Masquerade of Lies Read Free

eyes. She had on black capris and a pink U-collar pleated lace up chiffon top. Her high heeled T-strap Guess sandals accentuated her long legs. Jessica was a mini-Claire, except she had long straight blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She wore a short hot pink skirt, a black low cut halter top, and black Chanel shoes.
    As they approached us, Claire scrunched up her face like something stank.
    “Do you smell something, girls? Oh wait–I know what it is: it’s Brooke.” Katie and Jessica started to laugh, but they didn’t say anything to me. “So, tell me, Brooke,” Claire continued, “have you slept with any teachers lately?”
    “Claire, you have a little something on your cheek...it looks like sperm, so you better clean it up before Josh finds out.”
    Claire’s mouth opened wide. “As if! You’re so vile! It’s a good thing you like to wear black, Brooke, because you’ll be dressed for your own funeral!”
    She spun on her heels and stormed away, and Katie and Jessica followed. Brooke and I stood in the hall as students and teachers walked back and forth around us.
    “What’s the deal with her?” I asked.
    Brooke lowered her eyes for a moment, then raised them again. “Before we started high school, things were different. She was different. We met in the second grade and became best friends. We used to live on the same street, so we were always at each other’s house.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Anyway, when we came to Willowdale High, we were so excited because we weren’t going to be in junior high anymore. I started crushing on my ninth grade math teacher, Mr. Parsons. He was really nice and a good teacher, and it was just a harmless schoolgirl crush. He really cared about his students, you know?” I nodded my head. “Math wasn’t my best subject, so I used to stay after school and get extra help from him. He used to praise me and make me feel smart.” She put her hands on her chest. “That was probably the reason I liked him so much.” She dropped her arms to her side. “Whatever. Claire was my best friend, so I told her about my crush in confidence, and she promised she wouldn’t say anything to anybody.” She began fiddling with one of her nails. “Well, the next day, people started blurting out perverse things about me and Mr. Parsons. Claire told everybody at school that I had a crush on him, and because we spent so much time together after school, people believed there was something going on between us. Rumors spread, and they got completely out of hand. Mr. Parsons was under investigation and fired for having an inappropriate relationship with a student, but it never happened! He doesn’t even teach anymore; he owns a café now.” She ran her hands down her cheeks. “I was so embarrassed. I had reporters constantly calling my house and ambushing me at school. I ended up dropping out for a while. It’s taken me a long time to get over what happened. Do you know that to this day, Claire still hasn’t apologized for the hurt and embarrassment she caused me? This was her way of becoming popular and being the center of attention, even if it cost us our friendship. I vowed never to trust her or be friends with her again,” Brooke finished fiercely, tears dotting her eyes.
    Her looks deceived me, because behind that dark and tough persona was an emotionally wounded girl.

CHAPTER TWO—KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE AND YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER
     
    I looked up, and there he was, standing across the cafeteria. My future husband. Josh Banks. He was wearing a burgundy and white football jersey with the number 23 on the front. My skin started to tingle. I bit my nails.
    As the murmur of conversations carried on throughout the cafeteria, I looked up and spotted Claire. She was wearing a red and white cheerleading uniform with the word Wolves written across the front of her shirt. Katie and Jessica followed behind her, both wearing the same thing.
    I shoved an overcooked French fry in my