Chapter 1
"You rang?" asks a tall Abercrombie wannabe. He's actually wearing orange—an orange henley that looks stitched to fit his chest muscles exactly but still orange. He even has frosted tips.
"Excuse me?" I know where this is going, well not exactly what he means right now but the general gist of it. He's the big man on campus; every school has one. I had dressed appropriately to attract him: mini skirt, tight t-shirt, knee-high socks, red lip gloss. I was hoping to make a beeline for the number one jock at Neptune High. I assumed that like Pan, the big man on campus would be someone like Richie, star athlete, maybe not as nice as Richie but still a jock. Logan Echolls is the furthest thing from a jock. He hasn't introduced himself yet, but it's hard not to know who he was. His dad is the most overpaid bad actor working today.
"I heard a bell. Wasn't that your siren song calling me?" Oh, he's laying it on thick. I take a half-second to consider if I need him. I don't know at this point, and I don't want to jeopardize the case because I blew off Neptune's casanova.
I decide to be ditzy and noncommittal for now. I can release the snarkiness later when the investigation is further along. I laugh easily; I know it's forced, but he doesn't. "Is that what they call school bells here?"
"I think it depends on the company." He's leaning against the locker next to mine in a way that a I'm sure he's leaned for numerous other girls, maybe even already this morning. "Betty, right?"
"How did you know my name?" I'll admit I'm impressed. It usually takes a few periods for word of a new kid to spread through the grapevine of teenage angst and hormones.
"I have my sources." His sources could close my case quicker. I decide he might be useful to the investigation.
"Snatching them up on the first day, lovah?" a sultry voice calls behind me, like she's just taken a drag from a cigarette. If ever there was a siren call, this girl had it. I turn and take her in. She looks like a carbon copy of me, if I weren't wearing a brunette wig. It's unlikely anyone here would recognize me, but with my dad as the county sheriff, I can't be too careful.
"Just being polite on her first day, Lils."
"Since when did you join the welcome wagon of student council?"
"I don't have to be Duncan to say hi to the new girl."
"Don't you usually tape new kids to the flagpole?" Wait, what?
"I think you have me confused with another ex." And suddenly it becomes clear that I'm in the middle of a lovers' quarrel.
"I don't want to miss class on the first day. It was nice meeting you both." I didn't really meet either one of them, and it wasn't nice but neither here nor there.
"I'll see you at lunch, Betty. It's Logan by the way." He offers his hand. The other girl, Lils I suppose, rolls her eyes. I grasp it and plan to shake it business-like. I would have flirted more if his ex hadn't materialized so I can get to those sources, but I really just want to extricate myself from this uncomfortable conversation. However, the first touch is like I'm being shocked by static electricity, except there isn't any static. I'm momentarily stunned into silence, and my lips part. He twists my firm grasp into a Victorian handshake like he's escorting me to a ball. I think he would have kissed it if Lils hadn't cleared her throat. He releases it and walks away, and the warmth lingers and spreads up my arm in an unfamiliar sensation.
"He's not as charming as he seems. His father's an actor."
"Yea, I know. I recognized him from some of the supermarket rags."
"I'm Lilly by the way. So I take it you're Betty?" She doesn't wait for confirmation before continuing. "Stick with me girl, and we'll rule this school. I mean I already do, but you can tag along." The minute she says her real name, I know who she is. Bygone summers on the Neptune boardwalk rush back to me when she and I were conspirators and commiserators in our parents' affair. Her dad and my mom had carried on an affair for years, using our playdates as an excuse to meet. We figured out the affair when I was ten and she was eleven. It abruptly ended when I told my dad, and I never saw her again. I didn't even know her last name. "I'll take you to your next class. What do you have?"
I try to hide the flicker of acknowledgment that I can't erase now. The memories come fast though. I pull out my schedule to hide my fluster. "Biology."
"Oh, that's right around the corner. Just take a right. I'll see you at lunch. You can sit with me. Logan will be there, but a lot of other people will, too, better guys for you to choose from." I nod. I don't want to get in the middle of whatever is going on with her and Logan. I just want to solve this case and go back to Pan. It's like I walked onto the set of a soap opera in progress.
"Okay, I'll see you then, Lilly." I start walking in the direction she nodded. Day one of my rescue operation for Billy, and I'm painfully close to blowing my cover. I don't want my dad to be right about me being too young to be investigate.
"Stop!" I know I don't have to follow her commands, but Lilly has a way of arresting you with her voice. I turn around to face wide eyes with her mouth in a soft circle. "Veronica?"