The Devil's Advocate

Three

CADY

The first thing Cady does when she starts her investigation is break her promise to Professor Williams.

The only reason he agreed to let her move forward with the project in the first place was if she swore to him she would not, in any shape or form, get in touch with the Sawyers or the Chandlers.

As she steps out of her bike, Cady mentally apologizes to him. She places her sneakers on the front yard and makes her way to the entrance anyway, despite knowing she's getting an earful (and probably her first F) if he finds out.

The old colonial house looms over her as if daring her to take the next step, and Cady's apprehensive mind makes the simple, two story residence look far more intimidating than it actually is.

The Sawyers' home used to be very pretty. It wasn't breathtaking like Regina's lavish house, but it was lovely, with its green lawn, always so full of life with alliums and daylilies scattered around; the big windows always open and the picket fences so pristinely white. The typical suburban home that Cady used to dream of back in Kenya, one that housed a happy family who ate breakfast together and barbecued on the weekends, like in those old Norman Rockwell paintings.

Five years later, the place is barely recognizable. The lawn is sad and dry, the walls are painted sloppily to cover the slurs people had spray painted over the years, and the windows are always shut now, as the Sawyers lock themselves inside, hidden from the rest of the world.

Not only that, but the house looks like it's missing something, something less tactile but just as important. It lacks life. That brightness that glowed so strongly before doesn't exist anymore, and all that is left is grief and pain, and Cady can almost feel that seeping through every crevice of the house, making it stand out dull and grey against all of the other houses around it.

Cady wants to turn back and leave this poor family alone, but she knows she needs to do this. She sucks in a breath and rings the doorbell.

Nothing happens for a minute, and just as Cady is about to turn around and leave, she hears the lock turning on the inside.

The door swings open to reveal a girl around Cady's age. She's wearing an old Beetlejuice t-shirt and a pair of black leggings with scribbles all over, her brown hair, dyed blonde at the tips, is arranged in a messy ponytail, with paintbrushes sticking out of it.

"Can I help you?" Janis Sawyer asks her, with an eyebrow raised and a puzzled look on her face as she eyes Cady up and down.

Like with the wild animals her parents studied back in Africa, Cady knows she has to approach Janis carefully to avoid scaring her away.

"Hi," she begins with a smile, swallowing the anxiety that burns her throat like glass shards. "I'm Cady Heron."

"I know who you are," Janis says. Cady can feel the disdain emanating in her voice, and she recoils a bit. "You're Regina's friend."

The way Janis puts it makes it seem like being friends with Regina is the most horrible crime in the world. Cady knows a bit about the story, how two 10 year old girls went from best friends to worst enemies in a matter of days.

When Regina told her about their fallout (over a silly pool party, no less), Cady thought it was just idiotic 5th grade antics, but apparently the grudge between the two girls lasted a lot longer.

"Hm... yeah, I guess I am," Cady says, laughing nervously. Part of her wants to deny it and reassure Janis that she has nothing to do with Regina because right now, she needs to get on Janis' good side. But lying would do her no good. She really is friends with Regina. Sure, they don't talk as much now that they're in college, but Regina took Cady under her wings when she first arrived in America, as a lost, scared 11 year old girl, and in spite of the many challenges that came with being friends with someone as bossy and mean as Regina, they managed to remain friends all through high school. Cady couldn't just erase all of that, as convenient as it would be for her.