Free Masquerade of Lies by Wendy Hinbest

them looked at each other and bursted into laughter. I wasn’t sure what was so funny. When they were done, Jessica took a bottle of perfume out of her purse and sprayed herself to conceal the smell of the pot. Katie did the same thing.
    “Shit, we better put some Visine in our eyes before we go to class,” said Jessica.
    “Good idea,” said Katie.
    ***
    When we got back to school an hour later, we met Claire at her locker.
    “Hey, girls. Did I miss anything?” Claire asked.
    “Not really,” Jessica said in a tired voice.
    “Hanna, thanks for lending me your essay on the American Revolution. You saved my butt,” Claire said as I caught Jessica rolling her eyes.
    “No problem.”
    “After school, we’ll go to my house and you can borrow something of mine to wear to the party tonight,” Claire said.
    “Really?” I said.
    “Sure. Toodles.”
    Her lengthy locks flung in the air as she turned on her heels. Katie and Jessica trailed behind her. As I started walking, I saw Josh in the hallway. He was wearing his football jersey...damn, he looked cute.
    “Hanna, what’s up? Hey, have you seen Claire? I didn’t see her during lunch.”
    “You just missed her. She went to class. I thought you two were together, doing God knows what?”
    “Huh?”
    “Never mind.”
    “Oh, o-okay. So, I’ll see you at the party tonight right?”
    Suddenly, my phone buzzed; it was my mother texting me to make sure I was alive.
    “Yeah, I’ll be there,” I said as I texted my mom back.
    “Cool. See ya.”
    “Bye.”
    Claire was supposed to be with Josh. Was that why Katie and Jessica asked me to hang out with them? Did Claire tell them to distract me? What was she hiding?
    ***
    Everybody was gossiping about Angela Blaine’s party that night. Apparently, her parents were going to be gone for the weekend. I slammed my locker shut and was on my way to meet Claire when I ran into Mark.
    “Hey gorgeous.”
    “Hey.” I tucked some hair behind my ear.
    “Are you going to Angela’s party tonight?”
    “Yeah, I’m going with my friend Claire.”
    “Cool. Save me a dance okay?”
    “Okay.” His lips curved into a smile, then he walked away.
    Claire steered into her circular driveway, put the car into park , and turned off the engine. She stepped out of the car, adjusted her skirt, and closed the door. I got out of the car and couldn’t help staring at the luxurious mansion that towered in front of me. A colossal fountain blooming with flowers and gushing out water stood in the middle of the driveway. The stone and stucco house was surrounded with a green manicured lawn and trimmed hedges.
    We sashayed up the paver stone pathway that led to a wooden arch door, then wandered inside to marble floors, high ceilings, and two spiral staircases that led to a massive entryway. We hiked up the steps, and Claire led me to her room. She had a glamorous canopy bed enclosed in white curtains. White goose down-filled pillows were propped against the headboard. Photos dotted the walls of the room, most of them of her, Jessica, and Katie. Beside her bed was a huge poster of One Direction , and adjacent to her closet sat a stunning white vanity, complete with three mirrors and a pink cushioned chair. An oak desk was positioned in the corner of her room, and a closed laptop sat on top of it. A heart-shaped framed picture of her and Josh sat alongside it.
    I sat down on her bed and crossed my legs. “Where’s your parents?” I asked.
    “You mean parent.” She padded over to her vanity and sat down, admiring herself in the mirror. “My parents are divorced. Now my dad’s married to a woman named Agnes, who has a daughter about my age.” She turned around to face me. “ Chloe . He’s always telling me I’d love her and some crap like that. Whatever.” She rolled her eyes and turned around to face the mirror again.
    “Oh, sorry.”
    “Forget about it. I did.” She picked up a brush and began brushing her hair.
    “What does your