Cassie looked at the window seat curiously. She didn't see any spot remover. Only a packet of potpourri and what looked like part of somebody's rock collection.
The room itself was lovely. It managed to combine pretty, antique-looking furniture with modern things, as if the past and the present existed side by side in harmony here.
The hangings on the bed were pale blue with a delicate trailing-vine design, light and airy. On the walls, instead of movie posters or pinups, there were some kind of art prints. The whole place looked-classy. Elegant and artistic, but comfortable, too.
“Do you like those? The prints?”
Cassie turned to find that Diana had noiselessly entered the room again. She nodded, wishing she could think of something intelligent to say to this girl who seemed so far above her. “Who's in them?” she asked, hoping that wasn't something she ought to know already.
“They're Greek gods. Or Greek goddesses, actually. This one's Aphrodite, the goddess of love. See the cherubs and doves around her?”
Cassie gazed at the woman in the picture, who was reclining on a sort of couch, looking beautiful and indolent. Something about the pose-or maybe it was the exposed bosom-reminded her of Suzan.
“And this is Artemis.” Diana moved to another print. “She was goddess of the hunt. She never married, and if any man saw her bathing, she had him ripped to pieces by her dogs.”
The girl in this picture was slim and lithe, with toned-looking arms and legs. She was kneeling, aiming a
bow. Her dark hair fell in tumbled waves down her back, and her face was intense, challenging. Deborah sometimes looked like that, Cassie thought. Then she glanced at the next print and started.
“Who's that?”
“That's Hera, queen of the gods. She could be-jealous.”
Cassie bet she could. The young woman was tall and proud, with an imperious set to her chin. But it was her eyes that held Cassie. They seemed almost to blaze from the print, full of passion and will and danger. Like a crouching jungle cat…
Shuddering uncontrollably, Cassie turned away.
“Are you all right?” Diana asked. Cassie nodded, gulping. Now that she was safe, it was all coming back. Not only the events of the last day, but of the entire last week. All the hurt, all the humiliation. The hanged doll in her locker, the scene in the cafeteria. The rubber snake. The game of keep away with her backpack…
“Cassie?” A hand touched her shoulder.
It was too much. Cassie turned around and flung herself into Diana's arms, bursting into tears.
“It's okay. It'll all be okay, really. Don't worry…” Diana held her and patted her back. All the tears Cassie hadn't been able to release in front of her mother or grandmother were flooding out now. She clung to Diana and sobbed like a little child.
And it was just like the images she'd had in the library. As if she were seven years old and her mother was comforting her. Somehow, Diana made Cassie feel that everything was going to be all right.
Eventually, she slowed to hiccups and sniffles. Finally she lifted her head.
“Tell you what,” Diana said, handing a Kleenex to Cassie. “Why don't you stay here for dinner? My dad won't be back until late tonight-he's a lawyer. I can call a couple of friends and we can order a pizza. How does that sound?”
“Oh-great,” Cassie said, biting her lip. “Really great.”
“You can put on these clothes until yours dry
-they'll be a little big, but not too bad. Come downstairs when you're ready.” Diana paused, her emerald-green eyes on Cassie's face. “Is something wrong?”
“No… not really, but…” Cassie floundered, then shook her head angrily. “It's only… it's just… why are you being so nice to me?” she burst out. It all still seemed like a dream.
Diana stared at her a minute, then she smiled with her eyes, although her lips remained grave. “I don't know… I guess I think you're nice and you deserve it. I can work on trying to be rotten if you want.”
Cassie shook her head again, but not angrily this time. She felt her own lips twitch.
“And…” Diana was looking off into space now, her clear green eyes distant. “We're all sisters, you know.”
Cassie caught her breath. “Are we?” she whispered.
“Yes,” Diana said firmly, still looking far away. “Yes, we are. In spite of everything.” Then her face changed, and she looked at Cassie. “You can call your mom from this line,” she said, indicating a phone. “I'll go down and order the pizza.” And just like that, she was gone.
Nine
The girls who came over were named Laurel and Melanie. Laurel was the girl Cassie had seen in the library with Diana. Up close she was very slim, with light-brown hair almost as long as Diana's and a pretty, pixieish face. She was wearing a floral dress and pink hightops.
“It's veggie pizza, isn't it?” she said, kicking the door shut behind her because she was carrying a stack of Tupperware containers in her arms. “You didn't order any patriarchal pepperoni, did you?”
“No meat,” Diana assured her, opening the door again to reveal another girl standing there patiently.
“Oops-sorry!” Laurel shouted on her way to the kitchen. “I've got stuff here for a salad.”
Diana and the new girl turned as one to shout, “No tofu!”
“It's just veggies and greens,” Laurel's voice floated back. Diana and the new girl exchanged looks of relief.
Cassie was fighting shyness. The new girl was definitely a senior, tall and beautiful in a sophisticated way. Her smooth cap of chestnut hair was pulled back with an Alice band, and under it her gray eyes were cool and assessing. She was the only person Cassie had ever seen who looked as if she were wearing glasses when she wasn't.