AllFreeNovel
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“What?” I look down at my clothes, protectively pulling the sweater around myself.
“And that pale blue. Ugh, no. No. Take me to your room, I’ll find you something else to wear. And throw away everything you own in both of those colors. They wash you out and make you look sickly. Are you a long-suffering heroine in a Brontë novel? Because it certainly looks like you are.”
She has only been here for thirty seconds and already Hannah and I are both frowning as we head upstairs.
This wasdefinitelya bad idea.
I show Anae to my bedroom against my better judgment. Hannah tenses up as soon as we step foot inside and her gaze darts to the jewelry box on my dresser.
That’s where the necklace is stashed. I didn’t even think about it when I was up here, or I would have moved it before they got here.
Hannah and I exchange glances, then I haul only Anae into my walk-in closet to help me find a new outfit. I hang back by the door while she goes through all my things. When she finds a gray jersey dress and says, “I guess this will work,” I stall a bit by asking if I should change shoes, too.
When we emerge from my closet, Hannah is sitting on the edge of my bed and the jewelry box is gone.
Phew.
“You need a bracelet or something cute. Maybe an anklet. Where’s your jewelry?”
“I haven’t unpacked it yet,” I lie. “We just moved in, so…”
Anae rolls her eyes and shoves the dress at me. “Go change. Hannah, do something with her hair while you’re in there.” Sighing, she drops onto the couch and puts her purse on her lap. When we still haven’t done as she ordered, her eyes widen and she uses her hand to shoo us along. “Come on. We don’t have all day.”
Hannah and I go in my bathroom and shut the door. I shoot her wide eyes, and she leans in to whisper, “I moved the jewelry box to your bottom desk drawer, but we better hurry in case she snoops.”
I sigh. “This is not how I want to spend any of my days.”
Hannah nods her agreement, keeping her voice whisper soft. “Let’s just get this over with.”
I’m uneasy leaving Anae in my bedroom unattended, so I change dresses as quickly as possible and Hannah makes quick work of pulling half my hair back and securing it with a cute clip. I shoo Hannah back to the bedroom so we can get back as quickly as possible and step into the low white heeled sandals she found for me. They’re not nearly as cute or as fancy as Hannah’s, but other than maybe a wedding, there is no reason I wouldeverwear the shoes on Hannah’s feet.
When we emerge, much to my relief, Anae is still sitting on the couch. Her gaze rakes over me and she nods, though she only looks barely satisfied. “That will do.” Standing, she slides her purse on her shoulder and leads us out of my bedroom. “What’s the aesthetic of this club?”
“What?”
“Is there a color scheme? What does the logo look like?”
“A color scheme?”
What is she talking about?
“We need to brand it. Make it cool. Exclusive. Something people actuallywantto join. Does the club have a social media presence?”
“No?”
“That’s lame. We’re going to set one up. I’m thinking a cool black and white aesthetic, kind of a callback to photojournalism, but with classy pops of color. If there’s not a logo, we’ll have one made. Something stylish and wistful blended with a more solid, grounded font. I’m thinking that will be the vibe of the club. Doing good while looking good. Casual elegance.”
She says all of this as if she’s pitching people who will actually respond to it.
Immediately, she realizes, “My ideas are wasted on you, aren’t they? It doesn’t matter. Just leave the branding and social media presence to me. Those can be my areas of expertise. You guys can handle all the real do-gooder stuff. I’ll participate, of course. Mostly to cover the events and make sure we have a lot of candid-looking evidence of all our hard work. When colleges look into this club, I want it to have apresence. It will help you, too, honestly.”
Her idea isn’t terrible, I just hate everything about it. “This club isn’t about looking good, Anae. It’s about doing good.”
“Right, but why not do both? There are no downsides to this. It can only be helpful and more attractive to colleges. You guys may not have to work extra hard to get into the good places next year, but I do. So, yay for you. You get to benefit from my efforts. You’re welcome.” She misses a beat, then she says, “Why don’t we set up out by the pool? I want to get some sun and get a feel for potential photo ops. You girls grab some drinks and meet me out there.”
I sigh, standing at the foot of the stairs and watching Anae dismiss us like her hired help as she makes her way out to my pool like she’s on vacation.
“I do not enjoy her,” I tell Hannah as the sliding door closes behind Anae.
