Chapter Text
The horn blared as the car screamed past and Eliza's skirt whipped in the wind it threw up. She smoothed it down primly. "For goodness sake, why can't they drive slower?"
Peggy, kicking her legs on the hood of the car, gave a different perspective. "I told you, compensating. They can't go fast enough alone, so they drive fast to make up for it."
"Would argue not lasting long, going too fast, is the issue, actually." Maria added with a sigh, fanning herself with a hand. It was too hot, it had been for a week. She didn't like the heat. Nobody did no matter what they said, if they claimed to like it they were liars.
"You're all revolting." Eliza told them. She turned away like she wouldn't be associated, the same car coming back the other way and blew a gust of heat and sand over them. "Angelica, are you done fixing that stupid thing yet?"
"Give me a minute!" Came the muffled reply from under the car. Angelica's legs poked out, but her body from the waist up was under the vehicle and various curses, creaking noises, pops and clatters came from her as she tried to fix it.
"We've been here for twenty minutes and the bar will be closed soon, can you please-"
Angelica pulled her head out from under the car. Her hair, normally neatly curled, was mussed up under her scarf and there was a smudge of black down the front of her shirt. "I am not a miracle worker, Elizabeth, will you stop complaining and just wait?"
"Why don't we get a cab?" Maria stood awkwardly between the two glaring sisters, trying to find some peaceful resolution. Peggy peered over her sunglasses. "Or Eliza could phone her boyfriend."
"He is not my boyfriend, be quiet." But the girl had gone bright pink and was suddenly allergic to eye contact, which spoke for itself.
Angelica didn't say anything. Meanwhile Maria looked between them again, as if watching a mildly unnerving tennis match, if such a thing really can exist.
They were positioned in a lay by lined with scrubby bushes and orange sand where the dirt had been worn down loose. Random cars rumbled past but one specific light blue Sudan kept rolling past, too fast for the road. Peggy had sat in about four different places and was yet to find an optimal sun-tanning spot. She never was good at sitting still. It was Maria that never moved, always slowly swaying in one spot, never enjoying a lot of moving around. She wasn't lazy, just permanently tired. But Eliza, Eliza was stood resolutely at the edge of the lay by by the road, as if waiting for rescue.
Nobody knew who by.
Across the road there was a gas station, but nobody felt like risking the dash over across a busy dual carriageway even if they did have some quarters for the phone booth.
Angelica was normally the proper one, the calm one, never so much as a hair out of place. And yet, she was far from it now. Some oil had spilled on her shorts and she'd had to steal Maria's scarf to cover her hair. She didn't even mind, which was the strangest part. If the others found her peace with her appearance (uncharacteristic peace, I should add again) they didn't mention, if only because it may scare her into faking it again.
Eliza and Peggy had begun bickering, though it was friendlier than you may think if you overheard.
"But you loooove him!"
"I do not."
"Well good because he's ugly anyway."
"TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW HE IS NOT HE IS ADORABLE AND HE CANNOT CONTROL HIS HEIGHT AND MARIA STOP LAUGHING AT ME!"
"I'm sorry but your little face is so funny!"
"Eliza are you going to marry that weird ginger guy then?"
"How could you say anything like that?!"
Before anyone could reply, for the third time that damn blue Sudan rolled past, and this time pulled up in the lay by just ahead of the car. All four women watched it do so before a head poked out of the rear passenger side. "Ladies?"
Crossing her arms as if it would offer her protection from herself, Eliza froze. Angelica resumed her work under the car after a sidelong look at her sister. It was Peggy who rushed over to ask "James, is that you driving? When did you pass your test? Well done!"
Madison and Peggy had always got along weirdly, even if he was nearly 2 years older, on account of the old saying 'opposites attract'. There wasn't anything romantic about it necessarily -besides the difference they felt lay between a sixteen and an eighteen year old, Angelica would have murdered him- but they were close, closer than people often expected. She saw him as halfway between an estranged older brother and a best friend. He didn't mind at all. After all, someone had to tell the waiter he order strawberry not chocolate ice cream and it was never going to be him.
They spent the next few minutes gossiping while Alexander who, of course, was the one who stuck his head out the window, exited the car. He wandered over with a nod that wasn't returned to Maria and finally drew level with Eliza, who looked damn close to hyperventilating. Alex wasn't exactly unbothered but he was good at hiding it. He muttered something to her that made her laugh, then of all things kissed her hand.
Maria looked away while Peggy made a gagging motion. Madison laughed though at who exactly it was hard to say.
But when Angelica pulled herself from under the car she didn't see the conversation passing between Eliza and Alex. Nor did she see Madison, Peggy and Maria as they pooled their money to go to the phonebooth and just call for a garage. In fact, she hardly noticed any of them because there was someone blocking the way.
"Schuyler." Thomas acknowledged her with both effortless charm and trademark disdain.
If nothing else, she was now aware of the state of herself. Not that she wouldn't maintain a calm air. The grease and tangled hair did not stop her being who she was. And his false smile did not change him from a damn snake. "Jefferson."
She ignored his offered hand and got up gracefully and unaided, then stared at the still outstretched hand as if amused. He didn't look like he knew what to make of her.
"You can't play nice with me can you?" He asked at last. At least he didn't come across genuinely annoyed. She saw the admiration she never understood in his eyes, almost like he found her fascination. It didn't exactly make her feel better. She wasn't a rare species of butterfly, for Christ's sake.
"You're not a nice boy."
He raised his eyebrow. "And you aren't a nice girl."
"Well don't we just make a pair." Said Angelica with a sigh, turning away from him to get in the car.
"Wouldn't we just."
There was sincerity in that she hadn't expected and so ignored. "I have places to be, so you ought to go find your friends."
"Why do you hate me?" He asked, leaning on the hood of the car so she couldn't drive.
"You're a pig."
"Answer my question."
"I want you dead."
"What have I done to you?"
"Jefferson, move!"
"Don't ignore me."
She blared the horn.
"I'm not budging."
Angrily, she revved the gas. "Move it, you jackass."
"Ooh, pulling out the big girl words, are we? Answer me, Schuyler."
Angelica's face went stony, as she removed the handbrake and eased up the clutch. The car rolled forwards. Jefferson, with a yelp, jumped to the side. Angelica shouted to the others across the road that she had fixed the car, they could come over. Peggy instantly ran over. Maria waved, and Eliza was too busy talking to Alex to even notice.
As they clambered in the back, Angelica turned around to check what Jefferson was doing. Personally, she felt elated; she'd beaten him! At what she didn't know, but life was a game to the pair of them and she had beat his sorry ass.
What was his response? He stared after her car as she went to leave. Never even smiled. Just stared.
She never did answer his question.