by Grace Herbst
Chloe frowned. “Why would you think you would ruin the dance?”
Ashley was embarrassed to tell her the story and gave her the short version. “Last year, there was a prank pulled at the homecoming dance at my old high school,” she explained. “And I was blamed for it because my friends and I weren’t at the dance with everyone else.” She let out a sigh. “I always do seem to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Chloe tried to cheer her up. “Our homecoming dances seem boring compared to yours.”
Everyone laughed as Victoria spoke. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about though,” she replied. “I know my daughter will make sure you stay out of trouble, right darling? Speaking of trouble, you didn’t happen to run into your father out there, did you?”
Ashley looked at Chloe, wondering whether she would answer. “Yes we did.” Victoria rolled her eyes. “As I said before, he would never try to hurt us in any way. In fact, he’s going to talk to the mayor and see what she will do to make sure this doesn’t happen to other families.”
“Did he mention how he is planning to get our jewelry back?” Victoria asked. Michelle cleared her throat. Clearly, the conversation had already been discussed and it shouldn’t be brought up again. “I’m sorry, but I’m more concerned about getting my grandmother’s jewelry back.”
“We understand how important the jewelry is to you and Chloe,” Kyle replied, trying to comfort her. “I’m sure the police will find the culprit soon.”
“May we be excused?” Ashley asked, not wanting to hear any more about the robbery. Chloe looked at her gratefully. She clearly didn’t want to hear about it either.
Kyle nodded and she led Chloe upstairs to her bedroom. By now, Ashley had unpacked most of her boxes and her things were displayed around her bedroom. There was only a couple of boxes she wasn’t planning on unpacking. Instead, she wanted to get rid of the boxes.
Ashley made the suggestion of watching a couple of movies, knowing that was the perfect distraction. Chloe reluctantly agreed. The two friends browsed through Ashley’s expansive collection of DVDs before they were able to decide on a movie.
Ashley went downstairs in the kitchen to make a couple of bowls of popcorn. She poked her head into the kitchen and she only saw Michelle, who was hard at work grading papers. Ashley assumed Victoria left to go to her hotel and her father was in his study. That’s where he usually spent his time when he was home, especially when he had a big case to work on.
Michelle looked up from her work and gave Ashley a smile. She confirmed her husband’s and Victoria’s whereabouts. “What are you girls planning to do tonight?” she asked. Ashley showed her the bags of popcorn she pulled out of the pantry. “Good choice.” There was a short pause before she spoke. “I know this has brought up bad memories for you and I want you to know I’m here if you ever want to talk.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I’m more worried about Chloe,” Ashley told her. Michelle nodded understandingly. However, Ashley could tell she was distracted as well. “Are you alright? You seemed really shaken when you found out about the robbery.”
Michelle shook her head. She was quiet for a few moments. “I never thought something like this would happen here. Emerald has always been pretty safe. Your father wanted us to stay with your Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Richard since they’re on the other side of town, but I told him that there’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure the police will find who did this and the stolen items will be returned.”
Ashley just nodded as she put one of the bags of popcorn in the microwave. Her thoughts went to the jewelry and it made her wonder if the culprit would be caught. She knew jewelry like the pieces that were taken cost hundreds of dollars and it would be easy to pawn them off for cash. Of course, there were also some thieves who might keep the jewelry and wait until the highest bidder would ask for it.
Ashley snapped out of her daydream long enough to prepare the bowls for herself and Chloe. She brought them upstairs where Chloe had set up the DVD player to play the first movie and handed one of the big plastic bowls over to Chloe. “Thanks. I suppose I should eat something since I didn’t eat anything earlier.”
“A movie and popcorn always cheer me up,” Ashley replied before they settled down on the bed as Ashley prepared to play the first movie.
After both movies were over, they just sat around and talked about their different classes and teachers. “I can’t wait until next semester,” Chloe exclaimed. “That way, we can finally be in the same class and we won’t have to compare stories. We can just compare class notes.” Ashley nodded in agreement. “Hey, I couldn’t help but notice that you still have two boxes to unpack. Do you need any help unpacking those?”
Ashley knew it was the perfect time to ask about one box. She pulled out the box and pushed it over to Chloe. “Chloe, do you know anyone who would want some Harvard stuff?” she asked as Chloe began to look through the contents of the box. Ashley already had taken out the things she wanted to keep including a bear that wore the Harvard logo on it. Her dad had given that to her when she was born, hoping she would follow in his footsteps. That bear meant a lot to her and she wasn’t planning to give him up yet. “My plan for attending Harvard has changed.”
“Harvard? You were planning on attending Harvard?” Chloe asked. “That’s awesome. Why did you choose that one?”
“It’s my dad’s alma mater,” Ashley replied. Chloe nodded understandingly. “But I don’t think I will go there anymore. So I don’t want to keep these things if I’m not going.”
“Are you sure?” Chloe asked. “You might still change your mind.” Ashley nodded. It broke her heart to give away her Harvard souvenirs, but she had no desire to attend the university anymore. She wasn’t even sure if she was going to attend college.
“What about that box?” she asked, gesturing to the other box that was in the closet. “Do you need me to get rid of that box?”
Ashley shook her head. “No, that box I need to take care of myself.”
Chapter 8
That night, Ashley couldn’t sleep. Her focus was on the robbery. Anyone else would have been thinking about how frightened it would be to have strangers break into your house and steal your personal belongings. Ashley felt awful. She never had her house broken into before. However, she had done the deed herself in the past. It only happened a few times, but it was enough for Ashley. She wanted to have some fun, but she felt uncomfortable stealing from other people. Roxanne had tried to push her, but Ashley was firm.
She had to admit that she was glad she didn’t do it all the time. She saw the effects of what happens after a robbery and she felt bad that this happened to her friend. She hoped Chloe and her mother would be able to have their jewelry returned. From what Chloe had said, it didn’t sound like the jewelry would be easy to replace. As Ashley tried to fall back asleep, she hoped Michelle was right and this was the only robbery.
Unfortunately, the robbery at the Clarks was just the first of many robberies around town and the police didn’t have any suspects. The robberies always took place when the owners weren’t home and it was always the most expensive jewelry and sometimes cash. The neighbors began to get extra security for their homes and that slowed the robber down for now.
Despite their neighbors being robbed, the Meyers hadn’t been hit yet. Therefore, Michelle and Ashley moved their favorite jewelry out of the house and into their new safe deposit box at the bank. Ashley hated to part with her mother’s jewelry, but she knew it would be safe there until the crime wave was over.
On the night of the dance, Ashley and her friends prepared themselves at Chloe’s house. Gwen and Chloe had managed to find dresses just in time. The other two friends who were going with them hadn’t arrived yet. So Chloe and the others finished up without them.
Ashley wasn’t willing to put on any makeup, but her friends were persistent. Jill and Chloe didn’t believe the look was complete without wearing makeup. They were trying to
get Gwen to agree, but her mind was elsewhere. “Gwen, are you okay?” Chloe called, trying to get her attention.
“I don’t think we should go,” Gwen replied. Her friends looked at her surprised. “I know I’m usually the optimistic one, but I have a bad feeling about going to the dance tonight.”
Jill admired herself in the mirror. That dark blue strapless dress with the bow she had described to her friends did look gorgeous on her. She gave Gwen a look. She couldn’t believe her friend wanted to bail out just hours before the dance. “Come on, Gwen. You’re just worried because of the neighborhood robberies. Nothing is going to happen to us at the dance.”
“Jill’s right,” Chloe agreed. “Besides, our teachers are going to be there to look after us.”
“But if you really want to stay home, we’ll go off to the dance without you,” Jill said. Chloe gave her a look. “I’m not going to miss the dance because she doesn’t think we should go. And did you really have to tell us just minutes before we leave?”
Gwen didn’t have a chance to answer as they heard the doorbell ring. Chloe went to answer it while Jill looked at Gwen, still waiting for an answer. Gwen remained silent and Ashley tried to assist, “Gwen, are you sure you don’t want to go with us? You know it wouldn’t be fun being home by yourself.”
Ashley had a point. Gwen considered her options as Chloe led her friends into her bedroom. “Ashley, this is Olivia Thompson and Brianna Warren.” The three girls exchanged friendly smiles. Ashley had seen the girls around the school, but she had never met them until now.
“Are we all ready to go?” Olivia asked. “Let’s get out of here before your mom and Ms. Jordan brings a camera.”
“Gwen here doesn’t want to go,” Chloe told them. “She has a feeling something bad is going to happen at the dance.”
“I never said I didn’t want to go,” Gwen defended as she grabbed her purse. “I want to go to the dance. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
“Prove us wrong then,” Jill challenged. “Come to the dance with us and you’ll see why you’re worrying for nothing.”
Gwen accepted the challenge and she followed her friends out of the bedroom. However, they weren’t able to sneak out of the house before both Victoria and Michelle caught them with their cameras. The girls protested, but the adults were firm. Nobody was going anywhere without their photos being taken. So the friends decided to make the best of it and gave genuine smiles to the photographers.
When they arrived at the gym, Ashley looked around at the beautiful decorations, not really paying attention to the other students in the room. There were different fish balloons everywhere: dolphins, a whale and a sea horse. Coral was also spread out against the walls of the gym. In the front of the room, there was a sunken ship and a treasure chest.
“Wow, you guys did a great job with the decorations. It really does look like we’re underwater,” she told Chloe and Jill.
Her friends smiled proudly. “Thank you. I have to admit I’m happy with the final results,” Chloe agreed.
“I really like the treasure chest,” Ashley said as she walked over to the chest and observed it. To her amazement, it really did look like a treasure chest pirates would fight over.
“I wonder if there is any treasure in the treasure chest,” a familiar voice joked. Ashley turned to see Lucas. She was surprised to see he was wearing a different suit he had worn at the wedding.
Ashley laughed. “As long as they don’t have cursed coins in there, I think we’ll be okay.”
Lucas looked her over and gave her a smile. “Wow, you look so beautiful.”
Ashley smiled proudly. “Thanks. I had some help with that,” she replied as she gestured over to her friends, who had found an empty table. “I like your suit.”
“Thanks. Do you want some punch?” he offered. Ashley nodded. He returned with two cups of punch. He gave one cup to her while he kept the other cup for himself. They started chatting as they were joined by Chloe and Gwen.
Music started playing. Lucas turned to Ashley. “Do you want to dance?” he asked her. At first, Ashley was hesitant, but Lucas’s encouraging smile made her face her fears. He pulled her out onto the dance floor and they started dancing.
Ashley tried to concentrate on having fun when she noticed Penny and Simon entering the gym. Ashley was surprised. Penny didn’t seem like someone who would wear a dress. Like most of the other ladies, Penny was wearing a light blue dress. Ashley began to feel uncomfortable. However, she realized she couldn’t let Penny ruin her night. She wouldn’t! She ignored her as she continued dancing.
She wasn’t able to dance with him for very long. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that Penny was approaching them. Ashley was prepared for her question. “Do you mind if I cut in?” Penny asked. Ashley was polite and let her dance with Lucas. She returned to the corner where she had left her friends. She was disappointed to see her friends had left the area, but she was glad they seemed to be enjoying the company of their respective dance partners.
Ashley grabbed her cup of punch and sipped it as she watched everyone dance. She couldn’t keep her eyes off Lucas and Penny. They were clearly angry at each other. She could read lips, but she was distracted by Jill joining her.
“You look like you need some company,” Jill said as she saw who Ashley was looking at. “Don’t worry about Lucas. Whether Lucas wants to admit it or not, he is crazy about you. And I think you like him too.” Ashley wanted to protest, but Jill didn’t want to hear it. “Deny it all you want, but I know that look all too well. It’s the look every girl gets when she has a crush on someone. You two may be friends, but it’s obvious that you two are attracted to each other. So why are you letting Penny dance with Lucas?”
Ashley considered Lucas as a friend, but she had a feeling she wasn’t going to convince Jill. “Because I could see that she needed to talk to him,” Ashley replied, now regretting her decision. She realized she was having too much fun with Lucas to have Penny ruin their party. She excused herself and went through the couples on the dance floor to return to Lucas. As she got closer, she immediately noticed the tension between the two. “May I have my dance partner back now?” she asked hopefully. Lucas didn’t let Penny respond as he took Ashley’s hand and gently pulled her away from her.
They danced as far away as they could get from Penny and Simon. However, Simon hadn’t forgotten about the dance off and he began to show off his dancing skills. Penny was right there with him. “Come on. Show us what you’ve got,” Simon challenged Lucas. “Or are you chicken?”
Lucas just glared at him. “I don’t have to prove myself to you.” He led Ashley away from Simon and Penny. “I don’t know what Penny sees in him.”
“Let’s just not worry about it,” Ashley said. Her focus was to have a good time and she knew it couldn’t happen if Lucas wanted to argue with Simon. Lucas just nodded as he grabbed her hand and took her as far away as he could from the showoff.
A few minutes later, Ashley told Lucas she needed a break and she left the gym to find the bathroom. When she came out of the stall, she found her friends touching up their makeup. “You missed a good show,” Jill said. Ashley knew she was referring to Simon’s dance moves. She walked over to the sink and began washing her hands. “I can’t believe Lucas walked away from a challenge like that.”
“Yeah, you would think his girlfriend would encourage him to accept the challenge,” Penny snapped as she entered the bathroom. Her two friends Ashley recognized as Susie Thomas and Erika Way were with her. Susie Thomas had dark brunette hair and brown eyes while Erika had strawberry blonde hair with blue eyes. Even with high heels, Penny still towered over her friends. “Or even join in. I would have loved to see your dance moves.”
“Lay off her, Penny,” Susie said. “If she and Lucas didn’t want to compete against you two, then that’s their choice.” She made her way through the crowd of girls and went into a stall.
Ashley and Jill were about to leave t
he bathroom when Chloe gasped in horror. “Where the hell did you get those earrings?” she demanded as she glared at Penny. Ashley suddenly noticed the beautiful blue rhinestone earrings. “Those are my great-grandmother’s earrings!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Penny demanded back, who wasn’t happy she was being accused of stealing. “I got these from Simon as a gift.”
Chloe raised her eyebrows. “Really? Then your boyfriend must be the one who has been stealing jewelry all over town. Because I know what my jewelry looks like and my great-grandmother’s earrings look exactly like the ones you are wearing!”
Penny glared at her. “Are you calling my boyfriend a thief?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m calling him,” Chloe countered. Ashley looked at her friend surprised. She had never seen her like this. It wasn’t like Chloe to jump to conclusions. “Give them back to me now and I’ll think about not pressing charges against him.”
Penny looked at her as if she was crazy. “No, I’m not going to give them to you.”
Ashley stepped in before the argument could escalate into a fight. That was the last thing they needed tonight. “Chloe, are you sure these earrings are yours? Are you sure they aren’t just similar to your great-grandmother’s earrings?”
Chloe didn’t even hesitate before she spoke. “I know my jewelry when I see it,” she repeated. “Now give me my earrings, please.”
“Ladies, is there a problem in here?” Michelle asked, poking her head into the bathroom. “I can hear you all the way out in the hall.” Penny and Chloe made accusations at each other and she couldn’t understand either of them. She gave a whistle and that stopped the two girls for now. “Ashley, what’s going on in here?”
Penny was now looking angry at Ashley. Clearly, she wasn’t happy Ms. Jordan asked Ashley to explain the argument between her and Chloe. Ashley just ignored her. “Chloe believes Penny has her great-grandmother’s earrings.”
Chloe gave her a look. “They are my earrings. Would you tell her that she needs to give them back to me?”