Diamonds in the Rough

by Michelle Madow

“Wait, Savannah,” he called.

  She faced him again, somehow managing to be graceful despite the clunky fairy wings. “What?” she asked hopefully.

  “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to see you much since summer.”

  “I just don’t get it,” she blurted, feeling bolder than normal—­maybe because it was Halloween, and she was in a costume. “One day everything between us was great, and then suddenly you were busy all the time. I don’t understand what happened.”

  “Things have just been hectic recently.” He took his helmet off and ran his hands through his hair. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way. But I promise—none of this was your fault. It’s all on me.”

  “That’s the oldest line in the book,” she said, surprised by her anger. She had liked Nick—she’d trusted him. What had happened to the Nick she’d met her first week in Vegas? Did he exist, or was that a front for girls he was pretending to be interested in? “If something was bothering you, you should have talked to me, not ignored me. I’m going back to find my friends.”

  “Hold on,” he said, and the hurt in his eyes made her stay put. “You’re right—you deserve a real answer.”

  “Okay.” Savannah waited, hoping that this “real answer” would clear everything up.

  “I’m not supposed to talk to anyone about this.” He moved closer to her as a drunk guy in a dragon costume stumbled past. “But it’s a long story, and the hall leading to the restrooms at Myst isn’t the best place to tell it.”

  Savannah glanced at her watch. “Calvin Harris isn’t going on for two hours,” she said. “If you want to go to the Lobby Bar to talk, we’ve got time.”

  He hesitated, and she prayed he wouldn’t back out of telling her whatever he was about to confess. “Your friends won’t mind?”

  “They’ll survive without me for a little while.”

  He nodded, and together, they headed out of the club.

  * * *

  “So, what’s going on?” Savannah asked once they had situated themselves at a table in the back of the bar.

  Nick glanced around, as if he was worried someone would overhear.

  “No one’s paying attention to us,” Savannah said. “So, what’s this long story that supposedly explains why you’ve been ignoring me for months?”

  “What I’m about to tell you has to stay between you and me,” he said, his eyes blazing with intensity. “I mean it. No one else besides my family knows—not even my friends from the team, and I’ve known them since lower school. They suspect something’s up, but they don’t know the full story. So, can you promise you won’t repeat any of this, not even to your sisters?”

  “I promise.” She was so curious that she would have promised anything.

  “Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Remember the week we met, how my credit card was turned down at the poolside restaurant?”

  “Yeah.” Savannah had ended up putting their meals on her own card, and the waitress had brought out a complimentary dessert when she saw Savannah’s name and realized she was Adrian’s daughter. It was one of the first times Savannah had gotten special treatment because of her last name. She would never forget that moment.

  “I tried to make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal, since we’d just met and I didn’t want to embarrass myself,” he said. “But it kind of was.”

  Savannah didn’t know much about Nick’s family besides that his dad owned a commercial real estate company. She hadn’t considered that they could have money problems, but she had a bad feeling about where this was headed. “What happened?” she asked.

  “I don’t know the full details, but earlier in the summer my dad got in trouble with his latest building. It didn’t follow the right codes.” Nick shrugged, as if this wasn’t a huge deal, although it clearly was. “He got sued big-time, and taken for all he had. For all our family had.”

  “Wow.” Savannah gaped, unsure what to say. And here she’d thought Nick had been distant because he wasn’t interested in her. It sounded so childish and self-centered next to the truth. Savannah had seen what it was like for Courtney when she was balancing school, tutoring and work—she’d had no time to date anyone. And Courtney didn’t play a varsity sport, too. So, strangely enough, Savannah got it. Nick didn’t have time for a girlfriend.

  But everyone always needed a friend.

  “I’m sorry,” she finally said. “You know you could have told me the truth before now…right? If anyone at Goodman understands what it’s like to have money issues, it’s me. Well, obviously not me right now, but me before moving here.”

  “I know,” Nick said. “But things got crazy the week you moved here. My mom blames my dad for getting us into this mess, and she moved out, bringing me with her. It’s why I’m living at those crappy Harbor Island apartments now.”

  “They can’t be too bad, right?” Savannah pictured the dreary two-bedroom apartment she’d shared with her mom and sisters before moving to Vegas, with the worn floors and the stained furniture crammed inside. Nick’s new place couldn’t be worse than that.

  “Compared to where I used to live?” He raised an eyebrow. “It’s a big adjustment. My mom got a job to pay rent and electric bills and stuff, but she married my dad right after college and her unused communications major couldn’t get her anything more than a receptionist position. Goodman’s tuition is forty grand a year, and we can’t afford it anymore, so I’ve been working to save up.”

  “Goodman costs forty thousand dollars a year?” Savannah’s mouth dropped open. She knew private school cost money, but she didn’t realize it was that much. That was over one hundred thousand dollars for her and her sisters—way more than her mom ever made in a year, let alone could spend on education.

  “Yep.” Nick nodded. “The sad part is that, before all this happened to my family, I never thought twice about it.”

  Savannah did the math in her head. As a high school junior, Nick couldn’t be making more than minimum wage. Even if he worked all summer, he couldn’t make enough to pay for Goodman. But he was still a student there, so he must have found a way. “How did you save up forty grand in a few weeks?” she asked.

  “My mom talked to the headmaster, and they’re giving me half the tuition in scholarship, since I’m the best quarterback they have and they don’t want to lose me. But even covering half the cost is rough. I worked two jobs all summer—one selling shoes at Finish Line in the mall and the other bussing tables. I started the week after we met, but over the summer I didn’t make half of what I need, so the headmaster’s letting me pay in installments. That’s why you’ve barely seen me this year. When I’m not at school, doing homework or at football practice, I’m selling shoes.” He looked down at the table, his eyes refusing to meet hers.

  “Working hard for what you want is nothing to be ashamed of,” Savannah said, amazed he even needed to be told that. “It’s admirable. I was applying for summer jobs in Fairfield before my sisters and I moved here. It was the first summer I was old enough. Courtney didn’t want me working during the school year because of volleyball, but I probably would have anyway, to help our family.”

  “I get why Courtney would say that,” Nick said. “Working while being in school and playing sports is impossible. Any semblance of the social life that I used to have has gone out the window. The guys don’t get it—they give me a hard time about not coming out anymore. And I can’t tell them the truth without breaking my family’s trust. My dad made it clear that I’m not supposed to tell anyone about what happened, and I promised him I wouldn’t. You’re the only one who knows.”

  “I won’t tell a soul.”

  “Football’s all that’s keeping me sane right now,” he said. “But I haven’t had much time for homework, so my grades haven’t been great. And if I drop football for more time to study, I’ll lose my scholarship, since
football’s the reason I have it to begin with. I’m stuck in a never-ending cycle, and it’s exhausting.”

  Savannah nodded, understanding exactly what he meant. She’d seen enough of the students at Fairfield vs. Goodman to know how unfair it all was. How the students at Goodman were given every opportunity to succeed and cruised through life, and how many students at Fairfield slipped through the cracks because of the tough circumstances they’d been born into. Sure, they were lucky to live in a country that gave them an education at all, but was it an equal opportunity? No way. It sucked, but there was no getting around it—life just sucked and wasn’t fair sometimes.

  But she might be able to help Nick.

  “How much more money do you need?” she asked.

  “Ten thousand.” He buried his fingers in his hair, letting out a long breath at the mention of that much money. “It’s funny, really. Before all this happened with my dad, that would have been nothing. Now it feels impossible.”

  “It’s easy to get lost in the fantasy world of Vegas,” Savannah said. “But I get it. Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money.”

  “If I didn’t have school, and homework, and football practice, it wouldn’t be as bad,” he said. “But since school started, I can get in sixteen hours of work a week without crashing, if I’m lucky. That’s about a grand a month. If I take extra shifts over winter and spring break, I’ll be able to cover it all, but I’m pretty burnt out. This year has been rough.”

  He looked lost, and Savannah wanted to help him so badly. “I don’t want this to come across the wrong way, but if you have a credit card reader for your phone, I could help you out. My dad doesn’t glance at charges that are less than five figures.”

  “I don’t need charity,” he said. “I’ve got this handled myself.”

  “It’s not charity,” Savannah insisted. “It’s a friend helping a friend. Don’t you see that trying to balance school, work and sports is too much? I’ve always known it was—I was prepared to quit volleyball once I got a job sophomore year, because my family needed my help. And Fairfield’s academics are nowhere near as intense as Goodman’s. You said yourself that your grades are slipping, you look exhausted and quitting football isn’t an option. So can you do me a favor and let me help?”

  “No.” He rubbed his eyes, and Savannah wondered just how sleep-deprived he was. “It’s too much.”

  “When’s your birthday?” she asked.

  It took him a second to think about it. “February ninth,” he said. “Why?”

  “I was hoping it would be around now.” Savannah frowned. “For a reason to give you a birthday present. How about a belated half birthday present?”

  “I really appreciate that you want to help.” He laughed for the first time since they’d sat down, and finally there was a hint of a sparkle in his eyes. “But I haven’t celebrated my half birthday since I was ten. Anyway, I’m not taking your money, Savannah. Well, Adrian’s money. My parents would be humiliated if they found out. Trust me—I’ve got this covered. I’m just glad you heard me out.”

  “Okay, fine,” she said, since she didn’t want to push it. “Just don’t forget my offer. It’s there if you change your mind.”

  “I’ll remember it,” he said. “But I’m not going to take it.”

  “I do have one request, though.”

  “Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”

  “No more avoiding me. I know you don’t have much time to hang out anymore, but an occasional text message to let me know you’re hanging in there would be nice. Also, make sure you’re not working on December thirteenth, because that’s the night of my Sweet Sixteen party. It’s going to be awesome, and I want you to be there.”

  “All right,” he said. “I think I can handle that.”

  Once that was over, the walls between them were finally broken down again. And for the first time since the start of the school year, Savannah’s life was—for the most part—going the way she wanted. She had a fun group of friends, her YouTube channel was slowly doing better, she was spending every lunch period with Damien and she was on good terms with Nick again.

  So why did she have a strange feeling that it was all too good to last?

  Chapter 14: Courtney

  Halloween had always been one of Courtney’s favorite holidays. She loved the decorations, the movies, the excuse to eat foods that were bad for her and the costumes. She also loved how her mom used to get excited about Halloween, too—when they were younger, she’d helped Courtney and her sisters pick out the perfect costumes. She’d had a rule that they could never be the same thing twice. Before drinking had taken over her life, she’d taken them trick-or-treating, and then when they’d gotten home they’d watched old slasher movies like Scream and Friday the 13th while seeing who could eat the most candy.

  In more recent years, her mom had gone out partying instead, and Peyton had gone out with her friends, too. Courtney had told herself that it didn’t matter, since they were too old for trick-or-treating. But she couldn’t dispense with celebrating altogether, so she and Savannah had kept up the tradition of watching the Diamond Halloween slasher movie lineup.

  This year for Halloween, Courtney was alone. Savannah had reserved a few VIP tables for her friends at Myst—she had invited Courtney, but it wasn’t Courtney’s scene—and Peyton was getting ready for some party at Hard Rock that was supposedly the “wildest Halloween party in Vegas.” It was the first year ever that Courtney didn’t have a costume.

  But not getting dressed up on Halloween felt sad, so she took out a fringed black dress from the back of her closet and tried it on. If she paired it with long pearls, she could be a flapper at one of Gatsby’s parties in the Roaring Twenties. She did her makeup heavier than usual, imitating the smoky eyes and bright red lips that came up when she Google-searched “flapper makeup.” All that was off was her hair, but since she wasn’t cutting her long blond locks, she left it down, letting it fall in its natural waves. It wasn’t the best costume ever—she needed a sparkly feather headband and gloves to make it perfect—but it passed.

  She didn’t want to stay in when she was dressed up, and she was curious about what people in the Diamond had chosen as costumes, so she headed out of the condo to grab dinner at one of the restaurants downstairs. She didn’t mind eating alone, as long as she had her Kindle with her.

  “Going partying tonight?” her bodyguard, Teddy, asked. He was older than Adrian—he looked like he could be a young grandfather—and Courtney always wondered how he would protect her in an extreme situation. But he must be able to, otherwise Adrian never would have entrusted her safety to him. From his tone, she could tell he didn’t expect her to be going partying—he knew well enough from guarding her that she wasn’t into that scene.

  “Just grabbing some dinner.” She held up her Kindle. “And getting some reading done.”

  She requested a table in the front of the Grand Café so that she could watch everyone pass by in their costumes. People had been dressed up all day—some even all week—but the craziest costumes had come out tonight. The “Fairy Tales” party was at the Diamond, so there were tons of people in barely-there princess, prince, fairy, knight and dragon costumes. Angels and devils were also popular, along with various superheroes. Courtney’s favorite was a girl who had dressed like Daenerys from Game of Thrones. The outfit was intricate, and most likely handmade, complete with the white-blond wig necessary to portray the Khaleesi.

  Courtney had ordered her food and had settled into reading Remembrance, the first book in the Transcend Time Saga, when her phone buzzed with a text message. It was from Brett.

  Mind if I join you?

  That was a strange way of asking to hang out. Unless he knew where she was? She looked up and found him standing outside the perimeter of the casino. Their eyes met, and he waved, which sent he
r stomach flipping in a million directions. Then he glanced at his phone and held a hand out in question, as though waiting for her to respond.

  As if she could say no. Anyway, it was just dinner. In a public place. Nothing could happen between them because of it.

  Of course you can join me : )

  She put down her Kindle as he walked over. “You’re not getting dressed up for Halloween?” she asked as he sat down next to her.

  “I haven’t dressed up for Halloween since elementary school,” he said. “You look great, though. Where are you headed tonight?”

  “Honestly?” Courtney said, although of course she would be honest with Brett. “I threw this together last-minute. My plans don’t go further than dinner.”

  “That’s a shame,” he said, perusing the menu. “Why not?”

  “Because my sisters are going to Halloween parties at clubs,” she said. “But I would rather have a Scream or Friday the 13th marathon.”

  “A Friday the 13th fan?” he asked, smiling. “I didn’t expect you to like those kind of movies.”

  “Only on Halloween,” she said.

  “Tell me, then.” He pressed the pads of his fingers together, as if he were about to ask a serious question. “If you’re a fan of the Friday the 13th series, who’s the killer in the original movie?”

  “Jason’s mom,” she said without a beat. “That’s easy—­especially since it’s the same question the killer asks Drew Barrymore’s character in the first scene of Scream.”

  “Correct,” Brett said. “But the real test was seeing if you caught the Scream reference. You passed.”

  Courtney shared a smile with Brett, and their eyes locked, leaving her tongue-tied. She realized she was staring at him, but before she could think of something to say, the waitress came over to take their order.

  While Brett placed his order, Courtney watched the people in crazy costumes parading around the casino. Her mom would have loved this—there was enough variation to give her ideas of fresh costumes for years.