by LJ Byrne
“You could afford something sweet if you just kept some of the money that’s rolling in,” Mason rumbles in the pool house.
It’s too chilly to sunbathe, so we’re hanging out in the enclosed pool area while Mason swims and Katrina and I browse isolated cabins.
Katrina throws a slipper at Mason, which misses since he’s swimming. “Stop being such a pampered bastard,” she grouses at him when he surfaces long enough to pay attention.
I show Katrina my phone. Brock has sent me a picture of him in a studio, recording. “He looks happy,” I say.
“He’s never going to stop crushing on you,” Katrina murmurs, stretching on her lounge chair. “You’ve given him his career back. The tabloids and e-rags are saying you and he are in a secret relationship.”
I scrunch my face in confusion. “How can it be secret if people are talking about it?”
Katrina shrugs. “Just reading the gossip, Elena.” She snaps a selfie and sends it to Bruce. “I’m going to the end of year party with Bruce, of course. What about you?”
“Not going with Bruce,” I say being deliberately obtuse.
Katrina leans over with a wicked grin. “Lucas or Jasper?”
“Mason?” I shout suddenly as a thought enters my head.
Katrina’s brother shakes the water from his head. “Elena?’ he teases back, jumping out of the pool.
“When’s the next Dollar Club meeting?”
Mason freezes in the process of rubbing his hair with a towel. “What?” When I repeat the question, he says slowly, “In May. There’s a meeting during Memorial Day weekend. Why?”
I smile as I put my sunglasses on my face. “Just thinking. I need to ask you some questions.”
Returning to school after announcing I’m BSGirl? In one word: frightening. Thankfully, because the school is private property, the media can’t reach me inside the hallowed halls of Highbury Academy. But the moment I arrive on campus? I’m suddenly not so unpopular. A quick message to Principal Foggerty causes her to announce that students pestering other students for selfies or autographs will have merit points deducted.
Merit points go to our grades. You start with a hundred points every year and lose points for a variety of reasons: talking back to teachers, unexcused attendance, non-compliant uniforms, drinking on campus, failing breathalyzer tests, bullying, and harassment, etc. Your grades aren’t directly impacted until you lose 30 points, but thanks to what happened to me, bullying that causes injury on-campus costs thirty-five points. The system seems fair until you note that the staff looks the other way about half the time.
Nonetheless, my fame brings all sorts of scrutiny that the administration uses to its advantage, highlighting our academic rigor with our efforts at inclusion and acceptance. In a final move, we get rid of the Elites table in the dining hall. Oh, the Elites still sit at that table. But it isn’t on a raised platform anymore.
There’s a backlash, of course, from some students and some parents. That’s to be expected.
On a reasonably warm April day, we take our lunch outdoors. Charles, Lucas, and I are quizzing each other for our upcoming Statistics test when Jasper strolls out to join us with his plate. He’s wearing that half-smile of his that makes me suspect that he’s accomplished something.
Charles and Bruce lay blankets out for everyone. I have Katrina to one side and Lucas to the other, but Jasper isn’t shy about wedging himself between me and Katrina.
“Really?” Katrina snaps, glaring at Jasper.
“Oh, I have a very good reason to want to be by my queen,” the boy simply states, ignoring the scowl from Mason. “Look.” He gestures with his hand as police roll up to the school.
Principal Foggerty walks out to greet them with a grim look on her face.
“What’s going on?” Brock asks, standing to get a better look.
“Ben Summers is being dealt with,” Jasper says in a silky and dangerous voice. “His school device contained child pornography. Did I mention he’s eighteen? He’ll be charged as an adult. Ben made the foolish mistake of soliciting pictures from an underage girl. Unfortunately, that girl was an undercover police officer. They raided his house this morning and now they’re coming for him.”
We watch the whole spectacle of Ben being dragged in cuffs, tears streaming down his face, and being placed in the back of a police car. We witness his father showing up screaming – we’re not sure who he’s screaming at – and then cursing at the police. After Ben is dragged off, after the police have left, I see Vanessa and Kiana standing by themselves to the side. When they look my way, I smile faintly.
Jasper grabs my hand to kiss the fingertips. “Thomas is next, my queen.”
When I look over at Lucas, his face is unusually smug. I don’t see any injuries on his face, but since we’ve returned, he’s been moodier and preoccupied. I’m not foolish enough to think that his father has suddenly become benevolent.
Lucas notes my look, though I’d thought I’d been subtle, and his expression turns bleak and grim. What am I missing? My thoughts, my plans, my ideas, toss and turn and twist in my head. Backups and contingencies. I’m certain I’ve planned for everything. No, not everything. There are things I won’t be able to predict, but I can’t worry about that now. I’ll have to deal with them as they come along.
I’m wandering again, disappearing inside all the thoughts in my head. A gentle brush of fingers. Jasper’s eyes, cyan eyes, call to me. We clean up and start heading to class. When Lucas walks ahead of us, Jasper holds me back. “You’ve toppled the Elites. But you’re still plotting. The Club?” he asks, his shoulders brushing mine.
“Yes. But I need to ask you for a favor.” I take a deep breath. “A really big favor.”
Jasper watches Lucas’s disappearing form. “You want to know if there will be conditions.”
“Yes.”
Jasper’s words are calm but calculating. “You’ll need to ask to find out if there will be conditions.”
So, I ask.
I change a few lyrics, glancing at my silent companion. Lucas’s still wearing that expression of doom and gloom on his face. Our eyes meet, mine curious and his wary.
“This song is less depressing,” he finally says with effort.
I try to avoid rolling my eyes and fail. “Eventually, the message that BSGirl talks about will lose traction. I have to write about change, too.”
He gnaws on his lip briefly before he shakes himself out of his reverie. With his long legs, it only takes a few steps for him to reach me. “End of the year party. Are you going with Jasper?”
“He hasn’t asked me specifically.” Even I frown at that wishy-washy answer. “You don’t need a date to attend, you know.” That also came out wrong.
“We kissed at the lodge. You… felt something, too.” His statement sounds more like a question. I sense relief when I nod. “Be my date to the party. Elena, be there with me.” At my hesitation, he turns dark and bitter. His whole frame tenses. “Of course, why go with that bad bully that tried to break you? Why go with someone who doesn’t deserve you?” He shakes his head with a harsh laugh.
“It isn’t that, Lucas. Why? Why do you want to be my date? Why are you asking me?”
Lucas looks at me like I’m daft. “Isn’t it obvious?” He runs a hand through his blond hair in exasperation. “I told you I’m in love with you. The first time you looked at me, you didn’t care about how hot I am—”
“Wow. Someone here has an ego,” I mutter.
Lucas continues, “You just seemed disgusted with my behavior.”
I decide now is not the time to tell him that I thought about buying him hand sanitizer. I mean, there isn’t anything sexy about seeing two people make out in a public restroom. In my opinion.
“You didn’t want anything to do with me. You didn’t want anything from me.” Lucas blows air out of his mouth in frustration.
“So… You liked that I was contrary?” Not the most flattering of descriptions.
“Really? You’re going to get sappy on me and then say never mind?” I cross my arms. “Yes, Lucas.”
Startled, Lucas freezes for a moment before he faces me. “What?”
“Yes, I’ll go with you. To the party. Be warned, I think Katrina is renting a bus, so we’ll all be in a big bus together.”
Lucas huffs a laugh, gripping my chin gently. “I’ll endure it.”
When he kisses me, he doesn’t restrain himself this time. His kiss is hungry, demanding, and intense, hands moving to my waist to hold me close. It both is and isn’t overwhelming – a dichotomy where I want and don’t want more. We both pull back at the same time, me unsure of how far I want this to go and him a bit more certain of how far he wants it to go.
“I need to do homework,” I say because it’s true and because it’s safe to say. My lips feel bruised, which is an odd sensation and not unpleasant.
“God forbid we forget to do that,” he replies in a low voice, but his lips smirk with annoying confidence.
Lucas helps me with my things as we leave the music room and find Jasper waiting for us outside. Immediately I feel bad, like I’ve done something wrong, and the whole situation is made worse by the way Jasper surveys us.
“Lucas looks like he could use a cold shower,” Jasper says, and the way his lips twist I know he’s in a dangerous mood. “Tell me, Lucas, have you told her yet? That you won’t be returning to Highbury?”
Lucas’s body tenses beside me, the smirk gone and replaced with rage. He won’t look at me as I pause to collect my thoughts. Unintended consequences.
Jasper can’t help himself as he continues. “When do you turn eighteen again? A week before Memorial Day this year, right? Exactly when do you become homeless?”
“Jasper,” I snap, finding my voice. “That’s enough. You promised you would help me. This isn’t helping.”
“How exactly will Lucas Rhodes help you, Elena? He’ll be formally disowned when he turns eighteen. He won’t even be here next year.” Jasper straightens his uniform jacket. “Unlike me.” I gape.
“Is that what turns you on, Bourbon?” Lucas runs his hand through his hair, glancing briefly at me.
“Why is your father disowning you?” I ask, raising my hand when Jasper tries to speak again.
Lucas sighs, his jaw tense. “My father wanted me to back off on Vanessa and to marry some twit so he can close a business deal. It wasn’t a choice, Elena. I told him no at Christmas and again during spring break. As soon as I turn eighteen, I’m cut off.”
Sometimes you don’t plan for everything, although I should have seen this one coming. Hadn’t Lucas told me this before? I shake my head, trying to juggle my strategy. “You shouldn’t have—”
“It wasn’t a choice. I’m not going to let him use me and I’m not doing one thing against you.” His throat moves as he swallows. “I suppose it changes everything.” He takes a step back, his eyes burning at Jasper.
I can handle this. I know I can, but I’m running out of time. It’s a humbling moment when you see someone throw everything that was once important to him away. Does Lucas even know what it’s like to subsist on ramen noodles for a week? I can’t imagine it. I know he did it for me, but did he do it altruistically or did I reveal my BSGirl card too soon? It’s a horrible thing to think. “You won’t be at Highbury with us next year,” I say carefully, watching his face.
Lucas raises a hand briefly then drops it. “I have some cousins in Southern California. I’ll finish my senior year there at the local high school.” His shoulders slump briefly, but then his mask is back on. “That’s right, Elena, I’m penniless and soon-to-be homeless. I guess BSGirl can’t be seen with a freeloader like me.” He waits, anticipating some dig or some evidence that I think of him less now that I know.
After my drowning incident, I’d pointed out that it always came to money and that Lucas allowed things to happen because his wealth was tied to his father. “You’re giving it all up,” I breathe, realization flooding me. I’m not blind to the reason why. “For me.” It’s a curious thing I’m feeling as we stand in the hallway with Jasper watching us. I could never forgive the Elite boys for their actions. Both Brock and Mason will never be more than friends and I’m content with that. My heart doesn’t need to forgive them for that. With Lucas, things became complicated when I realized his father was a brute and a bully. It was then that I knew I wanted to forgive him. And now Lucas isn’t an Elite anymore. Like me, he isn’t the same person he was on that awful last day of school. And with that long-winded reasoning, I know I can forgive him. I go on my tippy toes to kiss him gently. “I still have a few tricks left up my sleeve,” I tell him with a grin.
His gray eyes are wide as I turn to face Jasper. “You’re being cruel and mean and acting like a bully,” I tell Jasper, watching him deflate. “You’re a monster, but you’re my monster, Jasper. That means you use that vicious brain of yours for me, not against me or anyone I care about. That includes you, Jasper. You’re not allowed to hurt yourself. You’re trying to make me hate you because you think that’ll make it easier. But it won’t. You’ll only hate yourself more. So, this stops now.”
My cyan-eyed monster nods, his face filled with an unspoken apology. “As my queen wishes,” he whispers.
CHAPTER 14
April and May bleed together in a flurry of college admission tests. Lucas and Jasper don’t disappoint me regarding Thomas. With Ben out of the way, evidence is found that Thomas has been cheating. His essays are scrutinized and he’s found guilty of plagiarism. He is expelled by mid-April. Lucas winks at me when Thomas’s departure is announced. He may have visited Thomas before his departure. Either that or Thomas became exceedingly clumsy and walked into a wall.
A week before Memorial Day, I bake a cake in our little kitchen and put a candle for each of my friends. I know its Lucas’s birthday, but since he doesn’t want a fuss made, I figure this makes it less fussy. He never tells me what his wish is, simply looking at me when he blows his candle out. And then I prepare to take the next big gamble.
On the Saturday before Memorial Day, Jasper drives me to the Rhodes estate. It’s a nearly three-hour drive from the school, but I don’t mind. Jasper and I spend the drive talking and rehearsing. Meanwhile, I have all the papers I need. My next step is a necessary evil.
The home that Lucas grew up in is a monstrosity. It’s a huge and sprawling complex with way too much concrete to seem warm and inviting, and it makes me sad to think that this was the only home Lucas has known. Jasper literally maneuvers up a winding driveway that must be at least a half-mile long before we get to a roundabout with a fountain in the middle.
“Even Grandfather’s palace isn’t this pretentious,” Jasper remarks. “He likes his home to blend with nature, so to speak.”
My phone rings and the caller ID confirms who I’m expecting. I put my earbuds in before I receive the call. We’ve agreed beforehand that he’ll link me into the meeting, so I know when to enter.
“—good that you rejoined, Edgar.” I don’t recognize the voice.
“It was time and I was curious what you have all been up to.” Edgar Maverick.
“You don’t approve of what we’ve done?” The voice is sarcastic and harsh.
“Father—” That’s Lucas.
“I wasn’t talking to you, Lucas. This is your last club meeting. I’m done supporting you unless you’ve changed your mind.” The harsh voice is Michael Rhodes.
“Frankly, Michael, I’m surprised you’ve invested so much against one young girl,” Edgar says mockingly.
Michael
Rhodes says something I can’t make out.
Jasper pulls up to the house and texts Katrina that we’re here. We reach the door and Katrina interrupts the butler to say, “They’re with me.”
Through my earpiece, I hear Vanessa Valentino say, “It didn’t have to be this way, Lucas. We could’ve been amazing together. Now you’re just… pathetic. She gives all her money away, Lucas. You’ll never have the life you had before.”
“I’d rather live in a cardboard box than be stuck with the likes of someone like you,” Lucas snarls back.
Because I’m so focused on listening, I rely on Jasper to guide me through the massive structure with Katrina.
I can’t make out what Vanessa says next, but I hear Lucas cut her off. “Don’t even say her name, you bitch! You’re nothing compared to her.”
Michael Rhodes says something unpleasant and things go quiet.
Another voice in the background calls things to order just as I reach the bulky doors. I end the call and tuck my earbuds and phone into my coat pocket. I smooth my hands over my sheath dress and straighten my blazer. Katrina nods at me and backs off. She knows I’m heading in there with only Jasper at my side. I clutch Jasper’s arm nervously as he opens the door.
The voices within go silent as I’m faced with approximately forty faces, some curious, a few appalled, and only one smiling. I nod at Edgar.
The room is huge. Imagine a banquet hall set up with a U-shaped table. I recognize a few of the adults, including Brock’s awesome father – gag! – Henry Caruso. There are other Elite students from Highbury, but the ones of interest to me are Vanessa, Kiana, and Thomas Carver.
No surprise when Michael Rhodes, his face red, starts yelling at me. “This is a club meeting and you two are not members!”
Lucas and Mason both stare at me in a mixture of horror and fear for me. But then Edgar Maverick raises his hand for silence. “She’s here because I’m sponsoring her,” he says, smiling broadly at everyone’s surprise.