Page 39 of The Girls in the Snow

“One of the varsity girls had her phone and was showing everyone the photos of Kaylee from last year. She was talking about her. Madison told them to knock it off, and the varsity girl shoved Madison and told her to mind her own business. Madison was being nice to Kaylee, telling her to ignore them, but the older girl wouldn’t shut up. Kaylee had enough and socked the girl.” Sophie shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s when they started hanging out,” Taylor said. “This fall.”

“She brought her into our group without asking,” Jade said.

Jade certainly had inherited her mother’s holier-than-thou attitude. Connie loved to make sure the unpopular kids—usually those who lived outside of town, like Nikki—knew their place.

Brianna had yet to speak, her gazed focused on her shoes.

“But you guys were still friends,” Miller said. “Madison was at your house the weekend before she disappeared.”

Jade made a face. “Because I had to nag her into it. And I had to invite Kaylee. Thank God she didn’t come. That’s the thing—she didn’t like us any more than we liked her.”

Sophie and Taylor exchanged a glance that made it clear Jade’s opinion didn’t speak for all of the group, but the girls didn’t have the guts to challenge the social pecking order.

“I liked Kaylee.” Brianna’s soft voice surprised Nikki. “She was nice. Quiet, but nice. And smart.”

Jade glared at her, while Sophie and Taylor tried to hide their smiles.

“Did she ever talk to you about boys?” Nikki asked.

“Not really.” Brianna’s nervous gaze focused on the window behind Nikki.

“Are you sure?” Nikki asked. “We think she may have been dating an older boy in secret.”

Jade snickered. “Wouldn’t surprise me. She probably put—”

“Stop it,” Brianna said. “She had a big crush on an older boy, but they weren’t dating.”

“How did they meet?” Nikki asked.

“Madison’s known him since she was little. His name is Bobby Vance.”

“Mindy’s son?” Miller asked.

“I don’t know his parents,” Brianna said. “He’s going to Mankato State.”

“He’s Mindy’s son.” Jade perched on the edge of her chair. “He is pretty cute. They used to live down the street from Madison until his dad died.”

Nikki scribbled down the name and then tried to pass the picture she’d taken from Kaylee’s bedroom to Brianna, but Jade got to it first.

“Cute.”

“See the reflection in the window? Is that Bobby?”

Jade shrugged and then gave the photo to Brianna. “Might be. He’s tall and thin. Blond hair.”

“I can’t tell for sure,” Brianna said.

“Isn’t that a restaurant in Hudson?” Jade asked.

“Why?” Nikki waited for the other two girls to look at the picture before stowing it in her bag.

“’Cause I don’t think Bobby has a car,” Jade said “Freshmen can’t have cars on campus, and his dad died before they could buy him one. His mom can’t afford it now.”

“You sure know an awful lot about their family situation,” Miller said dryly.

“Not really,” Jade said. “Everyone knows freshmen can’t have cars. And if Mrs. Vance couldn’t afford their house, I bet she couldn’t afford to buy him a car.”