In the Club Read Free

moldings were on every ceiling. The curving staircases were carpeted. Ornate chandeliers brightened several classrooms and offices. Anyone entering the school for the first time would easily think the building was a hotel or museum. Walking from one floor to another was an exercise in luxury, and the most opulent furnishings could be found on the uppermost level, where the principal’s office occupied a large corner.
    When Madison reached the fifth–floor staircase landing and hung a sharp right turn, she stopped dead in her tracks. At the end of the hall stood her best friend, Coco McKaid, and her sister Lexington.
    “Ahhh,” Damien whispered. “The beautiful ladies are already in wait.”
    Madison took quiet steps toward them, clutching her bag tightly. She wasn’t pleased with Lex’s appearance—her skirt was too short, and she had completely redesigned her own version of the school uniform; the customarily plain navy blazer now sparkled with dozens of tiny diamond chips. Her blond hair fell to the middle of her back in wavy tendrils, but the preferred hairdo at St. Cecilia’s Prep was far more conservative. Like the French braid that held back Madison’s dark locks.
    “Hey there!” Lex said, smiling at her sister but offering an even bigger smile to Damien.
    Madison shot Lex a disapproving look over the rim of her sunglasses. “Do you have any idea what this is about? I’ve never been called to the principal’s office.”
    “It’s probably nothing,” Coco said, looking like her good old messy and tired self. She wore her hair in a cute pixie cut, but several strands were sticking up at the back of her head. “I mean, that’s just what I’m assuming. I wasn’t called here. I just came along for the walk.”
    Madison frowned. “Well, this can’t be good.”
    “Just relax,” Lex answered. She stepped past Madison and gave Damien’s necktie a playful tug. “So, how’s my favorite bad boy?”
    Damien growled like a hungry dog. “I’m better now that I’m here, with my lips barely two inches away from yours.”
    Lex snuggled closer to him. “I
love
it when you talk dirty.”
    Madison rolled her eyes.
    “I just want to
ravish
you, Lexington,” Damien whispered, sounding more and more like some actor on daytime TV.
    “Ravish?” Coco said, confused. “Isn’t that a vegetable?”
    Madison stared at Lex, who stared at Damien, who stared back at Coco.
    Duh.
    “What?” Coco asked. “Did I hear wrong?”
    Madison shook her head. “Damien said
ravish,
not
radish.
”
    “Oh.” Coco shrugged. It was the defeated gesture of a girl who had never excelled at phonics. “It still sounded…tasty.” She nudged Lex’s arm and winked.
    “Anyway, Damien was just leaving,” Madison snapped, growing more tense as they stood outside Reverend Mother Margaret’s office. “Right, bad boy?”
    Damien clucked his tongue. “You getting rid of me so fast, love?” He cupped Lex’s hand in his and kissed it.
    Lex threw her head back, playing along with the game. “We’ll see you tonight, right?”
    “A party wouldn’t be a party without me.” Damien nodded at Madison and Coco. Then he turned around and yelled “Cheerio!” before running back down the hall and out of sight.
    “You see?” Coco said. “I know I heard it right that time. He keeps talking about food. He just mentioned Cheerios.”
    Madison stared hopelessly at her best friend. “Cheerio is a salutation. It’s how they say good-bye in England.”
    “It’s
so
hot,” Lex added.
    “Hot?” Coco wrinkled her nose. “Doesn’t make sense to me. Do we all go around saying Cocoa Puffs to each other?”
    “Whatever the case, Damien is top on my most wanted list.” Lex reached into her own bag, pulled out a compact, and checked her reflection in the small circular mirror.
    “If you’re so hot for him, why haven’t you hit him up for a date?” Coco asked.
    Lex snapped the compact shut. “
I
don’t ask guys out.
They
have to