as a flash.

  “And she hasn’t moved from her usual seat in any class I’ve been in,” Nathan added. “But Tammie sits with you now, right?”

  Neither of them had lied or accused Tammie of anything, but she looked at them with pure hatred in
her eyes.

  “I see,” Joey said, his brain ticking over. “And what was the argument about? When Perdy shoved Tammie away?”

  Amelia snorted derisively, but I was too stunned to speak. “You’ve got it the wrong way around there, Joey. And in case you’ve been misinformed, Perdy tried to sort things out, but Tammie was too busy telling her not to tag along with you two anymore to listen.”

  I felt ill, but as soon as Nathan held my hand under the table, my head cleared, and I could think straight. It was slowly dawning on me what was really happening. My best friend had stabbed me in the back and tried to turn my cousin against me. But why?

  “So, Tammie, you lied to me?” Joey’s voice stayed at the same volume, but it had gone icy cold. I shivered myself at the look he was giving her, more than glad it wasn’t directed at me.

  She opened her mouth and stuttered something. It was clear she assumed Joey would never bring it up in front of us all. He wasn’t one for big confrontations. Joey didn’t give her another chance to make an excuse.

  “I take it everything else you’ve been saying to me is complete bull then, yeah?”

  Her guilty expression told him everything he needed to know, as far as he was concerned. I saw that change in his face. He turned to me.

  “Perdy, I’m sorry I didn’t check with you first. I hope you can forgive me.”

  “Of course,” I said. I had been mad at him, but he was family. That was more important than anything else.

  Joey stood up slowly, nodded and walked away from us. Tammie didn’t wait, rushing after him to try and repair things.

  “Wow,” Nathan said, releasing my hand. “That was awkward.”

  “I wonder what else she’s been telling him,” Amelia said, but she looked kind of delighted.

  “You okay?” Nathan turned to look at me.

  “Why would she lie about me? She’s been my only friend forever. I don’t get it.” I couldn’t figure it out.

  Amelia was hesitant for a second. Perhaps unsure if I really wanted an answer. “Don’t you ever think she’s a bit of an attention seeker? Maybe she did it so Joey would feel sorry for her or something.”

  I tried to grasp that idea. “Lying about me to get Joey’s attention? Would that even work?”

  I looked to Nathan for an answer. He squirmed in his seat. “It kinda did work, Perdita. He believed her and went along with it. After all, why would someone lie about that? If he wasn’t your cousin, he might never have thought of getting it all out in the open.”

  I felt a little sick. Did I really mean that little to her?

  “Did you ask your Dad about the party?” Amelia tried to change the subject.

  I made a face. “Yeah. Actually, he didn’t let me ask. I said the word party, and he shut down. No, as always.”

  “I’m sure he’ll change his mind,” she said, unconcerned.

  “Hasn’t happened yet.” I was getting grumpier by the second.

  Tammie didn’t turn up to the next class. I found her afterwards in the bathroom, still crying. For once, she didn’t care who saw how red her eyes were. She grabbed me, almost hysterical in her urgency. It freaked me out a little.

  “You have to talk to him, Perdy. You have to. He hates me now!”

  I shrugged. “That’s your fault. Why should I help you?”

  “Please, I’m begging here. I know it was stupid, but I thought it would be okay for a few days, that he’d spend more time with me then ask me out or something. I didn’t think you’d even notice. You’ve been stuck to Amelia lately. I was desperate. I didn’t know what else to do! Besides, you told me I had to do something, and come on, even you have to admit you’ve been all over the new kids any chance you’ve gotten.”

  I couldn’t believe she was trying to turn the blame on me. “I didn’t tell you to screw me over, Tams! How could you do that to me?”

  “I didn’t mean to cause any problems.” She saw my face and changed her tone. “Okay, maybe a little part of me wanted to punish you. You’re acting like you don’t need me anymore, and it bugs me. I’ve been feeling a little… jealous of you and Amelia, and it all got out of hand. I just wanted him to notice me. That’s all.” She wiped away fresh tears.

  I looked her over and decided I believed her. Sort of. I noted she hadn’t said sorry. Part of me understood what she was trying to do. As stupid as I thought it was. More importantly, I realised I didn’t know her as well as I had always thought—she didn’t value our friendship at all. I’d watched her ‘punish’ people for years. I just didn’t think I would end up getting the same treatment.

  “Okay, I’ll talk to him.” I agreed. Partly to get away from her, and partly because I wanted everything out in the open. My cousin deserved to know the whole truth in order to make a decision.

  In our last class, I sat next to him. He wouldn’t talk to me about Tammie but eventually agreed to show up at my house after school.

  Gran was still around when I got home.

  “Gran, could you give me a few minutes with Joey when he comes over?”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Nothing much. Just some drama between Joey and Tammie. She asked me to put in a good word for her.”

  Gran frowned, her wrinkles creasing. “It’s never a good idea to interfere, Perdy. Especially when it’s between two people you’re close to. If it all goes wrong, you’ll be the one picking up the pieces.”

  “It’ll be fine, Gran. I know what I’m doing.”

  She didn’t look convinced, but I couldn’t see how it could go wrong.

  Joey looked tired when he arrived. Quiet in a defeated way. I wasn’t sure if he would listen because he stuck out his chin stubbornly when I mentioned Tammie’s name.

  “She’s really upset because you won’t talk to her.”

  “Why do you care? I mean, she lied about you. That’s messed up. What kind of a friend does that? We’re family.”

  “Ah, Joey, I know she’s done wrong, but she’s… she’s desperate.” I wasn’t sure how to convince him when I wasn’t convinced.

  “For what? Did she enjoy messing with my head too much? Is she sad it’s all over? Because I don’t want to talk to her again. I don’t like being lied to. You know that.” His hands shook, and I could tell he was taking it personally.

  “How about I tell you some truths then?” I said, hoping to make him feel better. “She’s been mad about you for years, and you’ve never looked at her twice. Everybody knows she likes you, maybe you do too, and you just don’t care. But, whatever. It’s probably all my fault she lied to you anyway.”

  He almost went cross eyed with confusion. “What? What does that mean? What do you mean mad about me? And how does that end up with you being at fault anyhow?”

  “Oh, come on, Joey. It’s only obvious. I mean, she flirts with you all the time. She does everything she can to make you notice her and still no joy. Then I sort of said something to her.” I faltered, reluctant to take the blame.

  Looking bewildered, he tried to grasp what I was telling him. I could almost see him looking at memories through different eyes. After a few minutes his face cleared.

  “What did you say to her?”

  “Erm, I sort of told her she should tell you before anyone else took a fancy to you. I was just trying to give her a kick up the arse with it. I didn’t know she’d go cuckoo and make up a story for a pity party. When I told her to get your attention, I meant by coming clean about how she feels, not by trying to get you to feel sorry for her or anything.”

  He scratched his head. It was almost funny to watch someone so smart feel so stupid. Slowly, ever so slowly, a smile crept across his face. I laughed, relieved.

  “So, this is good news?”

  “I can’t say it makes me feel bad. She’s liked me all this time? How did I not see that?” He rubbed his forehead as if he was trying to help the news to sink in.

  “I really don’t know. You don’t have much common sense sometimes. So what’s
the story? Do you like her, too?” I crossed my fingers out of habit.

  “I don’t know. I mean, she’s pretty, but I’ve never really thought about things that way before. I… it wouldn’t be horrible to go out with her, I suppose.”

  “I’m sure that would be good enough for a start.” I ignored how unenthusiastic he sounded.

  “But still, that was a pretty devious thing she did. She tried to make me think bad of you. That’s not on.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m not saying she should get away with anything, but everyone deserves a second chance, and in fairness, she’s not likely to do it again. Put it down to a moment of madness or something.”

  He thought about it. “You’re very forgiving.”

  “I’m not really. I just don’t know how I would have acted if I were in her shoes.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I highly doubt you would tell Nathan that Amelia was being a bitch to you just to get his attention.”

  “Oh, you notice when I like someone,” I blurted.

  “So, it’s true then.”

  I figured my blush was enough of an answer to that one.

  “Just be careful,” he warned.

  “Nothing’s going to happen there. Don’t worry.”

  “Hmm, we’ll see. There’s something about him that’s a bit… off, just watch yourself.”

  “Not you as well,” I said, exasperated. “If you got that from Tammie, then don’t forget she doesn’t exactly have the best judgement right now.”

  He shrugged. “Well, thanks for telling me all this. ‘Bout time someone did. Anything I can do for you?”

  “Unless you can give my Dad a complete personality transplant, then no.”

  He smiled. “Take it the party idea didn’t go down well.”

  “Yup. Big surprise there.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “What can I do? Wait until I can move out, and then go crazy is all.” My new motto.

  “Not the greatest plan, Perdy.”

  I rolled my eyes. The problem with Joey was he usually came with a big dose of sensible.

  “What if I talked to him?” It was a nice offer, but I doubted Dad would suddenly listen to Joey. He seemed to think it was worth a try. He waited until my Dad came home to give it a shot.