Bad Reputation Read online

  I stared at him, puzzled, as I replied, “No, not really. If you think that’s exotic, you should hear my real name.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Chrysanthemum.”

  Jack raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  Whitney laughed. “She's Josh's little sister. Don't get any ideas, or both of them will kick your ass.”

  “I didn't know Josh has a sister.”

  I smiled. “Well, it looks like I have the upper hand, so you better watch your step.”

  Jack’s eyes widened. “You're just like your brother.”

  “Don't listen to him,” Whitney told me. “He thinks that that's a compliment.”

  Jack looked at her. “You wanted to be just like him a few years ago. You thought he’d want to be your boyfriend if you were more like him.”

  Whitney threw a box of cereal at her brother. “Jack! Get out of here!”

  He got up and walked toward the front door. “I’m going, I’m going,” He winked at me. “I’ll see you around.”

  Once the front door closed, I turned to Whitney. “You had a crush on my brother?”

  “Yeah, when he first came here. I was stupid. I was twelve years old,” She paused before adding, “Don’t tell him.”

  I sat down at the kitchen table. “Please. I don’t plan on telling him anything. The objective of the next three years is to survive. Then I’m out of here.”

  “Where are you going to go?”

  I shrugged. “Back to Los Angeles, probably. I might have had a hard time there, but it’s my home. I don’t suppose my boyfriend will wait for me, but my friends might.”

  “You had a boyfriend in Los Angeles?”

  I nodded.

  “I’ve never had a boyfriend. Boys are scared of my brothers. What’s it like?”

  “It’s alright. He was older than me, so sometimes he wanted to do stuff that I didn’t want to do.”

  “Did you do it?”

  I shook my head.

  “I think I would,” Whitney told me.

  I looked at her. “Really?”

  She nodded. “I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.”

  I stared at her but didn’t say anything. We were so young. I know she was older than me, but it was only by a year.

  “But, you know, I wouldn’t do it right away. My mom says you have to make boys wait for that kind of stuff. It shows them who’s in charge.”

  I still kept quiet. It seemed like I wouldn’t be getting boy advice from Whitney anytime soon.

  “Are you guys officially broken up?”

  I shrugged.

  “Is there anyone you like here?”

  “I just moved here.”

  Whitney grinned. “A girl can look, can’t she?”

  I smiled. “Yeah, but I don’t know if there’s anyone here for me. I don’t know, most of the guys just seem gross.”

  “That’s what I like about Tyler. He’s nice. Maybe once he and I start going out, I can get him to set you up with one of his friends.”

  I didn’t want to tell her that I liked Tyler, so instead, I said, “Cameron is kind of cute.”

  “Don’t even think about him. He has a girlfriend. Her name is Faith and she’s the most annoying thing on Earth. She’s too nice. It’s so obnoxious. But they’re totally in love and they’re going to get married someday.”

  I tried to look upset. “Damn.”

  “Don’t worry,” Whitney said, putting her arm around me. “We’ll find someone for you.”

  Whitney took me up to her room, where we spent an hour looking at guys in her yearbook. I didn’t tell her that it was pointless. I didn’t want to ruin this friendship. Whitney seemed like someone I needed on my side.

  Finally, Whitney decided to change the subject. “Hey, what were you doing looking for sewing stuff yesterday? You don’t seem like the type who would sew.”

  I blushed. I didn’t normally tell people that I wanted to be a fashion designer. I was usually laughed at for that. “I like fashion,” I said. “I think it’s what I want to do when I’m older. But all the clothes at Goodwill were ugly, so I’m going to fix them up.”

  “What are you going to do with them?”

  “Turn everything into dresses. I’m even making Peter Pan collars.” I stood up. “Actually, I should probably get to work on that. I think it’s going to take a while, and I don’t want to have to keep wearing this dress.”

  “Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then.”

  “Yep. And don’t worry, I’ll see what I can find out about Tyler.”

  Whitney hugged me, which really surprised me. She didn’t seem like a hugger. “You’re the best.”

  I laughed. “I know.”

  I was up until two in the morning, making a bunch of dresses. It didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would, but it still took an awfully long time. Smiling at my creations, I turned off the desk lamp and laid down in bed.

  The next morning I woke up and put on one of my dresses. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled at my creation. It was a simple dark green shirt with a white skirt. And I had a floral Peter Pan collar. I looked at myself one last time. I grinned, I was ready for school.

  At breakfast, Joshua asked, “That’s what you stayed up doing all night?”

  I nodded, ready for whatever comment he had.

  “It looks nice. I can tell you worked hard on it.”

  I grinned. “Thanks, Josh.”

  “Did you do a lot of that back in Los Angeles?”

  I nodded.

  “Then you’re actually good at designing?”

  I shrugged. “I guess so.”

  Just then, Whitney rang the doorbell.

  “See you later,” I said, standing up.

  “Have fun, I guess,” Josh said.

  I laughed. “Fun at school? Yeah right.”

  When I walked outside, Whitney stared at me for a moment. “Turn around,” She demanded.

  I turned around.

  “I love it. Can you make me one? I’ll pay you,” She grabbed my wrist, looking at the bracelet I had made with plastic star beads. “And I want one of these too.”

  “You don’t have to pay me,” I told her.

  “I want to. You obviously worked hard on it.”

  I shrugged. “Fine. Forty-five bucks for all of it.”

  “Deal,” Whitney said, shaking my hand.

  At school, all the girls were complimenting my dress. Even some of the guys, including my brother’s friends.

  “That’s a cool dress, Chrissy,” Kyle said.

  “Thanks. I made it.”

  “You made that?” Tyler asked. “What are you, a fashion designer or something?”

  I shrugged. “Hopefully someday.”

  “Hey, Chrissy. You should make something for Cameron and me. Something we could wear while we’re at work,” Caleb told me.

  I laughed. “Something with flowers on it?”

  “Especially something with flowers on it.”

  The bell rang.

  “Come on, man. We have to get to chemistry,” Caleb told Cameron.

  “Let’s get to English,” Tyler said to me.

  Whitney started walking off. “See you at lunch, Chrissy!” She called over her shoulder.

  “We’re not gonna forget about you making something for us!” Kyle called as he, Cameron and Caleb walked off.

  All day, people were complimenting my dress. Everyone wanted to know where I got it. When I told them I made it, they seemed impressed.

  At lunch, a couple of girls started walking toward our table. One of them was in a cheerleader uniform.

  “Oh great. Here come Briana and Madison,” Whitney said.

  “Who are they?”

  “A couple of cheerleaders. Briana’s alright. But Madison’s dating Adam Lits. That makes her horrible.”

  “Chrysanthemum Scoppio, right?” The blonde in the cheerleader uniform asked.

  I nodded.

  She
stuck out her hand. “I’m Madison Chen. This is Briana Fent. Your brother is Joshua, right?”

  I nodded again.

  Madison grinned. “He’s so gorgeous.”

  “Um, thanks,” I wasn’t really sure what to say about that. I looked at Briana. Like most kids at school, she seemed terrified of being in my presence. Madison didn’t seem phased at all.

  “You made that outfit, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s really great. Anyway, some of the girls on the cheerleading squad were wondering if you could make some for us?”

  “Sixty dollars a dress,” Whitney broke in. “And fifteen dollars a bracelet.”

  “Seventy-five dollars for the whole thing?” Briana cried.

  “It’s all handmade,” Whitney gestured to me. “Look at that. You’re getting a real piece of quality work here.”

  “Seventy and you’ve got a deal,” Madison said to both Whitney and me.

  Whitney and I glanced at each other. She nodded.

  I turned to Madison. “Sounds good,” I shook her hand.

  After they left, I turned to Whitney. “People are going to pay seventy dollars for something that I made!” I said excitedly. “I wonder how many other people would pay that kind of money.”

  Whitney grinned. “You’re gonna be rich.”

  Chapter 7

  Cheerleaders love to talk. So, by the end of the week, I had orders for dresses and all kinds of jewelry from seventeen more girls. People had heard that I was in business, and it was making them like me. People weren’t afraid to come up and talk to me at lunch or in class.

  But making so many things wasn’t easy. Besides making shirts for seventeen “customers”, and the cheerleading squad, I was still trying to make clothes for myself. I had gone straight home every day after school, but I was still up past midnight every night.

  “Do you want to come over to my place this weekend?” Whitney asked as we were walking down the hall on Friday morning.

  “I can’t,” I groaned. “You have no idea how behind I am on making things for everyone.”

  “That sucks. I thought being rich would be easier than that.”

  “I know, right? Being rich is a lot of work.”

  “You’re sure you can’t hang out? Not even for a few hours?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You’re gonna spend your first weekend in Vegas holed up in your room?”

  I didn’t say anything. When she put it that way, it didn’t sound like too much fun.

  “Come on, Greg has parties all the time. Let’s go to one tonight or tomorrow night.”

  “I don’t know, Whitney. Joshua told me to stay away from Greg and his parties.”

  “Since when do you care about what Josh thinks?”

  “I don’t, but I want to at least stay on his good side.”

  “Hey, there’s Tyler. Let’s invite him to go with us.”

  “Whitney, I don’t think we should go,” I said.

  But Whitney wasn’t listening. She was pulling me toward Tyler. “Hey, Tyler,” She grinned.

  “Hi, Whitney,” Tyler smiled at me. “Hi, Chrissy.”

  I smiled. “Hey.”

  “What are you doing tomorrow night?” Whitney asked.

  “I don’t have any plans yet. Why?”

  “We were just wondering if you wanted to go to a party at Greg’s with us.”

  “At Greg’s?” Tyler asked. “I don’t know about that. Greg has some pretty wild parties.”

  “Come on,” Whitney said. “We’ll be there. With a couple of good girls like us, what could go wrong?”

  “You? Good?” Caleb asked, sneaking up behind us. “Whitney, I know good, and there’s nothing good about you.”

  Cameron laughed before asking, “What could go wrong where?”

  Whitney was quiet for a moment. I could tell she was debating on telling them where we were going. If they knew that we were inviting Tyler, then we’d have to invite them as well. Finally, she said, “To a party at Greg’s. Wanna come?”

  “Are there gonna be girls there?” Caleb asked.

  “It’s one of Greg’s parties, what do you think?” Whitney asked.

  “I’m in,” Caleb said.

  “Yeah, I’ll come too,” Cameron agreed. “Can we ask Kyle if he wants to come along?”

  Whitney shrugged. “It’s not my party. Invite whoever you want.”

  I started to get kind of excited. I had never been to any kind of party before. When your brother is a known criminal, you aren’t exactly getting invited to the birthday party of the girl in the apartment below you. I turned to Tyler. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

  After a moment, Tyler shrugged. “Oh, alright. I’ll come.”

  Before anyone could say anything, the bell rang.

  As Tyler and I walked to class, he said, “I don’t have a good feeling about this party.”

  “Why not?” I asked. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

  “I don’t know, but I just have that feeling.”

  “What feeling?”

  “The same one I got the day my mom died. When she left the house that morning, I got this really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. And then when the police showed up at our front door, I already knew why they were there.”

  I thought for a moment. It sounded crazy, but I believed him. “How did your mom die?” I asked.

  “She was shot. There was a robbery at the gas station she worked at, and she tried to fight back. The guy shot her right in the head.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  Tyler shrugged. “I’ve gotten used to not having her around.”

  I could tell it still hurt him, though. I said, “If something happens, then we’ll leave. I promise.”

  The next night I went over to Whitney’s house to get ready for the party. It would have been easier to get ready at home since that’s where the party was, but it was kind of hard to get ready in such a small space. It took us about an hour to get ready, then we walked back to my house and waited out front for everyone else to show up.

  “Do I look alright?” Whitney asked.

  I looked at her outfit. She was wearing the dress I had made her and black high tops, which were the only shoes she owned. The dress looked great. I had taken an old Led Zeppelin t-shirt and a black skirt with white stars all over it and turned them into a dress. And I had added a leather Peter Pan collar. Then, since Whitney was my best friend, I had made her a Miss World necklace that matched my own.

  I nodded. “You look cute.”

  Whitney smiled. “You look cute, too.”

  I grinned. I was wearing the same thing as her, only my shirt was a Sonic Youth shirt. I couldn’t believe it when I had found one at Goodwill.

  “I think tonight is the night that something is going to happen with Tyler.”

  I didn’t look at her. I was worried my face would give something away. “Go for it,” I told her.

  “I was thinking, Tyler’s group of friends is really the only group of people around here that aren’t horrible. Maybe you should try to date someone in his circle.”

  I made a face. “They’re my brother’s friends, it’d be kind of weird.”

  “Yeah, but they’re good guys. What about Kyle? Yeah, he isn’t the smartest, but he’s funny. And he’s not bad looking.”

  “He’s four years older than me.”

  “Yeah, but when you’re eighty and he’s eighty-four, it won’t make a difference.”

  I looked at Whitney. She managed to keep a serious look on her face for all of five seconds before we both burst out laughing. For a moment, we were just two girls waiting to go to a party, laughing our asses off on a front porch. We weren’t anyone’s little sisters. We were just Chrissy and Whitney. And we were friends. Real friends. I felt like it was something that I could get used to.

  “What’s so funny?” Someone asked.

  I looked up. Cameron was walking toward us, with his arm
around a girl with black hair and bright green eyes. The rest of the gang was a few feet behind them.

  I looked at the girl. “You must be Faith,” I said, holding out my hand. “I’m Chrissy Scoppio.”

  She shook my hand. “So, you’re Josh’s sister. Tyler was telling me about you on the way over here,” She looked over at Whitney. “Hi, Whitney.”

  Whitney gave a small wave. I could tell that she didn’t like Faith.

  Everyone else caught up to Cameron and Faith.

  “Hey, guys,” I said. “Ready to go in?”

  Everyone nodded.

  I turned to the front door. I took a breath before opening it. This was my first party. I was nervous.

  “Let’s go, already!” Kyle cried. “I need to get some beer in me!”

  I pushed open the door and stepped into the party.

  “Wait, so you can fit how many pool balls in your mouth?” I asked Kyle.

  It was around one in the morning, four hours into the party. I’m not really sure how many beers I’d had at the point, but it was a lot. Whitney had gone off somewhere with Tyler, Caleb was doing tricks on someone’s skateboard ramp out front, and Faith, Kyle, Cameron, and I were sitting on a couch in one of the gaming rooms.

  “Three. Wanna see?”

  I nodded. “Hell yeah, I want to see.”

  Kyle got up and walked over to the pool table, where a couple of guys were playing a game. “Hey fellas, mind if I borrow a couple of these real quick?”

  The guys gestured toward the table, meaning, Go ahead.

  Kyle grabbed three balls and walked back over to us.

  “I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” Faith said.

  Kyle grinned. “Sweetheart, the problem isn’t getting them in. It’s getting them out.”

  It looked really painful, but Kyle actually managed to get three pool balls in his mouth.

  After we all clapped for him, I got up. “I’m gonna go get another beer.”

  I headed over to the bar, where some guy I had noticed earlier was sitting. He had been staring me down every time I saw him. It was getting kind of creepy.

  As I opened my drink, I asked the guy, who was making it no secret that he was staring at me, “Do you have a problem with me?”

  “No problem here, darlin’.”