159
including a few diamond tennis bracelets, a ruby necklace, and several iPods. But when she returned to her room and laid it all out with the Rolex watch, she realized that the grand total of all the items would barely put a dent in the million dollars she supposedly "owed" Kaitlynn. If she could have gotten her hands on Tahira's pink diamond or some of Brigit's crown jewels, they definitely would have helped. But Ariana had a feeling that those things would definitely be missed-- and that the royal guards would be sent out to find them. She stashed her stolen goods into the back of her desk drawer, covering them over with her notebooks, and sat down on her bed to think.
Two seconds later, her phone beeped. She grabbed it and checked the screen. It was a text from Kaitlynn:
3 days counting! hope u have a good plan, BL!Ariana's jaw clenched and she slapped the flip phone closed, then opened it again. Her one and only option had been hovering in the back of her mind ever since her encounter with Kaitlynn at the diner, and she scrolled to the phone book entry labeled "home."
Grandma Covington. The woman had access to serious money. And Briana Leigh was her one and only granddaughter, her one and only living relative. The least Ariana could do was ask. It couldn't hurt, right?
She glanced at her cell phone. The very idea of ringing up Grandma C. and putting on Briana Leigh's voice made her soul feel gray. But she needed the money in order to survive, and she needed it fast.
160
The sooner she bit the bullet and called, the sooner the ordeal would be over with.
Ariana hit the speed dial button. Grandma Covington's assistant picked up on the first ring. She didn't even hesitate when Ariana said it was Briana Leigh calling. One person fooled, one much shrewder person to go. Ariana held her breath as she waited for Grandma Covington to pick up the phone.
"Well, Briana Leigh, it's been over three weeks," she said by way of greeting. "I was beginning to think you were dead."
Ariana froze. The irony of the jibe, the morbid irony of it, was so overwhelming, her mind went completely blank. What was she doing? Who was she calling? Why, again?
In, one. . . two . . . three. . .Out, one. . . two. . . three. . .
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Ariana closed her eyes. Breathed. Opened her eyes. Spoke.
"Sorry, Grandma," she said in Briana Leigh's Texas drawl. "I've just been so busy getting settled in here and buying my books and all. And I'm retaking my placement ex
ams. Trying to get into some tougher classes. So that's taken up a lot of my time."
Ariana's heart rate slowed closer to normal with each word. It was a stroke of genius mentioning this up front. Surely Grandma C. would notice the change in schedule when she started to receive Briana Leigh's progress reports. And surely retaking the exams to get into harder classes would win her brownie points.
"Well, I didn't know you had such initiative," Grandma Covington said cautiously.
161
"I'm turning over a new leaf here, Grandma," Ariana said, hearing the smoochy sounds of butt-kisses in her mind. "It's hard not to in a place like this. It just makes you want to learn."
"Interesting," Grandma Covington said. "As long as you stay out of trouble this time. That's all I care about."
Give me a million dollars and I will, Ariana thought. "Oh, definitely. You don't have to worry about that."
"Good." There was a pause. "Well, are you going to tell me the reason for this call or am I to believe you were just checking in? Because I find that highly unlikely."
Ariana laughed, mimicking Briana Leigh's giggle perfectly.
"Actually, I'm calling about this fund-raiser we're having," Ariana said, gripping her bedspread in her free hand. "There's this whole competition thing here during Welcome Week and, well, it's a long story, but whichever team wins gets all these perks for the rest of the year. Anyway, one of the competitions is a fund-raiser for the Red Cross, and whichever team makes the most money wins the event, so--"
"So you're calling for money," Grandma Covington said flatly.
"Yes." Ariana saw no reason to elaborate further just yet. Let it sink in first.
"How much money?"
Ariana closed her eyes, crossed her fingers, held her breath. "A million."
The laughter came as a surprise. Ariana didn't know that Grandma Covington was capable of laughter.