“Okay, seriously, Sydney, you and your sister need to write a freakin’ book,” Rhea commented randomly.
The three girls leaned against the student lockers outside the entrance of their Fine Arts classroom, watching students pass by as they waited for the second-period bell to ring.
“What are you talking about, Rhea,” Sydney muttered in reply as she examined the damaged cuticles on her left hand. Those last couple of weeks of hardcore punishment had wreaked havoc on her normally flawless fingers. And from the looks of her chipped polish, it was going to take several honey and warm paraffin treatments to undo the damage.
“I’m just saying, if a melee ever broke out at one of my parties, please believe it would take more than two weeks for me to convince my parents to let me off punishment,” Rhea began as a crowd of boys heading toward the girls came into view.
“Shoot, it would probably take me another lifetime,” Carmen co-signed. “The way my parents are about all their precious homes, I’d probably be sleeping in the garage until the day I died.”
“Don’t get it twisted,” Sydney said, measuring her words carefully. She didn’t want to give away more than she was willing to explain about the repercussions of the property damage and public humiliation of the entire Duke family that had happened that night. “Altimus and Keisha were not pleased. It took some pretty fast talking and a whole lot of begging. But at the end of the day, it’s not like what happened was either of our faults.” Sydney’s voice faded out as she remembered the betrayed look on Jason’s face when Marcus put her on blast for going out on a coffee date with him. Even though at the moment Jason had pretended that Marcus’s accusation of Sydney not being over their old relationship didn’t faze him, there was no hiding that he was no longer speaking to her. Or even worse, that thanks to the blow-by-blow YRT recap of the night’s events, the entire school thought she was a cheater. She immediately began to tug on the diamond stud in her right earlobe. “I mean, who knew…”
“Duh, it definitely wasn’t your fault,” Carmen quickly reassured her best friend. “That’s not what we’re saying at all.”
“Omigod, not at all, Syd,” Rhea said as she shook her head. “Don’t think that. It’s so obvious Marcus is totally jealous of Jason. He was just looking for an excuse.”
Sydney smiled warmly at her friends’ valiant attempt at damage control. They always managed to make everything seem okay—even when it was so not.
“What’s good, ladies,” a voice called out from the group of guys that had finally made its way down the hall. The three looked over at Rhea’s newly minted boyfriend, Tim, as he sidled up to Rhea for a quick kiss and squeeze of her booty.
“Ugh, Tim.” Rhea feigned disgust as she swatted his hand away.
“What? Can’t a brother get a little somethin’-somethin’ to get him through the day?” he questioned playfully as he wrapped his arms around Rhea’s tiny waist. He nuzzled his nose into her neck. “You smell good, babe.”
Sydney felt a slight twinge of sadness as she remembered how Jason used to compliment her all the time on the scent of her favorite L’Occitane Green Tea with Mint perfume.
“Lloyd, will you please come get your boy?” Rhea pouted playfully toward Tim’s best friend.
“Hey, don’t blame me, Beyoncé. You’re the one that’s got him actin’ all crazy in love,” Lloyd joked as he yanked Tim back by the collar of his varsity baseball jacket.
Carmen giggled as the boys finally headed off down the hall with Tim in tow. “Not crazy in love! Lloyd Chesquire is a stone-cold fool.”
“Girl, yes, he is. Every time we go out on a double date with him and whatever girl of the week he’s dating, he has me in stitches,” Rhea confirmed.
“I can only imagine,” Carmen said with a shake of her head.
“But anyhoo, Sydney, will you tell me how you ever managed to do this whole relationship thing for four years?” Rhea questioned as she smoothed out her fitted pink-and-gray Nanette Lepore sweaterdress. “’Cause I swear, Tim’s crazy behind is straight killing me and it’s barely been a month.”
Sydney nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders in response. The way her relationships were turning out—Marcus knocking up Dara, and Jason acting like he was never going to speak to her again—she felt totally unqualified to offer anyone relationship advice.
“Whatever, Rhea, you love it,” Carmen said with a smirk.
“Well, sorta,” Rhea giggled as she dug in her silver Cole Haan bag for lip gloss and a hand mirror. “I mean when you get past the whole butt grabbing, he is really cute…”
“So have you asked him to the Sadie Hawkins Benefit or are you still playing hard to get?” Carmen asked Rhea curiously.
“I’m totally making him wait,” Rhea giggled in response as she slathered on a sparkly layer over her heart-shaped lips. “You should hear him, hinting hard about it every chance he gets! It’s so cute!”
“Is that a new gloss?” Sydney questioned in a subtle attempt to change the increasingly uncomfortable conversation. Considering she didn’t have any prospects for a date to the upcoming dance, she really didn’t want to hear much more about it.
“Um, actually I bought it a while ago,” Rhea responded as she looked at the tube’s label. “I think I picked it up that day we went underwear shopping after the pep rally.”
“Oh,” was Sydney’s only response.
Carmen reached over and took the tube out of Rhea’s hands. “NARS,” she said, reading the label aloud, “very cute. You know that bright red lipstick that Michael absolutely loves on me is also NARS.”
“Really? I had no idea,” Rhea commented. “And I meant to ask you where you got it the other day. It’s really hot.”
“Well, I heard NARS is, like, number one on PETA’s animal-cruelty list and no one who’s remotely conscious is wearing it anymore,” Sydney snapped, reaching her breaking point with all of the ’whose-boy-likes-what’ talk. Carmen and Rhea stopped short and exchanged guilty looks. “I’m just saying,” she continued, knowing full well that her little lie would curtail the boy-relationship-related convo pronto.
“Here you go,” Carmen mumbled as she handed the gloss back to Rhea like it was infected.
“Damn, my bad,” Rhea replied, shoving it back in her bag.
“Anyway, what time is it?” Sydney questioned, attempting to move on. She glanced at her Cartier tank watch, then down the hall. “I wonder if Mr. Wilkens is out today.” She pushed off the locker, stood up straight, and turned to face her friends. “He’s never late for class.”
“Um, actually I think that’s him coming now,” Carmen countered just as the burly older gentleman, who looked more likely to coach a football team than instruct students on the intricacies of the fine arts, turned the corner.
“I always love his outfits,” Rhea mused, of the tailor-made chocolate-brown suit, bright yellow tie, and spitshined wingtips Mr. Wilkens wore that morning. “I wonder where he gets them. I just might buy my dad a few of those ties to help soften him up enough to upgrade the sound system in my Lexus…What do you think?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Carmen said. “I know anytime my mom wants something new, she just buys my father a new set of golf clubs. It’s like an unspoken agreement—new clubs equals a new dining room set.”
“I swear your mom is addicted to new dining room sets,” Sydney joked. “She goes through at least three a year.”
“Who are you telling?” Carmen agreed. “Parents are so crazy.”
“Seriously,” Rhea said with a good-natured smile. “But you know, the apple never falls far from the tree,” she added forebodingly.
“I guess,” Sydney said.
Just then, Mr. Wilkens arrived at the entrance to the classroom. “Good morning, ladies. I believe that classes are held inside the rooms, not in the hallway. No?”
“Yes, sir,” the three intoned as they turned to walk inside the noisy classroom.
“All right, students, settle down. That was the final bell just a moment ago. I’d like everyone in their seats,” Mr. Wilkens announced authoritatively as he reached his desk at the front of the room and placed his briefcase on the chair. “Today we’re going to review pages…” He paused mid-sentence to read something on his desk. “Actually, Ms. Duke, would you please head down to the athletic director’s office?”
Confused, Sydney stopped unpacking her bag to face her teacher. “Is there something wrong?” she asked, wracking her brain to remember the last time she’d ever been called out of class.
“I’m not sure,” Mr. Wilkens responded, raising the note that he had been reading toward her. “But it says ’immediately.’ So you should probably get a move on.”
“I wonder what it’s about,” Rhea whispered as Sydney grabbed her purple suede Moschino jacket.
“No clue, but wish me luck,” Sydney muttered in response as she headed to the front of the room and out the door.
The sound of her hunter green Hogan knee-high boots sounded like rifle fire as Sydney hurried toward the athletic director’s office. Even with a pass, she hated being in the hallways between classes. It reminded her of all those scary movies where the unsuspecting beautiful starlet is always getting her throat slashed by a serial killer lurking in an old janitor’s closet. She sighed in relief as she finally neared the entrance to the office.
“May I help you?” the middle-aged receptionist sitting behind a huge computer screen inquired sweetly as soon as Sydney stepped into the front office.
Sydney raised her hand to show the note. “Yes, um, my name is Sydney Duke and I was asked to come down to the office immediately. I assume Coach Wiggins…”
“Oh, yes, Ms. Duke,” the kindly woman said with a nod. “Have a seat, sweetie; I’ll inform Coach Wiggins that you’re here.” She picked up the phone to announce Sydney’s arrival.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Sydney replied as she took a seat on the cracked black leather couch against the wall. She looked around the room at all the different championship trophies and plaques. Her eyes inadvertently fell on one with her own name from last year’s Young Equestrians Championship. With all the drama going on, Sydney couldn’t remember the last time she’d been down to the stables to spend time with Thunder, the championship filly her parents had bought her for her fifteenth birthday, let alone lap the ring.
“Ms. Duke,” the receptionist called out, breaking Sydney’s depressing train of thought. “Coach Wiggins is ready to see you now.”
“Thanks,” Sydney said politely as she headed to the large office in the back.
“Have a seat, Ms. Duke,” Coach Wiggins instructed gruffly from his seat behind the large metal desk.
“Hey, Coach Wiggins,” Sydney greeted the bald-headed, heavyset, former All American football player hesitantly. Although she saw him regularly when she was working out in the gym and weight room for her gym credit, she had never actually been called to his office before.
“Ms. Duke, I received a very interesting phone call this afternoon.” Coach Wiggins started slowly as he tapped his two pointer fingers together.
“Is that so?” Sydney replied as she wondered what that had to do with her being urgently called out of class.
“Mmm-hmm, it was from your mother,” he continued with a straight face.
“For what?” Sydney asked, completely shocked. In the three years she’d been at Brookhaven, Keisha Duke had never called the school about anything besides updating Lauren’s portrait in the cheerleaders’ clubhouse. “I mean, what did my mother need to speak to you about?”
“Well, it seems that the instructor down at the stable hasn’t seen you for your equestrian practice in the past couple of months. And he was concerned that you were no longer interested in riding. So he contacted your mother directly.”
Sydney gulped audibly. Had it been months? “I—I mean of course I’m still interested. It’s just that a lot of other things have come up.” She struggled to find an appropriate excuse for her absence from the early morning private sessions at the stable. The only things she kept coming up with were late nights spent talking on the phone and early morning breakfast dates with Jason when she should’ve been down at the stable.
“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, but your parents have donated a lot of money to the Brookhaven athletic programs over the last three years,” Coach Wiggins continued. “And let’s just say your mother made it very clear that if the school wants to continue seeing those generous donations, she expects her daughter to not only be on the equestrian team but to be named captain this spring.”
Sydney’s mouth dropped open at her mother’s not so thinly veiled threat. It was one thing for Keisha to throw her weight around when it came to airbrushing Lauren’s picture in a clubhouse, but this was unbelievable. “Oh, my God, Coach, I would never expect…”
“Now, don’t get me wrong. Based on your show performances last spring, there’s no doubt that you were a shoo-in for the spot even before this morning’s call. But, as I’m sure you can understand, it’s going to be very difficult for the instructors to keep you on the team, let alone make you captain, if you don’t start attending your winter lessons immediately.”
“I understand,” Sydney said as she hung her head in shame.
“While it’s the first time I’ve had the, um, pleasure of speaking with your mother on the phone, let’s just say she didn’t come across as the type of person afraid to back up her words with action. Am I right?” he asked. Sydney nodded in agreement. “Well, that’s just fine, ’cause neither am I. So let me put it to you straight: I assured her that there was no reason to believe that you wouldn’t be named captain. And you will—but not because she called over here. Because, as of tomorrow morning, you’re going to have your butt down at the stables at seven A.M. sharp, and you’re not going to miss a lesson from now until competition season ends. Am I clear, Ms. Duke?” Coach Wiggins stopped tapping his fingers and gave Sydney a very hard look.
“Yes, sir,” Sydney squeaked.
Coach Wiggins leaned back in the swivel chair, crossed his arms, and looked at the large, round wall clock to his left. “Well, I’m glad we were able to come to an understanding so quickly. Have a nice day, Ms. Duke.”
Sydney stammered as she stood. “Yes, sir. Me, too, sir.” And without a second look, she rushed out the door.
“Slow down, sexy, you might hurt yourself in those heels,” a familiar voice called out as Sydney rushed down the hallway.
She stopped dead in her tracks. The distinctly New York accent caused the hairs on her arms to stand at immediate attention. She listened as the squeak of what she was sure was a fresh pair of all-white Air Force Ones on the linoleum floor grew increasingly louder. Even when she could feel the heat of his presence burning her back, Sydney still couldn’t bring herself to move an inch.
“And Lord knows, we wouldn’t want that,” Jason said as he gently touched her shoulder. “Right?” he asked teasingly. Sydney finally turned around.
“Hey, J,” Sydney answered softly. The two stared into each other’s eyes for at least thirty seconds before Sydney cast her eyes downward. “What’s going on?” she asked, trying to force a smile to hide how nervous she felt.
“Nothing really,” Jason ventured hesitantly. “I was actually chilling in the weight room when I saw your purple jacket pass by. So I stuck my head out to see if it was you. And I don’t know, I guess I kinda just wanted to, you know, talk…But if you’re in a rush, I won’t keep you.”
“Naw, it’s cool. I’m not in a rush.” She struggled to keep her voice light and even.
“True,” he responded, looking visibly relieved. “So what are you doing down here? Don’t you have Fine Arts class with Mr. Wilkens this period?”
The fact that he still remembered her schedule made Sydney’s heart skip a beat. “Um, I do, but Coach Wiggins needed to speak to me about tryouts for the equestrian team,” Sydney hedged as she tugged at the scalloped cuff on her jacket.
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot that you were on the team last year,” Jason responded. “Guess it’s time for you to start practicing again, huh?”
“Something like that,” Sydney said as she stole a quick glance at the adorable lips she’d once so easily had access to. “Isn’t your season over? Why were you in the weight room?”
“I actually lift year-round,” Jason explained. “But today I was down here with the defensive coach putting together my regimen for the Christmas break. He wants to make sure I stay on schedule even when the school is closed.”
“Oh, okay, makes sense,” Sydney said as she twisted the green leather Chanel cuff on her wrist.
“So, yeah, I had been meaning to call you,” Jason started hesitantly as he dug his hands deep down in his pockets. “I wanted to apologize…”
“You don’t owe me an apology,” Sydney immediately countered.
“Yeah, I do. I was fighting up in your parents’ house. I ruined your holiday party. Marcus is a jerk but my parents raised me better than that. I’m really sorry, and, you know…”
Sydney put her hand on his arm to stop him. “Jason, listen. I’m really sorry about what happened with Marcus. I should’ve told you—” She stopped short, took a deep breath, and looked Jason directly in his eyes. “No, actually, I shouldn’t have even gone out with Marcus. I really messed up. I put you in an awful position, and I’m the one who’s really sorry. I just hope that somehow you can find it in your heart to forgive me.” Her heart pounded in her ears as she rushed to finish her words before she completely lost her courage.
Jason looked at Sydney for a long minute and then he reached out to smooth down a flyaway curl. “I really like you a lot, Sydney Duke.”
“I really like you, too, Jason,” Sydney said softly, again casting her gaze downward. “I know I didn’t act like it but…I do. I just made a mistake. I don’t know what else to say.”
“’Cause the thing is, Syd, if you still have feelings for Marcus, I can respect that. You guys were together for a long time. What? Like four years, right? Maybe it wasn’t the right time.”
“Trust, I have no more feelings for Marcus,” Sydney retorted with a snort. “I don’t think it was the wrong time, I just made the wrong decision. As far as I’m concerned the only reason Marcus and I will ever have to talk again is to plan this Sadie Hawkins Benefit Principal Trumbull is forcing us to do together.”
Jason gently raised Sydney’s head so that they were looking at each other eye-to-eye. “Good,” he said. “’Cause I think there’s something really special between the two of us. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve thought really hard about everything and, if you’re game, I’m down to try again.”
“Omigod, yes,” Sydney squealed as she threw her arms around him. “Yes, yes, yes.” Sydney turned her face upward and met his soft lips in a passionate kiss.
After a minute, Jason pulled away and looked at her gravely. “But I need to know that you’re not going to play me out again. ’Cause I won’t be made a fool of again. You feel me?”
“I promise, Jason. I won’t,” Sydney answered breathlessly. She was so happy, her entire body tingled from head to toe. Suddenly her whole outlook on the upcoming benefit seemed a lot brighter.
“Ever?” he questioned as his eyes momentarily narrowed.
“Ever.”
Jason sighed with relief as he put his arm around Sydney’s shoulders. “Now, if I can just get your stepdad to forgive me,” he mused playfully. “Maybe I’ll get an invite to this dance…”
“Please, Altimus is the least of your worries,” she answered sourly as she thought about the dictatorship her mother had established overnight in the Duke household.
Jason looked at her curiously. “Oh, so it’s your mom that I need to be sucking up to, huh?”
Sydney shrugged and looked away as she tried to get her bitter emotions in check. Jason persisted playfully. “Okay, note to self, send Mrs. Duke a dozen yellow roses ASAP.”
“Hey, hey,” Sydney playfully punched him in the arm. “The only Duke that should be receiving roses is me! Do you hear me, Jason Danden?”
Jason laughed and pulled her into his arms. “I hear you, Syd. I hear you loud and clear,” he whispered as he leaned in for another long kiss.
“Welcome home, Ms. Sydney, your snack will be ready shortly,” Edwina said, greeting Sydney as she walked through the garage entryway.
“Thanks, Edwina,” Sydney responded with a smile as she pulled off her boots at the door. She skipped happily over to the table and sat down to wait for the elderly maid to prepare her daily plate of fresh fruit and glass of pomegranate juice. Still feeling extra bubbly inside, Sydney pulled out her cell phone and scrolled down to the text message that Jason had sent her moments ago: I feel like the luckiest guy at Brookhaven. XOXO J.
Sydney smiled and sighed, “My boyfriend is so cute.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t understand what you said, Ms. Sydney,” Edwina apologized as she placed the snack down in front of Sydney.
“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Sydney replied as she placed the iPhone down beside the plate and picked up her fork. “Everything looks great, thanks so much.”
Edwina smiled slightly. “Enjoy,” she said before heading back over to the refrigerator, where she began pulling out food to prepare for the evening’s dinner.
Feeling hungry for the first time in weeks, Sydney dove right into her food. “Yummy,” she mumbled mid-bite when her cell phone vibrated against the table. Looking down, she saw Aunt Lorraine’s house number pop up, and her mood immediately dissipated. Her stomach knotted up as she fought to swallow before answering the phone. “Hello?” she answered hesitantly.
“Hope I’m not catching you at a bad time, princess,” Aunt Lorraine sneered on the other end of the line.
“What’s up, Aunt Lorraine?” Sydney asked, struggling to ignore the obvious bait.
“Um, I spoke with your father last night. He said that he sent you a letter, but for some reason it got returned. I guess the postman couldn’t read his handwriting and took it to another house on the block. I don’t know.”
“I see,” Sydney said simply. Now that her aunt was working for her parents, she refused to show any emotion.
“So he asked me to tell you that he re-sent it and it should be here within the week,” Aunt Lorraine continued as if she didn’t notice Sydney’s curt tone. “I guess I’ll send you a text when it gets here so that you can come over and get it.”
“That’s fine,” Sydney responded as she listened to her aunt take a long drag on a cigarette. Like nails on a chalkboard, the sound made her skin crawl.
“Okay, then, I’ll let you go—”
“Quick question,” Sydney interjected before Lorraine could disconnect the call.
“Yeah, what’s up?” Lorraine asked suspiciously. Sydney could clearly imagine the look of distrust on her aunt’s face at that moment.
“I was just wondering…Did you ever manage to tell Dice that you’re back in business with Altimus?” Sydney asked sweetly.
“You’re the genius, Sydney—you tell me,” Aunt Lorraine snapped sourly before slamming the phone down right in Sydney’s ear.