“They don’t know?”
“Not yet. They are on a business trip.”
“Oh . . .” DJ nodded. “But you weren’t charged with anything, Kriti. You shouldn’t get into trouble.”
“Where were you guys?” asked Kriti sadly.
They explained, and Kriti just nodded.
“Maybe we should’ve invited you too,” said Rhiannon. “I’m sorry.”
Kriti just shook her head. “I wouldn’t have gone.”
“Why not?” demanded DJ. “Was it better to get in trouble?”
“No, but it’s better not to get Eliza mad. She’s my only friend.”
“We’re your friends too,” insisted DJ.
But Kriti didn’t look convinced. “I’m tired,” she said. “Please, excuse me.”
“Poor Kriti,” Rhiannon said quietly after the door closed.
“It’s like she’s Eliza’s puppet,” said DJ.
“Or slave.”
“Well, maybe we should emancipate her,” suggested DJ.
“It won’t work unless she wants it.” Rhiannon sadly shook her head.
The girls got out their keys now, letting themselves into their rooms to catch up on some much-needed rest. But, once inside her room, DJ couldn’t help but notice how it seemed strangely quiet . . . as if something . . . rather someone was missing. She had just emerged from the shower and was about to hop into bed for a long winter nap when she heard someone loudly knocking on her door. She hurried over to unlock it, desperately hoping that it was Taylor.
“Grandmother?”
“I wish to speak to you, Desiree.”
“Here?”
“Here is fine.” Grandmother stepped into the room, then before closing the door, she paused to examine the deadbolt.
“First of all, when did you get that lock put on your door?”
“Yesterday.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew that Eliza’s party might get out of control, and I didn’t want my room trashed. As it turned out, I’m glad that I got it in time. Rhiannon and Casey got one too. You’ll receive a bill next week.”
Grandmother sighed and sadly shook her head as she sat down in the window seat. She looked very tired and much older than usual. “I don’t know what to do, Desiree.”
“What do you mean?”
She held up her hands in a hopeless gesture. “Everything is falling apart.”
DJ frowned. “You mean because you let Eliza have her stupid party and she brought in alcohol?”
“Yes . . . yes. Then there’s this business with Taylor. I’m afraid I’ll have to cancel Fashion Week with Dylan. I just don’t know what to do.”
Okay, the truth was that nothing else would make DJ happier. But, at the same time, she knew how much her grandmother had wanted this. She also knew that Rhiannon was looking forward to seeing the fashion industry up close.
“I don’t see why you need to cancel everything, Grandmother.”
Grandmother looked up with a surprised expression. “How can I not cancel everything? The truth is, I’m afraid I will have to shut down Carter House altogether. I will have to send all the girls home.”
“Even me?” Now DJ was slightly worried. The last thing she wanted was to end up back with her dad, the twins, and her stepmom. Nothing could be worse. Suddenly, the stakes were rising.
“I don’t know what else to do, Desiree. I’m afraid I’m just too old for this sort of thing. I thought I could handle it at first, but now I’m not sure. The general even questioned my sensibilities last night when I was called to the police station.”
“I’m sure that was hard.”
“And humiliating.” Grandmother was actually wringing her hands now. “The sergeant at the station even suggested that I was in over my head. Actually those were his exact words. Oh, dear . . . I feel like such a failure.”
“Well, you are partly to blame, Grandmother. You allowed Eliza to have that party.”
“Yes . . . but she promised — ”
“Eliza is a teenager,” pointed out DJ. “She doesn’t always tell the truth.”
“But I trusted her.”
“I don’t see why.”
Grandmother looked up and studied DJ now. “Did you and the other girls know what was going on here?”
“We had our suspicions. And I’ve tried to tell you about this before, Grandmother. But, you have to admit that Eliza and Taylor have been your favorites and — ”
“I don’t have favorites.”
“Yes, you do. We all know it. Eliza and Taylor have the most model potential, and, because of that, you seem to turn your head to their problems. Right from the very start, both those girls brought alcohol into the picture. I tried to warn you, and you gave me your ‘girls will be girls’ spiel.”
“Well, it seems you were right, Desiree. It seems I have failed.”
“Meaning you’re going to quit?” DJ stood up now. “I never thought of you as a quitter, Grandmother. That surprises me.”
“I am not a quitter.” Grandmother used a lace-trimmed handkerchief to daub at her eyes, although DJ wasn’t sure if she was actually crying or just being dramatic.
“But you’re going to give up just because Eliza did something stupid?”
“I was stupid to trust the girl.”
DJ pointed her finger in the air. “Exactly!”
“So, I suppose you are saying I shouldn’t trust any of you . . . about anything . . . ever?”
“Something like that. I mean, you don’t need to be like the Gestapo, but you should realize that we are still teenagers and we need some supervision.”
“But you, Rhiannon, and Casey . . . you girls made the choice not to be here last night.”
“That’s right.”
Grandmother brightened now. “That shows that at least three of my girls have some sense.”
“Just not your favorite three.”
“As I said, I do not have favorites.”
DJ shrugged.
“And there is hope for Taylor. After all, she is getting help,” said Grandmother with fresh optimism.
“Yes. And if it’s any consolation, Kriti is not like Eliza. She doesn’t like to drink or party. It’s just that Eliza seems to have Kriti under her thumb.”
Grandmother pressed her lips together, as if in deep thought.
“Another thing, Grandmother. Kriti seems to be very unhappy. In fact, I’m a little worried about her.”
Grandmother seemed to consider this.
“I don’t think that Eliza is a good influence on her and — ”
“I know just the answer!”
“What?”
“Kriti will move in with you.”
“Me?” Suddenly DJ wasn’t so sure.
“With Taylor gone, Kriti can share — ”
“But Taylor will be coming back and — ”
“If Taylor desires to room with you, that’s fine. But we don’t know for sure when Taylor is returning. In the meantime, Kriti shall be your new roommate, Desiree. It’s settled.”
Okay, DJ knew that she shouldn’t be so selfish. But she did not want to share a room with Kriti. The truth was, she would rather have Taylor, wildness and all, for a roommate. And DJ knew that was wrong. Plus it made no sense. Why would DJ rather have Taylor with all her problems? Maybe because, on some levels, she could relate to her. But DJ didn’t really get Kriti. For one thing, she was so studious and quiet. It’s like she was a shadow. Or like Rhiannon said, a puppet. She always seemed so needy. Like she had to have someone to lead her around and tell her what to do, how to act, what to think. DJ wasn’t sure she wanted that someone to be her.
“No arguments, please,” insisted Grandmother as she reached for the door. “I will inform Kriti immediately. She can transfer her things while Eliza is performing her cleaning duties. You may take Taylor’s things over to Eliza’s room.”
DJ couldn’t tell if Kriti was unhappy with the room change or just unhappy in general
. She said very little as they transferred Taylor’s things for hers. This was a challenge in itself since Eliza had already hogged most of the closet space, and now DJ was forced to divide it equally, which meant that Eliza would soon discover a heap of her own clothes, bags, and shoes on her bed. Probably about ten thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise, maybe more. Of course, DJ had no doubts that Eliza would take full advantage of Taylor’s side of the room until Taylor returned. What would happen then was anyone’s guess.
As soon as the room switch was complete, Kriti set up her laptop on the small desk and went straight to work. Funny, but it had never occurred to either Taylor or DJ to use the desk as a desk. For one thing, Taylor rarely did homework. And when DJ did hers, she usually opted for her bed or the window seat. Now it seemed odd to see the desk actually in use. Naturally DJ didn’t mention this.
Dinner was a somber affair that evening. Eliza was obviously in a snit, but unable to make a fuss since she knew she was still in the doghouse. Kriti seemed to be pouting as well and, consequently, barely seemed to touch her food. But it was Grandmother who made everyone uncomfortable. Not only was she stern and in lecture mode, but she was obsessed with perfect manners. It was as if she thought she could make up for, or perhaps undo, the past five months in one meal. And it figured that as dinner came to an end, it seemed Grandmother’s patience was doing likewise.
“Sit up straight, Casey!” she said for the third time. “Butter knife, Rhiannon!” She sounded like Sergeant Etiquette as she barked out her brisk commands. “Chew with your mouth shut, DJ. Kriti, at least pretend that you are enjoying your meal.” Eliza was the only one who escaped Grandmother’s manners radar, and DJ suspected this was only because Eliza, trained by the best, knew how to act perfect . . . when perfection was required.
“May I please be excused, Grandmother?” DJ inquired as politely as possible. The tension in the room was making her stomach hurt.
“Not until I remind everyone that we will be having our Saturday modeling session tomorrow. We will begin promptly at nine.” She cleared her throat. “I feel it’s only fair to warn you girls, I have come precariously close to canceling Fashion Week altogether. In fact, I am still not convinced that we will be participating.”
Eliza’s jaw tightened, and Rhiannon’s disappointment showed in her eyes as Grandmother continued. “However, I have decided that it will do us no harm to be prepared just in case we do participate in Fashion Week. I have decided not to inform poor Dylan otherwise, just yet anyway. In the case that I am disappointed in any of the Carter House girls, I will consider replacing them with some of the other young women who will be in attendance in our sessions. I hope you understand the significance of this.” She turned to DJ. “Yes, Desiree, you may be excused.”
“Thank you.” DJ stood and left. She wished she could leave the house too, but thanks to Eliza’s stupidity last night, all the girls were on some kind of house arrest for the next few days. No one was to go out, and no one was to come visit — period. Grandmother had made that crystal clear as soon as they’d sat down to eat. And, although it was unfair, DJ couldn’t help but think it was about time Grandmother put her foot down. She just hoped that she’d have the good sense to realize that her new disciplinary tactics might need to be adjusted and administered on a person-by-person basis.
The house was slowly coming back together, but Eliza’s work was far from done yet. Despite her attempt to pressure Kriti into helping this afternoon, DJ had stood up to her. “No, Kriti cannot help you,” she’d said firmly. “This is your punishment, not hers.” Then later, according to Casey and Rhiannon, Eliza had even resorted to bribery. Naturally, they resisted, although Rhiannon said the rather large cash offer was tempting. But Casey told Eliza where she could put her money.
Later that evening, DJ learned through Conner that Harry and Seth were getting off pretty lightly since this was their first offense — or rather the first time they’d been caught.
“It sounds like they’ll do some public ser vice and take a mandatory class about the dangers of underage drinking,” he told her on the phone.
“Too bad they don’t have to come over here and help Eliza clean up this mess.” Then she reconsidered. “Although that might turn into fun and games, and it’s supposed to be punitive.” Then she told him how she’d accidentally walked into the powder room downstairs, finding Eliza down on her knees, with Inez supervising, as she scrubbed what looked like a vomit-encrusted toilet.
“Oh, man.” He chuckled. “I’d like to see that for myself.”
“The queen ruling her throne.” DJ laughed, then felt slightly guilty. “I guess I’m not being very nice.”
“Eliza is getting what she deserves.”
“Unfortunately, so are we.” DJ sighed. “Eliza’s detention is being applied to the whole household for the time being.”
“That seems a little harsh.”
“Yeah, but in a way I’m glad. At least Grandmother is taking this whole thing seriously. It’s about time.”
“I hope Harry and Seth’s parents are taking it seriously.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if Harry and Seth took it seriously themselves?”
“Or at least think twice before they do this again.”
“I hope so. I don’t see why so many kids our age think that getting wasted is fun. Especially when it hurts others.” Of course, she wasn’t only thinking about the New Year’s partiers now. She wondered how Taylor was doing. It had been a week without hearing a single word from her. What was going on? What was she thinking? Was she okay? And was she ever coming back?
5
ONCE SCHOOL STARTED UP AGAIN, Grandmother lifted the house arrest on everyone except Eliza and Kriti. “I expect both you girls to come home directly after school,” she told them at breakfast. Neither girl argued. Kriti probably didn’t care. In fact, it seemed like she didn’t care about much these days. DJ thought maybe she was depressed, but she didn’t know why. Eliza, on the other hand, looked ticked. Beneath that smooth veneer of no emotion, DJ could tell that Eliza was seething. Yet she didn’t say anything. DJ suspected that Grandmother was threatening to call her parents if Eliza refused to toe the line. Whatever the case, maybe it would prove a good wake-up call for Eliza.
“Aren’t you riding with me, Kriti?” asked Eliza as the girls were heading out of the house.
“Oh, yeah.” Kriti nodded and slowly trudged behind Eliza out to the car.
“What’s wrong with Kriti?” asked Rhiannon as she got into the backseat of DJ’s car.
“Yeah,” said Casey as she climbed in front. “She’s like the walking dead. What’s up with her, DJ?”
“I have no idea.”
“Does she talk to you?”
“Hardly. I ask her a question, and she gives me the briefest possible answer. She studies a lot.”
“Do you think something happened to her during Christmas break?”
“Maybe something with a guy?” suggested Casey.
“I thought she and Josh Trundle were kind of an item,” said Rhiannon.
“I asked her about him,” admitted DJ, “and it sounded like there might still be something there. Although she wasn’t very enthusiastic.”
“She’s not enthusiastic about anything,” said Casey.
“And we know it’s not because of having her room switched,” Rhiannon pointed out. “Because she was already acting different before that.”
“Well, I’m going to try to figure it out,” DJ declared. “I’ve been praying for her. I’ve realized that I haven’t been much of a friend to her.”
“None of us have,” admitted Rhiannon.
“Yeah, we kind of just let Eliza take her over.” DJ stopped for the traffic light. “It’s like we handed Kriti over and never thought twice about it.”
“It’s not like Kriti minded.”
“Or she was too polite to show it.”
“We were too busy to notice,” said DJ.
“Well, let�
�s all pray for her today,” said Rhiannon.
“Absolutely,” agreed DJ.
But Casey just shrugged like she was unsure.
“Don’t you ever pray?” asked Rhiannon.
“I don’t know . . .” Casey’s voice was quiet now.
“I thought you were returning to your faith,” said Rhiannon. “You said that things were changing.”
DJ didn’t know what to say as she pulled into the school parking lot. She knew this was still a touchy subject for Casey. As much as Rhiannon seemed to assume that Casey had “turned a corner,” DJ had never been completely convinced.
“I’m thinking about it,” said Casey. “But I’m still not totally sure. And, most of all, I don’t want to be a hypocrite.”
“Meaning you think we are?” asked Rhiannon.
They were all getting out of the car now, and Rhiannon was looking curiously at Casey, expecting an answer.
“No . . . that’s not it,” said Casey. “You guys seem pretty sincere about it. If anything, it’s you and DJ that got me thinking about God again, which is pretty surprising considering that I gave it all up a few years ago.” She laughed. “Trust me, the last thing I expected was to come out to Connecticut and have some kind of faith experience. If anything, I came out here thinking that I was going to . . . well, raise hell.”
DJ snickered. “I think that’s what Grandmother thought when she first saw you too.”
“But you’ve changed,” persisted Rhiannon. “And not just on the outside either, Casey.”
“Maybe . . .” Casey shrugged. “But some things take time.”
“I know what you mean.” DJ nodded as she adjusted her bag over her shoulder. “It took time with me too.”
“You’re absolutely right,” agreed Rhiannon. “Sorry if I sound too pushy. I guess I just want us all to be on the same page.”
“I think we are.” Casey sounded slightly defensive now. “I mean, for the most part.”
“We are,” said DJ. “Being open is really all we can ask, right, Rhiannon?”
Rhiannon nodded, but DJ suspected she was disappointed.
Maybe it was because her own faith was so vital to her that she wanted everyone to have the same thing. And DJ totally got that. She wanted everyone to make a commitment to God too.
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