Robin Wasserman - Envy

She narrowed her gaze suggestively and Adam felt the tips of his ears turn red. It was, after all, planning a party that had brought Adam and Kaia together in the first place. A few weeks’ worth of purely platonic meetings culminating in one night of illicit but extraordinary passion.

“I’m sure you have nothing to worry about, though,” she said after a moment of silence. “I mean, you’re in love, right? And that’s what love is all about-trust.”

Trust. Right.

If Beth’s love for him proved as trustworthy as his love for her, they were in for some serious problems.

Job well done , Kaia congratulated herself. Adam had, of course, walked away from her in disgust, but she could see the beginnings of doubt in the nervous twist of his lip and the tiny rivulets of sweat that traced a path down the muscles of his neck. She’d gotten under his skin-again.

Kaia laughed to herself. It probably wasn’t very nice of her to pick on Adam again. After all, he was such an easy mark, and clearly still smarting from their last encounter. On the other hand, she considered, she’d given him a true gift-one that he’d certainly enjoyed enough at the time, no matter how much he may now claim she’d ruined his life. Didn’t she deserve to have some fun too? And if it was fun at Beth Manning’s expense, even better. Much as she tried, she couldn’t forget the fact that Mr. Powell had chosen that simpering softie over her. Yes, it was clearly because he thought Kaia spelled trouble, while Beth would be easy prey. Powell was a predator; it was why she liked him so much. But still, there it was-he’d rejected her in favor of Beth, and while that was a lapse in judgment she was willing to forgive, Beth still needed to pay.

This time, she’d decided, there was no reason to go it alone. Not when such a good game was already afoot.

So she headed to the library. She’d spotted Harper heading in that direction at the beginning of lunch period, and she had a sneaking suspicion she’d find her huddled over a desk with Kane, hatching some pathetic plan. It was time to lend these small-town tricksters the wisdom of her experience.

Why?

Why the hell not?

She found them just as she’d imagined, heads together, arms waving animatedly, whispers flying. She crept up slowly behind Harper, finger to her lips, trusting Kane to keep his poker face, which he did, right up to the moment that Kaia tapped Harper on the shoulder and smiled angelically into her face, which reflected, in quick succession, surprise, guilt, and disgust. Harper settled on the latter, but Kaia kept up her icy smile.

“What do you want?” Harper hissed. “We re busy here.”

“I don’t mind if the lovely Kaia joins us,” Kane said generously.

“Shut up, Kane.” Harper glared at him, then turned back to Kaia. “Why are you still here?”

“What, is this where you tell me, ‘This is an A, B conversation, and I should C my way out of it?’” Kaia sneered.

“I was leaning more toward, ’This is an X, Z conversation, so Y don’t you just go away,” Harper corrected her. “Or at least I would have been if this were 1998 and we were ten years old. What do you think this is, VH1’s Lamest Slang of the ’90s ?”

“Well, your outfit does say ‘retro gone wrong,’” Kaia pointed out, “but I guess you’re not out of time, just out of taste. I can live with that.”

“I’m supposed to take fashion tips from someone who makes Paris Hilton look classy?” Harper scoffed.

Kane, whose eyes had been bouncing back and forth between the two as if he were following a heated Ping-Pong match, began to softly applaud. “Bring it on, ladies. When do we take out the mud wrestling pit?”

“Shut up, Kane,” they snapped in unison.

He chuckled softly. “Okay, okay, I know when I’m not wanted.” He checked his watch and stood up, collecting his books. “Besides,” he gave Harper a meaningful look, “I’ve got to go meet someone. We’re setting up a study ‘date’ for later. See ya.”

Harper shot him a vicious, how-dare-you-leave-me-here-alone-with- her look, but he just grinned and disappeared.

“Such a studious guy all of a sudden,” Kaia commented.

“Yeah, well, you know Kane, needs to win at all costs,” Harper said uncomfortably. “Even if it means some hard work.”

“It’s going to be pretty damn hard to win at the rate you two are going,” Kaia pointed out.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kaia laughed to herself. It would have been cute if it weren’t so pathetic, this little show of ignorance and innocence. Harper was going to have to work on the poker face a bit if this whole thing was going to work.

“I think you know,” Kaia said simply.

Harper sighed. “Kaia, it’s a little early in the week for mind games, don’t you think?”

“Look I didn’t come here to fight, or play games,” Kaia promised her, wishing they could just cut through the bullshit and skip to the part where they got something done. But, as she well knew, that’s not how these things worked. And the bullshit was, in the end, half the fun. “At least, not with you.”

“Then what?” Harper asked wearily.

“I know what you’re up to,” Kaia said, relishing the involuntary shudder that ran through Harper’s body. “And I want to help.”

“You know what we’re up to? Are you talking in code now? What is this, a James Bond movie? What would we be ‘up to’?”

“Do you really want me to spell it out for you? Adam, Beth, Operation Screw Over Your Supposed Best Friend-or, in your case, just screw him?”

Harper’s face turned pale. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she claimed in a strangled voice.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. You’re totally innocent, you’re appalled I would even suggest it. Whatever.” Kaia checked her watch. This was getting old. “Here’s my point. I want to help-you two are playing out of your league, and I think you need some coaching from a pro. That’s me.”

“Just out of curiosity,” and it was clear that Harper had plenty, “let’s say Kane and I did have some unholy alliance-why would you want to help? And why would we trust you?”

“I’m helping because I’m bored, and because I hate to see a good opportunity go to waste. As for why you should trust me?” Kaia paused. It was a good question. One that deserved a reasonably honest answer. “You shouldn’t. But you’re going to anyway because you’ve got almost everything you need-will, motive, lack of scruples-but you’re missing one key thing, and that’s what I can supply.”

“And what’s that?” Harper asked skeptically.

“A plan.”

It was Harper’s policy never to have to depend on someone. Especially not because she was desperate.

She was Harper Grace.

She didn’t do desperate.

At least, not usually. Under normal circumstances she plowed through the world and everyone else got out of the way. Unless you were slow. Then you just got run over. She certainly didn’t need anyone’s help to do it. Of course, under normal circumstances she didn’t usually betray one of her best friends for the purposes of seducing the other, but these circumstances were anything but normal, and with the fate of her love life hanging in the balance, speed was of the essence. Which meant that Harper, lacking scruples and strategy in equal amount, was desperate.

And desperate times called for desperate measures… right?

So when Kaia stood up from the cramped library table with an ultimatum: “Meet me after school and listen to what I have to say, or forget the whole thing,” Harper had nodded. Finally, and fatefully, she had decided to give Kaia a chance.