(Where am I going?)
(You're gonna catch her coming out of marketing education. She's alone in there right now. The teacher asked to see her after class, then unexpectedly had to run to the bathroom.)
Gillian felt distantly amused. She sensed Angel's hand in these arrangements.
And when she poked her head inside the marketing ed room, she saw that Tanya was indeed alone. The tall girl was standing by a cloudy green blackboard.
"Tanya, we need to talk."
Tanya's shoulders stiffened. Then she ran a hand across her already perfect dark hair and turned. She looked more like a future executive than ever, with her face set in cool lines and her exotic gray eyes running over Gillian in appraisal. Without Angel, Gillian would have dried up and withered away under that scrutiny.
Tanya said one word. "Talk."
What followed was more like a play than a conversation for Gillian. She repeated what Angel whispered to her, but she never had any idea what was coming. The only way to survive was to give herself up completely to his direction.
"Look, I know you're upset with me, Tanya. But I'd like to deal with this with a little maturity, okay?"
She followed Angel's instructions over to a desk and brushed absent fingers over its imitation-wood top.
"I don't think there's any need for us to act like children."
"And I don't think I know what you're talking about."
"Oh, really?" Gillian turned and looked Tanya in the face. "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about." (Angel, I feel just like one of those people in a soap opera-)
"Well, you're wrong. And, as a matter of fact, I happen to be busy-"
"I'm talking about the rumors, Tanya. I'm talking about the stories about my mom. And I'm talking about David."
Tanya stood perfectly still. For a moment she seemed surprised that Gillian was taking such a direct approach. Then her gray eyes hardened with the clear light of battle.
"All right, let's talk about David," she said in a pleasant voice, moving tigerishly toward Gillian, "I don't know about any rumors, but I'd like to hear what you and David were doing this morning. Care to tell me?"
(Angel, she's actually enjoying this. Look at her! And she's bigger than me.) (Trust me, kid.)
"We weren't doing anything," Gillian said. She had to tip her chin up to look Tanya in the face. Then she looked aside and shook her head. "All right. I'll be honest about that. I like David, Tanya. I have ever since he moved in. He's good and he's noble and he's honest and he's sweet. But that doesn't mean I want to take him away from you. In fact, it's just the opposite."
She turned and walked away, looking into the distance. "I think David deserves the best. And I know he really cares about you. And that's what happened this morning-he told me you guys had made a promise to each other. So you see, you've got no reason to be suspicious."
Tanya's eyes were glittering. "Don't try to pull that. All this ..." She waved a hand to indicate Gillian's dress and hair. "In one day you turn from Little Miss Invisible to this. And you start prancing around the school like you own it. You can't pretend you're not trying to get him."
"Tanya, the way I dress has nothing at all to do with David." Gillian told the lie calmly, facing the chalk-misted blackboard again. "It's just-something I needed to do. I was-tired of being invisible." She turned her head slightly, not enough to see Tanya. "But that's beside the point. The real issue here is what's best for David. And I think you're best for him-as long as you treat him fairly."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Tanya was losing her legendary cool. She sounded venomous, almost shrill.
"It means no more fooling around with Bruce Faber." (Oh, my God, Angel! Bruce Faber? Bruce the Athlete? She's been fooling around with Bruce Faber?)
Tanya's voice cracked like a whip. "What are you talking about? What do you know?"
"I'm talking about those nights at the pool parties last summer in Macon's cabana. While David was up north at his grandma's. I'm talking about what happened in Bruce's car after the Halloween dance." (In a cabana?)
There was a silence. When Tanya spoke again, her voice was a sort of icy explosion. "How did you find out?"
Gillian shrugged. "People who're good at spreading rumors can be a two-edged sword."
"I thought so. That brat Kim! Her and her mouth..." Then Tanya's voice changed. It became a voice with claws and Gillian could tell she was moving closer. "I suppose you're planning to tell David about this?"
"Huh?" For a moment Gillian was too confused to follow Angel's directions. Then she got hold of herself.
"Oh, of course I'm not going to tell David. That's why I'm telling you. I just want you to promise that you're not going to do anything like that anymore. And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop telling people things about my mom-"
"I'll do worse than that!" Suddenly Tanya was standing right behind Gillian. Her voice was a yelling hiss.
"You have no idea what I'll do if you try to mess with me, you snotty little midget. You are going to be so sorry-"
"No, I think you've done plenty already."
The voice came from the door. Gillian heard it, and in that instant she understood everything.
Chapter 9
It was David, of course.
Gillian turned around and stared at him, blinking. He was standing just inside the doorway, his jacket slung over one shoulder, the other hand in his pocket. His jaw was tight, his eyes dark. He was looking at Tanya.
There was a silence.
(How long? How long has he been there, Angel?)