Cruel Love (Privilege 6)

“It’s just so infuriatingly impertinent,” she muttered under her breath.

If Reed hadn’t changed her schedule for the day at the last minute, she would be dead by now, and Ariana could get on with her life—get on with plotting her next move with Meloni and securing her future. But no. She had to go finishing her lab the night before. Even that wouldn’t have been so bad, if she’d simply not shown up at all. Ariana would have waited for a while before giving up, going home, and coming back with a new plan. But that wasn’t possible, either. Reed had to pop into the lab to print out her work and, just to add insult to injury, bring Noelle along with her. It was as if the girl had known Ariana would be hiding there and had figured out exactly how to hurt her.

Behind her, a pair of girls laughed and Ariana turned toward them. It was Tahira’s roommate, Allison Rothaus, and her friend Zuri. They were huddled over a cell phone, scrolling through pictures. The two of them were, of course, strictly second-tier around here. Zuri was in one of the other societies and Allison had failed to make the cut at Stone and Grave. But still. The sight of them together, having fun, made Ariana’s spirits drop even lower. They may have been losers, but at least they had each other.

Ariana turned around in her seat again and looked at the empty chairs surrounding the table, feeling suddenly and hopelessly alone. A few weeks ago, Brigit would have been sitting right next to her, gabbing about the next big party. Soomie would have been texting on her BlackBerry obsessively. Lexa would have been perched across the table, flipping through Vogue and pointing out who would look best in which outfits. Maria would have been to her left, chugging her espresso and studiously avoiding carbs. But now, Brigit and Lexa were both dead, Soomie was AWOL, and Maria was taking out her grief in the dance studio. Ariana may have been the new It Girl on campus, but that position was supposed to come with an entourage. Hers was practically nonexistent.

“We need to talk.”

Tahira dropped into the chair across from Ariana’s and just like that, Ariana completely perked up. At least she wasn’t sitting in the café looking like a loner anymore.

“What’s up?” Ariana asked. “Do you want something to

eat? Because I can get Quinn back here in two shakes,” she said, reaching for her phone.

“No, thanks.” Tahira rested her elbows on the table, her dozens of glittery bangle bracelets clinking merrily. She wore a royal blue, V-neck and her dark hair hung in loose waves over her shoulders. “There’s just something I have to ask you. It’s kind of serious.”

Ariana’s heart skipped a troubled beat. Was this about Palmer? Had he finally gotten around to spreading rumors about her?

“You have my undivided attention,” Ariana said, trying to sound upbeat.

“Okay, ever since you got here, all this weird stuff has been happening,” Tahira began. “I’m not even going to get into the thefts,” she said, causing Ariana’s stomach to turn. “We’re well past that.”

Ariana cleared her throat. She’d forgotten about the thefts. Only Tahira knew about them, but that, coupled with anything Palmer might have said, was not going to help her case. She sat up straight as Jessica returned with her sweater.

“Here you go, Ana. Is there anything else I can—”

“No, thank you, Jessica. Just go,” Ariana snapped.

Jessica’s face crumpled and she hurried off. Ariana clucked her tongue, but the last thing she felt able to deal with at that moment was stroking the ego of an underling. Why was Tahira even mentioning the petty crime Ariana committed at the beginning of term?

“But first Palmer breaks up with Lexa out of nowhere to get with you, and last year those two were totally most likely to hire Colin Cowie,” Tahira continued under her breath. “Then Brigit dies, Lillian vanishes, and now Lexa …”

Ariana’s heart pounded sickly in her throat. She clutched the cashmere sweater under the table, her mind whirling in ten thousand directions. Tahira had figured her out. She knew that it was all connected, and connected through her. The question was, how much did she know? Had she found out Ariana’s true identity? Was that what had kept her up all night? And what would Ariana have to do to keep her quiet?

“I just need to know,” Tahira said, leaning so far forward Ariana could see every inch of her cleavage. “How do you do it all?”

Ariana licked her dry lips. “Do what all?”

“Somehow, with all of this stuff going on around you, you managed to keep your head on straight and come out the other side the queen bee!” Tahira exclaimed, sitting up, her brown eyes wide. “I mean, aside from that slight panic attack the other night, but everyone’s had one or two of those in their lives. So tell me. How do you do it?”

Ariana let out a whoosh of breath. Her tension deflated so quickly she actually slumped forward for a moment, resting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands, her sweater draped across her knees. Tahira wasn’t accusing her of masterminding the deaths and disappearances and breakups. She wasn’t going to tell her she thought she was crazy, too. She was telling her she thought she was awesome.

“Take your time,” Tahira said. She reached for Ariana’s scone and tore off a piece. “Omigod! Is that an invite to the MTV New Year’s thing?” She snagged the glittery envelope from the top of the pile. Then her eyes widened at the large stack of invitations beneath it. “Wow. It must be good to be president.”

Ariana preened. “I suppose so,” she said modestly.

“Unbelievable,” Tahira said in awe, running her fingers along the edge of the invitation. “Seriously, Ana. You should give, like, a seminar on success or something. Right now, every girl at this school wants to be you.”

Now Ariana couldn’t help grinning. Tahira had no idea, but this little visit was exactly what she’d needed. Still, there was that niggling problem of Palmer’s threat hanging out there like a guillotine ready to drop. Ariana narrowed her eyes and decided that she could trust Tahira, especially after the serious ego-stroking the girl had just given her.

“T, can I ask you something?” she said, resting her elbows casually on the table.

“Anything.”

“Has Palmer said anything about me? To you or Rob or anyone?” Ariana asked.

Tahira laughed lightly. “Oh, you mean that ridiculous story about you trashing your room? Uh, yeah. I heard that one.”