Beautiful Disaster (Privilege 2)

Tomorrow she would have to get a pass off campus and go into town to pawn those things. She couldn't have them lying around her dorm room for too long. Fab. Another pass, another trip into D.C., another wasted afternoon. And she still had no method for making up the rest of the cash.

Ariana clenched her arm under the table, avoiding the wounds that were still smarting from the other day. She wanted to kill Kaitlynn for doing this to her. But she had tried that, and she had failed. And now she was out of options.

169

THE BEST

"Why am I helping Tahira again?" Ariana asked, moving her fingertip around on the touch pad of her new laptop. She highlighted another list of e-mail addresses from a local high school's website and copied it into the ever-growing Excel chart on her desktop. It was Wednesday afternoon, and she had just finished her general science exam, the most difficult of the four she'd taken so far. When she'd returned to the dorm, she hadn't even had time to close the door behind her when Lexa popped in, asking if she wanted to hang out and help with the e-mail blasts for the fund-raiser. Maria was down at the dance studio working out, Brigit was on a video chat with the King and Queen, and Soomie was off meeting with her professors, trying to get some extra-credit assignments started early. Ana was Lexa's last chance for company. Although as Ariana sat back on Maria's bed, she was trying not to think of herself that way--as the final and least desirable option.170

Lexa laughed. "Wow. The girls really turned you against her quickly, huh?" She looked up at Ariana from her twin-size bed, where she was seated with her own laptop, kicked back against a mound of plush light and dark gray pillows in cashmere, silk, and fur.

Ariana tilted her head. "It's not just that. I could tell from the beginning that she wasn't exactly my type of person. But you seem to like her."

"Well, Tahira and I have been friends for a long time. Since way before the Princess Wars broke out," Lexa said looking at her computer screen. There was something in her tone that told Ariana they didn't just go way back, but that they were somehow important to each other. "But I'm not going to try to change anyone's mind about her, especially not Brigit's." She took a deep breath and smiled. "So just don't think about it as helping Tahira. Think about it as helping the team. Team is a very big thing around here, in case you hadn't noticed."

"I did kind of get that," Ariana replied with a smile. She filed away her suspicions about Lexa and Tahira and vowed to observe the two more closely when they were together. There was nothing more intriguing than a dark secret between friends.

"So, how do you like it here? Is it better than . . . where were you last year again?" Lexa asked, a little line forming above her nose.

Prison? Ariana thought. "This rinky-dink day school in Houston," Ariana replied, waving a hand. "Believe me, you've never heard of it. This place is way better. I think I may stay," she said jokingly."Good. We'd love to have you," Lexa joked back, lifting her chin.

171

Ariana grinned. "So . . . what are the other two teams doing for their fund-raisers?"

"Blue is holding an art auction at the Smithsonian," Lexa said. "Martin's dad is this big collector, so he knows a lot of artists who are going to donate their work. And gray is doing a fashion show thing where you can bid on the gowns, but from what I hear, they had trouble getting any of the top designers, so they shouldn't be a problem."

"So all we have to do is win this or the crew race, and we win. We're in Privilege House?" Ariana asked.

"Yep. Winning debate was huge," Lexa said, typing away. Then she paused and looked over at Ariana. "You know, I'm glad the guys asked you to be the cox."

Her casual tone sounded forced. Ariana glanced at the girl from the corner of her eye and thought that her posture looked a bit more tense than it had a moment ago. She was lying.

"Really? I was a little worried about that," Ariana said.

"No. It's cool. It's a good thing for you," she said.

Ariana blinked. It seemed an odd thing to say. How, exactly, was it good for her? But she didn't want to harp on the subject. "Thanks."

"Anyway, back to Tahira. It can actually be a good thing to have her on your side," Lexa said, clicking her mouse before looking over at Ariana. "She does have the bitchy thing down, don't get me wrong, but she gets stuff done."

"Well, when you want to get stuff done, the bitchy thing is very helpful," Ariana replied, copying another list.

172

There was a brief pause and Ariana was aware that Lexa was watching her. Watching her closely. Her fingertips started to tremble ever so slightly over the keyboard. Had she noticed something? Some discrepancy between Ariana and the Briana Leigh whom Lexa once knew? Crap. She had let her accent slip for a second there. It had come out more Atlanta then Houston. Was that why Lexa was staring at her?

"You know, you can still join the equestrian team and drop tennis," Lexa said. "No one would blame you."

Already tense, Ariana saw red. "Why? Because I suck so bad at tennis and everyone knows it now?" she snapped.

Lexa blinked, her pretty face turning a stunned pink. It was obvious that she was unaccustomed to being snapped at. "No! No! That's not what I meant at all! I was there, okay? You had that girl on the ropes. You just. . . couldn't finish her off."

Thanks for the reminder, Ariana thought, keeping her eyes trained pointedly on the computer screen. Her jaw clenched as she vividly recalled her fabulous crash-and-burn, and the tension in the room enveloped her.

"No, I just meant no one would blame you if you wanted to avoid Tahira as much as possible," Lexa said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed to better face Ariana. She planted her hands at her side and clenched her knees together.

Ariana looked over at Lexa, feeling wary. Did Lexa really not mean to insult her? One look in the girl's earnest eyes and she knew--the insult was definitely unintended. Sometimes, after all Ariana had been