Pretty Little Devils by Nancy Holder Page B

locker! ”
    Hazel shook her head. Sylvia said Breona would play the innocent victim . She balled her fists inside the pockets of her black hoodie and looked away.
    Breona rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. Did they tell you to diss me? You aren’t really a PLD, are you? You’re just hanging out with them, under the mistaken impression that they’re nice people. Right?”
    Hazel kept her voice calm and steady. “Actually, I am a PLD.”
    â€œOh my God! Hazel, do not hang out up with them. They are totally evil. I know you didn’t have anything to do with what happened to me, but—”
    â€œI’m sorry, Breona,” Hazel said. She pulled out her lab stool. Case closed.
    â€œOkay,” Breona muttered, her eyes flashing with anger. “But if you stick with them, you have signed on for some serious trouble, girlfriend.”
    Lakshmi hurried into the room. She glanced over at Hazel and gave her a little smile. Then she set her pack down and clambered onto her stool one table away.
    â€œHow’s it going?” Lakshmi asked.
    Before Hazel could reply, Breona leaned over. “Don’t bother, Lakshmi. Hazel’s just like the rest of those bitches. She’s not allowed to talk to anyone who isn’t a PLD.”
    Lakshmi blinked. “Oh?”
    â€œThat’s not true,” Hazel countered quickly. “I can talk to whoever I want.”
    â€œOh. That’s right. It’s not that she can’t talk to you. It’s that she just doesn’t want to talk to you. She thinks you’re a loser. And so do all her little friends.”
    Lakshmi’s mouth dropped open. “Hazel? That’s…not true…is it?”
    â€œNo,” Hazel said.
    She tried to make the word believable, but her face gave everything away.
    Tears brimmed in Lakshmi’s eyes.
    Then Ms. Carpentier looked up from her desk. “All right, people. Take your seats.”
    Everyone fell mercifully silent, but Lakshmi shot Hazel a dirty look before turning to the front of the classroom.
    Hazel sighed. I knew I’d make friends as a PLD , she thought. I hadn’t really counted on making enemies.
    Â 
    When Hazel arrived for her sitting job at Charlie’s, Mr. Pollins, a chubby, middle-aged man, was rushing around getting ready for a night shift.
    â€œCharlie will show you around,” he said as he went into his study.
    She suppressed a grin. Clearly Mr. Pollins was unaware that she had been in his home before—along with about twenty other high school kids.
    Pale little Charlie was clad in pajamas and a bathrobe. He led Hazel into the kitchen. “Hey. Matty didn’t send me the jpeg yet.”
    â€œI’m sure he will,” she promised, hoping it was true.
    She noticed an open can on the counter and a pot on the stove. “Do you want some SpaghettiOs?”
    â€œNo,” Charlie answered. “I’m not really all that hungry.”
    â€œIs there something else you’d rather have?” she asked.
    â€œNo.” He rubbed his forehead. “I’m a kid. We eat stuff like this.”
    Hazel chuckled at Charlie’s matter-of-fact delivery. He continued to rub his temples.
    â€œHeadache?” Hazel asked sympathetically.
    â€œTension,” he replied.
    â€œTell you what. Why don’t you go on to your room and I’ll bring you dinner in bed. Sound good?”
    He nodded. “Thanks.” He shuffled off to his room like a little old man.
    Hazel dumped the can into the pot and lit the burner. While the SpaghettiOs were heating, she got some two percent milk out of the fridge and found an Incredibles cup in the cupboard.
    Mr. Pollins came into the kitchen. “I’ll be home very late. Please feel free to nap. And if you wouldn’t mind answering the phone…”
    â€œOf course. Whatever you say.”
    â€œLock up after me, all right?”
    She followed him to the door and secured the