He gives me a sinister smile. The spinach is gone from his teeth. Must have swallowed it. "Sure hope you girls don't prove Madam Karina wrong. I'd hate for you to go the way of Ellie."
The Neck storms down the hallway. The second he's out of sight, I swing around. "Who's he talking about?"
Poppet's back is to me. She shrugs as she makes her bed, using the sheets we brought from downstairs. Though there's a pink dust ruffle on each bed that's entirely out of place, the mattresses are bare.
"You don't know a girl named Ellie?"
"No, should I?"
I glance down at the bundle in my arms. "Is it the girl I replaced?"
"Could be. I'm not sure," she says. But that's not what it seems like. It seems like Poppet knows exactly who she is.
I drop my stuff on the bed and sit. Gripping the edge of the mattress, I try a different approach. "Did you know Cain works here for free?"
Poppet meets my gaze. "I did know that."
I laugh, because this place is getting to be too much with its secrets. "So, there's a girl named Ellie who no one will talk about. And a boy named Cain who's probably working here against his will."
"That's not true."
"Which part?"
"Cain stays because he has nowhere else to go."
"That's bull," I respond. "Everyone has somewhere else to go."
Poppet fluffs her pillow. "Well, I've heard he doesn't."
"And you don't know why?"
Poppet smiles like a thought just occurred to her. "Do you think we'll get our Daisy Tuesday morning if we earn a coin tomorrow night?" She touches her blouse. "I feel naked without my Carnation."
"Poppet … "
She throws her hands up. "I don't know why he works here, Dom. Not really. And you shouldn't talk about Ellie. She left the home and it made Madam Karina angry. Angrier than I've ever seen her. Mr. Hodge said we aren't to talk about her or we'll get kicked out. But it's only so that the madam doesn't get upset. I've told you as much."
"You haven't told it to me like that. And what's the big deal if she left? Surely girls leave all the time."
Poppet doesn't have time to answer, because a girl strides into view. "Oh, you two are the newbies, yeah? We're watching TV in the lounge. Want to come hang out?"
My entire body is drawn to this girl with sloping cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes and kind words. Her smile could be seen from Saturn, and she oozes confidence. No, sorry, wrong word. Maybe coolness?
Better.
"We can come with you?" I ask.
Poppet strides past me. "You heard the woman. Let's go watch TV."
As we walk toward the lounge, we learn the girl's name-Ruby. She wears a red scarf, though it has to be a hundred degrees outside. I wonder if that's her thing. Matching her clothing to her name. She has blond eyebrows though her hair is black, and pulls a lip gloss out of her pocket as we walk. She never applies it, just uses it to gesture as she speaks.
Ruby introduces us to the other five Daisies, and as they greet us warmly, and the ice around my heart begins to melt, Lola walks by. She's on her way to the third floor to see Madam Karina, but she cranes her neck to peer inside.
Our eyes connect, and she pauses, one hand on the banister, right foot already on the next step. The back of my neck tingles, and I raise an uncertain hand in a wave. She doesn't wave back, but she does nod almost unperceivably. Not in a way that she's saying hello. And not even in a way that I've done something right, and she's acknowledging the action. But more like I've followed her plan nicely.
She turns away and glides out of view.
After she's gone, the Daisies pull Poppet and me down to sit with them. They drill us for information on what's going on with the Carnations. They offer us salty buttered popcorn, and Ruby asks if I'll draw something while the others watch. It's one of the best afternoons I've had in a long time, filled with gossip and requests for Cain to bring up frozen grapes and sweet tea. And Cain does bring that tray, quickly, with a quiet smile I return.
We Daisies watch a movie about three teen witches that's supposed to be scary, but makes the girls laugh. I laugh a little, too. When no one is looking. When no one can guess how elated I am to be here among girls who don't call me names.
Soon, I forget all about the look Lola gave me as she passed by.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Come With Me
I touch a finger to the white silk daisy pinned on my shirt. Poppet and I earned them after working two nights on the second floor and collecting our first bronze coin.
My time as a Daisy moves quickly. It's very different than the Carnation floor, and it's fun-but something very wrong is happening here.
Ruby, the Point Girl of the Daisies, pops her head in Poppet's and my room. Her smile illuminates the space as she says, "Ready in five, okay, girls? Don't forget to turn off the light when you leave. No reason to waste energy, yeah?"