another bite of melon.
"I am so sick of that Amberly girl," she said.
"Tell me about it," I replied, happy for the change of subject. Something to distract me. "I'll bet she
sucks as a roommate."
"I hardly know," Sabine replied. "She's in Noelle's room twenty-four-seven. They're fused at the
hip. All they do is talk about their travel plans for Christmas. Noelle even gave Amberly a vintage
Louis Vuitton travel trunk. Portia said it's worth more than Noelle's car."
I could practically feel my skin turning green. It was weird even to think about Portia and Sabine
hanging around Billings, discussing such things. Weird to think that normal Billings life was going
on without me.
"I don't understand what Noelle sees in her," I said through my teeth. "Would you believe the little
twit tried to blackmail me?"
"No! How?" Sabine asked.
"Remember the other night at the library when you walked in on us by the vending machines?" I
said.
167
Sabine nodded, obviously intrigued, her fork suspended over her fruit salad.
"She basically told me she wanted me to give her that Billings disc or else," I said, rolling my eyes.
Sabine's face slackened slightly. "But you destroyed that disc."
"I know, but I told Noelle I still had a copy," I replied, blushing slightly as I recalled my own lame
attempt at blackmail.
"Oh. But you don't?" Sabine asked, pushing her food around now.
"No. I was just trying to get Noelle's attention," I said with a sigh, folding my arms on the table.
"Anyway, Amberly went all Sopranos about it. Like she was willing to do anything to protect her
own."
"Well, it's a good thing she can't get her hands on that information," Sabine said, laying her fork
down finally. "It would not be good for anyone if that got out."
"I know. I kind of have a feeling that, no matter what she says, our privacy would not be her first
priority," I added, glancing over at Amberly as she held out her hand to show her manicured nails
to Lorna.