Populazzi (26 page)

"It was?" I asked.

"Mm-hm. I had no idea you'd be in the middle of the biggest breakup ever. Or that I'd be hooking you up with Eddie."

"Did you know you'd be hooking
Marsh
up?" asked Ree-Ree Wenderoth. She straddled a backwards chair and glared out from behind her long dirty-blond locks.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose. She was talking about Claudia. I looked to Marsh to see what he'd say, but he was only shaking his head in what seemed like disbelief.

"Oh, Ree-Ree, Marsh did that all by himself."

That was Kristie Place. She was sitting perfectly upright in her chair. Her makeup was impeccable, and there wasn't a single stray wisp on her sleek blond cap of hair. She held hands with a guy I recognized as a Jock, not a Populazzi. I was pretty sure his name was Eric.

"You think?" Ree-Ree challenged Kristie. "
Someone
had to bring the girl to the party."

Ree-Ree glared at me as she said it, and I reflexively shied back. The word on Ree-Ree was that she was real-deal crazy. I'd even heard a rumor that she'd been suspended a whole month freshman year for getting into a fight on a school bus and literally almost scratching another girl's eyes out. I had no desire to be on her bad side.

"Whatever, Rees," Eddie said. "It's not Cara's fault."

"It's not my fault either!" cried Marsh. "This girl
threw
herself at me!
After
you broke up with me and walked out of the party. So now, what, you're a little jealous?"

"I don't get jealous," she said. "I get even and I get gone."

"You wouldn't," Marsh said.

"Why not?"

"Come here."

Ree-Ree made her eyes slits, but she obeyed. When she was still a foot away, Marsh pulled her to him and kissed her. She struggled so fiercely against him that I looked at Trista, alarmed. Trista rolled her eyes. Sure enough, within seconds Ree-Ree stopped struggling, threw her arms around Marsh's neck, and attacked his throat with her tongue.

"Promise she wasn't as pretty as me," Ree-Ree said when she came up for air.

"She was hideous," Marsh said. "Deathly pale skin, big spooky eyes ... it was like making out with a corpse."

"Ew!" Ree-Ree squealed. Then she turned to me. "Is she really that awful?"

The whole room turned to face me. I knew I needed to lacerate them with the truth: that Claudia was not at all awful; that she was in fact much prettier than anyone in this room, especially since she wasn't ugly enough to use someone and then drag her through the dirt just to make someone else jealous.

"Come on, tell me about her," Ree-Ree prodded. "She's your friend, right? So you're friends with someone who steals other girls' men?"

This was about me now? I glanced at Eddie, but he looked as interested as all the others. I had to fix this on my own.

"She doesn't steal girls' men. She didn't know Marsh was taken."

"Right, because guys who look like Marsh are
always
single," Ree-Ree said. Marsh liked that. He stood up a little taller.

Everyone was still looking at me. I felt like I was being tested. I needed to stick up for Claudia, but I couldn't really come down on Marsh or Ree-Ree. I decided to be honest.

"Claudia doesn't have a lot of experience with guys. She thought if Marsh wanted to kiss her, it had to be something special."

"Because she's, like, nine years old?" Ree-Ree asked.

I blushed, embarrassed as much for myself as for Claudia.

"Because Marsh was her first kiss."

The room erupted into a riot of "Whoa," "No way," and "Are you
serious?
"

"Dude, it's like you took her mouth cherry," Brett said.

"
'Mouth cherry'?
" Trista repeated. "Oh my God, what are you?"

"See, now I'm just sad," Gemma said.

"I know ... I feel so sorry for her," Kristie agreed.

"Hello! That's even worse!" Ree-Ree said. "Miss Purity probably thought she was getting forever with
my man!
Right?"

Her eyes pinned me to the wall. "Maybe a little, but—"

The bell rang before I could say anything else. Marsh pulled Ree-Ree back into his arms.

"Let it go, baby. We're back together now, right?"

"Better believe it," she said, and gave him another long kiss.

"Aw, see, I love happy endings," Eddie said. Everyone laughed as we poured into the hall to walk to class. Gemma walked solo, but the rest of us broke into couples: Kristie and Eric, Brett and Trista, Marsh and Ree-Ree ... and Eddie and I. We walked as a pack, everyone talking and laughing, but I only vaguely heard what they said. I kept playing back the conversation in The Heap. I hadn't done anything except tell the truth, but I still felt like I'd betrayed my best friend.

It bothered me a lot, but I soon became distracted by what was going on around me.

People were staring.

Everyone, even the ones who tried not to stare, the ones who wanted to seem like the Popularity Tower didn't matter to them, they still snuck glances our way.

I had arrived. I had no idea how it had happened, but it seemed like it was true. I pushed the conversation in The Heap out of my head. No, Claudia wouldn't want the Populazzi to know how behind she was, but it's not like these were people she'd ever need to see again. And it wasn't as if she was losing anything with Marsh. He clearly didn't care about her, and she deserved a lot better. I'd tell her that. She wouldn't like it, but she'd agree she was better off without him.

Besides, this was all her doing. This was what she'd wanted from day one: for me to be a member of the Populazzi.

Now I was on my way.

I'd planned to call Claudia at lunch, but I didn't get the chance. I finished my fourth period art class and was on my way to hit the vending machines and duck out to my car when a high, clear voice called out, "Cara!"

I heard the quick clip-clop of heels as Kristie jogged to catch up.

"I'm glad I saw you," she said, slipping her arm through mine. "You're sitting with us at lunch, right?"

"Is there room?" I asked.

"Of course! Right next to Eddie. Technically you're taking Eric's seat, but that's okay."

"Your boyfriend? Oh, Kristie, I don't want to—"

"It's fine. Before you got to The Heap, the guys were giving him a really hard time, so he doesn't want to sit with us anyway. Eric doesn't get it—the guys are protective that way. It's sweet. They say anyone worth my while will man up and deal until he's part of the group."

"Okay ... but if Eric wants his seat back tomorrow—"

"Then we'll all squeeze in. It's like an extra excuse to cuddle, right?"

"Sure." I giggled.

This was weird, because while I've been many things in my life—and many more during this school year—I have
never
been a giggler. There was something about Kristie. She was so completely sweet and girlie—it was infectious. I felt girlier and gigglier just being around her.

Kristie and I stayed arm-in-arm as we strode into the cafeteria. As we passed a Happy Hopeless table, I noticed Gabe Friedman's jealous scowl and Robert Schwarner's appraising nod. Then we passed the Theater Geeks, and I swore I heard jaws hitting the table. Even Archer looked surprised. I slipped him a quick smile so he could see I knew exactly how cool this was and totally appreciated it.

At the Populazzi table, Eddie was already deep in conversation with Brett and Marsh, but he gave me a smile as I slipped in next to him. Kristie was on my other side, with Trista, Ree-Ree, and Gemma rounding out what seemed to be the girls' half of the table. I wondered why Trista and Ree-Ree weren't sitting with their boyfriends, but the answer became clear as they and Gemma leaned in to get as close to me as possible.

"So tell us," Trista whispered. "What's Nate Wetherill like in bed?"

A hot flush crawled up my cheeks.

"Trista!" Kristie objected. "Eddie's right here!"

"Whatever." Trista waved her off. "He's not paying attention."

It was true; he wasn't. The guys were concerned with exactly how much butt the Philadelphia Eagles would kick in the upcoming Super Bowl. The team's appearance in the game was apparently only a slightly bigger deal than the Second Coming. Karl would have loved the conversation. To me it was gibberish.

"You look offended," Kristie said. "Are you offended?"

"She can't be offended," Gemma said. "You do the deed, you own the deed."

"My guess is he's
highly
sensual," Ree-Ree said. She looked like she was already imagining the specifics.

"Spill it, Cara," Trista said. "We want to hear everything."

"There isn't that much to tell," I said.

Gemma snorted. Trista just looked at me and sang, "
'Of this one thing I am sure / Cara Leonard is a whore / Or at least that's how she acted in my bed...'
"

I blushed harder. Somehow the song was less amusing in Trista's mouth than in Claudia's.

"He may have exaggerated a bit," I said.

"You didn't sleep with him?" Ree-Ree was obviously not pleased. Even Kristie looked a little disappointed.

I had to turn this around quickly, but I couldn't totally change my story or they'd know I was lying.

Then it hit me.

"I
didn't
sleep with him," I whispered, looking around, then leaning in, "because he
couldn't
."

Ree-Ree laughed. "For you he couldn't. I bet I'd get it up just fine."

"He's a pothead," Gemma told her. "Potheads can't always get it up."

"Exactly!" I cried. "And Nate's not just a pothead; he's
the
pothead." I launched into a vivid description of Nate's obsession with the stuff, including his bong-friend Purple Haze, who even had her own gender.

"He actually introduced it to you as his 'friend'?" Trista asked.

"Yes! I'm telling you his whole house was a freak scene..."

I started telling them about the place, and immediately I knew it was the right story. The Populazzi hung on every word, all four of them gasping and laughing and oh-my-Godding as I wove the tale.

So I made it even better.

I didn't lie, really. I just leaned heavily on the more gasp-worthy details. I spoke vividly about the brothers living like savages in layers of squalor and Thackery maniacally playing Wii all night long. The girls seemed to like the pot stories best, so I went back to those and enhanced them a little, giving Purple Haze a cast of cohorts and making Nate's obsession with them even crazier.

Sure, the details might have been exaggerated, but the spirit of what I said was dead-on accurate. It was just that I told a cartoon version of the truth, without the deeper things like Nate's comatose mom, his indifferent dad, how sweet it kind of was that he wanted to share what meant so much to him—or the fact that I actually liked and felt sorry for him.

That stuff would have bored the Populazzi. I wanted to captivate them. And I did.

"It's all so gothic," Ree-Ree said. "Is it weird that it makes me totally want to bed him?"

At the same time, Kristie said yes and Gemma said no.

"I bet the little brother will grow up to be a serial killer," Trista said. "You're lucky you escaped with your life."

"Did he really name all his"—Kristie lowered her voice—"paraphernalia? And talk to them? And make them talk back to him?"

"All the time!" I said. "I swear, sometimes I think he was flirting with them!"

"Hot
and
crazy." Ree-Ree smiled.

"If he wasn't getting it up for you, I wonder if he was getting it up for them," Gemma said.

"So, so wrong, Gems." Trista laughed. "Was he?"

"I never
saw
it happen," I said, "but he
would
disappear into the bathroom with one of his 'friends' for way too long to smoke or pee. And sometimes when he came out he'd ask if the others were jealous."

"And were they?" Gemma asked.

"I was!" I retorted.

That got all four girls laughing so hard that the guys stopped their conversation to ask what we were talking about.

"Dudes, you will not
believe,
," Gemma said, then turned to me. "Lay it on them."

Uh-oh.

It was one thing to let the story run away with me, but to purposely lay it out the same way again ... that seemed like more of a lie. But I couldn't change it up now. And besides, the Populazzi
never
hung out with Nate, so what did it matter?

I told the story again.

The guys loved it even more than the girls. Of course they did; I'd had a rehearsal. I knew how to sell it. Marsh and Brett roared. Eddie smiled, but he was quieter than the other guys. I couldn't figure out why until I finished and Brett pounded Eddie on the back.

"Dude, you gotta watch your ass with this one," he said. "She'll tell it all."

"Yeah," Eddie said. "I can see that now."

I was still smiling from my storytelling triumph, but now my smile felt stale. Had I completely messed things up with Eddie? No matter how much I had won over the Populazzi, I had no doubt that my membership in their club would be immediately revoked if Eddie lost interest in me.

He draped an arm around my shoulders. "You know me, though. I like 'em dangerous."

Everyone laughed as the bell rang. I'd spent the whole period entertaining the Populazzi ... and it had been easy!

"So my house after school, right?" Trista asked as we left the cafeteria. The whole group murmured in the affirmative.

"Cara?" Trista asked.

Me? She was asking me to go to her house after school?

"Yeah! I'd love it!" I said. Then I remembered my reality and winced.

"Oooh, shoot. I'm sorry, I can't."

"Why not?" Trista asked.

I so didn't want tell her. I was sure it would sound lame. Still, I couldn't think of anything better, so...

"I'm kind of grounded."

"For what?" Trista asked.

Gee, um, because my parents found out I was sneaking around dressing emo, which I only did to get Nate, which I only did to get higher on the Popularity Tower, which is why I'm so totally jazzed to be friends with all of you now!