He laughed again and made his way to the door. "True, very true." He put his hand on the knob and turned it. With the door half open, he turned around, his eyes locking on Edith's. "Hey, I'm Alex, by the way. I don't think we've officially met."
"E--" Edith coughed, clearing the sudden lump out of her throat. "Edith," she whispered.
The corner of his lip crooked up into a warm smile. "Nice to meet you, Edith. Hope to see you around." With a wink and a nod, he was out the door, closing it firmly but gently behind him. Edith grabbed the box from the counter and sank to the floor where she proceeded to savor the best pizza she had ever eaten.
Chapter 2
The next morning, Edith left the dingy apartment with a spring in her step. The world seemed just a bit brighter and she was even prepared to greet the weird old lady on the step with a cheery hello. She found herself oddly disappointed when she opened the door. The front step was empty. No gray-haired woman, no big overstuffed knit purse, no funny old people smell. Frowning, Edith bit back the greeting that she had been preparing all morning and walked to school. She had to go through the parking lot to reach the Edgar Johnson building where her first class was. She hated going through the parking lot. Kids her age never paid attention and yet somehow they always had cars. If she had anything to say about it, you would need at least a high school diploma and six months of driving school to be allowed to even touch a set of keys, much less actually own the keys.
A yellow Camaro nearly sideswiped her as she was stepping out between two cars. It honked furiously, despite the fact that it was clearly going the wrong way down a one-way lane, and Edith frowned as the tinted window lowered.
"Are you blind and dumb, Poindexter?"
Edith snorted. "You really need to work on your insults, Dana. Seriously."
Rolling her eyes, Edith turned and walked toward the building. Her heart pounded so hard she was sure the other students could hear it. She chastised herself inwardly. If she didn't stop egging Dana on, she really was going to be in for it, but for some reason, she had never been very good at biting her tongue. Oh well. She'd worry about the backlash when it came. In the meantime, she wanted to skim a chapter in her math book for a quiz later in the day. After checking her watch and verifying that she had another ten minutes before class started, Edith found an out of the way bench and settled in. She was reading about arc-signs when the book suddenly flew from her hands and landed on the sidewalk nearby, pages crumpled and torn.
Mouth agape, she stared at the book for a moment before turning her glare on the girl standing before her. "That was school property," Edith said with indignation, "I'm not paying for that." She raised her chin, crossed her arms and settled back into the bench, narrowing her eyes at Dana and her doting posse.
Unruffled, the cheerleader cocked her hip and ran a hand through her hair. "Of course you are. You're the clumsy fool who dropped it."
The cruel smile was too much to bear. Edith had been insulted repeatedly, abused and now she was going to have to fork over money she didn't have, all because some witch decided she was trash. She wasn't having it. She launched to her feet, ready for a full-on cat fight if it came to it.
Dana was unprepared for the overly aggressive response and jumped back a foot. Her hands came up defensively as Edith advanced on her.
"Hello ladies. What's going on?"
The mood shift Dana went through in nanoseconds made Edith's head spin. One moment she was ready to tear Edith's eyes out and the next she had plastered her most fake, most endearing smile onto her foundation-soaked face.
"Hey there, Alex," the cheerleader cooed as she slid an arm around his back. "How are you, baby?"
Giving his girlfriend a sidelong glance, he turned his attention to Edith. "Is she giving you trouble? She's never been very nice to the new girls."
Edith saw her chance to put the cheerleader in her place. Putting on her most winning smile, she beamed at Alex and Dana. "Not at all. We were just talking about what amazing friends we're going to be. Right, Dana?"
Hatred flashed across Dana's face, brightening Edith's smile. "Of course. We're going to be best friends." An injured gasp echoed from Dana's forgotten real best friend, but the blond bombshell ignored her and drew Edith in with her free arm. "The bestest friends ever."
Daggers threatened to shoot from Dana's eyes as she locked her gaze on Edith's, but Alex was oblivious.
"Great," he said, deftly withdrawing from Dana's grasp and clapping Edith on the shoulder. "What do you say we all hang out at your place after school then? Neither of us have practice today, so we're free. Sound good?"
Edith almost choked on her own saliva but managed to nod and smile weakly. "Sure, sounds good."
"Awesome. We'll meet you here after the last class." With that, he bowed to the women and trotted off into the building.
Once he was out of earshot, Dana turned to Edith with a big smile on her face. "You are so dead," she said through gritted teeth and grabbing the leader of her entourage not-so-gently by the arm, she headed off in the opposite direction.
Edith blew out a breath of air and sank onto the bench. She so did not want those people in her crummy, run-down, box-filled apartment. Not in the least. But how could she say no to Alex? Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to dream of that beautiful smile and chivalrous bow until the bell rang.
***
The day dragged on until lunch. Having skipped the terrifying cafeteria experience the day before, Edith's stomach played the part of Olympic gymnast as she walked through the double steel doors. As luck would have it, the first person she laid eyes on was her new best friend. Fortunately, the cheerleader was busy animatedly telling some tale to her posse and didn't see Edith right away, so Edith slipped into the back of the lunch line, hoping to grab her tray and get to a corner table before she ran into the only other person she knew, her new BFF's boyfriend.
"You should try the goulash. It's awesome. Mary Lou really knows her way around a ladle."
Alex's grin nearly caused Edith to melt into a puddle. "The goulash? Sounds... um..."
He let out a laugh and gripped her elbow gently, pulling her out of line. Nodding to a couple of boys about their age, Alex pushed in front of some students further down the line. Edith felt a bit bad about cutting, especially once she saw the glares coming from those now behind her. Great. Only her second day and she'd now made even more enemies. She was off to an excellent start at this school. On the plus side, the cutest boy she'd ever met was standing beside her, chatting up the lunch lady and tossing Edith an occasional wink.
"Here you go. The best goulash in the state."
Lunch Lady Mary Lou clicked her teeth. "Alex, my dear, I told you I am much too old for you, and I don't think my husband would appreciate the flirting." The older woman grinned even as she admonished the teenager and he nudged Edith, smiling.
"Thanks, Mary Lou." Alex grabbed Edith's elbow again and together they headed on down the line.
When they got to the cashier, Edith blanched. She was supposed to get reduced lunch, and that's all she had the money for, but she desperately didn't want to tell Alex that. What would he think?
"I got this," he said, pulling out his wallet.
"No, I can't let you do that." But Edith's protests were less than halfhearted and she didn't argue long. She had bigger things to worry about, like how she was going to get away from Alex before he dragged her over to Dana's table.
"Come on, this way."
Clenching her teeth, Edith steeled her nerves and took a deep breath before following Alex into the throng of bodies. Like a king through his court of admirers, the students parted before Alex. He nodded at a group of kids here, slapped a few on the back there, working his way through the cafeteria as if he were a celebrity working a crowd. Finally, they reached the dreaded destination: a table in the middle of the room, full of laughing, muscled boys and preening, starving girls.
"Edith, what a surprise." Dan
a's smile did not reflect in her eyes. "Alex, I'm so glad you found her."
With a glare, Dana shoved the entire table down a seat, making room for the newcomer. Before Edith could sit down however, Dana wrapped an arm around her shoulder and turned her toward the rest of the group.
"Everyone, this is Edith. She's new here, and she's going to hang with us so make sure you treat her with every kindness I have shown all of you."
The painted smile turned on Edith, making her heart sink in her chest. The smirks from around the table told her to be wary and keep her eyes open at all times.
Edith sank into her seat and picked up her fork. She had never been a fan of goulash, but Alex insisted it was delicious. As the plastic tines pierced the first noodle, the plate began moving, leaving the saucy pasta hanging in midair over her tray.
"Don't eat that, Edith. It's not good for you. Here."
The plate of stomach-filling food was replaced by a stick of fiber wrapped in green foil. She picked it up gingerly, looking it over. "I'm not a squirrel. I'd rather have my lunch."
"Rebecca, take care of this please."
Edith's stomach growled in protest as her plate was lifted into the air and unceremoniously dumped into the nearest trash can.
"Eat up." Dana tossed her a triumphant grin as she picked at her own granola bar. Turning to Alex, all Edith received was a sympathetic shrug.
Once their very small, very unfulfilling meals were devoured, Dana stood. "Come," she said to Edith, jerking her head toward the door. Edith rose, along with the rest of Dana's minions, and they headed outside in a swarm, descending on the quad and kicking other students off a group of benches. Dana put a heeled foot onto one of the benches and lifted herself effortlessly, settling onto the back. Right on cue, Alex sat next to her, wrapping an arm protectively around her waist. Becky made to sit on the other side of Dana, but the head cheerleader raised a hand.
"Edith is going to sit there today. I hope you don't mind." Her hard smile offered no room for rebuke and Becky had no choice but to return the smile and find another place to sit. With a heavy heart, Edith plopped onto the bench and dumped her bag beside her on the ground. She turned to Alex and Dana only to be greeted with a sickeningly gooey display of affection which made her thankful she hadn't eaten much lunch. Her gaze found Becky who tossed her a sympathetic smile. Edith wondered if the girl was secretly thrilled to be removed from the position of Dana's best friend and how she had been unlucky enough to be her successor.
"So, Edith." Edith was really starting to hate the intonation in Dana's voice every time the girl said her name. It was as if the word was something disgusting that she was forced to swallow. "What do you do for fun?"
A dreaded question, especially from someone like Dana. "Um, I read a lot."
"Read? How... studious of you."
Edith shrugged, at a loss for any other way to respond.
"What else? You can't be THAT boring."
Edith opened her mouth to retaliate, but a glint in the wood chips surrounding the bench caught her eye. She ignored the cheerleader's prodding and leaned over for a closer look. It was a piece of shiny metal, a loop of some sort. A ring maybe? Reaching down, she grabbed the object and pulled it from the mulch. Attached to the loop was a long stem with several metal teeth at the end.
"What is that?" Dana's eyes were wide and locked on the thing in Edith's hand.
"It's a key." Edith's voice betrayed her confusion at finding an object like that in a high school quad.
"Can I see it?" Alex grasped for the key, the speed of his reach alarming Edith and throwing her off guard. She instinctively pulled back, hiding the treasure on the other side of her body. He laughed though it sounded strained and forced. "I just want to look at it. You can have it back."
Under Dana's watchful stare, Edith handed the object over. Alex took it in both hands, treated it with a sort of reverence momentarily before catching himself. Shrugging nonchalantly, he handed it back. "It's cool, but nothing special. I've seen neater."
"You have?" Dana's voice held a strange, suspicious tone. Her eyes were narrowed as she looked her boyfriend over, seeming to reassess him and see him in a new light.
"My uncle is a collector. He has lots of old keys."
"Odd hobby," Edith chimed in, hoping to break the tension between the two. She thought to herself how strained their relationship must be for something as stupid as a random key to bring such distrusting tones.
The bell rang, startling the trio and almost causing Dana to fall off the back of the bench. Alex made no move to catch her and once she'd righted herself, her glare told Edith that he was in for a scolding. But Dana's attention quickly shifted. She gripped Edith's arm. "You put that in your pocket and keep it close. Don't let anyone take it from you." Her serious expression broke and she offered a smile, an almost genuine smile. "It looks really old and it's probably worth money. You don't want to let just anyone have it. Later, we'll look into it together and see if we can find out how much it's worth or who it belongs to. Okay?"
Dana's tone was gentle and friendly, full of camaraderie. It made Edith uneasy. "Sure," she said, her eyes narrowing. "Sounds good."
"Great." Dana bounded up, dusting off her tight jeans. "See you after class then." She leaned over, hands on either side of Edith's arms and gave her a tentative hug. "Bye bestie!" With a wave and an air kiss, the cheerleader turned and headed into the building, dragging Alex along behind her. Confused and slightly terrified, Edith followed behind them after shoving the key in her pocket.
Chapter 3
After her last class, Edith headed out to the quad. Unlike the day before, she did not dread running into Dana, at least not in the same way. Instead of fearing for her safety, she feared for her mental and social well being, but the time apart had allowed her to see that being a fake best friend was slightly better than being a real enemy. And there was still something about Dana's odd reaction to the key Edith wanted to figure out. She always loved a good mystery.
Her hand went instinctively to the cool metal in her pocket. She fingered the three flat prongs at the end and the loop at the other. She pulled the key out as she walked to examine it once more. It was shiny, oddly so considering it had been shoved in the dirt and potentially stepped on. Not a scratch was on it and it looked like it had been newly forged. It was silver in color and light as a feather but heavy as a stone at the same time. Edith scrunched her face up at the thought. That was impossible. Nothing could be heavy and light at the same time. She shoved the key back into her pocket and sat on the same bench they'd used at lunch.
Moments later, Dana came trouncing up, a big smile on her face. She plopped down beside Edith, crossing her legs in a fluid motion as she put her arm around Edith's shoulders.
"Hey, bestie. How did the rest of your day go?"
Edith shrugged a little too dramatically dramamtically , trying unsuccessfully to knock Dana's arm off. "Oh, it was all right. Science and math. I hate science and math."
"Ugh, me too." Dana's face wrinkled into an unpleasant expression. "All those stupid symbols and equations. Who is ever going to need them, aside from nerds of course?"
"Those nerds are the reason you have that fancy phone you love so dearly, my darling." The voice came from over Edith's shoulder. Alex was propped against the bench, mere inches from Edith. Her heart sped up and she took several deep breaths.
"Oh! Speaking of... Do you have a cell phone, Edith? I'm sure you do. Everyone has a cell. I need your number."
Dana pulled out her phone and tapped the screen a few times before taking Edith's number. Then she held it up, pointing the ominous black circle Edith's way. "Smile," she said with excessive cheerfulness.
The pained expression in the photo showed Edith's dislike for picture taking, but Dana was none the wiser. Or if she was, she just didn't care. With much cajoling, Edith pulled out her crappy phone and punched in Dana's number. She could see the thinly veiled distaste on Dana's face, and she stuffed the
phone back in her bag as quick as she could.
"Well, then," Dana said, standing up. "Are we ready?"
Edith's stomach sank again. She had been dreading this moment, but now there was no escaping it. She nodded. "Yeah, let's go."
Dana was full of stories so Edith didn't have to say much on the way to her home. She fell into her typical response mode when someone was talking to much and she felt overwhelmed: smile and nod. Just smile and nod. She was still smiling and nodding when they reached the gate. Alex held it open for her and she stepped through. The old woman was back on the step. She had a huge purple mark stretching across the left side of her face and her wrinkled knuckles were bloody and bruised.
The woman raised her head, but instead of staring at Edith, her blind gaze locked on Alex. Her old face betrayed an intense hatred mingled with fear. Edith glanced at Alex questioningly but he just rolled his eyes and shook his head as they moved past. "Old hag," he mumbled so quietly Edith wasn't sure she was supposed to hear.
At her apartment, Edith fumbled with the lock. Her hands shook and she scolded herself for being so ridiculous. She couldn't avoid having friends forever. Or could she? She could tell Dana and Alex to go away and leave her alone, that she wasn't interested in whatever they wanted, that she didn't like people, that she had some contagious disease. The key clicked in the lock and the handle turned. Frowning, Edith swung the door open and stepped inside.
Nothing had changed. Boxes still littered the small apartment. Her mother had done no unpacking whatsoever and Edith wasn't even sure the woman had been home since last night.
"It's... charming." Dana's forced smile made Edith feel even worse, but the cheerleader quickly changed the subject. "So Alex, what was with that old woman downstairs? She really doesn't like you, does she?"
Alex laughed and waved a hand as he headed to the couch. "Ah, that's just the old witch. She doesn't like anyone."
"What old witch?" Dana asked as she set herself precariously on the edge of the couch next to Alex.
The Third Key (The Alaesha Legacy Book 1) Page 2