Piranhas in Pink: Piranhas in Pink Book One

by Nova Knightley

  In the meanwhile, I had to funnel my unquenchable thirst for vengeance into something else. It was like an unstoppable craving that would never go away. The Piranhas had to be stopped. Even though I didn’t know what they had done to Carrington, it had to be horrible to make her move away, never to be heard from again.

  I was going to bring the PIPs down along with everyone else who thought it was okay to ruin people’s lives then float away as if everything were fine. I owed that much to Piper and every kid who had been bullied into taking their own lives.

  That night, I logged into Revenge Seekers Anonymous and typed five words: One down. One to go.

  17

  Mission Accomplished

  Friday morning, I discovered something in my locker that didn’t belong—a tiny box wrapped in pink paper with a silver bow on top. I tore the paper off, revealing a jewelry box from Tiffany and Co.

  I lifted the lid. Inside, nestled on a white pillow, was a silver chain with a silver P charm. The charm was covered with small pink diamonds. I took in a breath as I ran my fingers over the beautiful jewelry.

  Feeling a presence behind me, I turned to see the PIPs standing there beaming from ear to ear.

  Eden clapped. “Congratulations, Lennox McRae. You are the newest member of Perfection in Pink.” She announced it as if I had just been crowned Miss America.

  People in the hallways were stopping to watch. My cheeks warmed.

  Eden wrapped me into a tight hug then pulled away. “Our group is now complete.”

  Thunderous applause came from the onlookers. They had no idea how much the membership had cost me.

  Once everyone stopped looking and went on about their business, I searched Eden’s emerald eyes for any sign that they were playing some cruel joke. She seemed sincere.

  “Aren’t you happy, Lennox?”

  “Uh, yeah, of course. It’s just that after—”

  Eden smiled eerily through clenched teeth. “Lennox, we are extending this invitation to you because you are the best fit for us.”

  Kyla took the necklace from me and gently turned me around by my shoulders. I flinched as the ice-cold jewelry hit the skin of my neck.

  “You are never to take this off,” she whispered into my ear.

  The finality of that made me shiver. I thought I said, “Okay,” but I wasn’t sure any sound had come out. She pulled me into an awkward hug, the kind my grandmother used to force me to give her church friends. Hugging old people always made me nervous. They were sharp and pointy, like they might break. Hugging Kyla felt even stranger than that. Dani and Seiko embraced me too. Seiko’s hug was cold and stiff, but I understood that. My acceptance had to be killing her.

  Kyla, Seiko, and Dani obviously weren’t thrilled, but I was in. I didn’t have to wait for permission or hope to be invited. Lennox McRae was officially a PIP.

  ***

  The morning went by in a blur. Everywhere I went, people stared me down as if it were the first day of school all over again. I suspected that since I was wearing that pink charm, many of them were actually seeing me for the first time. I wasn’t just the new girl. I was Lennox McRae, the PIP. Some girls eyed my diamond charm with admiration, and others blasted me with sheer hate. I watched as they rolled their eyes and whispered to their friends, probably asking what I had that they didn’t. In just a few weeks, I’d earned what some of them had coveted since freshman year.

  When I passed Bree and Maisie, I tried to avoid eye contact, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Bree smirked then looked straight ahead. I wasn’t sure what that meant. Either she was annoyed that I had made it and she hadn’t, or she was thinking, “Better you than me.”

  At lunch, I sat at the PIP table next to Eden, who was talking a mile a minute. She removed a pink file folder from her backpack and slid a piece of paper from it. It was a list of boys’ names with color pictures printed beside them.

  “Pick a boy,” Eden said. “If he’s not already highlighted, he’s yours. Just say the word, and you can take him home today.”

  The girls giggled at Eden making the task seem like the equivalent of going to the pound to choose a puppy.

  I felt the same way about boys as I felt about puppies—I wanted neither. I didn’t have the time or the patience for all the trouble they caused, and they were both better off without me. Still, I had to make a choice. I ran my finger down the page. A cute redhead with a warm smile looked back at me. “How about him?”

  Kyla whistled. “Brody Davidson. Good choice. He’s a junior too. I know him very well.”

  I stared at his friendly smile. “Is he nice?”

  “Oh, Brody’s the sweetest,” she told me.

  That sounded okay, I guessed. At least I hadn’t chosen a jerk.

  Seiko looked over her shoulder. “Here he comes now.”

  Daniella stood and snapped her fingers. “Brody.”

  Obediently, Brody nodded and came over. He was better looking in person than in his picture, though he wasn’t my type. But that didn’t matter.

  Eden stood behind me, placing her hands on my shoulders. “Today’s your lucky day, Davidson. Lennox, our newest PIP, has chosen you to be her BF. Do you accept?”

  Brody looked at me for a good three seconds before nodding. “Sure. Nice to meet you, Lennox.” He reached over and offered me his hand as if we were making a business deal. Maybe we were. Grateful that he hadn’t rejected the offer, I shook his hand. It was soft and warm. Brody looked around the cafeteria. “Let me go talk to Chelsea. I’ll be right back.”

  I watched him hurry off. “Who’s Chelsea?”

  Seiko picked at her nails. “His girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend right about now.”

  “Wait? What? He has a girlfriend? Then what was he doing on the list?”

  Eden slid the list of boys back into the pink file folder. “He has a girlfriend, but that means nothing when you have the opportunity to date a PIP. Every girl in this school knows the deal. They need to think about that before they get involved with a guy on the PIP list. If their guy gets chosen by one of us, they get dumped.”

  I didn’t even know the Chelsea girl, but I felt awful. She was probably getting her heart broken at that very moment because of me. Then I was more concerned about the type of person Brody was. “Why would he do that?” Maybe he wasn’t so nice after all.

  Daniella sighed as if I’d asked her a million questions already. “There’s no life like the PIP life. Dating a PIP has many advantages. No guy in his right mind would pass up the chance.”

  Just as he promised, Brody came back a few minutes later. “All right, we’re good to go. Let’s exchange numbers, and we can set up a time for me to pick you up tomorrow night.”

  The whole situation was so weird, like some kind of freaky prearranged marriage. Eden nudged me in my side. I gave my new boyfriend—whom I knew nothing about—my number, and that was that. We were officially a couple.

  The bell rang, and we gathered our things.

  “Don’t forget,” Seiko said, “you have to talk to Coach Caldwell about joining the track team. She does tryouts every Monday for the first month of school. After that, no one can join until next year.”

  That was the part I was least looking forward to. School sports and I just didn’t mix. I took deep breaths as my chest tightened. I’d only been a PIP for a couple hours, and they were already consuming my life. I had a boyfriend and an everyday after-school commitment. You’d better make this worth it, Lennox.

  ***

  That night, I logged on to Revenge Seekers Anonymous. ViperViper had posted how he was coming along with his plan to get revenge on the man who had killed his wife while driving drunk. I’d been following his story with interest. He’d actually befriended the guy and was going with him to AA meetings. After the meetings, they would go for coffee—Viper’s treat. Before bringing the coffee to the table, Viper would add drops of Visine to the man’s cup. Lately, he had been complaining of stomach problems.

 
I liked his post then started my own to give an update on my progress. Unlike some of the others, I was always very vague and never gave specifics about what I was planning.

  PipersAngel: Today was a good day. Just when I thought my plan had hit a brick wall, I got a step closer to getting what I want. They’ve let me into their circle. They’re never going to know what hit them.

  After that, I checked my email. When Mom and I first moved to Maine, Dad and I emailed every day. But he hadn’t contacted me since school started a few weeks before, and every day, like an idiot, I would check, hoping to see something from him. I could always email him, but he hadn’t responded to the last one I sent.

  I’d received nothing from Dad, but I did have an email from the last person I wanted to hear from—Casey Walker.

  Good afternoon, Lennox,

  How are you? I hope all is well. I know you’ve told me that you aren’t interested, but I won’t give up on you. What happened to your sister is a rising epidemic. We need to do something to put a stop to it. Do you want other kids to go through what Piper did? Guess what. They are every day. You can help by just talking to me. Please think about it. I hope to hear from you soon.

  Casey Walker

  I glared at her email and cracked my knuckles. Though I could have simply deleted the email and blocked her, I didn’t. I wasn’t sure why, but probably for the same reason that I didn’t block her number in my phone. I shot her a quick response.

  Casey, seriously. This is verging on cyberstalking. LEAVE ME ALONE!

  Lennox

  I didn’t have time for Casey Walker and her hidden agendas. My plan was in motion, and I had to execute it perfectly.

  18

  The Five Wise Girls

  Saturday at eleven was my first official PIP meeting. We met at Seiko’s house that time. Her housekeeper had fixed us trays of hors d’oeuvres. We snacked on chicken fingers and mozzarella cheese sticks until Eden clapped, calling everyone to order. “We have Taylor Lance coming in fifteen minutes.”

  “Why’s Taylor coming?” As far as I knew, the meetings were supposed to be PIPs only.

  “She’s a girl with a problem,” Kyla explained. “That’s part of what we do. People come to us with problems they have, and if we feel it’s warranted, we solve them.”

  They had mentioned something like that before, but I hadn’t taken it seriously. As much as I hated to admit it, I was intrigued.

  Taylor Lance was in my biology class. She was tiny and had white-blond curls that stopped at her shoulders. She sat in Seiko’s chair, twiddling her thumbs.

  Eden tapped her pen on the notebook resting in her lap. “What can we do for you, Taylor?”

  “Our first choral competition is coming up in two weeks. In order for us to make it to the state level, we have to beat Turtle Bay.” Turtle Bay was the school Hayden went to.

  “And?” Dani asked.

  Taylor hesitated for a moment. “We haven’t been able to beat them for the past two years. I need this win. Soon, I’ll be filling out college applications, and being the captain of a state-level chorus team would help me so much. The best part is that the winning chorus gets to appear on America Sings. Do you know how many doors appearing on a talent competition show can open for us? Not to mention that a lot of money is riding on this. People are placing bets in favor of us winning.”

  I frowned. “People are placing bets on a chorus competition?”

  Nodding, Taylor said, “Chorus is kind of a big deal.”

  Eden snorted. “It’s really not. But clearly, it’s a big deal to you. I believe we can help.”

  Taylor’s eyes lit up like she had just won a free shopping spree.

  “But,” Eden said, “if we help you, you become indebted to us. There will come a time when we will ask for a favor in exchange for our help. You will be expected to comply, no questions asked. Do you agree to these terms?”

  Taylor nodded. “Yes, yes, yes. Definitely. So what are you going to do?”

  Eden turned to Seiko, who rolled her eyes. “Do I have to?”

  Kyla nudged her. “No, but it would help Taylor out a lot.”

  Seiko sighed and grabbed her cell phone from her dresser and left the room.

  Taylor smiled nervously as the door closed behind Seiko. “What’s she going to do?”

  Kyla grabbed another chicken finger from the tray. “Do you know Corey Brennan?”

  Taylor’s eyes widened with recognition. “Sure. He’s one of their best singers. He’s probably the best tenor I’ve ever seen in a school chorus.”

  “Well,” Kyla went on, “he and Seiko have been kickboxing together for years, and he’s absolutely obsessed with her. She can use that to work in your favor.”

  Taylor grinned and bounced in her seat. I had no idea that a choral competition could mean so much to somebody, but being on TV meant everything to some people.

  Seiko came back a few moments later and resumed her position on the bed. “So, I just talked to Corey’s creepy ass. I asked him if he would consider throwing the competition by singing off key, and he asked what was in it for him. I asked him if he would do it for a date with me. He said, ‘Are you kidding? If you go out with me, I can get the entire tenor section to be off-key, sing too fast, and get the lyrics wrong.’ So there it is. That should be enough to take them out of the running.”

  Taylor pounded her fists on her thighs excitedly. “Yes! They’re our only real competition. I’m not worried about the others.”

  I didn’t get it, but I supposed if singing was important to me, I would be excited too.

  Eden wrote something in her notebook. “Good. You have received your one favor. Glad we could help. You will be contacted for payment when the time comes.”

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said as she headed for the door. “Is that all?”

  “That’s all,” Eden replied.

  After a few more thank yous, Taylor let herself out.

  So this is what they do? They’re some kind of pink-clad mob?

  Eden closed her notebook. “That was an easy one. Thanks for taking one for the team, Seiko.”

  Seiko sat at her desk with her head buried in her hands. “This kid is getting thirty minutes at a coffee shop. That’s it. And I am so not kissing him.”

  I wondered why she had volunteered herself if she was so opposed to doing it. Taylor winning the chorus competition wasn’t important enough to pimp yourself out.

  Twenty minutes later, we were joined by Natasha Gray. She took a seat in the chair, looking as if she had lost everything in the world. I didn’t remember seeing her in school, but she didn’t exactly stand out. Natasha had mousy brown hair, an overbite, and a heart-shaped face.

  Eden nodded at Dani while she scrolled through her phone.

  Dani cleared her throat. “Why have you come to see us today?”

  Natasha didn’t say anything at first, just stared at her fingers in her lap. “I’ve actually been thinking of coming to you since last year, but I was afraid.”

  Eden looked up from her phone. “Afraid of what? Us?”

  Natasha began to nod then stopped herself. “Not really you but what you would require of me in return. I have no idea what to expect because no one ever talks about it.”

  “It’s part of the deal,” Kyla said. “If we help you today, you cannot speak of our transaction to anyone. Is that understood?”

  Natasha bobbed her head. “Yes. Totally understood. I came here because I’ve been having the hardest time with Winter Laurel.”

  The girls groaned. The worst part of being the new girl was not knowing who everyone was. I couldn’t wait until I got to know people.

  “She’s been making my life hell,” Natasha went on. “Every day when she passes me, it’s fat-ass-this and lard-ass-that. She ‘accidentally’ bumps into me all the time. I had to block her on all social media, but people tell me she’s still posting those stupid memes she makes about me. She has all her friends joining in too. Th
e final straw was last week when she kicked me down the stairs. She told Principal Chambers that it was an accident, and he believed her. He said there was no proof that she had done it on purpose.” She held up her arm. “My wrist still hurts from it. The only time I get a break from her is when she’s absent. Unfortunately, that hardly ever happens.”

  I was confused about why she was coming to a group of mean girls to help her with another mean girl, but I waited to see where it would go.

  “Why don’t you stick up for yourself?” Seiko asked.

  Natasha balled her hands into fists. “I’ve tried. I ignored her at first, but then I started to yell back at her. I scream for her to leave me alone. When I do, she and her friends just laugh at me. They don’t take it seriously. I spoke to my parents and the school administration about it, and nothing happened.”

  My chest tightened. I knew what that felt like—waiting for adults to solve your problems. They would listen and tell you what you wanted to hear, but they didn’t really do anything.

  “Okay,” Dani said. “Will you wait in the living room while we talk? We’ll text you when we’re ready for you to come back.”

  “Sure.” Natasha did as she was asked.

  As soon as she was gone, Kyla pulled a poster of the solar system down from Seiko’s wall and placed it in the center of the bed. She flipped it over, and we circled around it.

  I wasn’t sure what to make of the drawing on the back. It was done in pencil and had names and lines going everywhere. It looked sort of like a spider’s web. Eden tapped the middle of it. “Winter is out of control. Who can we get to kick her ass?”

  “What’s going on here?” I asked.

  Eden looked at me like she’d just remembered I was there. “Oh, right. This is how we keep track of who owes us what.” She ran her fingers over the lines. “Winter is no stranger to a girl fight, and she usually wins. I think we need three people to take her just to be on the safe side.”