The Secret Diamond Sisters (19 page)

www.campusbuzz.com

High Schools > Nevada > Las Vegas > The Goodman
School

Madison Lockhart

Posted on Wednesday 07/06 at 11:25 AM

Who else thinks Madison is the bitchiest girl in school? My
question is, why do so many people put up with her? Isn't it enough that three
of the hottest guys in school follow her around like she's Aphrodite come to
life? Plus, she's a total skankho. I heard she slept with all three of them at
once.

And she also lost like, ten pounds so far this summer.
Which would be good if she
needed
to lose weight,
but now she's so skinny that it's gross. Madison, if you're reading this, eat a
French fry. You need it.

1: Posted on Wednesday 07/06 at 11:34 AM

I saw her at the Lobby Bar with Damien Sanders yesterday. She
was practically on his lap, and he couldn't get his hands off her. PDA, much? No
one wants to see that. They needed to get a room.

2: Posted on Wednesday 07/06 at 11:56 AM

madison's hot. whatever fat bitch posted this needs to shut up
and go to the gym. you're just jealous of how you'll never be anywhere near as
awesome as madison. and she's not a “skankho” at all. obviously you don't know
her if you think that.

3: Posted on Wednesday 07/06 at 12:15 PM

I heard shes still got her v-card and thats why nick gordon
dumped her.

4: Posted on Wednesday 07/06 at 12:31 PM

First off, Nick is too nice to dump someone for that reason.
Secondly, Madison's the one who broke up with Nick. Thirdly, Madison looks
amazing, and the only reason you would say otherwise is because you're jealous.
So back off, and it sounds like you should consider staying
away
from the French fries.

5: Posted on Wednesday 07/06 at 12:49 PM

Well that was obviously Madison or one of her friends. Way to
be subtle, girls.

6: Posted on Wednesday 07/06 at 1:10 PM

don't be an idiot. madison and her friends are too cool to
bother with this site. girls like you hate madison cause you're jealous, and
girls like madison don't notice, cause they don't care what you think.

chapter 17:

Savannah had had an amazing day at the spa. It had looked like a golden palace, and she’d been treated like royalty. The highlights and hair extensions had taken forever, but her golden hair now hung to midback, full and lustrous like those models in shampoo commercials. She couldn’t stop touching it.

And that wasn’t all. The gel nails she’d gotten made her stubby ones long and pretty, the French manicure with sparkly tips giving her a sophisticated look. She loved holding her hands out to admire it. She’d gotten a French pedicure, too. Her skin had become dry and flaky since arriving in Vegas, and the people who worked at the spa had given her the best facial and moisturizer to help. They’d also given her eyelash extensions, so her eyes had a dramatic flair they’d never had before. Well, they hadn’t
given
it to her—they’d charged it to her dad’s account—but that was pretty much the same thing. She did some poses in front of the mirror, imagining she was a famous pop star on a photo shoot. Savannah could get used to this.

Then the doorbell rang, and her heart jumped into her throat. Was it Adrian? She arranged her hair around her shoulders and walked out of her room, but Peyton had gotten to the door first. And she was standing not with Adrian, but with Rebecca.

“Hi, girls.” Rebecca smiled and ran her hands over her pants. “How’s it going getting ready?”

“Good.” Savannah adjusted her extensions again, hoping Rebecca would notice.

“Did you do something different to your hair?” she asked.

“Yes.” Savannah smiled. “I got extensions today. Do you like them?”

“I love them.” Rebecca smiled back, and Savannah got a feeling the two of them might get along. “Is Courtney around? I was hoping to talk with all three of you.”

“She’s in the shower.” Peyton placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Rebecca, as if she’d done something wrong by stopping by.

“Oh, okay.” Rebecca reached up to fix her hair, even though it was perfectly in place in a ponytail. “I’m going to start getting ready soon, but I know this is all new to you, so I wanted to stop by and see if the three of you wanted help choosing what to wear tonight.”

Peyton pressed her lips together, her eyes hard. “Did Adrian put you up to this?”

“No.” Rebecca swallowed, and Savannah felt bad for her having to deal with Peyton’s attitude. “I just wanted to reach out to you girls and let you know I’m here if you needed help. And I know Adrian’s been busy, but I don’t want you to think he doesn’t care about you. He does, trust me, but he has a lot on his plate with the grand opening approaching so soon. Once that’s all over he can’t wait to spend time with you. But I hope you know that I’m around whenever you need anything.”

Savannah was about to say yes, she would love help choosing which dress to wear tonight, but Peyton spoke first.

“There’s no need to bother. We can dress ourselves.” She sent Savannah a look that meant
don’t you dare contradict me,
and Savannah couldn’t bring herself to meet either of their eyes. Rebecca seemed so shot down, and she wished she could say something to make her feel better. But she didn’t want Peyton to feel like she was betraying her trust as a sister.

“Thanks, but I think we’ll be okay,” she said softly. “See you tonight.”

“All right,” Rebecca said. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

Savannah nodded and didn’t say anything else as Rebecca saw herself out.

“What was that about?” Savannah asked Peyton once the door was closed. “I would have liked Rebecca’s help.”

“She thinks she can replace our mom.” Peyton sneered. “But I’m not going to let her, and I hope you won’t, either. Don’t be fooled by her acting all nice, okay?”

“I don’t think she’s trying to
replace
Mom,” Savannah said. “No one could do that. But Rebecca’s going to be around a lot, and she really sounded like she wanted to help. Maybe she just wants to get to know us.”

“Maybe.” Peyton shrugged. “But I don’t care. I don’t want to get to know her.”

“I don’t think it would be a bad thing if we gave her a chance.”

“Whatever,” Peyton said. “Do what you want. I’m going to get ready, and I’ll make sure to pick an outfit that definitely
wouldn’t
have met Rebecca’s approval.”

Savannah knew she wasn’t going to change Peyton’s mind, so they both went back to their rooms, and she returned to admiring her makeover. For the first time, she looked in the mirror and felt good. Even if she was standing next to Courtney, someone might notice her first for a change.

Speaking of Courtney, she had to ask her what was going on with Brett. They seemed to have a lot in common, and even though Adrian had forbidden any of them from getting involved with Brett, Savannah would love to see Courtney find someone. After how much Courtney had worked in California, she deserved it. But breaking the rules would be hard for her. Savannah would help keep their relationship secret if it came to it, because she wanted to see Courtney happy. But would Courtney
really
be happy if she had to lie? It was a lot to consider, and Savannah worried she wouldn’t be much help. Her sisters had always been the strong ones who would watch out for her, not the other way around.

She checked her new watch from Tiffany—it was 6:45 p.m. If she got ready fast, she would have time to talk to Courtney before their father picked them up for the big dinner—the one he’d invited them to so he could prove to Oliver’s dad how he was a “family man” and worth doing business with.

Savannah stomped across her room at the memory of what Oliver had told them at the Gates. She’d thought Adrian cared about taking care of them now that their mom was in rehab, and she believed he was being honest when he’d told them it wasn’t safe for them here when they were younger. After what he’d said about Courtney’s kidnapping, Savannah understood that the Vegas Strip wasn’t a place for children. But the three of them weren’t children anymore—they were teenagers, and they could stay away from dangerous situations. Plus, they had their bodyguards. They would be fine.

But Savannah had other problems—like figuring out what to wear tonight. She opened the doors to her gigantic walk-in closet and surveyed the dresses she’d bought yesterday on her shopping spree. Tonight she wanted to sparkle. Her makeover would make her stand out from the crowd, and everyone who saw her would want to get to know Savannah Diamond. She still couldn’t believe who her father was...and who
she
was. She also couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday when Damien had asked her if she would be at Luxe. Her heart jumped at the memory—it meant he would be looking for her. She couldn’t wait to see his reaction to the new Savannah.

Tonight would be the night that Damien Sanders realized that she, Savannah Diamond, was the perfect girl for him. Savannah wasn’t sure if he was interested in Madison or if she was just being insecure at the gym, but if he
was
interested in Madison, he would forget all about her when he saw Savannah tonight. Maybe Savannah and Madison would even end up being friends. Madison seemed confident and popular, like the type of girl Savannah would want to be friends with once school started in the fall, and she had been welcoming when they were working out.

The moment Savannah stepped into her sapphire sequined Mark + James dress, she knew she’d made the right choice. The dress was short, giving her legs an illusion of length. It had thick straps, so it showed skin without showing
too
much, and the La Perla push-up lace bra made her barely-B cups look like full Cs.

Damien would certainly notice the difference there.

Silver Jimmy Choos with four-inch heels finalized her outfit. Flipping her hair over her shoulder and posing for the mirror one more time, Savannah headed out of her room to go talk to Courtney. Maybe Savannah was being dramatic, and Courtney was hanging out with their future stepbrother because both she and Peyton had been busy, but she still wanted details. And what if Courtney
was
involved with Brett? Would that be future-incest?

But Adrian had been clear about Brett being off-limits, and Courtney never broke the rules. Courtney was the angel child that Savannah could never live up to. Even her teachers had been disappointed when Savannah hadn’t done as well as Courtney on tests and papers, as if she were a huge letdown.

It wouldn’t be an issue now, though, since Savannah looked better than ever. Finally she would stand out. No longer would she be the overlooked shadow to her sisters and her friends. She brightened at the thought, and walked across the condo to Courtney’s room. The shower was running in Peyton’s room—leave it to Peyton to wait until the last minute to get ready. Hopefully Peyton wouldn’t wear something
too
outlandish to dinner.

She knocked on Courtney’s door, opening it when Courtney said she could come in. Courtney was sitting in front of her vanity, wearing a purple bubble tube dress from BCBG that Savannah had found for her at Saks. It made her willowy frame appear more supermodel-esque than ever. Savannah almost felt jealous, until she caught sight of her own reflection. She loved the glamorous version of herself staring back at her. This was who she was meant to be. Now, if she could act as cool and sophisticated as she looked, the transformation would be complete.

“I love your dress,” Courtney complimented her. “Twirl so I can see.”

Savannah obliged, her long hair spinning around her. She felt more like a princess than she had when she’d first arrived in Vegas. “I love yours, too,” she told Courtney, making herself comfortable on her bed. “Trying to impress anyone in particular?”

Courtney paused in the middle of applying her NARS lip gloss in Turkish Delight. Savannah had bought it for her at Sephora, and she was glad Courtney was using it. “No,” she said, pressing her lips together to even out the gloss. “I haven’t met anyone besides Damien and Oliver.”

“And Brett,” Savannah reminded her.

“Right. And Brett.” Courtney’s voice wavered, and she focused on putting concealer on a nonexistent pimple. As if Courtney ever broke out.

“You
did
go to the show with him last night,” Savannah said. “By the way, how was it?”

“It was wonderful.” Courtney swiveled in her chair to face Savannah. Her cheeks were pink, and she was smiling. This was the happiest Savannah had seen her since their arrival in Vegas. “The theater was designed to look like the Paris Opera House, and the performance was magical. Our seats were right under where the chandelier drops.”

“The chandelier drops on the audience?” Savannah asked. Courtney had made her watch the movie a hundred times, so she knew the chandelier broke, but shouldn’t that happen
on
stage?

“Yes.” She placed her hands on her knees and leaned forward. “It falls from the ceiling, and stops right before hitting the audience. I think I screamed—it looked like it was about to fall on top of me. In the beginning the entire chandelier assembled above the audience—four pieces of it came together from different ends of the theatre, each one with blinking lights like flying spaceships—”

“Flying spaceships?” Savannah looked at Courtney like she’d gone crazy.

“Yes. And when the pieces came together, the curtains along the sides of the theater pulled away, and there were box seats full of people dressed in clothes straight out of the 1800s. They weren’t real people—they were mannequins—but they looked so real, as if we had traveled back in time. You have to see it. We’ll go together sometime.”

“I’d like that,” Savannah said. Seeing
Phantom
sounded exciting—Savannah loved music—but right now they had more important things to talk about. Things named Brett. “Did Brett like it?”

“He did.” Courtney looked down to examine her nails. They were unpainted and short. Savannah
had
to take her to the spa.

“A guy who takes you to see
Phantom of the Opera...
” Savannah’s lips curled into a knowing smile. “Sounds perfect for you, don’t you think? And he’s definitely cute.”

Courtney’s eyes lost the light they’d had while she was talking about the show. “He’s going to be our stepbrother.”

“But you wouldn’t be blood-related,” Savannah pointed out. “And how often is it that you meet a guy you’re interested in?”

“I don’t know.” She played with her hands, which she only did while nervous.

“Never,” Savannah answered for her. “You’re never interested in anyone. Don’t let Dad’s stupid rule stop you.”

Courtney raised an eyebrow. “Since when did you start calling him Dad?”

“Since now. It sounds better than calling him Adrian, doesn’t it? He
is
our father.” It felt strange to refer to anyone as Dad, since they’d been without a father for their entire lives, but Savannah hoped she would get used to it.

“It just sounds weird,” Courtney said. “And moving away from me and Brett—because
nothing
is going on there—what happened with you and Damien at Myst? You never gave me the whole story.”

“He just gave me a tour of the club.” Savannah didn’t like lying to her sister, and she wished she could tell her about what happened with Damien in the caves, but then Courtney would hate him more than she already did.