by Evelyn Dar
“Thanks to you, Dartmouth rejected my son.” Karen #1 “They’re no longer accepting Lovett Academy students. Did you know that Principal Carter?” She spat out the word ‘principal.’
Gale let go of Laylah’s hand.
“Mom?”
“I don’t blame Dartmouth, though.” Still Karen #1. “No one wants a student who graduated from a school run by a fraud.”
Gale faced the Karens and cleared her throat. “Ladies, since you’re so concerned about my credentials, perhaps I can help you out with some actual facts.”
Karen #2 crossed her arms. “We don’t need your help with anything.”
Gale smiled. “I graduated from West Shores University in 1997 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Education. I then attended Brown University where I earned both my Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Education Administration.”
The Karens rolled their eyes, but Gale continued, undeterred.
“In 2017, twenty years after I graduated from West Shores, the University lost its accreditation and closed its doors after 125 years in operation.”
Karen #2 raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
“And,” Gale continued, “despite what Mr. Bradley has told you and the rest of the Lovett parents, the Ivy League freeze on accepting Lovett graduates isn’t because of my ‘questionable’ credentials. It’s because Mr. Bradley has facilitated the largest standardized test cheating ring this country has ever seen.”
“Where’s the proof?” Karen #1 asked.
“Well…there was a student but–” Gale faltered. “They retracted their statement.”
Karen #1 laughed and nudged Karen #2. “Let’s go. The stench of bullshit is getting too strong for me.”
The Karens walked away, and the moment they were out of view, Gale’s head dropped.
“Mom?”
Gale sniffled and raised her head.
“Do you want to wait in the car?” Laylah asked. “I can finish shopping.”
Her mother smiled sadly and touched her cheek. “I’m fine, honey. Besides, Carter women don’t scare that easily.”
Laylah leaned against a shipping container covered with dozens of flimsy cardboard palm tree cutouts and watched as Kendrick bent Siobhan at the waist and humped against her while Cardi B and Dipset blasted from the speakers.
“I’m glad you convinced him to come but…” Maddy grimaced at the dancing couple. “Now I have to bleach my eyes.”
Laylah squinted through the multi-colored strobe lights bouncing around the dance floor – the only area of the warehouse that wasn’t overrun by empty shipping containers or the pop-up cabanas Riley insisted they needed for the party’s ‘Florida Theme.’
Kendrick and Siobhan were bathed in technicolor light, and as they simulated sex for the partygoers and their countless YouTube live streams, Laylah frowned. “It’s slightly worrying what he’ll do for fifty bucks.”
“Siobhan paid him to dance?” Maddy asked.
“No.” Laylah narrowed her eyes. “I paid him to come.”
“Ugh, he’s such a dick.”
“Yeah,” Laylah agreed. “But he’s amazing at distracting Siobhan. They’ve been at it for hours.” She cocked her head to the side. “It’s kind of impressive.”
Maddy coughed and waved both hands in front of her face. “I told Riley the fog machines were too much. Like, where in Florida is it this foggy?”
“The Everglades?” Laylah offered.
Maddy narrowed her eyes.
“Or not.” Laylah smiled into her drink.
With less than a week of planning, the party had surprisingly come together without a hitch. Riley was gung-ho from the start and took over practically all the preparations. Siobhan’s Instagram post had lured the Lovett students, and Kendrick had helped Laylah recruit dozens of their College Park schoolmates and neighbors.
It was – as Siobhan would say – lit.
The music scratched, and DJ Dice’s voice blared from the speakers.
“Yo, yo, yo.” He pulled off his headphones and tapped the mic. “I’m tired of y’all Buckhead Brats standing on one side and my College Park Peoples on the other.”
A few kids chuckled nervously at the class disparity call-out.
“It’s time to get y’all mingle on.” DJ Dice pressed a few buttons on his DJ booth panel and a bass-heavy track began playing.
Laylah didn’t recognize the song, but everyone else did, and within seconds the dance floor was packed with thrusting bodies.
Maddy frowned. “Okay, where is Kevin Bacon because if that was a scene from the Footloose reboot, I want a refund.”
Laylah laughed. “That’s what happens when you hire DJ Dice. I don’t even want to know how much you’re paying him.”
“I’m not.”
Laylah raised an eyebrow.
“He’s Riley’s sister’s roommate’s third cousin. I think.”
“Of course he is.”
Maddy checked her phone for the hundredth time. “It’s a quarter past midnight. Where the hell is she?”
Laylah sipped her drink as a wave of relief rolled over her. She’d spent the better part of the day sick to her stomach about ‘the plan’ and although Avery deserved everything that was coming to her, Laylah was plagued by second thoughts. “Maybe we should ask Siobhan again?”
Maddy eyed Kendrick and Siobhan, who were now making out against a shipping container. “I would, but I don’t want to catch whatever virus the two of them are actively passing to one another.” She gasped. “Oh my God, where did his hand go?”
“I don’t know, but maybe we should just forget the whole–”
“Finally! She’s here.”
Laylah’s stomach dropped. “What? Where?”
Maddy pointed to the right side of the dance floor.
Avery stood next to a muscular, well-groomed frat bro who looked like his name should be Brock. The bro was already sipping a hard cider and laughing with another well-groomed bro while Avery struggled out of her coat.
After a few seconds of coat-fighting, Avery freed herself and Laylah’s heart skipped an actual beat. Avery’s low-cut, body-hugging red dress accentuated her hourglass shape – particularly the generous swell of her breasts – and left little to the imagination. Laylah’s throat went dry and she couldn’t have moved if she wanted to. Laylah tried to dredge up her two-year-long hatred for Avery, but her libido had momentarily smothered it.
In a lust-filled daze, Laylah watched as Avery surveyed the party, no doubt searching for Siobhan, who was probably pregnant with Kendrick’s child by now. But as Laylah watched, Avery’s eyes passed over Kendrick and Siobhan without stopping. Laylah squinted and stepped forward. Who was Avery looking for?
Maddy grabbed Laylah’s hand and pulled her across the entire length of the warehouse. When Maddy finally let go, Laylah realized they had done a lap around the party and were now standing several feet behind Avery and her date, concealed only by a tall stack of pallets.
Maddy pulled a pill bottle from her clutch and let out a short whistle. Moments later Riley appeared behind them, holding two red solo cups filled with soda. Laylah felt nauseous as she watched Maddy drop a pill into one cup and stir it with her finger.
“Truth serum comes in pill form?” Laylah asked.
“Probably,” Maddy replied.
“What do you mean, probably?”
“Is one pill enough?” Riley asked Maddy.
“Should be,” Maddy said. “But if it’s not”–she reached inside her clutch and pulled out a slim metal flask–“I dissolved an extra pill in some raspberry vodka, just in case.”
After a few more seconds of stirring, Maddy nodded and Riley took the drinks and headed toward Avery.
Laylah shook her head, her cold feet beginning to freeze. “Kendrick was right, this is stupid. I mean, what if this stuff kills her?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Maddy said as she watched Riley hand Avery the tainted drink.
“I don’t
want to do this anymore,” Laylah said. “We’ll figure out another way to help my mom.”
Maddy waved her hand. “You’re just nervous.”
“No.” Laylah crossed her arms. “This is wrong.”
“This is wrong?” Maddy looked at her incredulously. “Okay, what is wrong with you? Because this is a really bad time to come down with amnesia.”
“I don’t have amnesia.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Maddy said. “I thought maybe you’d forgotten how little Ms. perfect not only lied her way into Harvard but lied your mother out of a whole ass career. That was wrong, too.”
“I know,” Laylah said, louder than she intended. She lowered her voice. “I know, but drugging Avery–”
“For fuck’s sake, Laylah, it’s not heroin.”
“I don’t care.” Laylah’s internal conflict had reached a consensus. “Call off Riley.”
Maddy looked over Laylah’s shoulder. “Uh, I think it might be too late.”
Laylah turned around just as Avery took her first sip of the spiked drink. “Shit.” She closed her eyes. “Wait.” She opened them. “It’s only truth serum.” She laughed. “Why am I freaking out? She’ll probably just tell her date he looks like a flamingo in that neon button down, right?”
Maddy avoided her gaze.
“Maddy?”
“Uh, what’s up, chicken butt?”
“Maddy!”
“Do you know how hard it is to find genuine truth serum?” Maddy threw her hands up. “I was all up in the dark web looking for it and I saw things…” She shuddered. “Terrible things.”
“Maddy,” Laylah whispered. “What did you put in her drink?”
“Okay, so according to this one website–”
“Wikipedia?”
Maddy rolled her eyes. “Do you want to know or not?”
“Sorry.”
“Like I said, according to this unnamed website, Scopolamine AKA truth serum, induces a state of twilight sleep.”
Laylah frowned. “Twilight sleep?”
“Basically, it makes you hella drowsy, and confused and disoriented and super suggestive and…”
“And?”
“And,” Maddy said slowly, “there’s another drug that does all of those things and is waaay easier to get on the dark web. They practically give the stuff away.”
Laylah closed her eyes. “Please tell me you didn’t.”
“Yeah, turns out roofies are still a thing.”
Laylah gasped. “You roofied Avery?”
“Technically Riley did, but yes?”
Laylah watched in horror as Avery sipped from the cup. “Oh my God, we have to do something, uh I don’t know – tell Riley to take the drink away.”
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Maddy replied. “I say we stick to the plan.”
“Roofie-ing Avery was never part of the plan.”
“Fine.” Maddy crossed her arms. “You want her to stop drinking it, you take it away from her.”
Laylah rolled her eyes. “Oh, sure. I – Laylah Carter – will just waltz up to Avery Bradley and take her drink away. I’m sure that’ll go over well.”
Maddy shrugged.
Laylah shook her head. “I cannot believe you right now.”
“Look, I get it babes, I really do. And it’s awesome you’re a better person than Avery, but I’m not.” Maddy clenched her jaw. “Laylah, you are my best fucking friend and I have stood by while that evil, shitty excuse for a politician destroyed your life. And all because some selfish, spoiled brat couldn’t stand up to her daddy.”
“Maddy–”
“Don’t you want justice for your mom?” Maddy asked.
“Avery’s not her father,” Laylah said.
“She lied,” Maddy countered. “She admitted to cheating then the moment Daddy Teddy showed up, she backtracked.”
“I know,” Laylah whispered. “But there has to be another way.”
“Fuck it,” Maddy said. “You don’t want to get your hands dirty? Fine, I’ll do it.”
“No, you won’t.” Laylah snatched the flask out of Maddy’s hands and made a beeline for Avery.
****
Avery’s chest tightened as Laylah approached. She tried to take a deep breath, but her dress suddenly felt tighter than a corset. The moment she’d clocked Laylah heading her way, she’d asked Jessie for privacy and like the perfect beard, he complied without question.
This was the moment Avery had been both waiting for and dreading. It was why she and Jessie had arrived ‘fashionably late.’
Avery had no misconceptions about what Teddy had done to Principal Carter. About what she had done to Principal Carter. And as Laylah closed the gap, Avery attempted to drown her fears with two large sips of her drink.
Laylah froze, and for a torturous moment Avery thought she might turn around. But she pressed forward, and Avery didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. She raised her cup again as Laylah reached her.
They stared at each other in silence, and Avery braced herself for a slap or barrage of insults. She even listened for the telltale sound of spit being gathered before being hawked in her face.
But Laylah remained silent, her cat-like eyes on Avery. Well, not exactly on Avery. She looked down to where Laylah’s eyes were currently affixed. Laylah was either staring at the drink in Avery's hand…or the cut of Avery’s cleavage.
Avery furrowed her brow. Could she have been wrong about Laylah? She recalled the unmistakable look of hatred on Laylah’s face during the game. Although…
Avery regarded Laylah’s fixed stare. She supposed hating someone and wanting to fuck them weren’t mutually exclusive.
Avery coughed, and Laylah looked up.
“Hi,” Avery said, testing the waters.
Laylah remained silent.
Avery took another sip of her drink and when she lowered it Laylah looked downright perturbed.
“You drink a lot,” Laylah said matter-of-factly.
Avery was thrown off by Laylah’s forthrightness. “Oh, uh I was late. Gotta play catch up.”
Laylah nodded, and Avery thought her legs would buckle under the weight of the tension between them. She’d been sick to her stomach all day, thinking about, fantasizing about, and dreading this very moment. Now she stood face to face with Laylah, and the uncertainty was excruciating. Whatever came next – a punch or a kiss – Avery needed to know. Now.
She took a deep breath and opened her mouth.
“Harvard, whoo!” Meghan, who had the world’s worst timing and smelled like ten Jager bombs, draped her arm around Avery’s shoulder.
“Meghan, hey,” Avery said, glancing worriedly at Laylah.
“You’re my Harvard bitch.” Meghan laughed. “And they say cheerleaders are dumb.”
Avery shrugged off Meghan’s arm. “Where’s Emma and Bri?”
“Not at Harvard,” Meghan slurred. “Cause those bitches aren’t smart like you.”
“Oh-kay, someone’s had too much.” Avery shot Laylah an apologetic look over Meghan’s shoulder.
Meghan spun around and squinted at Laylah. “Heeey, I know you.”
Avery stiffened. “No, you don’t.” She made eye contact with Emma from across the warehouse and frantically waved her over.
“Yeah huh,” Meghan insisted. “She works at the wing place.”
Laylah’s eyes widened slightly.
“Shh, you’re drunk Meghan,” Avery said, willing Emma to walk faster. “Let’s play the quiet game until Emma gets here.”
“You shush, you smart bitch.” Meghan laughed.
Avery mouthed ‘sorry’ to Laylah.
“I know what I’m talking about,” Meghan continued. “Last month me and Joey drove to College Park to buy molly – uh, I meant macaroni.” She laughed loudly. “So like, after we bought our macaroni, we got hungry and stopped at this place I thought for sure was condemned but it wasn’t, and they sold these bomb ass wings. And that’s why you should ne
ver judge a book by its cover.”
Meghan smiled drunkenly at Laylah. “I want you to know, you’re like a really good waitress. Maybe one day you’ll be the manager. That’ll be cool for you, right?”
The moment Emma reached them, Avery practically shoved Meghan toward her. “She’s drunk and probably high and God knows what else. Can you?”
Emma rolled her eyes. “You owe me.”
“Thanks, Em.” Avery watched them walk away for as long as she could. She was terrified to turn around. Terrified to see the look on Laylah’s face. The anger. The loathing. The hatred.
But when Avery did turn around, Laylah’s expression was neutral. In fact, she had returned to staring at Avery’s chest.
Avery smiled nervously. “I’m sorry about Meghan. She’s a party girl.”
“Did she say Harvard?” Laylah asked, her eyes still on Avery’s chest.
“Yeah,” Avery said quietly and took a sip of her drink.
Laylah finally raised her gaze, and Avery wished she hadn’t. Although Laylah’s eyes weren’t full of hatred, they were full of something far worse.
Pain.
Avery couldn’t take it anymore. “Look, I’m just going to say it–”
“I’m Laylah.” Laylah extended her arm. “I go to North Clayton High. I’m guessing you go to Lovett Academy?”
“Uh…” Avery squinted at Laylah and slowly nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“Cool,” Laylah said. “What’s your name?”
Avery glanced around the neon-lit warehouse, waiting for a camera crew to pop out from behind a shipping container or cabana. This had to be a setup. Why else would Laylah pretend not to know who she was?
Sure, they’d only officially met once, three years ago and yes, during the time they attended Lovett together they’d never interacted, but Avery had always been keenly aware of Laylah’s presence.
And once – for reasons she’d never fully delved into – Avery snuck into one of Laylah’s weekend mathlete competitions. And maybe even more than one.
But even if Laylah had somehow remained ignorant of Avery’s existence during that time, there was no way she didn’t know who Avery was after what happened to Principal Carter.