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There’s no one else in here except me and the girl behind the counter. She hasn’t even bothered to look up from the book she’s reading since I walked in, and I’m okay with that. I’m not the greatest with people who live normal lives since I have trouble relating to them. Princess Kensington is great with the people she hangs out with because they are all superficial and self-involved and happy to talk about themselves, but that’s okay because I want to appear standoffish. I’m not here to make friends, and making them could make my job more difficult.
I reach a rack of jeans and flick through them, pulling out a couple of pairs in my size. Hanging them over my arm, I move onto a rack of skirts. I decided before I came that I was going to style myself slightly gothic, so when I find a bunch of short tartan skirts with pins, I grab all three of them, as well as a couple of pairs of cutoff denim shorts. The shirt rack is a goldmine of band shirts and fitted tops, and I choose a selection that I like the look of. After picking a few long-sleeved shirts to wear under them, I think I’m good to go.
As I approach the counter, I notice a table with new packs of underwear, socks, and stockings, so I grab a couple packs of panties and a few knee-highs and fishnets to add to my pile. Finally, I dump my haul on the counter and smile at the girl who’s finally looked up from her book. Her eyes widen when they catch sight of my black eye and bruised cheek.
“Fuck, someone really worked you over.” She puts her book down and starts ringing up my purchases. She looks over my shoulder, and I turn to see what she’s looking at. My heartbeat rises minutely at the thought that someone may be behind me, but when I see where she’s looking, it slows again. Martha has hopped out of the car and is leaning against the front, chatting on the phone. She waves at the two of us when she notices us looking.
“You must be the new girl. Martha said we were getting a new one today. Are you going to be attending school?”
“Ah, yeah. Senior,” I reply, and she smirks.
“Well, you’re going to stir things up with your style, that’s for sure. The school isn’t very tolerant of things that are… different, and from the looks of this, you’re definitely different.”
There’s no nastiness or judgment, just her imparting knowledge to me. “Are you a senior?” I ask, and she shakes her head.
“No, I’m a junior. Only one of the other girls in the home is a senior, and you’re going to want to avoid her. She has issues.”
“I don’t suppose you want to give me all the ins and outs on living at Serenity House, do you? It seems kind of…” I trail off, and she fills in the gap.
“Strict? Yeah, the Standishes are no joke. James works a lot, so it’s mostly Martha, and she likes to run a tight ship.” She says it mockingly, like she’s heard it a hundred times. “But I guess you kind of have to with all of us. We’re not exactly model citizens. Most of us have issues, either from our original homes or the foster ones we’ve been placed in. Cutters, depression, anger management, we’ve got them all.”
My eyes drift to her arms, which are covered with long sleeves, wondering if she’s the cutter, before returning to my purchases.
She finishes ringing up my clothes and starts shoving them into a couple of bags. “I don’t have any homework tonight, so I’ll offer to help you settle in after dinner. It will score me some brownie points with Martha, and I’ll give you the rundown, but if Jessica sees us, I’m going to pretend like I hate you. I am not getting on her radar. The rest of us girls have learned to stay out of her way. Unfortunately for you, you’re going to have to share a room with her.”
Damn it, I was hoping I would have a room to myself. I’m going to have to find a hiding spot for my gun and things, because I don’t doubt Jessica will want to snoop. “I’m sure she’ll be okay. I tend to stick to myself.”
The girl shakes her head. “Nope, you’re new meat, and you’re gorgeous, even I can see that through the bruises. You’re instant competition for her. You see, Jessica is in the popular group at school. It’s a surprise she was able to infiltrate it, but Queen Bitch took her under her wing on her first day, and it was all downhill from there. There are three of them that you’re going to want to avoid, but I can tell you the rest later. It looks like Martha is getting impatient.”
I turn back, and sure enough, she’s off the phone and looking at her watch. I can see her huff.
“That will be fifty-two seventy,” Cassie says, pushing the bags toward me.
I scramble around in the front pocket of my backpack where I shoved the cash Dad had given me. It’s all crumpled and wrinkled like you’d expect from tip money, and it blends in with my cover story. Nothing says imposter quicker than pulling out a black credit card.
I count out the cents, and she takes it all, not even blinking at all the small change. “Well, I guess I’ll see you at Serenity House then.” She snorts. “Six on the dot. I’m starving, and there’s no way I’m missing dinner and having to go to bed without.”
I wave goodbye and walk out thinking about what she said. Is being late and not being allowed dinner one of those consequences Martha mentioned? I need to study the board in the kitchen with everyone’s schedules. I have to snoop, and that’s not going to be easy. If I’m only allowed out for after-school activities or a job, then I think I’m going to have to hit up Team Basilisk already. I heard them mention one of them has a job managing something in town. He’s going to have to be my cover, because I’m not going to find out much if I’m confined to school and the house.
Martha beams at me and my bags, though I’m pretty sure she’s going to change her attitude when she sees my purchases. “All done?” she asks like she wasn’t just looking at her watch.
“Yeah, but I was wondering if there is a drugstore we can stop at on the way as well.”
Her smile drops. “What do you need from a drugstore? I won’t stand for sexually active people in my house, so I don’t condone birth control.” Whoa, talk about leaping to a conclusion. I have an IUD, but she doesn’t need to know that. I won’t risk a random pregnancy, not when I use sex like I do. The risk of STDs is my biggest problem, and thankfully I’m all clean after that last fucked up job. I hate it when the marks refuse to use condoms, but a good course of broad-spectrum antibiotics covers most STIs
“I just need some tampons and things,” I assure her, shrinking away from the angry woman. The anger clears and is replaced with that serene smile once more. Hmm, this woman’s mood swings are off the charts.
“Of course, dear. There’s one just down the street a little bit.” We climb in, and the silence is awkward between us. “Make it quick. I need to get dinner started so it’s on the table by six.”
Once again, she parks in front of the building, and I hurry in. I don’t dawdle, I just grab the things I need. I wasn’t lying about tampons, but I also wanted to grab some makeup. I couldn’t very well turn up with a case of it. Luckily, they have the brand I normally use, so I just grab my favorite items and quickly pay for those as well before rushing out to the car.
“That was quick. It’s great that you can follow instructions,” Martha praises as she starts back down the street. Maybe she thinks foster kids need all the praise they can get.
The car silently glides through town, leaving the shopping precinct and heading into suburbia. Pretty little houses with neat, tidy gardens line either side of the road. We drive a little farther, and that gives way to a more affluent area. Large mansions on even larger blocks are spread in a way that assures privacy for the wealthy people. We pass one particularly spectacular place, and she points it out.
“That’s Governor Turner’s house. He’s a local man and maintains a place here. His sons have recently moved back to town. The youngest one was going to an exclusive boarding school out of state, and the oldest just finished college and is home while he decides what he wants to do.” She imparts that gossipy bit of knowledge reverently, and I can hear the hint of envy in her tone.
We soon pass it, and once more, the scenery changes. The mansions give way to open space, and then we enter an area that is most definitely the poorer section of town. We pass old, run-down, decrepit buildings with tireless cars dumped in front and houses with leaning porches and broken shutters until we finally turn down a dirt road. Fuck, Serenity House is located in the middle of nowhere. Without a car, I’m going to be stuck walking everywhere.
