Raven frowns but nods in agreement. “Twins actually. We were supposed to be triplets, but I think she purposefully ate the other one.”
I choke on my water.
“You’re Harlow,” she says.
I nod as she points to the guy next to her who looks like he walked out of an Abercrombie & Fitch photo shoot. He is tall and lithe with chestnut curls that brush his ears. “This is Vixson.” She points to a guy on the other side of her. This guy smiles, and it reminds me of a young Idris Elba. What is it with all the people at this school being drop-dead gorgeous? “That’s Jesse.”
Vixson nods to me in greeting before he steals a mandarin orange slice off Raven’s salad. Jesse raises his chin in hello before returning his attention to his phone under the table.
“It’s nice to meet you all,” I say, digging into my salad before a waiter whisks away my empty bowl and delivers a steaming entree, choice of Cornish game hen with risotto or a vegan quinoa and sweet potato timbale.
Raven speaks first after the waiter leaves.
“I heard what happened this morning. You put Finn Berkshit in his place.” She says the mispronunciation of Berkshire’s name loudly and with a smile like she hopes the douche-canoe is listening. “I wish I had your ovaries, new money.” She frowns like she just realized what she said. “I’m sorry. No offense meant.”
“No offense taken.” I shrug. “It’s true.”
Steam rises from the Cornish game hen in front of me. I’m hungry, but I can’t quite figure out how to cut into my dinner.
Raven pushes her plate over to Vixson, who begins chowing down without hesitation.
“I can’t imagine you being afraid of much,” I say.
She shrugs. “Normally, I’m not, but I have to live with the witch, and the last time I pissed her off, she made sure Daddy thought it was me who left out the coke that killed the dog.”
I suck in a hiss of air through my teeth. There are some things in life anyone remotely decent knows to never, ever harm. Doggies rank along with babies and the elderly on that list.
I stab the chicken-like thing on my plate with a knife and pry off a piece of meat with my fork before popping it into my mouth.
Raven finishes her lemon water and steals Vixson’s.
“Aurora’s a trollop in every sense of the word,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Luckily for me, we are only bound by blood for the next seven or so decades.”
I snort, set down my fork, and try to not choke. Coughing, I reach for my glass of water and fumble it, sending the glass tipping straight over into Molly’s lap, which causes her to shriek and throw the glass she’s holding, making it rain down on our heads.
Throughout it all, Vixson continues to eat, but Raven, Jesse, and Molly laugh at the mess I’ve made, drying themselves off with their cloth napkins and, in poor Molly’s case, the tablecloth.
I am apologizing, and we are chortling. Headmistress DuMonte turns from a table on the far-side of the room and regards us with a frown. As I dry myself off with a napkin and lift my head, laughter fading from my lips, I meet Ian’s gaze from across the banquet hall.
He smiles and winks at me.
6
Harlow
I grab my copy of Beowulf and shut my locker. Students mingle in the hall, showing off their new Burkin bag or Neiman Marcus find. I am woefully unprepared for this sort of talk.
Dior? Louboutin? Jimmy Choo? That’s about as far as my luxury brand knowledge goes. I like to look at pretty dresses and fancy shoes as much as my fellow students. The difference? They can spot a knockoff a mile away, whereas I would have already forked over my wallet.
I walk down the hall into Adaptive English. The building teems with students who are having a hard time giving up the freedom of summer. Everyone avoids me like I carry the plague, which is sort of nice because they move out of my way without asking and clear a path wherever I need to go.
A short brunette girl points at me and says to her friend, “I heard she made Berkshire cry.”
I smile down at the marble tile because even though it is definitely not true, it’s nice to realize even the blue bloods aren’t immune to gossip.
I walk into class and find my desk. For a moment, I debate switching seats, but I decide to stay put, which isn’t surprising. After all, less than three months ago, I nearly got put in a psych ward before I admitted I had an anxiety problem.
I am half an hour early to class, and the room is empty. Not even Professor Edmonds has arrived yet.
Molly claimed food poisoning this morning, and although I’m pretty sure she was faking it, the school nurse took pity on her, no doubt knowing she’s been the brunt of many jokes, and wrote her off for the day.
I don’t blame Molly. She’s dealt with their shit for years. This is my first go. I still have stamina left.
I am determined to not let yesterday get me down. William never let anything ruin his day. He was the most positive person I’ve ever met.
Voclain means everything to my family. Therefore, it means everything to me, though I was never meant to come here alone. William should’ve been here beside me, his smile bringing with it the brilliance of a shining star. Tears prick at the edges of my eyes at the thought, and the darkness peeks out of the recesses of my brain, wanting to play.
I close my eyes.
One, two, three, four, blue.
I let out a shaky breath as the darkness retreats and I open my eyes. I frown down at my
