The Heiress Club

Chapter 8: Angel & Devil

CW: underage drinking

Before revenge, there must be duty.

And unfortunately, it seems to be my duty to attend this godforsaken Halloween party. I can't quite explain why—I just know that I have to be there. Sparky would be disappointed if I passed up on an opportunity to make friends like this.

I refuse to let Jasper take anything more from me, including my peace of mind, so I attempt to completely forget him while I plan out Halloween costumes with Es in the common room.

"Something slutty," I suggest.

Es flushes red; she's still a princess after all and probably hasn't been raised around normal teenagers. To her credit, she keeps her composure. "Um ... maybe you can wear that. I'd rather ..."

"Something not slutty."

"Yeah."

I can't wear something not slutty. I'd die. "I was going to suggest Playboy bunnies, but I guess that's out the window."

Es giggles. "We could be princesses."

"But you're actually a princess, so that's just sad for me. What if we went as an angel and a devil?" I actually like that idea. I think being a devil would be cute. And sufficiently slutty.

Es cracks half a smile but shakes her head. "My grandmother is devoutly, devoutly Catholic. I think she would faint."

"She doesn't have to know," I suggest, but I ditch that idea anyway. "We could be the Powerpuff girls if Noelise gets on board."

Noelise must've heard me from her room because she opens her door just to yell, "No."

"Why not?" I call back.

After a moment of silence, Noelise opens her door again. She's trying out this new eye look which involves rolling mascara all over her eyelids for a messy eyeliner look. It's kind of terrifying. I guess that's the intent. "Slutty halloween costumes are a device to enforce woman-against-woman competition by the patriarchy," she says. "And parties with alcohol make getting roofied exponentially more likely. I'll pass."

"Nobody's going to roofie you," Es protests.

I don't comment on that because it's actually quite likely for a girl to get roofied. Es is a little too sheltered. "Suit yourself," I say, and return to trying to think of slutty halloween costumes.

In the end, my and Es's halloween costume visions don't match up. She's considering not even going before I finally convince her to go as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. I settle on going as a devil. It's not as iconic as it would be if we did it as a group costume, but I have an artistic image which I'm not letting go of.

"Are you going to dress up at all?" I call to Noelise as I'm ordering my costume.

"You'll see," she yells back, and that's that.

꧁꧂

I whistle. Cyra was not lying about Jasper's house being huge.

His family obviously exploited serfs in the 16th century because they own a grand historical manor only a little ways away from the school, standing tall and proud on a cliff. We all piled into Manon's jeep and Mikhail's bugatti (they're both eighteen, old enough to drive) earlier to come out here. Even from a distance, the manor is imposing. Close-up, it's the most glamorous thing I've ever seen.

A wide stone-paved driveway leads up to the house, circling around a bronze-cast statue of what seems to be a circle of nymphs, dancing in wild revelry. The grounds are well-kept, with topiary trimmed in the shapes of swans framing the entrance to the house. I catch a glimpse of a rose garden curling around the sides.