The Thrashers(63)
* * *
Our Town played its final performance the following Saturday evening. It was apparently a tradition that the cast and crew break down the set together on the Sunday morning—completely hungover from the night before. Oliver drove her over to one of the actor’s houses.
“I make bank at these cast parties,” he said as they parked in front of the house. He stopped by his trunk and grabbed his backpack, patting the filled pockets lovingly. “Do you wanna make a quick hundred tonight?”
She tore her eyes from his backpack. “Make…?”
“I’ll let you keep twenty-five percent if you wanna push. Just go up to people, start talking about Zack Thrasher, and then ask if they wanna smoke a joint with you.”
Jodi felt her neck flush. “No, I don’t—I don’t feel comfortable with that.”
Oliver shrugged. “That’s fine. If you change your mind, let me know. You’d be surprised how many people would want to talk about the investigation while Jodi Dillon smoked weed with them.”
He started up the pathway through the lawn, heading toward the side door of the house. Jodi stared after him, feeling like she’d just failed some kind of test. Or maybe aced it.
Nikita stumbled over to her, ranting about the local theater awards and the judge that had been at the performance that evening. Jodi’s eyes caught on a girl with dark brown skin on the patio, assessing her. Jodi looked away. She’d been stared at plenty of times, especially now that the news was covering the Thrashers weekly. When she glanced at the patio again, the girl was talking to Oliver, her dark eyes darting to Jodi.
She tried to focus on what Nikita was saying, but her gaze stuck on someone else on the patio.
“What is Reagan Matthews doing here?” Jodi said.
Nikita turned to look. “Her brother is in the cast. He played the mailman.”
Jodi narrowed her eyes. Reagan looked so out of place with her beach waves and perfect skin next to all the techie kids with acne and graphic tees.
Later, when Jodi was exiting the bathroom, she found Reagan leaning against the wall staring down at her phone. Reagan looked up, swooping hair out of her eyes, and a slow smirk spread across her face.
“Jodi,” she greeted. “Did you finally get thrown out with the trash?”
Jodi glared back. “What?”
“I haven’t seen you with the Thrashers at all.” Reagan pushed past her into the bathroom, then turned. “It was smart of you to give them up and take a deal.”
“That’s not what happened—”
“Please, Jodi. Your friends are going to juvie, and you weren’t even charged.”
“Believe what you want. I didn’t sell them out.” Jodi crossed her arms. “And nobody’s going to juvie.”
Reagan’s eyes glittered. “That’s cute. That they’re still keeping things from you.”
The door started to close. Jodi felt her skin pulled taut. Her arm shot out. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Reagan looked her up and down. “Ask Lucy who the eyewitness is in her assault charges.” She lifted a perfectly defined brow and shut the door.
Jodi felt like there was water in her ears. She stared at the closed door.
Lucy hadn’t told her there was an eyewitness. Lucy hadn’t told her much about anything lately. Jodi still didn’t know what the assault even was, but Reagan was claiming to have seen it?
Jodi felt her heart thundering as she headed out back, needing some air. Oliver tried to pass her a joint on the patio, and she declined. She needed to think, not forget.
Sitting on a bench at the side of the house, Jodi had barely gotten ten minutes to herself before footsteps came toward her, crunching in the unraked leaves. She looked up, and the girl who had been talking to Oliver appeared in front of her.
“Are you Jodi Dillon?” she asked. Jodi nodded. “I’m Vanessa. I go to Sac High.”
“Hi.” Jodi waited for her to explain herself.
Vanessa took a deep breath and pushed her long braids over her shoulder. “I knew Emily from freshman year.”
Jodi blinked at her. “Oh.” Her throat tightened, and she couldn’t think of anything else to say. Did Vanessa think Jodi “bullied her to death” like so many others did? Jodi braced herself for an argument, glancing at the people in the yard and realizing she and Vanessa were secluded in this corner.
Vanessa stared at her. “Emily never told you about me?”
“Sorry, no…” Jodi stood. “What would she have told me?”
“Look, I know you probably can’t talk about any of this because of your friends’ charges, but I just needed to make sure someone knew…”
“Knew what?” Jodi felt her arms tingling.
“Why she left Sac High,” Vanessa said. “Someone’s lawyer should do some digging. That’s all.”
Jodi’s pulse slowed as she realized Vanessa didn’t want to yell at her, but before she could ask her what she meant, Vanessa turned back for the party. Jodi called after her, but Vanessa made her way back inside, almost running. She pushed through the crowd and was gone.
* * *
The cast and crew of Our Town took the set apart on Sunday. Jodi took pictures of the backdrop to include in college applications. She was still thinking about what Julian said about “making a career in it.”