For the rest of the week I was in a terrible mood. Once, when Elise Wilder and I happened to brush against each other in the hall between classes, she gave me a little shove. I couldn't help but give her a little shove back, causing her to drop her books.
She stooped to the floor to retrieve them and looked up at me, her amber eyes fierce. "Thanks a lot," she hissed.
"Oh no, Elise, thank you," I said sarcastically. I didn't know I had it in me to be that bitchy.
"What were you doing at my cousin's house?" she demanded.
"Wh—what do you mean?"
"I know it was you," she said, her strange eyes gleaming. " The place had your stench all over it."
"I don't know what you mean," I said. Like I was going to tell Ryan's new girlfriend anything, even if she was related to Mr. Davis.
"I'm going to ask you again. Why were you there?" She slammed me up against the wall. I read the threat in her eyes. The girl was seriously strong.
"Do you lift weights?" I asked.
"Don't screw with me, Giordano," she snarled. "So far, I've just been toying with you." To my surprise, I thought I saw tears in her eyes, but she brushed them away angrily.
We were starting to attract some attention. Bane Paxton glanced over and started heading our way.
"Look," I said. "I was trying to help find out who killed Mr. Davis, that's all."
The tension left her body, but she didn't release her hold on me. "If I ever find out who did it—"
Bane touched her arm. "Let her go, Elise," he said. "People are starting to notice your chat with Daisy here. It would not be good if this got back to your grandmother."
Elise nodded tersely and released me. Bane took her arm to lead her away, but Elise whipped around and whispered fiercely, "If you find out anything, anything at all..."
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I looked across the crowd and saw Duke staring at me. He walked over to me a minute later.
'Are you okay?" he said. He put his arm around me. When I saw the concern in his eyes, I resisted the impulse to shrug it off.
"I'm fine," I said. "It was just a misunderstanding."
"He's a fool, you know," Duke said. "To choose someone like Elise Wilder over you." He said her name contemptuously.
"Do you know her?" I asked.
"Only by reputation," he replied. "She will come to a bad end, mark my words."
"Is that a prediction?"
He met my eyes, and it was like looking into the surface of a frozen lake. "That's an observation. I wouldn't be surprised if she had something to do with her cousin's death."
The bell rang, and as I headed to class, I wondered about Duke's words. I didn't like Elise Wilder much either, but Duke had sounded like he absolutely loathed the sight of her. What was that all about?
My mood changed at the end of the day when Samantha approached me at my locker, smiling ear to ear. "Daisy, you're a genius!" she exclaimed, and gave me a hug.
"I've always known it, but sadly, no one else seems to be aware of the fact. Is there anything in particular that I'm genius about?"
"I did it!" Sam explained. "I asked my dad if I could live with him and stay in Nightshade until I graduate, and he said yes. And I owe it all to you. I never would have asked him without you convincing me to do it."
"That's great news, Sam." I smiled at her.
"Can you do me a favor and not say anything to anybody? At least not for a while. I need to think about what I'm going to tell everybody."
"Tell them the truth, Sam," I said. "Nobody cares about what kind of house you live in. They care about you."
" They care about the Divine Devereaux," she said. "Not about me."
"I care," I said.
"You and Sean are the only two people who know the real me," she said.
I protested. "And Rachel and Jordan and..."
She cut me off. "Enough about me."
"Samantha, you have more friends than any girl I know. Certainly more than I do."
"You have lots of friends, Daisy," she said. "You just don't know it."
I blushed. This from the girl who was convinced that most of Nightshade High only liked her for her money or her popularity.
"Well, this is cause for celebration," I said. "Let's go to Slim's and get shakes."
"Okay!" said Samantha enthusiastically. It would be nice to celebrate something after a gloomy couple of weeks in Nightshade.
At Slim's we spotted Poppy at the register with a couple of to-go containers. After she paid, I waved her over to our table.
"I thought you were at Mort's," I said.
She held up two gigantic sodas. "Caffeine break," she said.
" Two sodas?"
"One is for Gage," she said. "Even though he can't really drink it, he has one to keep me company." She realized she'd slipped and glanced at Sam in alarm.
Samantha slid over in the booth. "Have a seat," she said. Poppy sat next to her.
"Poppy's dating a ghost," I explained. "He haunts Mort's."
Samantha just shrugged. "You Giordano girls," she said. "You really know how to pick 'em."
"His name is Gage. He's a perfectly nice guy," she pointed out.
"I'm sure he is," said Sam.
"I know you and Rose aren't thrilled about me and Gage because he's a ghost," Poppy said to me.
"We just want you to be happy, but I don't see how things with Gage could..."
"Work out," she finished my sentence. "I know. But it's just not fair. I finally meet a guy I could really lo—like and he's already dead."
Samantha put her arm around Poppy as my sister brushed away a tear. "He went to San Carlos High, you know. We could have met. We could have been happy."
I had the impulse to tell Poppy to go for it, to be with the guy she loved, no matter what. But then I remembered I wasn't exactly in any position to be dispensing advice on romance.
Duke walked into Slim's, and I had to repress a groan. When he saw us, he flashed a bright smile and hurried over.
Sam kicked me under the table and said, so that only I could hear, "Bird in the hand, Giordano."
To Duke she said, "What a nice surprise. Won't you join us?"
"Thank you so much, Samantha," he said politely. "I would love to."
"There's not much room," I said. I wasn't in the mood for Duke's big blue eyes and flirtatious smile.
"Make some room," Sam commanded. "Slide over." I did it reluctantly, but Sam had on her I'll hurt you if you don't face.
There was a moment of silence, then Duke said, "Daisy, I would be honored if you would allow me to do a tarot reading sometime. Perhaps Saturday night?"
"I'm kind of busy," I said.
I looked away and saw Penny glaring at me from her seat, which was in the prime stalking-Duke section. That could have been what motivated my next words.
"What about right now?"
"Now?" Duke seemed oddly taken aback. "I—my tarot cards are in my car."
"Go get them. I'll get us something to drink." Samantha jumped up and went over to the counter, where Flo was read ing a magazine. After a brief conversation, Sam returned carrying a pitcher of soda.
"Refreshments," she said, brandishing the pitcher in the air.
Duke came back with a pack of tarot cards. He gestured to the cards. "Samantha, would you like for me to do a reading for you as well?"
"I'll pass this time," she replied.
I felt self-conscious as I cut the cards. Duke's blue eyes watched my every move while I shuffled the deck with shaky hands. I handed it back to him and he laid out the cards.
He was silent for a moment. He frowned. He stared at the cards in front of him for several long minutes. It was like he had been reading Inscrutability for Beginners.
"I see a man," he said hesitantly.
A man? Tall, dark, and handsome perhaps? Had he been giving everybody the same line?
"He is still alive," Duke continued. "He's waiting for you. He wants to come home."
Poppy stilled. "Who is waiting?" she asked, her breathing light and erratic.
"Which card represents a man?" Samantha asked.
Duke seemed flustered. His hands swept in a wide arc and knocked over the pitcher, which was still half full of soda, spilling it all over the cards. They turned into a sodden mess, but I was already out of my seat.
Nausea churned in my stomach as I made my way to the exit. If Duke's reading was a joke, it wasn't a very funny one.
Tears blurred my vision. I had to get out of there.
I brushed by a tall figure as I left. The jukebox burst into "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran.
"Daisy?" It was Ryan, but I didn't bother to stop. I was running away from my past, even though it seemed determined to catch up with me.
Poppy came after me, of course. "What was that all about?"
"I have no idea," I said, "but I don't trust Duke for a minute."
Samantha followed us outside a minute later. "I paid the check," she said. "I figured you wouldn't want to go back inside now that Ryan's there."
"I know. I don't feel like facing anyone right now, especially not him. I'm just going home." I looked up at the sky. Since we'd been inside, the weather had grown gray and chilly. It matched my mood perfectly.
"Hey, wait a second," Samantha said. "I have a better idea. How about a little retail therapy?"
"Yeah, Daisy, that will cheer you up," Poppy said. "Let's go to the mall."
"What about Gage?" I sniffed.
"He'll understand," she said.
"I still need to get a prom dress," Sam said as we got into her car.
"Not me," I said sadly.
"You should go buy a dress and go to prom," she said firmly. "With or without Ryan Mendez."
After I thought about it for a few minutes, I realized Samantha was right. Besides, I had put a lot of energy into helping set up the prom. I shouldn't miss it just because of a breakup. I nodded decisively.
"I'm going to call Mom to let her know we're going shopping and make sure it's okay if we use the plastic," Poppy said. Mom had given each of us a credit card for emergencies.
Mom seemed thrilled to hear that her two youngest daughters were going shopping instead of moping around the house. I guess she figured nothing weird could happen at a mall.
As we stood in front of the store directory and tried to figure out where to start our shopping spree, Poppy suddenly seemed doubtful about our mall mission.
"You know, I don't have a date, either," Poppy said.
"Why don't you ask Gage?" Samantha suggested.
Poppy and I stared at her.
"What? Isn't that his name?"
"I can't take a ghost to the prom," Poppy protested, but I could tell she liked the idea. "Can I?"
"Why not?" I said. "It's Nightshade. People probably won't even notice." And I didn't care if they did, as long as my sister smiled again.
"You're right," Poppy said slowly. "Why not?" She grinned. "I'll ask him tonight. Let's go try on dresses!"
Both Samantha and Poppy were marathon shoppers. Finally, after about three hours of fruitless searching, I was ready for a break.
"I see a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf over there," I said, pointing in the direction of the food court, "and I'm not trying on one more dress until I get a blended coffee."
"Does she exist on coffee and chocolate?" Samantha said to Poppy.
"Pretty much," she replied.
" That's not true," I protested. "I cook all the time."
"She is a good cook," Poppy admitted.
"Yes, but all that coffee will stunt her growth."
"Now you tell me," I said in mock dismay. "Now that it's too late for my gymnastics career."There was a time when gymnastics was my life, but then an early growth spurt ended my sport of choice before it even began.
Samantha must have detected a little sadness in my voice, because she linked arms with me. "C'mon, let's get you that coffee."
Refreshed by the caffeine, I was ready to tackle the search again. Samantha and Poppy both found their dresses, but everything I tried on was either too tight, too short, or too revealing.
An hour later, I spotted it. It was strapless, pale gold with a beaded bodice and skirt, and much more sophisticated than anything I'd tried on before.
I held it up in front of me. "What do you guys think?" I wasn't sure the pale gold would work with my coloring.
"It's perfect," Samantha said. "Go try it on."
When I stepped out of the dressing room, I could tell by their expressions that I'd found my dress.
Then I looked at the price tag and gasped. "Poppy, Mom's going to have a coronary," I said, showing her the amount.
Poppy looked at the price and shrugged. "That's only a little more than my dress cost," she said. "But if it makes you feel any better, it's on sale. Ten percent off."
I did the calculations in my head. "Okay, I'll buy it."
I went back to change into my regular clothes but found myself reluctant to take the dress off. It would have been perfect to wear to the prom with Ryan.
"His loss," I muttered under my breath. After I dressed and handed over my emergency credit card, I was ready to head home, but Poppy and Samantha had other ideas.
"Now shoes!" they exclaimed. I bit back a groan, but I had to admit that shopping with them was more fun than I expected.
By the time the mall closed, I had a dress, I had shoes, and I was almost convinced I didn't need a guy. Any guy but Ryan, that is.