Belle of the Brawl Read online

  “What about Mel?” Charlie asked, hoping to keep her voice light. She didn’t want Darwin to think she was desperate for Mel to hook up with Allie. He would see her desperation as controlling and manipulative instead of what it was—the only way for all four of them to be happy.

  “He’s into Allie, I think.” Darwin stuck a cinnamon-scented toothpick between his lips. “But he’s probably into a lot of girls. His phone beeps more often than R2D2.”

  Charlie wondered if there had been any scientific advances in recent years on love potions that actually worked. She’d ask her fellow IM’s. Someone had to be making progress with pheromones in a lab somewhere.

  Darwin executed a hard left in the PAP, sending Charlie’s puff-sleeved shoulder into contact with his blazer-covered one. An electric surge of longing rippled through Charlie’s arm and shot through her body, down to her toes. She snuck a peek at Darwin and saw a dimple sinking deeper into his cheek as a lopsided smile emerged on his mouth—a sure sign that he felt it, too.

  “Remember when we built that house in the favelas?” He sighed wistfully.

  Charlie nodded, her mind traveling back to the slums outside of Rio where shacks made of nothing more than cardboard and corrugated metal dotted the mountains. She and Darwin had spent a week working with other volunteers to construct a house for a family with six kids. They’d hammered nails and drilled screws in hundred-degree heat, and Darwin had even injured himself when a cinder block fell on his foot, but it was all worth it when the family saw the simple house once it was built. The mom and the two oldest kids burst into tears, hugging Charlie, Darwin, and the rest of the crew over and over.

  “Of course I remember. That was amazing,” Charlie said quietly. “I hope we can do something like that again this summer.”

  “I was just thinking about the foundation of that house. How we had to flatten it and measure it a thousand times before pouring the concrete. And then, the rest was easy.”

  “Yeah… ,” Charlie murmured, not quite sure where Darwin was going. It hadn’t been that easy to build the rest of the house. And more experienced people did a lot of the hard stuff, but she guessed she saw his point. In some ways, Charlie thought, they were so different. He could be so enigmatic and abstract, where she was all about practicality. He was drawn to music and philosophy, and she liked taking stuff apart and rebuilding it, working with her hands to get tangible results.

  “That’s what I want. With you. I want us to build our foundation again, to make it rock solid.” His hazel eyes met hers, and Charlie was surprised to see they shone with emotion. “Once our foundation is strong, we can do anything. We can build our dreams.”

  Charlie swallowed hard, pushing a pining ache for him back down her throat. “I want that, too.”

  Darwin leaned toward her, his knee touching hers. She shifted it away, pretending not to notice what was happening. His eyes searched hers out, but she looked down at the clear floor of the PAP, her eyes focusing on a group of three Alpha girls chasing Dingo on the beach.

  “Charlie?”

  “What?” She looked up, plastering a look of innocence across her features.

  “Then why are you being so distant?!” Darwin furrowed his brow.

  “I thought you understood. I thought we had an agreement.” Her voice was flat and emotionless, but inside her heart was whirling faster than a weathervane during a lightning storm. Why couldn’t Darwin wait a tiny bit longer?

  He rolled his eyes and made a sound in the back of his throat that sounded like he was choking on exasperation. “What agreement?”

  “We decided we would play it cool until Allie was over you, remember?”

  Darwin shook his head. On the Darwin-ometer, Charlie knew that after anger came stony, furious silence.

  “I don’t want to be accused of stealing my best friend’s crush!”

  “But didn’t Allie steal your crush?”

  “No,” Charlie said quietly, trying to calm things down before Darwin’s iron curtain fully descended. “I set her up with you when we were broken up, remember? I encouraged it….” Charlie sighed, grasping for the right words. It sounded crazy in retrospect, but at the time it seemed to make sense to set up Allie and Darwin. Connecting him with Allie had been Charlie’s only way to keep him close, to make him happy after she’d dumped him.

  “And now, she’s more important to you than I am.” Darwin’s voice had less warmth than the dry ice they kept in the lab.

  “You know that’s not—” Suddenly the plane dipped sharply, interrupting Charlie’s retort. “What’s happening?” she whispered. She gripped Darwin’s arm, hard. What if they crashed? After all her sneaking around, it would be all over school in seconds! Pictures of their mangled bodies would be e-mailed to every aPod on the island, and then leaked to the tabloids. At least in that scenario, Charlie wouldn’t have to deal with the fallout from Allie. Dead people were forgiven all betrayals, right?

  “I’m landing,” Darwin said coldly, straightening the plane out and cruising west. Before Charlie could think of what to say to make things right again, to rally Darwin’s spirits and make him believe that they would be together just as soon as Allie was over her fixation, the bubble-shaped plane touched down on the octagonal landing pad on the far side of the island. Charlie looked out the window at the Pavilion in the distance, its lighted exterior like a lighthouse. The landing pad here was deep in the jungle, on the wild side of the island, away from prying eyes but also uncomfortably far from campus.

  “Darwin, I—”

  “Just don’t, Charlie. I need some time to think. Alone.” And before Charlie could utter another word, Darwin popped open the door hatch. She gripped the white foam armrests as the round PAP made contact with the ground.

  Charlie blinked, taking in their surroundings. There was nothing but jungle surrounding them. Howler monkeys leapt happily from tree to tree. For a moment she imagined herself and Darwin living among them, foraging for berries and sleeping under the stars. She snapped out of her wishful reverie when Darwin’s tanned arm reached over her flight suit, opening the passenger door. This time, Darwin was careful not to touch any part of her. He practically pushed her out of the plane with the hate rays shooting out of his eyes.

  “Fine. I’ll walk home,” Charlie said, biting the inside of her cheek. Dropping her in the middle of the jungle wasn’t Darwin: It was like an impostor had taken over his body. She shook her head, wondering what else the new Darwin was capable of. She walked a few paces away from the plane, then turned around and shot Darwin one last look. She half-expected him to change his mind, to hop out, too. Soon, she thought, they would have round two (or was it ten?) of the Allie vs. Darwin argument. But Darwin’s face was as impenetrable as a high-security firewall. He blinked, flashed her a hard look, and started the PAP up again, pulling the door shut.

  Her mouth twisted into a scribble of disbelief, Charlie watched as the PAP rose higher and higher into the air until it was so tiny it might as well have been a helium balloon.

  How could Darwin abandon her in the middle of the jungle? Charlie shook her brown waves uncomprehendingly and started the long walk back to Jackie O. She squinted at the sun, already low in the sky. She might make it home before nightfall, if she hustled. But as she set one clear gladiator sandal in front of the other, something caught her eye: Darwin had set up a whole tent for them. There was a Bunsen burner, a sandwich press, some bread, and a jar of Nutella. He was going to make their favorite snack out here in the jungle.

  Charlie wanted to scream, to laugh, and to cry, all at the same time. Darwin thought they could pick up their relationship right where it had left off by ignoring everything that happened between them. But something had changed. Maybe Charlie had changed. Maybe she’d become an Alpha after all. Like her life these days, her allegiances weren’t as clear-cut as they used to be. Maybe she and Darwin weren’t soul mates. Maybe Charlie’s plan for them to be together seemed ridiculous because they weren’t meant to
be.

  Charlie stared through a veil of tears at the vines running on either side of the narrow jungle path. The jungle had seemed so inviting when she floated above it with Darwin, but now the greenery threatened to swallow her up. Overhead, Darwin’s PAP floated through the hazy orange light of sunset like a fragile soap bubble destined to pop.

  Her hope floating away with Darwin’s plane, Charlie fastened her eyes back on the dimly lit jungle path ahead of her. Flying solo was scary, but for the first time she knew how to navigate Alpha Academy on her own.

  14

  CENTER FOR THE ARTS

  THEATER OF DIONYSUS

  MONDAY, OCTOBER 4TH

  5:27 P.M.

  Still smiling after Syd’s fart-fleeing exit, Skye finished her cool-down routine and began to pack up for another long soak in the spa. She shoved her toe shoes and hoodie into her metallic red tote and slid a pair of shimmery gray yoga pants on over her dance shorts.

  “Let’s bounce,” Tweety suggested, yanking her long black hair out of its tight bun and high-kicking in the direction of the elevator. “I scream for steam.”

  “Be right there,” Skye murmured. She glanced at Mimi making notes on a touch-screen tablet before she bent down to strap on her clear gladiator sandals. After her cringe-inducing blunder during the final routine, Skye wanted to keep a low profile and get as far away from Mimi as possible.

  Sandals secured, Skye shot a look at Triple in her gold dance skirt and plunging gold leo. She was still in cool-down mode, doggedly folding her body over one outstretched leg and then the other. Triple treated her stretching routine with the same militaristic fervor she had for dance practice. “Try not to stink up the joint,” Triple muttered as Skye glided past.

  Skye shot her eyes toward the ceiling and groped for a quick comeback. “The only way it would stink is if you joined us.” She kept her voice low so Mimi wouldn’t hear. She quickened her pace and cut a path to the elevator, her aquamarine eyes sliding away from the dancing diva like water on a windshield.

  Walking fast, Skye almost ran headlong into Mimi, who wielded her tablet like a shield. “Skye, can you stay a moment? You too, Andrea.”

  “I wish I could—” Skye started, but her voice dissolved faster than Splenda in the face of Mimi’s disapproving frown.

  Skye shot a pained look at Tweety and Ophie, who stood waiting by the elevator with their brows knitted in sympathy. “I’ll meet you in the steam room,” she called, and suddenly she was alone in the studio with Mimi and Mini-Mimi. Her heart thundered in her ears as she tried to remain calm.

  Mimi cleared her throat and tapped on her tablet with two ringed fingers. “I thought you were finally making progress, but it’s not enough.”

  Of course, I’ve been distracted, Skye wanted to yell. I’ve been dragging a wet blanket around all week! But she just nodded and looked at the clear floor and the palm fronds scraping the underside of the glass studio from below.

  “I’m going to give you one more chance,” Mimi continued, her bangled wrists jingling ominously. “You need to prove to me that you belong at Alpha Academy. That what I saw in your application video is something you can recapture.”

  “Um, Mimi?” Triple piped up, her almond-shaped eyes aimed at the EXIT sign even as her mouth formed a butt-kissy smile. “Do I need to be here? I was hoping to get to the Pilates Reformer at the gym before—”

  “I’m getting to that,” Mimi said, putting one graceful hand on Skye’s shoulder and one on Triple’s. Skye wished Mimi would just get on with it. “For the next week, Andrea,” Mimi continued, smiling proudly like she’d just come up with a road map for world peace, “Skye belongs to you.”

  “What?!” both girls said at once.

  “She will follow your dance regimen to the letter. NO social activities. One hundred percent focus. If she doesn’t improve,” Mimi paused for dramatic effect, pursing her lipsticked mouth, “you will both be kicked out.”

  “What?!” they said again. For once, Skye and Triple were in complete agreement. This was crazy!

  “Why should I be responsible for her?” Triple whined, her eyes filling with frustrated tears. “That’s insane!”

  “What about the Muse Cruise?” Skye yelled, her voice strangled and panicked. It was next weekend, and the whole school would be there! How could Mimi deprive them of a reward like that?

  “Definitely not in your future, Skye. This is about showing restraint and discipline. And Andrea, we are not soloists. We are a troupe. When one person falters, we all falter. I think you’ll both grow from this challenge.”

  Grow!? You mean grow to hate you, each other, and our lives? Skye clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking with fury. She was so humiliated, insulted, and horrified by Mimi’s plan that she couldn’t speak. A wad of anger had plugged up her throat like a cotton ball on a bottle of polish remover.

  Triple spun around, hiding her freely falling tears from the woman who had caused them. “But Mimi—” she said quietly, already defeated.

  Mimi headed toward her office, a small room off the main cube. She paused in the doorway and added one more nail in the coffin. “This isn’t up for discussion, ladies. Do it, or leave the Academy.”

  The two dancers grabbed their things and stepped silently into the elevator. As the doors began to close, Skye’s eyes darted wildly around the room she’d once considered a haven. Now, it just looked like a cage.

  “I cannot believe this!” Triple wailed as they made their way to ground level.

  “How do you think I feel? It’s like she’s put me into special ed!” Skye hissed hatefully. Her throat and chest were hot with shame. “Let’s just pretend to go along with it while we practice on our own,” she said. The only way to get through the next week was to hope Mimi would forget about it.

  “No way,” Triple said firmly, her voice hard as tempered steel. “This is not special ed. This is boot camp.”

  The doors whooshed open and they stepped out into the hot afternoon, the smell of jasmine and wild grapefruit crowding their senses. Skye felt beaten. Trapped. And she didn’t have any fight left in her. There was nothing she could do now but accept Mimi’s challenge.

  She shut her tear-filled eyes for a moment, wishing Triple would disappear into thin air. But when she opened them again, the sight of Triple standing there was exponentially worse. Behind Triple, Syd’s Vans kicked up dust as he ran toward her clutching a paper bag.

  “Hello, my darling,” Syd panted, looking deliriously proud of himself. “I’m so glad I caught you! I thought you might need this.”

  Unless Syd had brought her a magic lamp with three wishes inside, Skye wasn’t interested. She opened the bag and pulled out a box of Gas-X.

  “It wasn’t easy to find this on the island. But lucky for you, I have connections. It should help with your, uh, problem.” Syd blushed deeply, grinning shyly at Skye.

  Ugh! Syd was like the postal service: Not rain, nor sleet, nor deadly farts could keep him from delivering his sickly adoration. “Thanks, Sydney.”

  “I don’t think so.” Triple swooped in like a romantic wrecking ball, wedging her tall frame between Skye and Syd. She grabbed the box and crushed it in her angry fist. “The only thing that’s going to help Skye now is me. Syd, consider yourself back on the market.”

  Triple grabbed Skye’s arm and started pulling her down the path toward the gym. “Time for Pilates,” she grunted, and while the last thing Skye wanted was to be stuck in the gym with Sergeant Triple, she sensed an opportunity.

  “Nooo!” Skye moaned theatrically, stretching her other arm back toward Syd and channeling her inner Bella Swan. “I need him, Triple!”

  “Too bad!” Triple winked, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. “Remember what Mimi said? If you don’t do what I say, we’ll both get expelled. And then you’ll never see Syd again!”

  Syd’s eyes filled with tears as he waved at Skye. “I’ll wait for you forever!”

  “Don’t bother,�
�� Triple yelled, rushing farther and farther down the path with Skye in tow.

  Syd began to back away, his face pained and heart-broken.

  Skye called after him one last time. “Just remember, Triple broke your heart, not me!”

  Syd nodded, overcome with emotion. He turned to sob-run in the opposite direction.

  Yes! Yes! Yes! Skye may have to be chained to Triple for the rest of the week, but at least her Syd-shackles had been cut. “Triple, that was ah-mazing! He’s really gone!”

  Triple elbowed Skye’s arms away and glared at her, already back in drill-sergeant mode. “Being done with boys doesn’t mean you can hit on me!”

  “I’m just trying to thank you.” Skye backed off and studied Triple’s high cheekbones and determined eyes, wondering if maybe she’d misjudged her roommate’s self-absorption. “How did you know I wanted to ditch Syd, anyway?”

  “I’m not an idiot,” muttered Triple, rolling her eyes and spinning around to lead the way down the path to the gym. “I have ears. Besides, he was going to get in the way of our workout regimen. Now march—we’re five minutes behind schedule.”

  Skye nodded, already annoyed by Triple again. Was it that the girl didn’t know how to make friends, or that she just didn’t want any? Triple was harder to read than a first-generation Kindle.

  As Skye trudged behind Triple toward the gym, staring at her perfect dancer’s calves, she sigh-fretted in anticipation of what was sure to be an excruciating week. Now that she’d said sayonara to Syd, she needed to figure out how to get out from under Triple’s perfectly manicured thumb. As she scurried to keep up with her new taskmaster, Skye began to brainstorm ways to give boot camp the boot.

  HAD No. 12: Ditch Triple. On the double.

  15

  NORTH SHORE JUNGLE