9781250209153

Tally looks stricken. She tries to say something in the girl’s ear.
“Back off!” the girl says, lunging away from her. “God, that smell!”
The whole party is watching now. A bunch of people are laughing; one
girl has her phone out to record the humiliation. Some guy yells, “Come on,
Gibson, brush your teeth for once!”
Tally freezes, mortified, before turning on her heel and fleeing the room.
I watch with my mouth hanging open, dazzled by the brilliance of Irene’s
scheme.
“Shit,” Kevin says, his eyes wide. “That was the best thing I’ve seen in
years.”
“You gotta hand it to Irene,” Danielle says, shaking her head. “She knew
exactly how to push Tally.”
We stay just long enough for the party to reach its peak. Tally never returns,
leaving the Candlehawk girl behind. Danielle and Kevin melt into
conversation with a bunch of other smart kids who won’t stop talking about
college applications. Gunther, to my surprise, manages to capture Honey-
Belle’s attention. They sit at the kitchen table, whispering and laughing at
each other, so oblivious to everything around them that Gunther doesn’t
flinch when someone spills beer on his shoulder. If Honey-Belle can smell
the garlic on Gunther’s breath, she doesn’t seem to mind.
“Pretty diabolical plan,” I tell Irene when I find her in the hallway.
She shrugs. “I can be evil when I want to be.”
“And here I thought you had no control over it.”
“Ha ha.”
“So we’ve slain one beast tonight. Where’s the other?”
Irene scans the vicinity, searching for Charlotte. “I don’t know. I keep
waiting for her to strike.”
“Maybe she doesn’t care that you’re here. She’s too busy hosting.”
“Believe me, she cares. She’s probably plotting with her soccer
henchmen.”
“Henchwomen.”
“Henchpeople.”