Page 9 of Dirty Liars
“Nice to meet you.”
She looks at it funny, and just for a moment I think she’s not going to take it. She looks at me once more, then slowly, hesitantly, shakes my hand.
“Likewise, Sadie.”
And just like that, my new life begins.
CHAPTER4
Dana’sfirst concern is that I don’t seem to have any earthly possessions. She looks around the floor for any bags, but I shrug and hold up the small bag from the drugstore where I bought bleach. I picked up a few other essentials there to help me transform into Sadie, but the bag isn’t even half full.
“I didn’t bring much. I guess I’m kind of a minimalist.” I can’t think of what else I could say that might justify me standing here in this ridiculous oversized sack of a dress without anything else.
“Sure. We’ll see how long that lasts,” she says. As soon as she says it she looks mortified by her snappy reply and quickly snaps her mouth shut, eyes wide. “Sorry. I’m just used to the kind of girls that go here. They’re usually a lot more …” she looks me over again, “Concerned with looks.”
Right.At least try to fit in, Teddy.
“Oh—right. I’m having some more stuff shipped up this week, it just got lost in the mail.” This response seems to satisfy her curiosity. The look of concern smooths away from the spot between her eyebrows. Now I just have to pretend it gets lost for the rest of the year … or possibly two.
More likely, though, I just made myself one more problem.
I follow her out and down the hall.
“What’s your schedule?” she asks, looking over at me curiously.
I hand her the schedule that Ms. Mason gave me, and she skims over it. “Oh good. We have some classes together. You have good teachers for the most part, too. This semester won’t kill you.”
I’m relieved to hear it.
“Thanks for the inside scoop.” I’m curious about her as we head down the massive hall, through the foyer, and up the stairs to the third level of the enormous old building. For someone who claims that all the girls here are shallow, she seems pretty, well, normal. “How long have you been going to school here?”
Dana sighs a little. “Just two years. I’m a little younger than everyone else in our grade, so you can imagine how it was formewhen I got here. These types … they aren’t exactly the most welcoming to newcomers.”
I smile a little to myself. If they only knew.
I can tell right away that Dana is exactly the kind of girl I would normally be friends with, at least back in my old life. She’s an outsider, and from the looks of it, she’s okay with that.
I used to be too, but I don’t want to be an outsider this time. I’ve seen where that leads you. People don’t like it too much when someone is different. They tend to shun them. I know that firsthand.
I’ve been an outsider all of my life, but now I finally have a chance to change that. Dana’s nice, and I like her already, but I’m definitely going to be aiming for the popular kids to hang out with.
Just thinking that makes me hate myself a little bit.
The room we share is the very last one at the end of the third-floor hall. It’s surprisingly spacious and has a great view of the grounds and lake beyond.
Dana is going on about how small the rooms are, but I can’t keep up. This might not be much to her … but it’s more than I’ve ever had.
The room has two beds, two desks with chairs, two bedside tables with lamps, and two closets. There are shelves on her side of the room, and the shelves are filled with books. I set my new school uniform on the unused bed and turn around to look at them closer.
People’s possessions can tell you a lot about them. It’s one of the ways I’ve learned to get to know people fast; by paying attention to what they surround themselves with. You have to learn how to adapt fast with my lifestyle.
My old lifestyle,I remind myself.
“What are you reading?” I ask, scanning the book titles. “Jane Austen, Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain … Harry Potter?”
“I read good things.” She smiles back at me. “I’ll step out. Get changed and we’ll head to the library for your textbooks, and then get to class. You don’t want to be late on your first day.”
“Thanks,” I tell her, and breathe out a long sigh when she leaves.
