by Mya West
“Sorry,” I say to her. “I didn’t expect anybody here tonight to have a sense of humour.”
“Well, I’m glad we found each other,” the woman says, putting out her hand. “Elise Ferlong. Nice to meet you.”
I shake her hand. “Elle—”
“Mavin. Yes. Everybody knows who you are, young lady. I have to say, if my presence wasn’t expected of me tonight, I would have wanted to come to meet you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, of course.”
“You said your name was Elise Ferlong?” She nods her head, and a flashback from the boring commercials during my Jerry Springer marathon come to me. “The state senator, Donna Ferlong?”
She nods her head again. “Let me guess, you saw one of my re-election commercials recently?” This time I nod my head. “They are dreadful, aren’t they?”
“Well—”
“Don’t ruin our moment with a lie, Ms. Mavin. They are boring and shameless. But that’s what my campaign manager says will get the seniors out of their nursing beds to go vote.”
A thin older man with glasses walks up to Elise, holding a glass of red wine. It takes me a moment to realize he’s my guidance counsellor, Henry Ferlong, from Ryland Academy. I look away from him shyly, thinking back to a few nights ago when Danna and I broke into his office.
Henry extends the glass to Elise, and she quickly waves his hand away. “Henry, I wanted white wine.”
“You always drink red,” Henry Ferlong says with a hint of defeat in his voice.
“Yes, but I ordered the cod as the entrée tonight. Fish and red wine? Am I a barbarian?” Henry sighs and begins to walk away. “Wait, hun. On second thought, I’ll take the red. Can you get me a glass of white though as well?”
Henry looks at her funny. “You said you were driving home tonight.”
“I still am,” Elise says with a coy smile. “By the way, have you met Elle Mavin?”
Henry Ferlong looks at me oddly. It’s as if he knows that I broke into his office at the school. I feel like he’s caught me red handed.
“No, I haven’t,” he says extending a hand. I quickly shake it. “Mr. Cain has mentioned you though. It’s your senior year, right? You should come by my office again, and we can chat about what life looks like after Ryland.”
“Maybe a campaign manager,” I say looking at Elise. She smiles warmly at me.
Elise looks at Henry coldly. “Dear husband, we did the whole introduction thing, can you get the wine now? I need it to get through this event.”
Henry smiles thinly and leaves as instructed. I look at him puzzled when I realize he said to come to his office, again. I had only been in his office one time, and he was certainly not present.
I try my best to put the thought aside. Besides, I’m more interested in talking Elise Ferlong, who has my full attention. We talk more about our lives. She seemed to already know a bit about me. She shared how she lived in neighborhood close to mine when she grew up. I didn’t want to ask which. Around the downtown core, you can go from beautiful rich neighborhoods to ghetto drug ridden ones quickly.
Elise raises an eyebrow at me. “I was raised in the Shaughnessy area.” Well, that confirmed it. She was a ghetto girl, like me.
Soon after, we sit for the charity’s dinner. Unfortunately, Elise is not at my table. I’m with a few older couples, and feel completely out of place.
I see Henry Ferlong walking past my table and almost want to raise a hand and ask for some white wine as well. Something tells me that I want to have the same power over him as his wife would though.
Elise was certainly right about one thing—you need wine to make it through events like this. A lot of it.
For a bunch of rich people, who probably live amazing lives free from the clutches of earth-shattering debt like most, I assumed the event would be more…lively.
The couple beside me is droning on about their son. How smart he is. He will likely go to Harvard for law school, they guess. He’s extremely athletic, apparently. He’s tall and handsome.
When the wife says that, it finally gets my attention. Wait, are they honestly trying to hook me up with their son?
The woman, wearing an elegant black dress made of some weird fabric I’ve never seen, raises an eyebrow when she repeats how handsome he is.
Oh, god. She is trying to make a love connection at a charity dinner.
“You would probably know him,” she says. “He’s in your grade at Ryland.”
I know this woman and her stern looking husband introduced themselves to me at some point, but I can’t for the life of me remember what their names are again.
“Sorry, what’s his name again?” I ask.
“Nathanial,” the wife says with a smile. I think about it a moment, but still don’t put it together.
The stern man takes a bite of his salmon and looks at me, covering his mouth with a napkin as he talks. “Price. Nathanial Price. My son says he knows you.”
I almost feel like throwing my fish entrée at his face at the mention of his name. Nathanial Price? The very same jerk-off who, on the first day of school at Ryland, tried to whip a pie in my face in front of everyone in the cafeteria?
“Yes, of course,” I say. “I do know him.” And he’s a huge dick head, I keep to myself. Apparently, Nat’s been talking to his parents about me, since he’s told them he knows me. I’m tempted to ask how I even came up in a conversation, but resist the urge. I don’t want to give an impression that I would be interested in her son.
I hear Arthur Cain laughing loudly at his table. I turn my head, wondering what could make him show some type of emotion. When I do, all I see is Lance staring at me. I turn away and take a bite of fish. After a few moments, I turn again. Lance continues to look at me.
He doesn’t look mad or angry. He seems relaxed. I half expected him to give me some type of challenging stare down, which I kindly would have obliged in joining, but he didn’t.
Sometimes, I have no clue what goes through that guy’s head.
I manage to make it through the rest of dinner. The delicious fancy food helped. I’m still somewhat hungry though. I wanted to ask the waiter who brought me my entrée for a second one. I didn’t of course, since no one else did. I was eying a larger man at my table for a while, just waiting for him to raise a finger and ask a waiter for more. I would have jumped in on that.
The party starts to wind down, and I think about heading back to the guesthouse. Elise and her husband are gone. I see Lance walking around and talking. Another reason to leave.
Lance walks up to his father, who is at the center of a group of men who are all smoking bulky cigars and sipping liquor from glass tumblers.
“Lance,” Arthur Cain says, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. “I was just telling everyone how you’re planning on joining the company after high school.”
Lance seems uneasy with his father’s arm around him. “I thought we were still talking about that.”
One of his father’s friends, a larger man, blows out cigar smoke and laughs. “Your boy doesn’t like commitment.”
Lance waves him off. “There’s a whole world out there. I’m just figuring out where I fit in it.”
“Beside me,” Arthur says, staring at him coldly. “We did speak on this already. Richard here has an apprenticeship offer at his company available. He’s hoping you would apply for it.”
Lance stares back at his dad with a similar look. “Well, Richard. I hope we can talk about it some more later.”
I try looking at the art on the wall, getting closer while not making it seem so obvious. I can’t not listen at this point.
Richard takes another puff of his cigar. “No problem, kid. You want some free advice though, don’t think so hard.” The man named Richard looks at Arthur. “These Cubans are excellent.”
Arthur Cain nods his head while blowing out cigar smoke. “Just came back from a business trip to Cuba.” He turns to Lance again. “Do you want one, so
n?”
Lance waves him off, takes out his pack of cigarettes, and lights one.
Another one of Arthur’s colleagues raises his glass at him. “Congrats on the BH & Son’s merger.”
Arthur laughs. “They didn’t exactly have a choice.”
“A hostile take-over,” I chime in.
The group of men stop talking and quietly look at me. One of them was mid-way into taking a sip of what looks like scotch, but stops and gawks at me.
“That’s right, Noelle,” Arthur Cain says with a large smile. “Do you know much about business? Are you taking it in school?”
I nod my head. “Unfortunately, the teacher is a bit of a hack. I thought a class called Advanced Business Methods would be more technical. It’s playschool in there, though. I feel I could learn a lot more from someone like yourself, or even your friends.”
“Interesting,” Arthur says, glancing at Lance.
I seem to have Richard’s attention, although I’m not exactly sure if it’s my brain or dress that he’s interested in. “So, you hope to be a businesswoman after school?”
“I’m weighing my options carefully,” I say. “I’m one to make up my mind and dive in though.” In the corner of my eye, I spot Lance giving me a cold look. I look at Arthur Cain. “I’ve heard Cubans are the best in the world when it comes to cigars. I’d love to try one.”
Arthur looks at his friends and smiles. He waves his head side to side. “Well, you’re not exactly of age for one, but they are illegal in this country anyways.” He takes one out of his business suit front pocket and hands it to me.
I put it between my lips, and Richard gives me a light. I give him a nod and take a long drag of the cigar, blowing out a large cloud of white smoke. I try my best not to gag and cough. The look on Lance’s face is too rich for me not to continue though.
Richard raises an eyebrow. “It’s sad to say, but I don’t think we have had any businesswoman at my company. Not to say I wouldn’t hire one. I suppose I just never found a good candidate.”
“Well, maybe you should let a lady at the big boys’ table some time. I can show you what we offer.”
At that comment, Lance takes a drag of his cigarette, his face souring with each moment I’m there. I blow another large cloud of smoke towards him, with a smile. Lance turns and walks away abruptly without saying a word.
I savour how Lance’s face looked when he left and replay it in my head, taking another puff of the cigar. I’m surprised by how good it tastes. I could get into this lifestyle after all, especially if it bothers Lance.
Now he knows how it feels to be the outsider.
I blow out more smoke, and it feels almost therapeutic.
Like the sweet taste of victory.
Chapter 6
“What do you think he wants?” Danna asks me as we walk down the school hallways, her words coming out like shotgun blasts.
“I told you, I have no clue,” I say.
“Does he know?” she says equally as fast.
I stop and stare at her. “Danna, stop! Your making me nervous as fuck. I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”
“So, the guidance counsellor just randomly calls you to his office. I had no clue that guidance counsellors could even summon students like that.” I look at her, and she beats me to it. “I know, you don’t know.” Danna looks around and leans in closer to me. “I mean, this has to be about us breaking into his office, right?”
“Us? I think it was you!”
Danna shushes me. “Semantics. You were there too. Just don’t tell Bryce about this. He’s already all fucked up with the whole Beasts thing. I think I scared him a bit too much.”
“You have that effect. Now stop following me and getting me all worked up before I have to go so see Henry.”
“Henry?”
I laugh. “Mr. Ferlong. I met him and his wife yesterday, at this charity thing at Cain’s house. His wife’s a real fire-cracker, not to mention state senator.”
“Henry married a state senator?”
Danna finally agrees to leave me alone for the rest of my journey to Mr. Ferlong’s office. I’m doing my best to stay calm on the outside, but it’s a circus in my head.
Why does he want to see me?
Why would a guidance counsellor want to summon a student for?
Is this something good or bad that I’m about to walk into?
I stop in front of Mr. Ferlong’s office door. The last time I stood in front of it, Danna was breaking into the office with a credit card and then stole that leather-bound book from a shelf.
I take a deep breath and knock on the door. To my surprise, Arthur Cain opens the door. He’s holding a lit cigar in one of his hands and waves me inside.
“Noelle, thanks for coming,” he says. I look at the smoke coming from his cigar. Pretty sure you can’t smoke inside a school. I walk inside, and Henry is sitting on a chair smiling at me. Then again, a man like Henry Ferlong doesn’t seem like a man who could tell Arthur Cain what he can and can’t do.
“Come and sit, Noelle,” Henry says.
“Elle. It’s Elle, actually,” I correct him.
“Right, sorry,” Henry says. Arthur Cain sits on a chair beside Henry. “Mr. Cain has come for a quick visit. He wanted to check in on how you were doing at school so far. How you are adjusting to life at Ryland Academy.”
I smile. “So, how am I doing?” I sit on a chair opposite of the two men.
“I’ve spoken to all of your teachers, and all of them have only good things to say about you. You’re attentive, complete your homework, and are active in classroom discussions. Everyone had only good things to say.”
Arthur Cain puts his cigar to his mouth. “A recipe for success.”
I try not to say something stupid, like this is only the second week of school. Obviously, my little chat with Arthur Cain at his charity event impressed him enough for him to come today.
“Thank you,” I say politely. “I hope to continue to show my potential.”
“You have done well so far, Noelle,” Cain says, blowing out smoke from his lips. I dare not to correct him, which makes me wonder how different I am from Henry. “I was particularly interested in what your business teacher had to say about you. School just started, but he has a feeling you will be his top student.”
“Thank you. If it wasn’t for you offering me this opportunity, I wouldn’t have been able to show my potential to anybody.”
“I hope you are smart enough to know how to seize an opportunity,” Cain says sternly. “I hope you’re not like—well, others. You seem like a keener[t5].” Arthur Cain stands up from his chair, prompting Henry to awkwardly get off his. I take the cue and stand with them. “I’ll be interested to hear your business teacher’s feedback after this semester. Henry here can help you pick out some courses to maximize your opportunity in your business education, if that’s what you truly want.”
“I think I’m pretty close to making up my mind,” I say with a smile.
Arthur Cain nods his head and leaves the office. He shuts the door loudly behind him. I look over at Henry, who seems just in awe of Cain’s presence as I do.
“You can go back to class, Elle,” he says to me.
“Thanks, Henry.” I leave before he can correct me and shut the office door almost as loudly as Cain.
Chapter 7
I hurry quickly through the hallways. I feel like by the time I get outside to meet up with Danna and Bryce, lunch will be halfway over.
I notice Lance in the hallway as I pass by a group of students. He notices me and quickly looks away. I take it as a sign of almost weakness that he hasn’t been able to maintain much eye contact with me after his father’s charity event.
His shyness almost makes me feel powerful. I have successfully one-upped Lance Cain. He probably thought I would have given up days ago. Hell, most girls—if they had gone through half the things I have since coming to Ryland—would run out of town without looking back.
I’m surprised when he maintains his lowered head and passes by me like any other student.
He didn’t think I’d hit him where it hurts, his family. His father sees something in me. Whatever it is, Lance doesn’t have it.
Arthur Cain came by the guesthouse and told me I would be a guest of honor at the next charity event at his home, which would take place in a few days. I would be seated at the head table. The thought of how much this will annoy Lance makes it all the more pleasurable for me.
Lance has been sitting at that table for years and didn’t take advantage of it. He doesn’t understand how most would kill to be where he is, to have the opportunities he has.
I look back and see Lance standing and looking towards me. For a moment, I thought his eyes were watery, as if just crying. It’s hard to tell what any facial gesture means with a guy like Lance.
I quickly look away, and bump into another student.
“Watch where you’re going, slut,” Selina says, trying to maintain her balance. Selina looks ahead and notices Lance staring at us. She scowls at me. “Trailer trash like you can never land a guy like Lance. He may seem like he wants that dirty pussy of yours, but once he has what he wants, he will discard it to its proper place, the trash.”
I don’t give her any indication that what she said bothered me. I put on my perfect Lance Cain poker face. I look around Selina, who, for a change, is by herself. “I didn’t think you would act so tough without your back-up. Where is Dumb and Dumber?”
Selina waves her head and puts her hands at her sides. “You’re going to get what’s coming to you, slut. When you do, I’ll be there.”
