It’s a shame, because he seems like a decent guy. Kind and thoughtful. He’s pretty handsome for an older man, too. Tall, dark-haired, chiseled. She won’t let him do more than say hi to Lucy and me when he picks her up for dates, which he’s done more often over the past two weeks since his proposal. But he always tries to be friendly, and he’s brought a few presents for Lucy. Last night, it was a little stuffed bunny.
“I’m not so sure what a seventeen-year-old girl wants,” he admitted with a laugh.
“You shouldn’t be getting them gifts, anyway. You’re too generous.” Mom gave him a big kiss, but I heard what existed underneath her words. Jealousy. She can’t allow even her four-year-old to get a little attention when she thinks it should be hers. She needs to get their names on a marriage certificate, fast, before she ruins it by being herself.
Though right now, looking at the school from inside the Uber I took from the hotel, I wish this all could have waited. Getting used to a new school would be bad enough without it being North Woods Prep. Everybody walking across campus looks like they just walked off the set of a TV show. And the cars in the parking lot! It’s like a freaking luxury dealership.
Meanwhile, I’m about to climb out of a Corolla that doesn’t even belong to me.
“Are you okay?” The driver checks me out in the rearview mirror.
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
I have to force myself out of the car. I don’t belong here. My clothes aren’t nice enough, even though it’s my best pair of jeans and an almost-new pair of sandals. I’m not wearing half as much makeup as most of the girls, and it doesn’t look like I spent an hour doing my hair this morning—but I did. I tried my best with the few things I had at the hotel. I guess my soon-to-be stepfather’s generosity doesn’t extend to spa treatments or salon visits, though, it’s not like I want it to. It would feel weird to accept that from somebody I don’t know. But that doesn’t stop my mother from taking advantage.
Once I knew I’d be going here, I looked up the campus map online. Most of the classes take place in the main building, which is more like a castle or even a fortress. A huge center section looks like it stretches a mile in both directions, but that’s probably my nerves. Then there are two buildings to the sides, forming a capital letter H. Those are the buildings holding the gym, the pool, the auditorium, that sort of thing. I’m already wondering how anybody can get from one end to the other in the five minutes we have between classes.
“Look out!” I barely have time to notice someone shouting before realizing they’re shouting in my general direction. Moments later, I’m scrambling, along with a handful of other kids, trying to get out of the way of a bright red sports car now tearing across the lawn and sending clumps of sod and grass in all directions. Another few seconds and I could have been run over.
The car screeches to a stop, and moments later, three guys jump out. They don’t care that they just tore up the lawn any more than the driver does. He peels off the second the doors are closed. I guess, to park. What was the point of that display?
“Always trying to get attention!” a girl calls out, and one of the guys flips her off, laughing. She flips him off right back, and her girlfriends laugh and tease the guys.
“Don’t need to try!” he calls back, and his buddies laugh. They join up with the girls, and together they all climb the stone stairs leading up to the big double doors.
I feel like somebody put ice in my stomach. I don’t think I can do this.
But I have to. I can’t run away. Besides, it’s only for one year. I can keep my head down for a year if I have to. I know I’ll never fit in with any of these people, so I’m not going to bother trying. I’ll get my diploma, then get the hell out of here. As far away from my mother as I can. Even the thought of leaving Lucy doesn’t bother me as much as it used to, now that I know she’ll have a home and a stepfather. He’s even talking about getting a nanny for her, which, of course, thrills Mom. Now she really won’t have to pay attention to either of us.
Still, no matter how I try to encourage myself, my feet are like lead as I climb the stairs. I feel like I’m walking into my execution.
The inside of the main building is even more impressive than the exterior. It was built more than a hundred and fifty years ago by a wealthy family that founded the town. I look up, craning my neck to see the ceiling of the front lobby, which stretches two stories over my head. Tall windows allow sunshine to stream through and make the polished wood floors glow. There’s artwork all over the walls, paintings of men and women who look very important and maybe a little bit bored. I go over to one of them and find a small plaque underneath. One of the school’s principals, this one serving from 1952 to 1969. There are fewer women than men, but I guess that shouldn’t come as a surprise.