But why didn’t they just break up? She thought before falling asleep. And why did do I feel like I know whom Claire was cheating with?
Chapter 21
The rain fell hard the next morning upon every single surface it could get its little wet hands on. The trees swayed back and forth from the strong and gusty winds, making a clear audible whooshing sound that was equal parts scary and soothing. It was not cold outside, but it was not exactly hot either, unlike all of the other days that seemed to fall upon the town. The rain was a welcome respite, and it certainly allowed Darcy the chance to wear something more than a barely-there pair of shorts and a tank top.
“Come and have some cereal, Darcy,” Glenda said, her kind eyes and warm smile greeting her as soon as she entered into the kitchen. The housekeeper pulled out a chair from the edge of the table where Mason was already seated. Unsurprisingly, he did not even acknowledge her presence.
She sat down and poured some random sugary cereal from a fluorescent pink box with an eagle (or was it a pelican?) on the front. Mason looked at her quizzically, but still being semi-asleep, she was without the energy yet to trade barbs with her caustic older brother.
After pouring some milk into her bowl before her, she set the carton back on the table while Glenda handed her some freshly squeezed orange juice. The ease in which Glenda doted on the two Platt children led her to believe that the woman genuinely loved her and her brother. It warmed her heart.
“Hey Glenda, what are you doing after school?” she randomly asked. She surprised herself with the sudden exclamation.
Glenda looked up semi-startled from the behind the counter top where she had been wiping dishes. “Just sorting some things that your mother has collected in the basement,” she quickly replied, wiping away.
“Why don’t we go to the mall and go shopping or something?” she blurted, surprising Glenda as much as herself with the question. Mason looked at her in shock, his eyebrows furrowed.
Glenda took her time in responding, obviously taken aback by Darcy’s offer. As she had previously experienced when she first met Glenda, Darcy felt a certain kinship with the woman, instantly feeling comfortable around her presence.
“Oh, that sounds nice. I do need to buy something for my niece’s wedding next month”, Glenda replied, her smile wide. “Will you pick me up after school?”
“Of course. I’ll be here as soon as class ends. Yay – I’m excited!” she giggled, taking a big spoonful of the cereal, the high sugar content instantly giving her a rush.
She was genuinely excited to spend some time with Glenda, partially because it meant she wouldn’t have to hang out with moody Claire or sullen Rena. She also couldn't see a problem with taking a break from being a hyper-attentive teenager. The break itself seemed like well deserved one. She did, after all, always end up hanging out with older, mature people instead of those within her own demographic. She was comforted to know that being 17 didn't change that personal preference.
When Glenda left the kitchen a few moments later, Mason wasted no time in pouncing on his sister.
“Are you being serious? Taking Glenda to the mall?” he said, looking incredulously at his sister.
“Why? What’s the big deal? I like Glenda,” she replied honestly, taking another bite of the cereal that was beginning to give her more than a sugar high. She felt like her heart had gone from 0 to 60 and would soon erupt out of her chest and right into her cereal bowl.
“Glenda is our housekeeper, Darcy,” Mason shot back, his voice raising a few octaves. She found herself having to take a second before replying because she thought Mason may have been joking, but on second thought, she realized he was being completely and utterly serious.
“You are such a snob. Who cares what she is? She takes care of us and takes care of the house. I can spend time with her if I want to.”
“Wouldn’t you rather spend time with Claire?” he replied, gaining composure. He gingerly took a sip of his coffee, clearly content with himself for causing a rise out of his sister.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I don’t”, she responded angrily, taking one final bite of cereal then proceeded to draining her cup full of orange juice.
“Spat in Sweet Valley High?” Mason joked, but she was just not interested in snide talk with her perpetually angry brother. When she did not reply, he went on.
“Oh come on, Darcy. I’m just teasing you”.
“You’re always teasing me, Mason. I’m just trying to be nice,” she replied. “Don’t you have to be in school anyway? Why are you always here?”
“I’m allowed to be here,” he quickly responded, seemingly offended by her statement. “This house is as much mine as it is yours.”
“Yeah, but I shouldn’t be in a class at a college that’s two hours away”, Darcy said. She got up from the table and looked for her purse. She thought she had heard her phone chime but couldn’t remember where she had last left it.
“Nice, Darcy. For your information, I’m taking some time off of school this semester,” he finally replied. Surprised by her brother’s information reveal, she decided to sit back down at the table. She didn’t want to lose the opportunity of this candid and rare conversation that seemed to be unfolding.
“Why are you taking time off?” she probed gently, trying to ensure that she did not ask too intently or else she knew her brother would clam up.
Mason moved around what was left of the cereal in the bowl before him, his eyes focusing on the mundane task.
“College just wasn’t working out,” he replied, his voice meek. “It’s not like high school, you know. No one wants to be your friend just because they know you live in a big house and drive a really expensive car.”
She didn’t know if his reply was a dig towards her, but she let him continue.
“You start thinking about who you are as a person, singular, not how you fit into the dynamic of a group. And I guess I wasn’t ready for that. I’m only 19, Darcy. I’ve had everything handed to me. I had forgotten what it was like to make friends. I guess I’d been spoiled in having people practically beg to hang out with me when I was in high school, and when I started college, it was just the total opposite.” He suddenly stopped and looked up at his sister. His cheeks reddened and he got up from the table.
“That doesn’t mean you should give up on it all together, Mason. You’ll make friends. Besides, who wouldn’t want to hang out with you?” she said, causing him to look at her, a slight smile creeping onto his face.
“Whatever, it’s not important, Darcy,” he said, pouring himself some water and drinking it quickly. “Besides, there was something that brought me back to Martin’s Falls.”
She looked at her brother, her brows knitted. She couldn’t hide her obvious curiosity.
“And what was that,” she asked, trying to sound non-chalant even though she was totally riveted.
“Wouldn’t you just love to know,” Mason replied, abruptly leaving his sister alone in the kitchen, who was staring at her brother, or his last spotted area, open-mouthed.
***
She threw her books hastily into her locker, not caring one tiny bit where they fell. She wasted no time in slamming the locker door shut behind her as she quickly headed to the bathroom that was just right of the cafeteria. She had been trying her absolute best to avoid Claire at all costs, given their mini blow up the afternoon before, and was being fairly successful at it until she bumped right into her frenemy as soon instantly upon opening the washroom door.
"Oh, sorry," she apologized, even though there was no physical impact of any kind between the two girls. As always, Rena stood vacant-eyed beside Claire, silently mimicking the more aggressive girl's expression and body language. Claire herself, however, looked both simultaneously livid and sad.
"It's ok," Claire quietly replied, not raising her eyes to meet her own. She found this response strange and unsettling, given that her typical interactions with her friend were intense
, to say the very least. She decided to bite the bullet and talk to the girl who seemed so visually in pain, and regardless of how she may have felt about the girl, she couldn’t help but try to see if there was something she could do to lighten the mood.
"Are you feeling all right?" she posed to Claire, who at that point had walked over to the sink to wash her hands. Instead of running her hands under the tap, Claire just stared silently at her own reflection. The stillness that filled the air was heavy and stifling. She felt like her own throat was beginning to close-up. Rena, recognizing the awkwardness, went to stand beside Claire.
"What is going on?" she inquired, growing more and more uncomfortable by the silence as the time incrementally went on. She knew that Claire would not have taken their argument the previous day that close to heart, but Claire was dramatic, so perhaps she did. Quiet continued to permeate the small bathroom, which had no other visitors save for the three girls.
Claire finally turned on the water to wash her hands, taking her time in lathering up the pink, bitter smelling soap. Rena followed suit, robotic like in her motions. She walked closer to the girls and stood closely beside Claire.
"Claire...what's wro-", she began to say but was abruptly cut off by an angry Claire.
"What's wrong, Darcy?" Claire replied, turning around to face her head on. She instantly noticed the redness in her friends' eyes and the semi-swollen cheeks. She had been crying, and not just for a short while either. "You know what's wrong, and you don't care. You couldn't be bothered calling me back last night after I had called you, like, 50 times".
She suddenly remembered that she had turned off her phone before dinner with her parents and didn't even bother to turn on the phone that morning before heading off to school.
"I'm sorry, my phone was off," she genuinely apologized. "I didn't get your calls."
"Or my texts. Or my emails. God, Darcy, you're so selfish", Claire went on, firmly ensconced in a full-blown tirade. "I really needed you last night and you were MIA. I will never forgive you for this!"
Claire turned around and walked towards the dryer, nearly knocking over Darcy on her way. Rena, as always, followed like an obedient puppy.
"I said I was sorry, Claire! What do you want? My left leg?" she replied, noticing her voice also rise to match Claire's high pitch. She hadn’t meant to outburst like that, but it seemed to work. Claire turned around and stared at her shockingly. A few silent moments went on before the confrontation continued.
"Sorry won't cut it. You know what happened yesterday and didn't even bother to get your head out of your own ass to call me to find out!" Claire was breathing heavily now, turning beet-red. She was angry.
"Ohhhhh," was all she could say as she remembered their lunchtime foray to the long-distance pharmacy - to buy the pregnancy test that Claire had to take by herself because Darcy didn't answer her calls and because Claire didn't really trust Rena with any kind of confidential information. She felt her heart fall into her stomach, feeling so incredibly terrible that like Claire had said, she HAD had her head up her own ass and didn't even think about how her friend pregnancy scare.
"Ohhh is right. And obviously I'm so upset because you know what it said". Rena looked at Claire confused, wondering what she was letting on about but she knew better than to ask, especially when Claire was amidst one of her classic dramatic monologues, which she noticed was well warranted at that instance.
"Listen, Claire, let's talk," she said, walking closer to the girl who was now practically shaking with anger.
"I guess we can hang out after school," Claire quickly replied, ostensibly ready to quickly forgive her friend. The abrupt change in demeanor frightened her but she decided to just let it go. While still reflecting at the strangeness in this change in mood, she suddenly remembered her plans with Glenda after school.
"I can't tonight," she blurted out. There was no point in try to ease the sting of the words. And the sting had stung, judging by the slow widening of disbelief in Claire's eyes.
"YOU CAN'T TONIGHT?!" Claire screamed, not caring if any other students were around to hear her shrill words. The students down the hall could hear her clear as day, and Claire knew it. "What do YOU have planned? Pining over the pool boy? Writing in your JOURNAL? You're so pathetic, Darcy. I never want to look at your sad little lame face again".
She was completely and utterly speechless. She did not know how to respond to Claire's outburst that was full of contempt, angry, and clear resentment. Even Rena looked uncomfortable.
"Calm down, Claire. In your state…" she began but Claire walked straight up to her and looked her dead in the eyes.
"My state is something you don't need to worry about. My state is none of your business. Now get out of my way!" She yelled, pushing her to the side, nearly causing her to stumble to the ground.
Claire and Rena left the bathroom, slamming the door closed behind them. She simply stared after them, still clearly in shock from both of Claire's revelations, and leaned back up against the cool wall. Not a good start to her day.
***
When the last bell rang signaling the end of the school day, the usual collective relief shared amongst all the students in school was perpetually felt, and she was no exception.
The rest of the day had been uncomfortable, to say the least. While she had been used to being a literal second half to the high maintenance Claire, she felt a sense of relief and empowerment making her way through her day solo. She had seen Claire out of the corner of her eyes on various occasions throughout the day, but Claire was apparently very good at pretending she didn’t exist. She couldn’t say that she was particularly bothered by her friends behavior, especially considering the epic fight they had had earlier in the girls bathroom, but it was still unsettling for her nonetheless that Claire was able to so quickly ignore her.
She absent-mindedly filled her purse with the slight homework she had been assigned in Biology class and managed to escape the busy school hallway and make it to the parking lot before the mass of students made it practically impossible for her to get into her car at all. The parking lot, much like the school hall ways, was also quite empty by the time she was behind the wheel and ready to get out.
Thankful for the silence, she started the car quickly. She bent over and raised the volume of the radio as high as it could go when she heard a tap on the window beside her. She turned around quickly to see Jason Crone smiling at her.
His eyes were intense, that was the first thought that entered her head. Her actual interactions with Jason since ‘the switch’ (What she was now calling the moment when she became the new Darcy) were non-existent, but from what she had inferred from her interactions with Claire et al, Jason was part of the ‘cool group’, and thus one of her friends. She did see his picture as part of her research in her own bedroom via yearbooks and pictures in some photo albums.
There was no question why Jason Crone was so popular, and being single, so elusive. His green eyes shone bright as though backlit from somewhere deep within his brain, and his teeth shone bright and white from behind his plump red lips. His hair was that perfect mix of messy neatness, and his purple polo shirt showed just enough of the fit body that lay behind it. She couldn’t help but feel her heartbeat quicken and feel a little warm. She absent-mindedly turned up the air conditioning while she lowered her window.
“Hey lady,” Jason said once the window had been lowered. He stood close to the window and leaned over, so that he was just inches away from her face.
“Hey Jason, what’s up?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant. She knew this interaction was not random – Claire had let on as much. She did not want to go the prom with Jason, and she knew that this was where the conversation was headed.
“Not much, Darcy. I wish I could say the same for you, though,” he said, a smiling slowly creeping across his face, showing a tiny dimple on his left cheek. She should have known that Claire would have blabbed to everyone about their fight, Jason not being a
ny exception.
“Yeah, well, the life of a teenager is complicated, to say the least,” she replied, trying to sound calm and collected. Though, as she was learning as every day progressed, her new teenage life was increasingly becoming the complete antithesis to complicated. It was becoming painful.
Jason continued to smile, and proceeded to lean over even closer to Darcy’s spot in the driver’s seat. She thought she smelled cinnamon hearts on his breath but it was just her hunger playing mind games with her. The silence between them was awkward, and Darcy was very aware of that. Jason, however, seemed to be relishing in it.
“So who’s the lucky dude?” he finally asked, not taking his eyes away from her face.
“Listen, Jason – I know Claire put you up to this,” she countered, trying to sound genuine. “I just think I want to go alone to the prom”.
Jason’s expression went from humored to confuse within milliseconds. “Huh? I’m not talking about prom, though Claire did ask me to ask you.”
Now it was her turn to feel confused. “Oh. Then what are you talking about?”
“Not that I would have asked you to the prom anyway but after what happened, I think going alone to prom is your only option”, he replied. The parking lot was beginning to fill up now with more students, which meant that she would most likely see Claire at some point. She quickly decided to steer the awkward conversation.
“I’m not quite sure what you’re alluding to, Jason, but I’ve really got to get going.” she said, turning her face towards the front of her car and the steady of stream of students that were leaving the ivy-lined school.
“Don’t play dumb, Darcy. I saw you buying the pregnancy kit at the pharmacy in Owens Landing. My brother owns it,” he replied quietly.
She felt like a deer caught in the headlights. She turned towards Jason quickly, shocked.
“It’s not what you think,” she mumbled, not wanting to add fuel to the fire that had been lit. If Jason found out about Claire, then the news would be around school in 2 minutes flat.