Free The Splendour Falls by Unknown, Rosemary Clement-Moore Page A

come out of the creek, that’s fine.’
    So much for being nice. One of the guys snorted, and Addie shot me a death glare over her shoulder.
    I took a moment to look around. The room was more casual than the parlour across the hall, and obviously more used. The furniture was traditional, butnot authentic. The mantelled fireplace looked original, but there was also a big-screen TV against one wall, and a neat desk in the corner held a large and clunky computer. That, at least, was an antique. I noticed that, along with the books and binders on the coffee table, some of the kids had brought their own laptops.
    â€˜What are you studying?’ I asked, because I had to say something.
    â€˜Everything,’ said one of the boys on the floor. ‘Finals are this week for the seniors, and the week after for juniors.’
    Shawn sat beside me, which tilted the cushions of the love seat, so I had to tighten my muscles to keep from falling towards him. See? Off balance. ‘Kim and Josh and I are seniors. Addie, Caitlin and those guys are juniors.’
    I halfheartedly attempted to recall the names he’d rattled off. Gigi’s new handmaidens were Caitlin and Kimberly. The other guys were Josh and Aaron and Travis.
    â€˜So, what about you?’ Caitlin asked, without interrupting her petting. ‘Does the school year finish earlier in New York?’
    â€˜I finished last year.’ I shifted, feeling the weight of their attention heavily. Me, who had never had stage fright.
    â€˜How’d you manage that?’ asked Josh. ‘I mean, I thought you were Addie’s age.’
    No surprise, I guess, that I’d been a topic of conversation. Paula had hinted as much. So had their avid curiosity from the moment I’d entered.
    â€˜I took my GED so that I could be free to travel with the company. The American Ballet Company,’ I added at their blank looks.
    â€˜Your folks let you do that?’ Kimberly asked. ‘My mom would have a cow.’
    â€˜My mother has always been supportive of my career,’ I said. The irony in this understatement was lost on them, making me feel like even more of a stranger. I could only make inside jokes with myself.
    Caitlin confided cheerfully, ‘Addie got a chance to be a model, but she would have had to miss so much school, her mom wouldn’t let her go.’
    Addie returned with my glass of water. She held it out to me with two fingers. ‘ My mother believes that it’s important I get a real education. With a real diploma.’
    The spark of annoyance flared, fanned by her contemptuous tone. I looked her up and down. She wore a cute little T-shirt and shorts that showed off her lush figure and perfect legs. ‘You don’t have to rush,’ I returned, in the same falsely sweet voice. ‘ Playboy doesn’t let you model until you’re eighteen.’
    Kimberly snorted back a laugh. The boys didn’t bother to hide theirs. The skin on Addie’s sculpted cheekbones darkened in a furious flush, and she shoved the water into my hand before stomping back to her chair. I felt slightly guilty, but only for stooping to her level.
    â€˜So, what was it like, dancing with the ballet company?’ asked Caitlin. She and Kimberly seemed the warmest, thanks to Gigi’s cuteness, I guess. ‘Did youhave flowers delivered to your dressing room? Get to travel first class?’
    â€˜It’s not as glamorous as it sounds.’ At the pinnacle of my career – that is, the weeks just before my accident – I’d shared a dank basement dressing room with five other girls. And I only flew first class on Mother’s dime.
    Rather than getting into painful – literal and figurative – explanations, I changed the subject. ‘So, this is the Teen Town Council, huh?’
    Again, it was Caitlin who explained. ‘We’re all on it, but this isn’t the whole group, since it’s not a