Page 7 of Dirty Liars
Several connections later, the bus leaves me at the end of a long, winding road in upstate New York first thing the next morning. I don’t watch it go. My eyes are trained elsewhere.
Hawthorne Academy looms like a modern-day castle at the top of the hill. The giant gates guarding it from the road are all that stand between me and my future.
My heart is racing. My mind is racing faster than my heart. So many things can still go wrong, but I’ve already made it this far. With a deep breath, I walk through the gates and down the winding lane to the school. This is where it all begins.
I am no longer Theodora ‘Teddy’ Price.
No. From now on I am Sadie White. Rich girl. Bleach blonde girl. Popular girl. Excellent student on her way to college. On her way to a road of success for the rest of her life.
That’s me, I repeat over and over in my head as I hesitate for a moment outside of the main building’s doors, and then push them open and walk in to begin my new life.
The front hall stretches out before me in a long corridor that branches off into another hallway on the left, but stops short of a glassed-in office on the right. Tiny squares of light dance over the floor and walls, courtesy of the huge crystal chandelier above me. The inside of the school looks every bit as much like a fairy-tale castle as the outside does, though with modern day amenities.
Even though I passed by a fair share of students on the walk up, the front office is mostly empty aside from a group of tiny teary-eyed kindergartners getting paired off in the corner. That anxiety rises up in me again. Most students spend their whole school career here. Even if Iwasactually Sadie, I’d still be an outsider … the new girl, the inexperienced girl.
I let out a long, slow breath and promise myself that I am going to make this work. IamSadie White … at least as far as anyone else is concerned. A heavyset older woman with salt and pepper hair twisted up on her head catches my eye from behind the desk, and there’s no more avoiding it.
“Hi!” I say, my voice cracking and too loud. I stop and compose myself before trying again. “Sorry. I’m new … and I’m a little lost. Is this where I’m supposed to check in?”
Her eyes soften slightly from behind a pair of black rimmed glasses perched on the end of her nose.
“What’s the name?” she asks after introducing herself as Evelyn Mason, the school secretary. She waits patiently for my reply, readying her fingers above the computer keyboard. She looks like she’s wearing a garden, her dress is so flowery. I must have been staring for longer than I thought, because she clears her throat. “I’m going to need that name to help you.”
I try to speak, but nothing comes out at first. My heart is pounding so hard that I’m sure she can hear it. I take a deep breath and give it another try.
“Ted—Sadie. I’m Sadie White,” I finally stammer, pushing Sadie’s driver’s license across the desk for her to take a look. She takes one glance at it, up at me, and then goes back to typing … no questions asked.
It’s easier than I ever imagined.
Her fingers type faster than I’ve ever heard anyone type before. After a few seconds, she takes a quick scan of the ID and then returns it to me by pushing it back across the counter top.
“You’re all set. We haven’t heard from you in a few weeks, so we’d started to think you might not be coming.”
My heart leaps up into my throat. It hadn’t occurred to me that Sadie’s parents might have warned the school ahead of time. Prepaid, non-refundable tuition or not … I realize right now how lucky I really am.
“Nope. I’m here. Just me, Sadie, ready to get started.”
I cringe inwardly. I’m usually a better liar than this.
Ms. Mason stands up and pulls out a map of the school and has just started to point out the various buildings when her eyesight shifts to take in the baggy black dress that I’m wearing.
“Most students arrive already in uniform,” she says, unable to completely hide a certain amount of disapproval in her voice. “You should have gotten yours already.”
Damn.I didn’t count on this.
I lean forward and pretend to look at the screen she’s pulled up. This is my first real test. The part of me that’s Teddy wants to run out before they can catch me, but I have to remind myself that I’m not that girl anymore. I’m not Teddy. I’m Sadie White. And Sadie White doesn’t run away. She gets what she wants.
“I thought we called ahead about that?” I say, then slap my forehead. “But of course ... you said you haven’t heard from us. My mother—she can be quite the ditz—she was supposed to tell you I never got them.”
Ms. Mason looks back down at the screen, then up at me, and nods as if she saw a note confirming what I said. Relief washes over me. Most people will just agree with you to shut you up … glad to see the people here are no different. Money only changes so much.
She tells me she should have a couple extra uniforms in my size in the back, and makes a few more notes in my file.
“Perfect. I’ll go grab those for you now.”
I’m suddenly very aware of the way my last six bucks feels in the bottom of my shoe.
“So,” I start, “how much is that going to set me back?”
