Read Vicious Little Darlings for Free Online

frowned, fed Hope another truffle, and added, “But at least someone likes them.”
    â€œThere,” Maddy says to Hope. “Your paws are properly hydrated now.”
    Agnes grins at her. “You mean hooves .”
    â€œOh, right.” Maddy laughs.
    Agnes turns back to her laptop and says, “It’s good to see you happy, M.”
    It’s obvious to me now that Agnes is in love with Maddy—she practically coos whenever she speaks to her—but I wonder if Maddy sees it. She’d have to be clueless not to, but if she does, she’s definitely not acknowledging it.
    â€œShe’s so vile,” says Agnes.
    â€œWho?” I ask.
    â€œCrystal. Haven’t you been listening to me?” snaps Agnes. It amazes me how fast she can go from zero to bitch.
    â€œIf she’s so horrible,” I say, “why don’t you just shoot her with your gun?” I snort and look over at Maddy, who isn’t laughing.
    Agnes keeps staring at her computer screen. My joke hangs in the air.
    A minute later, Agnes whines, “Maddy, how am I going to get into med school with that bimbo for a roommate? I can’t even study in my own room. Did I tell you she sleeps twelve hours a night and can’t tolerate any light?”
    â€œYou’ve told us a million times,” I say.
    Agnes purses her lips. “I was talking to Maddy. You’re just lucky you got Maddy for a roommate and not some freak.”
    Agnes is right. Maddy is a great roommate. She’s considerate and easy to live with—minus the whole fawn fixation, of course. Her obsession with hair is a little annoying—she trims her split ends with a pair of Winnie the Pooh scissors while talking on the phone to Sebastian—but nobody’s perfect. I could have done a lot worse. I could have gotten Agnes.
    Maddy rests her face in her hands, a gesture that makes me think of Audrey Hepburn, and says to Agnes, “It’ll get better. You just need time to adjust is all.”
    â€œHow can I adjust to someone who tweezes her pubic hair in front of me? Why doesn’t she have the decency to get waxed in a salon, or at least do it in the bathroom where I don’t have to see it? The really abominable part? She doesn’t put the tweezed hairs in the wastebasket. She just throws them on the floor, where they get stuck between the floorboards.” Agnes turns red with agitation. “I can’t sleep at night knowing those wretched pubic hairs are scattered across our room. It’s like she’s marking her territory. I have to move out.”
    This is the first time I’ve seen Agnes lose her cool. Obviously she has a bad case of OCD, and in a weird way, that’s comforting to know. But I also feel for her. I wouldn’t want somebody’s pubic hair all over my room either.
    â€œBut you can’t move out,” I say.
    â€œWhy not?” says Agnes.
    â€œFirst-years aren’t allowed to live off-campus.”
    â€œLet’s just say the rule doesn’t apply to you when the school’s expecting a large donation from your parents. I don’t think they’d object to my living in Zimbabwe if that’s what I wanted.”
    I try to picture Agnes in Zimbabwe, dressed in her twinset and pearls, riding an elephant. The image makes me shudder.
    Agnes glares at me. “What?”
    â€œNothing.” I look at Maddy, who’s moved on to cuddling with the fawn.
    â€œOh my,” says Agnes, pointing at her computer screen. “Come and look at this house.”
    I get up from the window seat. On-screen is an image of a large white Victorian house that reminds me of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.
    â€œThis is the one,” Agnes says. “M, come look.”
    Maddy untangles herself from the fawn and comes over. “Oh, wow. I like the porch. How many bedrooms does it have?”
    â€œFour. So that’s one for each of us, plus an extra room