Secrets & Lies

Chapter 6

“Guys,” Kelly called out in a loud whisper. “Don’t leave me!” In the dim streetlight, Lauren saw a peeved expression come over Courtney’s face. To the right of her, Jen looked troubled, a hint of fear flitting on her face. But before Lauren could be sure, it was gone.

Huffing and puffing, Kelly trudged up to the trio of the girls, hidden in the darkness of the shadows. “So here’s the last two rolls,” she said softly, handing them to Courtney who snatched them quickly, her ring flashing as it caught in the dim light of the streetlight they stood near.

A giant oak covered them from wandering eyes, allowing the four girls to blend in with the shadows and rendered them invisible, unseen to the naked eye. But like most things, upon closer inspections, things weren’t exactly as they seemed. Not even close.

Courtney smirked slightly as she gazed beyond their group, up at the giant Victorian house that loomed in front of them. “So,” she said, her voice laced with something that sent shivers up Lauren’s spine. And not the good kind either. “We should climb to the roof and drop these in the chimney. I mean, we have already decorated the house enough.” She grinned, and Lauren copied her shakily as the quartet stared at the masterpiece in front of them.

Swallowing hard, Lauren surveyed the grounds. Or rather, what she could see of the grounds. Most of it was covered top to bottom with long, white strands of… toilet paper.

Courtney’s idea of celebrating had been to pull a prank. Earlier that night, they had lounged around, munching on the snacks that Mrs. Anderson had brought, admiring their new rings and thinking of what kind of prank to pull. Kelly had suggested something on the phone, but Courtney had turned up her nose, saying that jokes like those were for sixth graders. Jen spoke up, saying they should ding-dong ditch someone’s house. Of course, that idea was shot down by her royal highness, Courtney, in a split second. Lauren kept her mouth shut, pretending as though she had no good ideas to contribute.

In reality though, she’d watched the crestfallen face of Kelly, and the hurt look Jen had when Courtney had poked fun at both of their thoughts. That was one expression she didn’t want to have on her face.  Lauren personally believed both were good ideas, but this was Courtney. The girl who knew best. The girl who no one could say no to.

So naturally, when Courtney had jumped out her seat, proclaiming that she had the most brilliant idea in the world, everyone waited anxiously, dancing on the tips of their toes. Shortly, she returned with a big black trash bag in tow, a devilish expression etched into her flawless face.

Breathlessly, the girls listened in as Courtney divulged her plan: to wrap the old Victorian mansion the next street down with toilet paper. The mansion was rumored to be an old haunted house, owned by different people, according to various stories. A Satan-worshipping witch, an ancient cat lady, a gothic couple who were part of a cult, a Frankenstein-looking creeper that experimented on children were only a few of the many stories. One by one, each one’s face dropped from a look of enthusiastic excitement to one of dread and apprehension. Jen gulped loudly; Kelly’s face had turned pale. Lauren didn’t know what to think. They all had a queasy feeling about this – it wouldn’t end right. But as usual, no one said anything.

So naturally there they were, well after midnight, glancing all around uneasily. Well, Lauren was anyway. She couldn’t shake the odd feeling that someone was watching them.

“Courtney,” she whispered, after a heated battle within herself. Courtney’s blue eyes danced in delight as she and the others looked over at her expectantly. “I,” she paused, biting her lip. Everyone stared at her, waiting. It was too much.

“Never mind,” Lauren finished her eyes downcast. Kelly blew out a breath as the wind whooshed past. They continued to stand there, watching the white strands of toilet paper hang from the trees, moving as the breeze pushed them. The thin paper looked like ghosts as it covered the bushes, the fence, the trees and the entire front porch. They probably would have done more, except that Courtney had given specific instructions that the last two rolls had to be saved for her final part of the prank.

Dropping them in the chimney.

Jen broke the eerie silence that had settled once more. “So, are we going to do it…” she trailed off uncertainly, her eyes flickering from face to face. “Or are we just going to go home?” Her expression brightened considerably when she added the last part, Lauren noted wryly.

“Yeah,” jumped in Kelly, speaking in a loud whisper. “We should just call it a night. I think we’ve done enough.” Lauren nodded enthusiastically before finding her voice.

“Besides we can stay up late and hang out at your house. I even brought that new movie you’ve been dying to see!” she exclaimed softly, hoping they would just turn around and go home. The sooner they went back to the Andersons, the happier she would be. Lauren was not one for pranking other people, but Courtney hadn’t really made it a choice. It was always her way or the highway. And seeing as the highway wasn’t an option, it was always her way.

Courtney snorted quietly, her lips smirking as if to say what losers. “Really? Way to be chickens guys.” She rolled her eyes. “If you’re going to be such babies, then go home. I can do it myself.”

Vehemently, Lauren shook her head along with both Jen and Kelly. “No, never mind,” she found herself saying. “We’ll stay.” Courtney turned back around, but not before Lauren caught her smug smile which radiated nothing but self-confidence and cockiness.

I suppose when you are as fabulous as Courtney you can do that, thought Lauren with a wistful sigh. A twig branch snapped, startling everyone. Kelly gasped as Courtney’s eyes became giant ocean blue orbs.

Jen held her hands up in surrender. “Shh, it was only me. Sorry,” she whispered frantically, scanning the ground to make sure there were no other noisemakers.

A scowl flashed across Courtney’s face as she whipped back around, crossing her arms. “Okay,” she said after a moment. “I’m going to do it. But I need you to give me a boost.” Courtney looked around at the four, her eyes holding a mischievous glint.

She pointed to the sloping part of the roof, just above the porch. It was shaded by a looming oak so she should be covered most of the way. “I’m going to stand on the railing,” Courtney said in a hushed voice so low that the other girls inched forward to listen.

Lauren’s heart thudded loudly in her chest as she strained to hear the plan. Never in her life had she done something so daring. But at the same time, her corners of her mouth twitched, itching to form a small smile. It was thrilling to be a part of Courtney’s secluded group, exciting to be the one involved in such clandestine plans.

“Lauren and Kelly will give me a boost up,” she continued without hesitation. “I’ll keep climbing and use the roof tiles for support. When I’m close to the chimney, Jen will throw me the two rolls since she has the best aim and can actually throw things,” she stopped, shooting Kelly a conspiratorial wink. Lauren chuckled silently, knowing it was true. Jen, being on the basketball team, was excellent at both throwing and catching. Lauren was decent, as was Courtney. Kelly however, wasn’t exactly sports material. When Jen had thrown her a ball during a pickup game outside her house, she’d thrown the ball so hard that it had ricocheted off the backboard and slammed back to Kelly, hitting the side of her face. She used globs of foundation and concealer to hide the mark left there for weeks. Funny enough, Courtney who’d been so sympathetic during the event did a complete three sixty at school the following week, teasing Kelly mercilessly by alluring to the bruise over and over. Clearly, it wasn’t funny, especially not to the poor girl but that didn’t stop her. Nothing stopped Courtney.

Rustling footsteps snapped Lauren out of her reverie. Wide eyed, she glanced around, shaking her head as she realized she’d zoned out completely. Jen and Kelly were already darting from tree to tree, hiding as they rushed to the patio where Courtney was impatiently waiting, cloaked by the darkness. Quickly, Lauren followed suit, peering around every so often. She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone or something was watching them.