Girl really was down with the details.
"It was. What did I say?" Ariana asked, hoping she wasn't visibly blushing.
"You said dressage," Soomie replied, one hand on the back of the chair. "Lexa said you didn't even compete in dressage."
Ariana's mouth was dry. Exactly how much had these people been discussing her behind her back?
"I didn't until later," Ariana clarified coolly. This was actually true. It was the reason for her mistake. If she hadn't looked at dozens of
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dressage ribbons last night the word wouldn't have even been in her head. She grabbed another nail and slammed it into the wall with slightly more vigor than necessary. "You're right, though. That year it was the jumper competition. I've been in so many I sometimes mix them up." Her skin grew warm under Soomie's gaze and she realized she was babbling, that she sounded like someone trying to cover up a lie. "Can you grab that nail I just lost?"
"Sure," Soomie said, crouching to the floor. She got up and handed Ariana the nail. "You might want to make that right corner higher. It's crooked."
"Thanks," Ariana said, even though she felt so pent-up and frustrated she wanted to drive the nail through the girl's hand. She turned the hammer around, pulled out the nail she'd just placed, and started over.
"Wow, so I guess you really burned out. I mean, if you've competed so much you can't even remember which events you won and lost," Soomie said, sitting down again.
"Exactly. That's why I'm moving on to tennis," she said, feeling relieved that the conversation had come around to a logical conclusion. "I think it'll be fun to start over."
"I guess," Soomie said. "But when I'm that good at something, I never give it up."
Ariana sighed, wishing Soomie would drop it already. Just then, Tahira walked by the open door of her room. Ariana's whole body tensed at the thought of talking to the girl, but it was better to just put the gears in motion. Besides, it would be a great way to shut Soomie up already.
"Tahira?" she called out, stepping over to the threshold.
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The Dubai princess paused with her hand on the doorknob of her own room. "Can I help you with something, Love?" she asked with a condescending glance.
Ariana's fingers tightened around the hammer's handle. Don't kill her. You cannot kill her.
"Actually, I was hoping to help you," Ariana replied, plastering on a smile. She crossed her arms over her chest, letting the hammer dangle from her fingers. "I'd like to volunteer to work the tables at the fundraiser."
Tahira, understandably, looked suspicious. She crossed her arms over her chest as well, and faced Ariana head-on. "Why? You're already doing crew. You've fulfilled your requirement."
"I don't just fulfill requirements," Ariana explained. "I like to do as much as I can."
With a dubious look, Tahira shoved open the door to her room. "All right then. We'd love to have you."
"That's going to get old real fast," Ariana told her as the hall phone rang.
"No it's not!" Tahira sang with a huge grin. She slammed the door to her and Zuri's room, and Ariana pressed her lips together to keep from cursing under her breath, which Soomie would undoubtedly hear.
You're doing this for a reason, she reminded herself, tapping the hammer against the open palm of her hand. You're doing this so you can finally shed your past and move on."Ana!" Brigit shouted, leaning out of the old-school phone booth at the end of the hallway. "There's someone down at the gate for you
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and he's not on your list of approved visitors. They need to know if they should let him through."
Ariana's vision instantly prickled over with gray spots. She could not have heard that correctly. Someone at the gate for her? For Briana Leigh? Who the hell would drop by unannounced like this? Briana Leigh had very few friends and even fewer who knew she'd be attending APH. Unless it was Teo, Briana Leigh's former fiance. Ariana backed against the wall of the hallway, her knees weak. The hammer hit the plaster with a dull thud.
Oh, God, please don't let it be Teo.
"Ana? Are you okay?" Soomie said from inside her room.
"Fine. I'm fine," Ariana replied quickly.