Previously: A and her mentor had decided that A would try to befriend Emily to get some more info about Emily and the other girls.
Chapter 8
APOV
I picked up the blue contact lenses at the chemist and left, heading for home. I tried on the contacts and they worked perfectly. My eyes were now the exact same shade of blue as Alison's eyes.
The next day at school, I would approach Emily after class and ask for directions to my next class. School had only been back a few weeks and I was a new student, so it wouldn't be weird for me to say I was lost.
I hoped that Emily would remain as predictable as my mentor and I thought she would be. Hopefully she would give me the directions I needed and agree to walk with me there.
That would be enough for me to ask a few questions about her-keeping up the new student appearance-and then suggest that we hang out sometime.
I gritted my teeth at the thought. Emily always was the quietest and most boring of the little seventh-grade clique. Having to spend time with her was not the most appealing way to spend an afternoon, but I was a good actor and could fake a wide range of emotions. I could definitely pretend to enjoy her company and be interested in what she had to say, for a couple of hours at least.
After gym, I approached her with my request for directions. She seemed happy to walk with me to class and chattered on. One of those girls who talks a lot, it seems.
Guess the blue contacts worked. It seemed that my eyes reminded her of Alison's.
We made plans to hang out at her house the next afternoon, and I headed home to begin compiling questions.
Subtle is always the best way to go with this kind of thing. Silence helps too: if you want to extract information from someone, stay quiet. Chances are, they'll quickly start finding the silence awkward and blurt something out.
Sometimes, whatever they say to fill in the silence is exactly what you want to hear.
I texted my mentor to tell her of my plans for tomorrow afternoon, and to ask if I shouldn't take a voice recorder with me.
We agreed the voice recorder would be best-that way I could act natural. It helped too-I wouldn't have to try to remember everything she said while acting natural and friendly.
My iPod nano would do the job well. The recorder would be switched on and it would stay in my pocket, completely hidden and completely inconspicuous. As long as it was charged enough, I would be able to record everything either of us said that afternoon.
The time passed quickly, and soon it was after school the next day. I left my last class of the day and met Emily outside the school, surreptitiously making sure the iPod recorder was on. I would start the questioning gently and then see if I could delve into finding out if she was gay, bi or just confused. My money was on the last.
As we walked to her house, we talked about swimming and various school activities. She asked how I was liking Rosewood Day and getting on with the other students okay.
So far, I was bored. I wanted nothing more than to dig deeper, jump straight into asking her about her sexuality and grill her about all the people she'd gone out with-boy or girl. I knew that I couldn't. If I made such an amateur mistake… Well, I may as well just say I was A and have done with it.
I would have to work on leading her to give me the information I wanted. Maybe if I were to tell her about an ex-boyfriend of mine that would draw her in.
With that in mind, I quickly began to create a boyfriend who I'd had to break up with when I moved to Rosewood. After Emily finished talking about the time she'd been tempted to quit swimming but then decided against it, I made my move.
I sighed and looked down at the ground-a move calculated to draw her sympathy and the question of 'are you okay?'. I wasn't disappointed. I told her about having to break up with my boyfriend when I moved to Rosewood, and how he'd been afraid of the long-distance thing.
'Wow. That sounds really familiar', she commented.
'How so?' I asked, wondering if this would lead her into telling me what I wanted to know
She tried to brush it off as nothing, but I kept quiet, wanting to seem like I wasn't going to press the question.
Finally, as I knew it would, the quiet got to her and she explained that it sounded just like her ex-girlfriend's story of when she'd dumped her boyfriend to move to Rosewood.
Bingo.
I asked a few shallow questions, acting as though I was only mildly interested in what had happened. Only really asking out of politeness.
Or, in this case, well concealed professional interest.
She gave me what I needed though, and my work here was done. For now, anyway.
I said I had to get going and left, suggesting that we go shopping or something sometime later.
Once I was safely out of view of Emily's house, I started running, keen to get home and play back the recording to my mentor. Definitely, something we could use. Better yet, Emily had told me stuff about Aria, Spencer and Hanna.
What particularly interested me what the fact that after Ali disappeared, the four girls drifted apart. Aria had gone to Iceland for years. I was glad she'd returned-getting revenge on the four of them wouldn't be the same if Aria wasn't around. After all, her little secret would eventually ruin her family.
Hanna had obviously undergone a major transformation. The photos of her in seventh grade were very different from her today-thin and almost flawless looks. I have to say, knowing the ways she went to look so flawless tarnished her slightly. I guess that's just my opinion.
And Spencer… Still the same. So perfect and yet so imperfect. She really needed to relax her manic studying and open her eyes-quit stealing her sister's boyfriends and realize that there were guys who liked her for her. Why they would, I don't know, but to each their own.
Once home, I called my mentor and hooked my iPod up to the computer, adjusting the speaker volume. She arrived a few minutes later and swiped a pen and paper off my desk, ready to take notes. I opened up itunes and found the recording, then clicked Play.
Our voices spilled from the computer speakers and my mentor began to scribble notes. She smiled approvingly in acknowledgement of my questioning tactics. I knew they were good-I had been trained by the best and had plenty of time practising. When she was away, I'd had to improvise and work a lot of it out on my own. Now, her approval meant a lot to me. Of course, in keeping with not letting my guard down, I couldn't let on to that.
'This is good. We'll keep it for now and leave Emily alone for a few more days, then work on her a bit more. I think she spoke so freely because she was already worried from yesterday's note, and so she let her guard down', my mentor commented. Her eyes were glued to her pages of notes.
'You're right. In the meantime, should we remind Aria and Hanna that A is still here?' I asked, already wondering how I could get at Hanna.
'Go for Hanna. She'll be sure to think you're a pathetic loser. This is a golden opportunity to show her that you're anything but pathetic,' she decided. A look came over her face that I recognised well. She was planning something major.
Something that would prove to four girls, Hanna in particular, that A held an incredible amount of power.
'What do you have in mind?' I wondered, already looking forward to her ideas.
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully-whatever it was, she was thinking it through very carefully, working to make it foolproof and at the same time, straightforward to accomplish.
'What if…' she started slowly. 'What if you were able to get into her house and 'rearrange' everything in her room and bathroom? And happened to make a few things go missing? The idea being that you do it when she's at home? Of course, to eliminate the possibility of it being a thief, you left a note-typed, of course-making clear that it was you?'
'Risky, but good. It'll show I'm excellent at sneaking around and more than able to do things that seem impossible. Better yet, she won't be expecting it,' I smirked, already imagining Hanna's reaction. 'When do I do it?'
'Nighttime. It has fewer risks. If you had a hood and scarf over most of your face and hair, the darkness would pretty much obscure your features. Wear a big jersey to hide yourself, and for warmth. Also wear jeans; you want to be able to move around easily. Use different coloured contacts and wear shoes that are comfortable and make minimum noise. And, obviously, gloves of some kind. Wait til she and her mom are asleep and sneak in.'
I clicked on my folder on Hanna and opened up the security subfolder… They had alarms but only had them on during the day when no one was home, and always left the back door unlocked.
I would have to take oil with me to ensure the door would open silently and slip in that way. I'd also have to keep an eye on Hanna's dog, which sleeps in her room.
'Type the note now, make sure to use a really girly and pretty font, and then you could go tonight. I'll get you some latex gloves. You'll need to wear several pairs to protect against them tearing. We don't want your fingerprints to be anywhere', my mentor said.
I quickly opened a new word document and selected my favourite font, then typed 'Dear Hanna: Surprise! Love, A.'
My mentor was wearing gloves of her own as she carefully pulled the several layers over my hands, before pulling hers off. I covered my face with a scarf, careful to leave it loose enough to breathe over my nose and mouth. She stepped behind me, and pulled all my hair back from my face before tucking it into the hood of my oversized black jersey. She clipped a few strands into place, and then tightened the strings on the hood. The last thing I wanted was a strand of hair coming loose and falling out somewhere in Hanna's room.
We waited quietly as the sky went from blue to navy, to near black and finally the stars began coming out.
I folded the note to fit into the pocket of my jeans and we walked downstairs.
'Text me when you get inside. Take photos on your phone and text me when you're done. Have fun'. My mentor headed back upstairs and I quietly walked the distance to Hanna's house.
From there, it was easy. I knew from my research on her house that they had nothing that could pick up on my appearance. Evidently, Ashley Marin didn't care much if someone broke in at 2 A.M while she and her daughter slept.
I snuck in the back, the door swinging noiselessly. I quickly texted my mentor to say I was in the house-no easy thing when your fingers are covered in several layers of latex-set my phone to completely silent and crept up the stairs to Hanna's room. Listening carefully revealed she was asleep and snoring noisily.
I quickly snuck to outside Ashley Marin's room and listened-she wasn't even there. Still at the office? Well, that made it just that little bit easier.
Bathroom first. I found the desired door and gently opened it. Knowing Hanna, she'd be having a shower in the morning and then caking on her makeup.
In a case like this, good eyesight is an excellent thing. There was only the dim light of the streetlight to guide me, as I mixed up her facial cleansers and tipped out her hair products.
On to the makeup. I snapped various eye and lip pencils, opened tubes of mascara and left the wand on the vanity. By the time she went to use it, it'd be half dried out and useless. I drew on the countertop with lipsticks and, for the fun of it, drew a giant smiley face on the mirror in foundation. I quickly put my phone to video camera and scanned around the bathroom, zooming in on various items that I'd scattered all over the floor and countertops.
Now to her room. Stealth was essential. I quickly rearranged her desk, piling on books that would last in a tower until I was gone. I distributed piles of papers across the desk and ripped Post-It notes off the stack, tossing them wherever.
Closet. Before I walked inside the wardrobe, I noticed one thing that would increase my fun: scissors. I snatched them up and headed into the closet, yanking things off their hangers and snapping stiletto heels. I made sure that I only threw clothes, as they wouldn't make any sounds on impact. For the pièce de résistance, I tossed clothes all over her room, taking care not to have any land near her or on the bed.
With the scissors, I ran through her wardrobe, indiscriminately hacking the arm off a shirt, a hole in the knee of a pair of jeans… I slashed the hems of various skirts and sliced her favourite top right down the middle. I snagged the threads of her cashmere jerseys, knowing it would just take a little tug on the loose thread and the fabric would rapidly unravel. I left two jerseys almost completely threadbare and tore up some jeans so they were completely ragged. Finally, I took out a can of spray paint and pressed the nozzle, covering half the clothes with black paint. I cut the handles and straps of several bags, rendering them useless. Unless, of course, Hanna wanted to use them as oversized clutches. I would take the straps so they couldn't be sewn back on.
Would it be overkill to take a couple of her bottles of perfume and smash them beside her car? The delicate glass wouldn't make much sound… No, it wasn't overkill. As it was, I would make sure to drop them by the car and not throw them from a window. There's no such thing as being too cautious.
After I'd pocketed the bottles of perfume, I went back to her books. I expertly tore several pages from random books. Then, I strew them around the room.
The room was a disaster zone. My work here was done.
I quickly took more photos of the room and the closet, making sure to focus on the ruined clothes. That would be sure to please my mentor.
Time for the parting note. I borrowed a pen and drew an H on the tightly folded paper, before placing it right by her face on the pillow.
After that, I snapped the pen, made sure it was leaking, and then placed it on the pristine bedspread.
Finally, I grabbed the desk chair and climbed onto it, before skilfully putting in a tiny video camera. I knew my mentor and I would want to watch Hanna's reaction. Once I was out of the camera frame, I switched it on and walked out of the room. Hanna would never notice it-it was that small, and unless she spent a lot of time staring at that particular corner of her room, she would never notice it.
I hurried noiselessly downstairs and out the back door. I texted my mentor to say I was finished and leaving Hanna's house, then raced home. She was waiting up for me when I got to my room and helped me remove the gloves. I brought up that night's photos on my phone and handed it to her. She scrolled through them, laughing softly until she came to the end of the photo slideshow.
She looked up at me and smiled.
'I wish we could see her reaction. That would be good for another note.' she said with a small sigh.
'We can. Pass the laptop?' I responded. I booted up the laptop and opened up the connection. The footage showed Hanna sleeping in a horribly messy room.
'Wow. I never thought she was so messy', I commented with a grin.
'Let's set this to record mode, and get to sleep. We can watch it after school', my mentor suggested.
'You're right. Hanna won't be waking up for a few hours anyway. We might as well get some sleep.' I agreed.
My mentor leaned over and hugged me, thanking me for carrying out the job.
She and I both knew that what I'd done that night proved to Hanna that A wouldn't be going anywhere in a hurry-when Hanna woke up to see it, that is-and A was much more powerful than Hanna gave her credit for.
It was a job very well done.
That's another chapter… two chapters in 3 days is something of a record for me.
So… I'd still like feedback. I love reviews J