Catalyst Page 0,51

just sounds awesome. I'd like to be al dente."

"You are al dente. We're all al dente." Cassie smirked at her.

"Well," Brianna asked, sounding a little terse, more than she should have, "what does it mean, if you even know?"

"It means were done. Finished. Ready to be eaten." Cassie stared blankly in the mirror as she said it. All the fun was sucked out of the air instantly.

Brianna seemed annoyed, "You're such a downer, Cassie. Pull it together, all ready."

"I am together," Cassie snapped, and tugged her hair away from Brianna. "Just because I think quoting Spaghetti-O ads is silly, doesn't mean - "

Brianna cut her off, "It was a famous French chef. And whatever. Do your own hair. Wallow over here by yourself, for all I care. I was just trying to be nice, but it doesn't really matter what you do, Brent will want you anyway, because you're his only choice." Her words became sharper as Brianna spoke, but the smile remained on her lips. If you watched the conversation through the window, it looked like they were friends, but they weren't. Brianna tossed the comb in front of the mirror and walked away.

Cassie didn't like her anyway, but isolating herself from the other girls was stupid. She'd done it once before and things didn't end well. Cassie ran a brush through her hair. It was wavy now, and not hanging in tight ringlets. Brianna had put make-up on her face, too. Cassie's brown eyes were surrounded by black dust, her lashes dark as night. As she stared at her reflection, Cassie didn't feel like herself.

"Good," she mumbled to no one. "If I felt like myself, I couldn't possibly go through with this."

Cassie pulled the sheer lace dress over her head and smoothed it out. This was different than last time. This time she knew what she was walking into. Last time, she had no idea. The King wanted her, that was what Cassie had been told. She practically bounced down the hallway that night, heading directly toward the King's rooms thinking she'd been called for blood and that her blood was finally worth something. What awaited her that night was very different. She cringed thinking about it, thinking about being used like that, but here she was doing it again. Last time, Cassie had no choice, but this time was different.

There was a knock on her door. Cassie glanced at the three empty beds, before saying, "Come in."

It was Miriam, "Just checking to make sure you're ready, Cassie." Miriam entered the room and stood in front of Cassie, looking her over. "Stand up, girl. Spin. I haven't got all night."

Cassie did as she was told. The corners of her mouth felt like they were weighed down with lead weights. "Do I look all right?" Cassie asked because she didn't know what else to say.

"The gown is a little big through the hips. Come here and I'll fix it." Miriam pulled the sewing kit from under her arm and opened the box. Inside was a rainbow of spools of thread, different sized scissors, zippers, fashion tape, and anything you could possibly need to mend a garment. Miriam selected a black spool, threaded the needle with the precision of a master seamstress, and got to work. She used a combination of stitches and dressing tape to make the gown fit right. "It probably doesn't matter how much I fix this. That boy'll just rip it off of you anyway and another gown will go in the trash." Miriam held the black lace in her hands, looking down at it with remorse.

Cassie put her hand on Miriam's shoulder, "I'll make sure the dress doesn't get ruined. It's your finest, by far."

Her kind words made Miriam look down at the hem of the dress longer than usual. The woman didn't take compliments well. Cassie was smiling as she reached into the box and fished something out of the sewing kit. Cassie slipped it behind her back, her heart pounded wildly as she did it. Cassie wasn't cunning. She didn't lie, cheat, or steal - but a plan formed when that box opened. The sparkling scissors caught Cassie's eye like a glittering bar of gold and she couldn't look away. Before she realized what she was doing, she gave Miriam compliments that were designed to pull her heartstrings, and Cassie's fingers wrapped around the item she wanted, lifting it out of the box without Miriam noticing.

Miriam stood, and squeezed Cassie's cheek like she