Meg sighed. “Alright, fine. I’ll be at your house in twenty minutes.”
I smiled. “See you then.”
Brittany
Five minutes after I got home from Marylin’s house, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” I said excitedly.
“No, I’ll get it,” My dad said.
“Daddy, be nice,” I begged.
He opened the door. “Hello, Graham. Come in.”
Graham stepped into the front hallway. He was wearing his letterman jacket. He looked so handsome. “Good evening, sir. Mrs. Lends.” He smiled at me. “Hi, Brittany.”
I grinned. “Hi, Graham.”
“Where are you kids going tonight?” My dad asked.
“Penny’s Diner, sir.”
“Where are you going after that?”
“Daddy.” I rolled my eyes.
“We’ll take a walk.”
“And you’ll have her home by ten o’clock?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Alright, have fun,” My dad said as he walked into the kitchen.
Once we were in Graham’s car, I said, “I’m sorry about that. I’m an only child. My parents are really protective.”
“No problem.” Graham said. “It’s all worth it to take you out.”
We talked while we drove. Graham stopped and parked the car out on the street across from the school, in front of Penny’s Diner.
When we walked in, we were greeted by the sound of loud music and people talking. It sounded like everyone was yelling over each other. I guess they were.
We sat in a booth in the back. The waitress came over and took our order. While we waited for our food, we talked.
“How are you liking it here?” Graham asked. “I bet this is really different from Los Angeles.”
“It was really crowded in Los Angeles. There were over a million people there. I read that the population here is less than twelve hundred people. And it’s colder here. The temperature was perfect in California. It’s strange, though. I thought that it’d be hot here since we’re in Nevada.”
Graham shrugged. “We’re in the mountains. It’s not like Las Vegas or anything. But don’t worry, I think you’ll learn to like it here.” As he said the last sentence, he put his hand over mine.
I smiled. “I’m learning to.”
Tiffany
I walked into the eight o’clock showing of Female on the Beach. White Grimm may have been lacking in a lot of areas, but the movie theatre had plenty of movies to choose from.
I froze when I saw who was sitting in the second to last row. Lauren-Anne and Meg. I walked up the stairs with my head down. Hopefully, they wouldn’t see me.
“Tiffany!” Lauren-Anne called.
I sighed to myself before looking up. “Hey, Lauren-Anne,” I ignored Meg.
“Sit with us,” Lauren-Anne urged.
I couldn’t say no. They were part of the Charm Club. It would look bad if I didn’t sit with them. Unfortunately, Lauren-Anne was sitting in the aisle seat. I had no choice but to sit next to Meg.
Meg smiled at me like nothing was wrong. “Hi, Tiffany.”
I was already in a bad mood. Before I could stop myself, I asked, “You’re going to act like nothing's wrong?”
She stared at me for a moment before asking, “Why would anything be wrong?” She asked in a chirpy voice.
“Seriously? You have no idea?”
“No.”
“You called Marylin and Beverly and told on me. You told them that I was trying to steal Graham from Brittany. And you told them that I was trying to defy them.”
“Because you were doing both of those things. Members of the Charm Club have to stick together.”
I glared at Meg. “Yeah, well you weren’t exactly sticking with me when you told on me.”
“Because you weren’t sticking with Brittany.”
I couldn’t think of anything else to say, and at this point I was furious, so I stood up and dumped my coke on Meg’s head.
Meg stood up. “Tiffany!” She screamed. She shoved me.
I shoved back, and she fell over the row of chairs in front of us.
I ran out of the theatre. What was happening to me? Everything was falling apart. Everything had been since I joined the Charm Club. And something was stopping me from quitting. I needed help.
I ran to the police station.
“You have to help me.” I begged the man at the front desk. “I joined the Charm Club at school, but I want to quit. But I can’t quit. Something is stopping me. It’s like they’re controlling me. Please help me.” I took a couple of breaths. I was worn out from running all the way there, and rambling certainly didn’t help.
The man looked at me. “Something is controlling you?” He asked slowly.
I nodded. “Help me. Please.”
“Ma’am, have you been drinking?” I shook my head. “Have you been doing any drugs? You haven’t smoked any marijuana, have you?”
“No! I’m not on drugs and I’m not crazy. There is something going on. I don’t know what it is, but I need help.”
“I’m going to need your parents’ phone number.”
Not quite sure why he needed it, I gave it to him.
He called my parents and told them to come pick me up. He mentioned something about a psychotic break.
Fifteen minutes later, my parents came rushing into the police station. They both hugged me.
“Mom, Dad. I need your help,” I said weakly.
“We’re going to help you.” My mom told me. “We’re going to get you the help you need.”
Meg
I stormed into my house and upstairs, to take a shower. Lauren-Anne was following closely behind me.
“Meg, wait!” She cried. “I didn’t know that would happen!”
I stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to face her. “It doesn’t matter!” I yelled. “I didn’t want to go and you made me! This whole thing is your fault! Do you know how embarrassing that was?”
“How is it my fault that Graham is dating Brittany? That’s not my fault.”
I shook my head and walked into the bathroom. Lauren-Anne was knocking on the door, but I ignored her as I turned on the shower, drowning out her voice and knocks.
I scrubbed my skin until all the stickiness was gone. Then I lathered my hair in shampoo. I rinsed and then I repeated.
Why was Tiffany so mad at me? What made her think that she was above the rules?
I stepped out of the shower
