by Evelyn Dar
Kaleigh took a step toward the car, then spun around. “Oh my goodness, I forgot to congratulate you.” She threw a loose arm around Avery’s neck. “You’re a Harvard girl now! Your father is over the moon.”
“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to him about.”
“Kaleigh!” Teddy yelled as the town car’s horn blared.
Kaleigh squeezed her hand, then scurried to the town car.
Avery sighed and turned around.
“Sweetie, wait!” Kaleigh waved to Avery from the open window. “Your father and I think you should announce your Harvard acceptance on Siobhan’s Instagram page. But keep it casual and short. We think it’ll come off less pretentious that way.”
Avery scoffed. “Oh, is that what we think?”
Teddy groaned loudly and leaned over Kaleigh; the AirPod still stuck in his ear. “For Christ’s sake, is it possible for you to do anything you’re fucking asked to do?”
“I don’t know,” Avery replied. “Is it possible for you to be a decent human being?”
Teddy opened his mouth.
“Lovelies, we’re in public,” Kaleigh said in a sing-song voice.
Teddy grunted and retreated into the car.
“Sweetie, please?” Kaleigh pouted. “It’d mean so much to your father. He’s under an immense amount of stress right now. Don’t you want to give him a little peace of mind?”
Avery sighed. “Sure, whatever.”
Kaleigh beamed. “Wonderful. Oh, and try to have it uploaded at least three hours before the ceremony. We don’t want an eclipse situation.” She laughed loudly. “Have a great day at school, sweetie.”
****
Kiki set a Styrofoam to-go plate overflowing with collard greens, oxtails, and macaroni and cheese, along with a basket of wings drenched in hot sauce on the countertop. “317, order up!”
Laylah slid the order on her tray, spun around and nearly collided with Jerica.
Jerica sighed. “Girl, please watch where you’re going. It’s too damn busy for you to be dropping orders.”
Laylah’s cheeks burned. “Sorry, Jerica.” She carried the order to the waiting table, dropped off a handful of plasticware, and double-checked everyone’s cup of sweet tea was at least half full.
Earley’s Kitchen was far from fine dining, but the tiny strip mall soul food spot was always busy, and Laylah was thankful for the employment.
Despite their financial struggles, Gale had been adamant Laylah focus on her schoolwork without the added responsibility of a job, but two months ago while cleaning her mother’s car, Laylah had stumbled upon a receipt from a payday lender. The next day Laylah answered a Craigslist ad for a server.
“Laylah, you can go,” Kiki called from the large cut out window that connected the kitchen to the main dining area. “Donny’s here.”
Laylah waved at Donny who’d just walked in and noticed three customers enter behind him; the beginning of the five o’clock rush.
“Hey, it’s still busy,” Laylah said. “I don’t mind staying.”
Kiki slid a tray of raw, well-seasoned turkey wings into the oven. “Girl, I wish you could, but I can’t afford to keep you any later.”
Laylah untied her apron. “I understand.”
“Hey, your homegirl just walked in.” Kiki nodded toward the door.
Laylah waved at Maddy, who blew her a kiss, then sat at an empty table.
Maddy had ditched her tie and undone half of the buttons of her uniformed dress shirt. She pouted when Laylah joined her.
“You’re not off yet, are you? I literally ‘Tokyo drifted’ onto the expressway to get here by five.” She eyed the stained paper menu. “I need oxtails in my life. Stat.”
Laylah rolled her eyes. “You didn’t even know what oxtails were before I started working here.”
“Yes, and now I’m ruined for life.”
Laylah laughed. “I’ll grab you an order.”
Maddy handed Laylah a twenty-dollar bill and five minutes later, Laylah set a plate of steaming oxtails and yellow rice in front of Maddy. She placed a ten-dollar bill – Maddy’s change – beside the plate and Maddy made a face and pushed it toward Laylah.
“Mads.”
“What?” Maddy shrugged. “It’s your tip.”
“No one tips half the check.”
“Bitches with rich fathers do,” Maddy said. “Don’t worry, it’s on Dr. Gupta and his cash cow plastic surgery practice.”
“You know I don’t do charity, Mads.”
Maddy pulled a scrunchie off her wrist and tied her hair back. “Then ignore the Salvation Army bell ringers like everyone else.”
Laylah pocketed the ten. “Thanks,” she whispered.
Maddy waved her hand and dug in. With her mouth half-full she asked, “Did you ever find Kendrick?”
During Laylah’s frantic morning search for Kendrick, she’d recruited Maddy to help, and after fruitlessly canvassing the neighborhood for over an hour; they were forced to call it quits. Laylah felt especially bad because Maddy had missed her first two classes of the day.
“Nope,” Laylah replied. “And he never showed up to school. If he’s declared truant again, my mom will flip.”
Maddy cleared her throat. “I uh, called him.”
“You did?”
“Shockingly he didn’t answer, but I left a message. I told him you were looking for him and he should pull his head out of his ass and stop being a selfish prick.” Maddy smirked. “I haven’t gotten a call back yet.”
“Thanks for trying and I’m sorry you missed class.”
“Please,” Maddy said. “I missed Group Guitar and Web Design.”
Laylah raised an eyebrow. “Group Guitar?”
“What can I say?” Maddy shrugged. “If it’s ridiculous and unnecessary, I’m enrolled in it.”
“Oh, Maddy. Can I be you?” Laylah laid her head on the table and groaned.
Maddy rubbed her shoulders. “You’re not his mother, babes.”
“I know.” Laylah raised her head. “But since Aunt Brenda died last year, all he does is smoke weed and play video games all day.” Laylah pinched a piece of oxtail from Maddy’s plate and popped it in her mouth. “I swear I spend all my time chasing him around. Between Kendrick, and Earley’s, and helping my mom – I haven’t had time to apply to any colleges.”
Maddy growled.
“What?” Laylah asked.
“You have to see this shit.” Maddy pulled out her phone, tapped the screen a few times and handed it to Laylah.
The thumbnail of the Instagram video showed a smiling Avery Bradley sitting beside her best friend, Siobhan Walsh. A bitter taste filled Laylah’s mouth, and she resisted the urge to hurl Maddy’s phone across the room. Laylah took a breath, un-clenched her jaw and hit play.
Siobhan and Avery sat cross-legged on a plush white rug, in front of a background aesthetic fitting of an Instagram influencer with a follower count in the millions.
Strategically placed succulents lined floating shelves. All-white bedding left purposefully unmade. A minimalist framed poster with a hipster quote about gratitude. And the piece de resistance? An impeccably groomed Yorkie strolling in and out of the frame at will.
Siobhan clapped her hands. “Hey Bon-Bons! It’s ya girl, Siobhan. So you guys know I don’t normally upload on Mondays, but today is a special occasion.”
“Explain something to me,” Maddy said, as she dumped half a bottle of hot sauce on her food. “How does Siobhan sound like she’s been smoking Virginia Slims for forty years but she’s only 17?”
Laylah would have normally laughed, but seeing Avery – even in a video – caused her stomach to clench and her heart rate to skyrocket…and not in a good way.
“You guys,” Siobhan continued, “my girl Avery has a major announcement and I promise this is not clickbait.”
“It’s like, she’s going for Emma Stone,” Maddy continued. “But she’s only hitting Lindsay Lohan. Then again, Lindsay has the whole Myko
nos thing going for her now so–”
“Mads, shh!” Laylah turned up the volume.
“Without further ado…” Siobhan started a drumroll on her thigh.
Avery’s cheeks flushed, and she shifted on the rug. Siobhan stopped the drumroll and stared at her expectantly.
Avery smiled into the camera. “I was accepted into Harvard University.”
“Yassss, we stan a smart queen!” Siobhan threw her arms around Avery, knocking her backward while the Yorkie jumped on them, barking maniacally.
Laylah stopped the video and handed the phone to Maddy.
“You okay?” Maddy asked.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
Maddy’s eyes widened. “Uh, lots of reasons.”
Laylah shrugged.
“Babes, that should be you announcing your Harvard acceptance. Or Yale acceptance, or whatever fucking Ivy League school you wanted to go to.”
“But it’s not,” Laylah said calmly. “And getting upset won’t change that.”
Maddy scoffed. “That bottle-blonde bitch and her evil father destroyed your life and you’re chill about the whole thing?”
Laylah glanced around the rapidly filling restaurant. It was a quarter after five and the post-work crowd was swarming. “I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay. You know what else isn’t okay?” Maddy lowered her voice. “Daddy Teddy paying someone $25,000 to take the SATs for his dumb as hell daughter who – surprise, surprise – just got into Harvard.”
“Mads.”
“Or what about the fact he ruined your mother’s whole ass career because she was the only one with the guts to go after him?”
Laylah gritted her teeth. “Mads, I know you mean well, but stop.”
“That’s not–”
“Maddy!” Laylah squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her voice. “My mother has spent the last two years fighting him and the only thing she has to show for it is debt from lawyer fees.” Laylah leaned across the table. “Teddy has money. And resources. And power. And after he’s sworn in for his second term, he’ll be more untouchable than he already is.” She stood and shoved her chair under the table.
“No one is untouchable,” Maddy said. “Not anymore. Not in the age of social media and public opinion. Anyone can be taken down.”
“Maddy–”
“I’ve been thinking seriously about it,” Maddy said. “We’ll set up an anonymous Instagram account–”
“No.” Laylah put on her jacket. “Are you finished yet?”
“Babes, hear me out. This could–”
“I’ll wait outside.” Laylah spun around and marched out the front door. She made a beeline for Maddy’s 18th birthday present, a glacier white Audi coupe with a pink vanity plate that read GIRLSONLY.
She leaned against the car and took several deep breaths. The frigid air stung her lungs and helped to numb the familiar desperate anger that felt dangerously close to the surface.
“Don’t lose it, Laylah,” she whispered to herself. “Everything will be fine. You know what to do.”
“Laylah?” A hand touched her shoulder.
Now sufficiently calm, Laylah faced Maddy. “I know you’re trying to help Mads, and I love you for it, but this is bigger than your Instagram page.”
“Maybe,” Maddy said. “But I do have almost as many followers as Siobhan.”
“You do?”
“Jesus, you’re like the world’s worst friend.”
Laylah smiled. “Hey, you knew I was a nerd when we met.”
“Laylah, we met in kindergarten.”
“And what was my favorite thing to do in kindergarten?”
Maddy squinted for a moment, then rolled her eyes. “Whenever we sang Puff the Magic Dragon, you would sing the digits of Pi instead.” She laughed. “Fine, you big nerd. You get a pass for not knowing I’m the Lovett Academy queen of Instagram.”
“How do you have so many followers?” Laylah asked. “No offense, but Siobhan was like, born popular.”
“Euphoria.”
“What?”
“The tv show,” Maddy explained. “After Euphoria came out, everyone and their mom wanted a super cute, skinny trans best friend to do recreational drugs with. Plus, I get bonus points for looking like Lilly Singh.”
“Wow.”
“But,” Maddy continued, “it turns out, a hot transgender bestie who dabbles with molly is hard to find, so everyone just follows me on Instagram and pretends.”
Laylah opened the passenger door. “I think I’m ready to go now.”
Maddy jogged to the driver’s side and hopped in without missing a beat. “Babes, if we expose what Teddy and Avery did on social media, I guarantee it’ll make CNN. Or at least, MSNBC.”
“Maddy, just stop, okay?” Laylah sighed. “People believe what they want to believe. No one believed my mom, because no one wanted to believe her. Why would this time be any different?”
Maddy started the car. “Okay, babes. I hear you. And obviously I wouldn’t post anything against your wishes.”
“Thank you,” Laylah said quietly.
“But if you change your mind.”
“I won’t,” Laylah assured her and reached for her seatbelt. “Can we go now?”
“Laylah!”
Laylah peered through the windshield.
Kiki stood in front of Earley’s, waving. “Girl, you better come back and get this money!”
Laylah looked at Maddy, and Maddy rolled her eyes.
“Go.”
“I’m sorry, Mads. You came all this way to give me a ride.”
Maddy waved. “It’s fine. Besides…” She patted her stomach. “I needed those oxtails in my life. And you need this shift.”
Laylah reached for the door, and Maddy grabbed her arm. “I’m dead serious about this Teddy thing.”
“I know you are, Mads.”
“Think about it,” Maddy said. “Because I promise…I can make shit happen.”
****
Avery growled and tossed the rubber, heart-shaped GPS tracker on her bed. “Either that is the world’s most complicated dog tracker or I’m an idiot.”
Lying flat on her back on Avery’s bed, Siobhan grunted, her eyes glued to her phone screen.
Avery rolled her eyes. “Oh Avery, don’t be silly. You’re smart. After all, you just got into Harvard.”
“Huh?” Siobhan looked up. “Sorry boo, but my page is lit. The Harvard vid has 80,000 views, and it’s only been up for two hours.”
“That’s…nice,” Avery said and carefully sat on the bed. Teddy would kill her if she wrinkled the cream-white chiffon dress he’d hand-picked for her to wear to tonight’s ceremony.
Siobhan dropped her phone and sat up. “Okay, what gives? Why am I more excited you got into Harvard than you are?”
Avery picked up the tracker. “I don’t know. It’s just…everything, you know?” She pressed the tiny blue-tooth button and waited for the tracker to light up.
From the moment her Harvard acceptance letter had arrived, it was like an enormous weight had been dropped on Avery’s shoulders. Attending Harvard University was Teddy’s plan for her life, not Avery’s. In fact, she didn’t give a damn about Harvard, or any of the Ivy Leagues, for that matter. But that wasn’t what weighed her down.
It was good old-fashioned guilt. Avery didn’t deserve to go to Harvard, and after announcing her acceptance to the entire world, it felt like everyone else knew it too.
Avery swallowed. “Siobhan, if I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone?”
“Duh.”
“I didn’t get into Harvard.”
Siobhan frowned. “Um, hello! Of course, you got into Harvard. I saw your acceptance letter.”
“No, I mean – yes, I technically got into Harvard, but only because–”
Avery’s bedroom door swung open, and Joanna waltzed in with a glass of wine in her hand and a relaxed smile on her face.
“
Avery, darling, have you finished with Fitz’s tracker yet? I can’t find him.”
“Not yet,” Avery replied. “But you know the tracker has to be attached to his collar to track him, right?”
Joanna’s uncomprehending eyes stared at the tracker in Avery’s hand. “Aww, it looks like a little heart.”
Avery sighed. “Anyway, I downloaded the app to your phone and synced it to the tracker. It’s actually pretty cool. Not only can you track Fitz, but if someone finds him, they can notify you through his tracker.” She handed Joanna her iPhone. “Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get it to work yet.”
Joanna squinted at her phone like she’d never seen it before. “Ugh, I hate this tech stuff. Can’t you do it on your phone?”
“He’s your dog,” Avery replied. “Besides, it wouldn’t work on mine. I never turn my location services on.”
“Why not?” Siobhan asked.
Avery and Joanna exchanged a knowing look and replied, “Teddy.”
Joanna slid her phone into the pocket of her chiffon robe and Avery tossed the tracker on the bed. “I think you need a new tracker–”
“Shh!” Joanna cocked her head to the side. “Did you hear that?”
Avery and Siobhan shook their heads.
“Hear what, Joanna?” Avery asked slowly.
“Shh!” Joanna stood frozen in the middle of Avery’s bedroom; her hand cupped around her right ear.
Siobhan raised an eyebrow and mouthed the words, ‘Call Luther.’
Luther was Joanna’s personal ‘pharmacy consultant’ and, despite his shady job title, he kept impeccable records of every drug that passed through Joanna’s lips. Avery had just scrolled to his number when she heard a series of faint rapid barks.
Joanna gasped and ran to one of the bay windows. “Oh no! What’s my sweet boy doing outside? Ugh, he’s getting absolutely filthy.”
Avery peered out the window and almost laughed. ‘Fitz the Pomeranian’ was viciously attacking one of the decorative hedges that lined both sides of the circular front driveway.
Joanna hurried across Avery’s bedroom and stopped at the door. “Oh darling, I forgot, your boyfriend’s here.”