Saturday has come and gone. Jade and Daria are "hitting the stores" which they have been doing since this morning. They invited me, but despite my impressive wardrobe, I hate shopping. I tend to lean towards online shopping and just return what I don't like. Store employees and fake friendliness are not my thing - so I decide to take some much-needed time to myself and catch up with Lenore, my best friend from my old school.
"Hey Sherlock," she says, answering after the first ring, "how's the investigation?" Lenore is the Editor in Chief of our school's paper, a member of my department, and a contributor to my blog. She enjoys a good investigation as much as I do, so she was supportive when I decided to come out and look into my sister's attack. She's the closest thing I have to a partner in crime on this adventure, so I value her input immensely.
"It's slow, so far. This place is like an alternate reality."
"I thought you were used to all this stuff. You said you didn't think it would be difficult to assimilate into their world."
"I know," I breathe out heavily with a certain resignation I can't keep from my voice, "and I can. But this place is on another level. It's like Hollywood on steroids. Or like living in a reality show or something. It's absurd."
I grip the phone between my ear and shoulder while I lean down, putting another coat of deep fuschia polish on my toenails. Not my color, but definitely Ellie's.
"Getting cold feet already, Gen? You've only been there two days. What does your mom think about it?"
I scoff. I may have failed to mention to my mother my real purpose for attending Windsor. She thinks I just want to be closer to home while Renee is in the hospital. "My mom thinks I should let the police handle it. It's like she can't be bothered to pause her bullshit life for five seconds to figure out what happened to her daughter. There's something off about this place. I can feel it. You know what I mean?"
"Ah, the tingles of a good story. I know exactly what you mean. It's what keeps me going most days. Gals like you and me live for the chase," she swoons, talking about the story as though it were a delicious man. That's how it's been for us these last couple of years. No time for anything but the stories.
Putting the lid back on my polish, I set it on the side table and lounge back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. "I'm a bit worried about staying objective here, though. I mean, it's my sister. You know I'd do anything for her."
"I know…" Lenore lets the acknowledgment hang in the air a moment. "This isn't going to be too much, right? I know you went through a lot last year with the stress and your eating disorder. I hate to bring it up, but I worry about you."
Lenore is one of the very few people, aside from my sister and my mom, that knew I had struggled to overcome an eating disorder. I had to skip the spring semester last year to enter a program and work towards recovery.
My weight was something I struggled with all throughout high school. Your dress size is a huge focus where we grew up. I've always been thin and lean. I work out and go running, but when I entered college it quickly became something altogether different. An obsession. I'm ok now, although I sometimes have to stop myself from over-exercising or going all math major on my calorie counting.
"Yeah, Len, I'm ok," eager to move the conversation forward, "so, I met Lex Wells. The tales of his panty-melting smile are not exaggerated."
"Oh, girl. I forgot to tell you! I was able to dig up a couple of pictures of him from some old print-only tabloids, and you're not joking. He is something else. Have you found out anything about the secret society yet? Do we know if that's an urban legend or not?"
"Yeah, I haven't brought that up with anyone yet. I didn't want to raise suspicion," I stop, giving a quick tsk, "but I haven't heard any whispers, and I have met most of the people that seem to dominate the social scene here. I'll keep pushing."
As soon as I finish that last sentence, the door bursts open, and Daria and Jade flounce in holding no less than six bags each sporting glowing smiles. I would not look that happy if I had been shopping for several hours. I must be missing that gene. "Oh, well my roommate just got home mom, so I'll call ya later."
Lenore picks up my meaning quickly, offering a laugh so unadulterated it makes me miss her even more. "Ok Gen. I miss you girl, don't forget who you are and what you stand for. Talk later."
I offer her farewells before hanging up my phone and dropping it on the bed. "You ladies have a good time?" I ask with a jovial lilt to my voice.
"Yes, we did!" Jade smiles, plopping her bags on her desk. "And I got you some stuff since we're the same size. I guessed on the bra, but I'm usually pretty good at measurements," she says, handing me a bag from Agent Provocateur. Lingerie. Did she buy me Lingerie? "Fashion major, ya know."
I offer a soft smile and struggle to keep the shock from my expression, "Oh, thanks!" I open the bag to find a blush bra and panty set along with a similar style in teal. I'm more of a black lace girl, but I think these would be exactly what Ellie would wear. "These are so pretty!" I gush with all the faux excitement I could muster.
"I know, right? I got the same ones, just in different colors. They had a sale and I thought it would be like a dorm warming gift."
I don't know who she's been shopping for all her life but this isn't like any housewarming gift I've ever received. Plants, wine, decor, a clock - all great options. But, I remind myself that this is a completely normal gift in this world and give her a smile that is one hundred percent authentic. "Thanks, Jade. That was really sweet of you."
We're interrupted by my phone alerting loudly and I turn away from the girls, flopping onto my bed and picking it back up, listening to Jade and Daria chatter in the background.
Hey. What's your room number? I'm coming to pick you up.
I recognize immediately that the text is from Lex. Well, that's a boatload of audacity for someone I talked to for five minutes. I start typing out a response.
I'm sorry, you must be confused. I'm fairly certain we don't have any plans.
After sending it, I remembered that I'm supposed to be a meek little girly girl and mentally scold myself. At least I didn't tell him to fuck himself, which was my first - and likely appropriate - reaction. I get an immediate response.
Never mind, I'll just have my friend look it up. He works in housing. Be ready in fifteen.
Fuck. I cannot let Jade see him come up here, she'll shit a brick.
How about I just meet you out front. That way you don't have to come all the way up here.
I watch the three dots dance across the screen far longer than necessary to only receive back one word.
Fine.
I roll my eyes. Who the fuck does he think he is? I jump up from bed and throw on a pair of sandals in case my toenails are still wet. I offer a quick apology to the girls and an excuse to my roomie before darting down the stairs just in time to see a red mustang with a black racing stripe roll into the parking lot with the top down. I hesitate for longer than I should before climbing in the passenger seat.
"So, what are we doing?" I say quickly, trying to keep the nerves out of my voice.
Lex offers me a grin that looks part sinister, part playful. He's hard to read behind a set of Ray-Ban Aviators but he murmurs, "You'll see. Buckle up," before speeding out of the parking lot.