“Hardly,” Rene replied, despite knowing Lara wasn’t going to like it.
But Lara didn’t seem upset at all. “You just don’t get him.”
“That’s true enough. I don’t get some slacker who deals drugs and carries a gun.”
Lara laughed and flipped her hair back. “See, that’s what I’m talking about. Hunter doesn’t deal. He just lets people say it because it makes him sound like a badass.”
“Lara, he does deal, and you know it.”
“Fine. So maybe he pimps Tina for some spending cash. So what? Most of us were choking down Ritalin when we were six. We’re a chemical generation. Why should we let the adults take all the profits?”
“That’s Hunter talking.”
“Whatevs,” Lara said. “I like him. He’s hot.”
“He’s dangerous.”
“That’s what makes him hot.” She giggled loudly.
“Lara, you shouldn’t…”
“Oh hell no,” Lara interrupted. She lifted a hand and showed Rene the palm. “I told you, no lectures. It’s too early, and I am wholly decaffeinated. So, if you want to buy me a latte, I might let you frown at me, but you keep the shoulds and shouldn’ts in the original packaging. I so can’t deal with them right now.”
“Okay,” Rene said with a sigh. “Fine.”
But she couldn’t help imagining her friend hanging from the side of a building with Hunter Wallace glaring down on her as he positioned his boot over Lara’s clutching fingers.
The morning rain had left a clean coolness in the air. Rene sat alone on the bleachers at lunchtime, staring over the empty football field. Other kids sat higher up or farther down, but Cassie was going to be late and Lara was a no-show. Their conversation had bothered Rene all morning, and now that she didn’t have the distraction of teachers and classmates, Rene found herself running their chat over in her head. She should have tried harder to show Lara exactly how bad dating Hunter was. Bad for her head and her heart. Bad for her reputation. But it was futile. Lara did what Lara wanted to do.
Mason appeared on the far side of the field, walking across the concrete at the base of the visitors’ bleachers. Rene hadn’t seen him since Tuesday morning, and she’d thought he was out sick. His shoulders were slumped, and his steps were slow and seemed pained. He took one step up the stairs and then paused. His hand went to his back, and he leaned forward like an old man. He looked left and right, like he was totally confused, and then he climbed several more steps, hand still on his back. At the first landing, he stopped and sat down clumsily, facing away from Rene. Facing the wrong direction.
Mason’s obvious confusion and pain tore a line of sympathy across Rene’s chest.
He shouldn’t be at school, she thought. And he shouldn’t be in that house.
Even though Mason’s aunt Molly owned the house, Rene knew that Gene ran it. Molly was a sweet woman who was way too meek to manage a creep like Gene, and Rene couldn’t think of a more terrible place for Mason. He should be someplace where people appreciated him.
Sadly, Rene knew, there was no such place. The world wasn’t built for people like Mason.
“Afternoon, darlin’,” Cassie said just as her shadow fell over Rene.
“Hey,” she replied. “What did Mr. Chambers want?”
“Why, he wanted to marry me so that I could carry his children.”
“Did he want anything that wasn’t illegal?”
“It was just a student-teacher meeting,” Cassie said, taking her seat on the bench next to Rene. “As you know, I’m brilliant. He just wanted to let me know it hadn’t gone unnoticed. What are you doing?”
“Lunch,” Rene said simply, unsure if she should discuss Lara’s recent exhibition of bad taste or not.
“Well, you look like your mama packed a tongue sandwich in that bag.”
Rene smiled and shook her head. “Nothing that gross.”
“I heard you talked to our girl, Lara, about her wholly questionable association with Hunter. I understand it was a total waste of breath.”
“It was. Did Lara tell you?”
“Yes. Third period. She was oh-so-thrilled to tell me about her encounter with Hunter last night, and her subsequent grounding.”
“She’s grounded?” Rene asked, feeling betrayed. “She told me she just had a curfew.”
“Indeed,” replied Cassie. “I dare say, our sweet Lara is growing into one shady woman. She’s making us all look bad. She might as well go all the way into Scaryville and hook up with that lunatic Gene Avrett.”
“Don’t even say that,” Rene said.
“I see his little brother is still at the peak of together.” Cassie nodded her head toward Mason, sitting on the bleachers.
It’s like he doesn’t want to be seen, Rene thought, gazing at Mason’s wide back. “Why do you have to pick on him?”
“Sorry. That whole family is just scary.”
“He’s a nice boy,” Rene countered. “You shouldn’t slam him just because he doesn’t fit into your cotillion fantasy.”
“On one hand, I completely agree with you,” Cassie said coolly. “On the other hand…ewww!”
“Whatever.”
“We all know the way the world should be,” Cassie continued. “We also know it’s a total fantasy. At some point you have to clue into the fact that life isn’t an Amanda Bynes film.”
“Maybe. Sometimes I really envy Mason, because he never has to deal with it. I mean, he sees it happening but it doesn’t register, right? The rest of us have to watch everything around us turn to crap. All of the pretty shiny things get dark and nasty.”
“And then we die,” Cassie said, too happily. “Welcome to the meaning of life.”
“It blows,” Rene said. “So, are we going to the Autumn Carnival tomorrow?”
“Of course we are,” Cassie said excitedly. “Eric Crawford asked if I was going to be there.”
“I didn’t know you liked Eric.”
“I don’t know if I do yet.”
“But you think he’s hot?”
“Everyone thinks he’s hot,” Cassie said. “And now that he’s rid himself of Miranda Bocage, he’s fair game.”
“Ugh, Miranda.” Rene groaned. Miranda was a pretentious blonde whose father owned a chicken-processing plant that provided chicken to half the fast food chains in the South. She was rich and spoiled and full-on plastic. At seventeen, she’d already had her nose done and had gotten a boob job over the last Christmas holiday—like nobody would notice her jumping from an A-cup to a C-cup in, like, two weeks.
“Ugh is right,” Cassie said. “I’m just glad Eric snapped out of her evil spell.”
“So, should we connect with Lara?”
“Not if she’s slumming around with Hunter. I am so not hanging with him. There isn’t enough antibacterial soap in the world.”
Rene laughed. “I’ll talk to her. We’ll take her to the mall and have an intervention.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “What she needs is an exorcism.”
7
Exhibition
The Autumn Carnival was a two-night celebration, held at Marchand’s Riverfront Park. The park was, of course, bordered on one side by the river. On the opposite edge, a steep slope of grass rolled up to Main Street. In between were vast lawns and concrete walks lit by ornate iron lamps, running the five blocks between the Main Street Bridge and Hyacinth Street. Strings of lights lined the walks like necklaces against the sky. During the carnival, the place became a sea of people, all laughing and chatting and jostling their way from the plywood shack where they bought boiled shrimp and corn on the cob to the air gun game beneath the bridge.
The night was warm without the slightest hint of a breeze. Sweat clung to the necks of running children, strolling adults, and even the lazy folks who did nothing more than occupy the park’s benches, draining giant plastic cups of lemonade.
Rene and Cassie stood next to the Crawdaddy Shack, waiting for Lara. Rene tried to keep her mind
occupied. She played with the name of the booth, mixed up the letters, and decided with some amusement that Shawdaddy Crack was just gross. Lara had promised to meet them at eight thirty, but it was nearing nine and there was no sign of her. Rene had already left two cell messages. When she tried to text, she got an “away” prompt. Cassie was getting restless, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt and checking her nails.
A cloud of steam from the shack rolled over them and Cassie threw her hands up. “That’s it. It’s bad enough Lara doesn’t have the common decency to call us, but I refuse to smell like a boiled mud bug for the rest of the night.”
“You’re right,” Rene agreed. “Let’s make a lap or two.”
They left the shadow of the booth and stepped into the parade of people on the walk. Though it was only Friday night, the carnival was packed, and moving through the crowds was difficult. A big man with a beard running halfway down his chest bumped into Rene, nearly sending her to the concrete. He called “’Scuse me” over his shoulder and vanished in the tide of people.
“Charming,” Cassie called after the guy. She grabbed Rene by the shoulder and stabilized her. “Lame-ass ox.”
“Do you see anyone from school?” Rene asked.
“Nah,” Cassie said. “Eric told me everyone’s down by the bridge. A bunch of seniors are hanging by the haunted house until nine, and then they’re doing the carnival until it gets dusty. After that, everyone’s red carpeting Frank’s.”
“Maybe Lara’s there,” Rene said.
“And maybe she’s out doing crystal with Hunter Wallace.”
“Lara’s not that stupid.”
“Of course she is,” Cassie said with a laugh. “Honey, Lara’s about as stupid as they come these days. And I’m over it.”
“She’s our friend.”
“Check your definition. Friends don’t blow you off. They don’t lie to you.”
“Lie?”
“What time did she tell you she got in the other night? You know, when her parents grounded her?”
“Midnight.”
“That’s crap,” Cassie said angrily. She looked around the crowd. No one seemed to care what she was saying, so she kept saying it. “Little miss boy crazy didn’t get in until after three.”
“Three?” Rene exclaimed.
“Mm-hmm.”
Rene didn’t know what to say.
“And,” Cassie said, “she made a scene with her mama when she came in.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“Her mama called mine. Now I’m not supposed to hang with Lara anymore. And quite frankly, I see no reason to get myself in trouble if she’s going to be acting all trailer trash. We have enough girls in school like that. They aren’t on my A-list, so I see no reason for Lara to be on it either.”
“God, I don’t believe this. We have to do something.”
“Well, here’s your chance.”
Rene followed Cassie’s gaze and found Lara across the lawn, leaning against a light pole, laughing hysterically. Hunter Wallace stood next to her, smirking through his thin beard. His tattooed forearms were crossed over a Shadows Fall concert T-shirt, and a cigarette burned between two fingers. Lump Hawthorne was at Hunter’s side with his arm around Tara Mae Holloway, who was six months pregnant with Lump’s baby. Lump screwed the cap onto a large metal flask and handed it to Tara Mae, who lunged for the container. And Ricky Langham, looking like a yuppie who’d gotten lost and ended up at a redneck party, completed the group. He was almost handsome, except his features were too sharp and his eyes were too cold. The Bluetooth earpiece for his cell phone rested against his head as always, making him look even more mechanical, like an android created to impersonate a teenager. The five stood in the bath of light from the tall lamp, looking like a Department of Education poster warning teens away from just about everything.
“What does she think she’s doing?” Rene whispered, watching Lara grasp the lamppost tightly and spin low like a stripper about to kick her show into overdrive.
“She thinks she’s having fun,” Cassie replied. “And I think we’d best leave her to it.”
“She’s trashed.”
“Fully loaded,” Cassie agreed. “Which is an excellent reason to be very far away from here.”
“Cassie. God, she’s our friend. We can’t just leave her.”
“Can and will,” Cassie said. “If you want to answer her cry for help, be my guest, but I highly suggest you leave it alone until she’s de-iced and can think straight.”
Hunter noticed Rene staring and took a drag from his cigarette. He released the smoke and let it ooze from his lips in a thick cloud that hung over his mouth and nose. A moment later his tongue shot out and flicked up and down to disperse the smoke. He chuckled and put the cigarette between his lips before grabbing Lara around the waist and pulling her close.
Disgusting, Rene thought.
“Charming,” Cassie said, grasping Rene’s arm. “Come on. Let’s go see what the civilized people are doing. We’ll leave these lovely folks to their monster truck pulls and some romantic inbreeding.”
Rene took Cassie’s hand off of her arm gently and pulled away. “I’ll catch up in a minute.”
“Do not go over there,” Cassie warned.
“I’m just going to make sure Lara’s okay.”
“Rene, honey. You cannot fix this. Not tonight.”
Rene smiled to put Cassie at ease and stepped onto the grass. “I wouldn’t even try. I’m just going to talk to her for a second. You go ahead. I’ll meet you at the bridge.”
Despite the happy face she gave Cassie, Rene was terrified of walking up to Hunter’s gang. The grass squashed under her feet, but instead of feeling soft and comforting, it felt as if it might give way any second and suck her deep into the ground. The noise at her back no longer filled her with excitement, but rather seemed like the perfect cover for her screams. Hunter saw her coming first, and he slapped Lump Hawthorne’s shoulder. Lump looked up, seeming a bit dazed, but once he saw Rene coming, his eyes cleared and grew soft.
Lump had had a crush on Rene in the eighth grade. At the time, she had thought the thick-necked boy was sweet, if a little rough around the edges. He’d tried so hard to impress her back then, she’d almost felt bad for him. He’d even asked her to a movie once but was so nervous, he mumbled, “Never mind,” and ran away before Rene could answer.
As for Lara, she swung on the pole again and whipped herself back into Hunter’s grasp. She saw Rene on the grass and her eyes grew wide.
“Girrrrrl…FRIEND!” she shouted.
Rene’s cheeks burned red with embarrassment for Lara. Hunter just laughed and Lump scratched his head with one hand while drawing Tara Mae to his chest with the other. Tara Mae eyed Rene suspiciously, perhaps knowing about Lump’s long-ago crush, perhaps just jealous of a girl who wasn’t going to spend the next two decades raising a child.
Lara let go of the lamp and raced forward in a stumbling, lopsided run, reminding Rene of the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz. She had to admit, Lara could use a brain about now.
“Rene,” Lara said too loudly. “Oh God. Oh God. I’m, like, so glad you’re here.”
Rene held Lara by the shoulders to keep her from collapsing on the grass. She tried to keep the smile pasted on her face so Lara wouldn’t freak.
“How’s it going?” Rene asked.
“Oh God. So much fun. So fun.” Lara cackled crazily and swung out her arms. “Isn’t the carnival great?”
“Yeah,” Rene lied. “Let’s take a walk. We’ll find Cassie and get some drinks.”
She had to get Lara away from Hunter.
“Totally!” Lara shouted. “Totally. Let’s get Cassie.” She stumbled forward, pulling Rene off balance. When she righted herself, she gripped Rene’s shoulder with both hands and spluttered laughter in her ear. “Oh. Oh wait. We have to wait for Hunter and the guys.”
“We’ll be back,” Rene said, urging Lara forward. “We’ll just get
Cassie.”
“No,” her friend said, stopping dead in her tracks. “We have to get Hunter.” Lara started laughing again. “He’s my man.” Then, thinking she was whispering but still talking way too loud, she said, “He’s huge. My God. So huge. Come on. I’ll show you.”
That was all Rene could take. Her cool snapped and she spun on Lara, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. “Stop it,” she said. “Just stop! Do you have any idea how much of an ass you’re being?”
“What?” Lara was totally surprised. “I’m just having fun.”
“You call this fun?”
Lara’s eyes sparkled as if her thoughts were bits of light passing over them. Then, in a split second, the lights went out. Her jaw clenched tightly, and her brow furrowed. She yanked herself out of Rene’s grasp. “I should have known you’d start this crap. God. Hunter was so right about you.”
“I don’t care what that loser thinks,” Rene said. “You’re hurting yourself and I’m not going to just sit back and watch it.”
“Sure you are,” Hunter said. He stepped between the two girls and glared down at Rene like she was an insect he wanted to crush. Behind his beard, Hunter’s mouth was fixed in a threatening sneer. “I’m the ringmaster of this loser circus. Your friend here is the main attraction, so kick back and enjoy the show. Or move your ass on. Otherwise you might just get fed to the lions.”
“Leave her alone,” Rene said, trying to step around Hunter to reach Lara. But Hunter moved quickly, sliding to the side and blocking Rene’s progress.
“Seems to me you’re the one in trouble here. Not her.”
Rene felt a sting of panic. She faltered and stepped back.
“You call me a loser?” Hunter asked, shoving a hand deep in the pocket of his jeans. “I don’t think you have a clue exactly how much there is to lose in this world. Maybe your mama and daddy would like me to stop by for supper one night.”
As he spoke, Hunter withdrew the handle of a gun. The sight of the weapon unnerved Rene further.
“Now, why don’t you be a good little thing and haul your ass back to the kiddie park? Because if you stay here, you are in for some serious hurt.”
Mason Page 4