Or… my mother.
I was crossing off people like I crossed off types of alcohol, and I felt like I’d run out of good role models. Did I know a single adult whose life I wished I could have? So many of them seemed so miserable, locked into a path that didn’t seem to bring them any joy.
Still, hangover or no, my seventeenth birthday had been my best one yet.
I ditched my first few classes of the day—because fuck Jacqueline—but made it to lunch and all my classes afterward.
Unfortunately, that night turned out to be the last chance for fun before finals came barreling around the corner. For the next two weeks, schoolwork took over my life as I crammed hard for my exams. Whatever my grandparents might think, I was serious about getting a good education, and I knew it could be the key to opening doors for me later. I just didn’t think school and dance should be mutually exclusive.
I called Leah every day to see if she wanted to meet up and study, but she made excuses at first and then stopped answering my calls.
One thing screaming into the ocean had made me realize was that out of all the people I’d met in California, she was the one who’d offered the most and taken the least—who’d been my best supporter when I’d needed it. I felt shitty that the price of ending the war with the Princes had been the slow death of my friendship with her. It was supposed to be “ho’s before bros”, right?
So I’d resolved t
o fix it somehow, although I wasn’t quite sure how yet. Ditching the Princes didn’t feel like an option anymore, not because I was afraid of what they’d do, but because…
Well, reasons I couldn’t quite let myself think about.
Reasons that made my heart beat too hard and too fast.
Spring semester finals were even harder than the fall exams had been, but I scraped by in all my classes, even Chemistry.
Jacqueline had texted me the day after my birthday with belated wishes and had mentioned that she and Philip would attend the end-of-year student awards ceremony to support me—apparently, a paper I’d written for English Lit had been good enough to earn me an award.
The ceremony was set for two days after the end of the semester, right before the dorms would shut down and transition over for summer classes. I wasn’t looking forward to the event too much, mostly because I hated getting up in front of crowds, and also because it marked the official end of the school year.
And somehow, I’d actually gotten attached to this place.
Still, I took extra care with my appearance the day of the ceremony, drying and straightening my hair so it shone like melted chocolate. I made sure my uniform was pressed and perfectly clean, even though part of me hated that I was playing along with Jacqueline’s game. But I was going to be spending the entire summer with my grandparents, and I wanted to get it off on the right foot.
Maybe—maybe—if we managed to find some kind of common ground about, well, anything, over the summer, she’d at least consider letting me audition for a dance company after I graduated.
I threw on some lip-gloss and swiped a little mascara through my lashes, then grabbed my purse and headed out. The awards ceremony was being held in the gymnasium, and when I stepped inside, I found chairs lined up in neat rows across the large, empty basketball court. A small stage with a podium was set up at one end, and a large white screen had been erected behind it.
Rising up on tiptoe, I scoured the crowd until I spotted my grandparents. They were sitting near the front, in what I assumed were the “see and be seen” seats, and I hustled forward to join them. I’d be called up at some point to claim my award once the ceremony got started, so a seat up front would actually be good.
As I settled in beside them, I glanced across the aisle and almost did a double take.
“Jacqueline,” I whispered, tapping her leg to get her attention. “Are those…?”
“The Prescott and Mercer families. Yes.”
She glanced over, but her attention didn’t stay on them long. It made sense, I supposed. She barely talked about my mom, why would she be eager to talk about my mom’s childhood friends?
Drawn by burning curiosity, my gaze flicked over to them again.
I recognized Elijah’s dad from when we’d met in the admin office. He looked just as composed and snobby as he had then, his back straight and his expression imperious.
Mrs. Prescott had dark blonde hair and was very pretty. No, more than that. She was perfect. I’d never seen a human being with fewer visual flaws than she had.
Cole’s dad was big like him, though I couldn’t make out much of his face from where I was sitting. His mom was the exact opposite, small and almost frail looking.
The two Princes sat with their parents, and even though I was openly staring at them, they didn’t look at me. They both seemed tense, staring straight ahead and not moving much.
Right. Neither of them get along well with their families. I shifted in my seat, my attention darting back to Jacqueline and Philip.
I could relate to that.