Playing the Field

by Christina Benjamin

  The Cohl boys were legends at Stanton Prep. They basically built the Golden dynasty. And their famous crown jewel? Their not-so-secret, secret masked balls. They were held at a different location every year at the end of the semester. And you couldn’t gain access unless you were given a coveted key. Of course Hannah had never been invited. She was pretty certain that the Goldens didn’t even know she existed. Harrison Cohl certainly didn’t. He was the youngest of the five Cohl boys and he would be graduating with Hannah in a few weeks. But not before throwing one last legendary party.

  If Hannah could get an invite to the ball she would have no trouble making wild, carefree memories with her classmates. She reined in her excitement and focused back on the bickering girls.

  “I’m going to be photographed more than a Kardashian when I show up on Harrison’s arm,” Blakely mussed.

  “Not if I beat you to him!” Savannah sneered.

  “Oh please, like either of you have a chance?”

  “And you do, Madi?”

  “I didn’t say I did. But you know Harrison always goes dateless so he can play his games. It’s half the fun of wearing a mask. Never knowing who’s with who . . . the allure of bedding a stranger . . . it’s all so romantic,” Madison sighed.

  “Oh god, Madi, give it a rest. It’s not like you’re going to meet prince charming. Besides, everyone knows you’ve slept with the whole senior class by now so no one will be new to you,” Blakely retorted.

  Savannah laughed, but Madison just smiled. “I guess I’m just a hopeless romantic. And how else is a princess to find her prince without trying them all?”

  The three girls laughed.

  “But seriously, I hope there’ll be some new blood at this ball,” Blakely whined.

  “Well we know who won’t be there,” Savannah smirked,

  Hannah followed Savannah’s line of sight to the slouched figure that strolled under the Golden Gate with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans. His dark, shaggy locks fell like curtains over his face as if trying to hide his identity, but it was no use. Even if he wore a mask everyone would know Cody Matthews.

  “Kill anyone today, Cody?” Blakely called.

  Cody flipped her off without looking behind him.

  Hannah shook her head at Blakely’s cruelty. It was true that Cody’s girlfriend died when he crashed his car. He’d been driving home from one of Harrison’s parties. He was drunk and lost control of the vehicle, slamming into a tree. It was quite the scandal, but not just because of the DUI. That happened quite often at Stanton. But Cody’s girlfriend, Elena, was pregnant. They were both Goldens, but had been dropped with alarming speed once the pregnancy rumor caught fire.

  The snickering above called Hannah’s attention back to the vicious girls on the bridge. She wondered how they could be so cruel to one of their own. How did they not see that they could fall just as quickly as Cody had under the right circumstances?

  “I don’t know what Elena ever saw in him,” Savannah scowled.

  “I do. Tall, dark and handsome,” Madison quipped.

  “And dangerous,” Savannah added.

  “That just makes him sexier,” Madison purred.

  “Well you can forget about it. Harrison would kill you if he sees you flirting with him. Besides, it’s not like he’ll be at the ball.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure,” Blakely replied. “He still has his key from last year.”

  “Only because he was locked up in rehab. There’s no way Harrison would honor his key.”

  “He’d have to. There’s only two rules . . . a key gets you in, and your mask never comes off.”

  Hannah smiled to herself as a plan started to unravel in her mind.

  Chapter Three

  Step 3: Formulate a Hypothesis (aka: The Plan)

  The more Hannah eavesdropped on the Goldens the more she realized that she didn’t have enough time to infiltrate them and get an invite to the ball on her own. She only had four weeks and as she looked around at the other cliques on the lawn she realized they’d had four years and still hadn’t found a way to climb the social ladder to high school royalty. That just meant she’d have to come up with a different strategy and it just so happened his name was Cody Matthews.

  Facts: Cody possessed a key. And Cody owed Hannah.

  After returning from rehab at the beginning of the school year, Cody was dangerously close to flunking out of Stanton. Being a tutor in every subject, Hannah was assigned to catch him up. He was still wrecked from losing everything he cared about—his girlfriend, his friends and even his spot on the basketball team—so getting him to focus had been a challenge. Hannah often wondered why Cody even came back to Stanton. It wasn’t that she didn’t think he was sharp. But there were plenty of good schools where his scandalous reputation might not have followed. When she asked him about it, he said he believed sins should be paid for.

  She wasn’t really sure why, but Hannah lost sleep over that comment. She knew Cody must wrestle more than a few nasty demons after what happened to his girlfriend, Elena. But to force himself to relive the pain every day by facing her friends at Stanton . . . it seemed too cruel.

  Everyone blamed Cody for Elena’s death. And the police report claimed it was his fault since he’d been driving drunk, so there really was no other argument. But still, it’s not like Cody planned to kill Elena. He loved her. Hannah remembered how inseparable they’d been as a couple . . . Cody always doting on her, Elena cheering at his basketball games. It was sad that their love story ended in a drunken car crash. Hannah knew Cody wished he could take it back. Or at least that’s what his quote in the paper implied. He’d said he’d do anything to take back what happened to Elena. But that didn’t change the facts. Elena was dead and the students at Stanton Prep were happy to remind Cody that it was his fault.

  Rumors swirled around Cody’s return. Everyone thought he would be sent to prison, or juvee at least. But to return with little more than a stint in rehab and a suspended driver’s license seemed like a slap in the face to Elena’s friends. That’s what the Goldens had become—Elena’s champions. Even though they dropped her the moment they found out she was pregnant, after her death they’d adopted her back as their saint, if only to curse Cody further.

  Harrison, who’d been Cody’s best friend, was the coldest. As the basketball captain, it was his decision to kick Cody off the team. But strangely another rumor surfaced that it was Harrison’s father’s legal team that got Cody off with such a light sentence. It made no sense to Hannah, but then again she didn’t try to understand the strange operating of the upper echelon.

  With so much drama surrounding Cody, it wasn’t any wonder why he couldn’t focus on his studies. Hannah eventually took pity on him and passed him with C’s on his make up exams so he could rejoin his classes. He’d graciously thanked her and in his own words had said, “I owe you one.”

  “Time to call in that favor, Cody,” Hannah murmured to herself as she gathered her things and headed after him.

  Chapter Four

  Step 4: Execute The Plan

  Hannah hadn’t been able to locate Cody before the bell rang and classes reclaimed her for the remainder of the day. But she didn’t worry . . . she plotted. She knew exactly where he’d be after school and headed straight there. Hannah smiled when she caught sight of him walking slowly down the road they shared. His backpack was slung over one shoulder and he had earbuds in, unable to hear her approach.

  They were on a secluded road, far away from the busy traffic near Stanton. Hannah had specifically waited in the parking lot for twenty-six minutes before starting her car and making the drive home. She passed Cody every day walking home from school. She knew this would be the best time to catch him—when he was alone, away from the prying eyes of the Goldens and gossips. Her plan needed to remain secret if it was going to work.

  And just as she planned, Cody was now only about a mile from his home, and half a mile from her own. She passed him and pul
led onto the shoulder cutting him off. She could see his startled look in her rearview mirror. She took a deep breath. “You can do this, Hannah.” After her pep talk she rolled down the window and waited for him to approach.

  Cody stopped next to her navy Volvo and leaned down to look in at her. His brown hair fell over his golden-brown eyes, blocking the light that filtered in through the tree canopy above.

  “Hey, Cody,” Hannah said casually. “Do you want a ride home?”

  “No thanks.”

  “I don’t mind,” Hannah persisted. “I mean, it’s no trouble.”

  “You pass me walking home every day, Hannah. What made you stop today?”

  The venom in Cody’s voice sliced Hannah with guilt. He was right. She saw him every day and never offered him a ride before. “I . . . You’re right. I’m sorry. That wasn’t very kind of me. I’m usually so lost in thought I don’t see what’s right in front of me. But I’m trying to change that.”

  “Starting with me?” Cody asked suspiciously.

  “Okay, fine. I need your help with something. Can you just get in the car?” Hannah barked impatiently.

  “There it is,” he said letting a smirk show.

  “What?”

  “Miss direct and to the point, Hannah Stark.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, don’t be ashamed of it. It’s how you get your straight A’s and stay above us, right? I actually admire it. It’s refreshing compared to all the fake, two-faced snobs I deal with all day at Stanton.”

  “I don’t think I’m above you!”

  “Don’t you?”

  Hannah was silent. Did she think she was above him? She was planning to use him as a tool to get what she wanted. But she sort of was above him. Cody was barely passing, had no license, a dead girlfriend and a DUI. If he was going to insist on categorizing things then, yes, she was above him.

  Cody was right and Hannah was on the verge of admitting that when he opened the backseat of her car and threw his bag in. He marched around to the passenger side and got in.

  “Let’s just get this show on the road, okay? I’ve got things to do.”

  Hannah looked over at his smug face. She was wrong to assume he was a shattered soul. He still held the air of a Golden—entitled, bothered, bored. This wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought. But Hannah never backed down from a challenge and she wasn’t about to start now.

  Chapter Five

  Step 5: Blackmail

  Hannah put her car in drive and spoke clearly without moving her eyes from the road. “You owe me a favor, Cody, and I’m here to collect.”

  “What do you want?”

  Straight to the point . . . good. He wasn’t denying he owed her.

  “I want your key to Harrison’s ball.”

  Hannah kept her eyes on the road, but she could feel Cody staring at her. After a few moments he started to laugh.

  “You’re actually serious,” he said between fits of laughter. “You want to go to a Cohl ball? You?”

  Hannah gritted her teeth, hating his insulting tone. “You want to graduate, don’t you?”

  His laughter trailed off and she felt his eyes burning into her.

  “If I divulge that you didn’t actually pass your make up exams you won’t graduate.”

  “What do you want?” Cody asked flatly.

  “I already told you. The key to Harrison’s party.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s not important.”

  “Fine, but the key won’t matter. You won’t fit in.”

  “Then you’ll tell me what I need to know so I do fit in.”

  Cody chuckled. “It’s not something I can explain in one car ride home, Hannah.”

  “Fine, then I’ll drive you to and from school until you’ve explained everything.”

  Cody scrubbed his face in frustration, realizing each time he opened his mouth he seemed to be making things worse for himself. “The inner workings of the people and things that happen at Harrison’s parties wouldn’t make any sense to you. You won’t enjoy it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because, you’re not like us.”

  “You mean them,” Hannah shot back. “You’re not a Golden anymore.” It was a low blow and she knew it, but Cody’s cocky attitude was pissing her off.

  “Yeah. Them.” Cody replied quietly. He was silent for a while before he spoke again. “It’s not a bad thing, Hannah. They’re not good people. You don’t want to be like them.”

  “You don’t know what I want, Cody. You don’t even know me.”

  “You’re right. I don’t know you. But I know Harrison and his crew. If you show up at the ball they’ll pick you apart.”

  “Maybe I don’t care.”

  “Why would you possibly want that abuse?”

  “That’s none of your business. All you have to do is give me the key and fill me in on what I need to know to fit in.”

  “Hannah, making you fit in isn’t possible!”

  “Then I guess you won’t be graduating.”

  “Christ, Hannah! I’ll give you my key, but I can’t guarantee who the fickle pricks at Harrison’s party will decide to stomp on.”

  “Fine. The key and your best effort.”

  “Fine!”

  “So we have a deal?”

  “Yes. It’s a deal,” Cody groaned.

  Hannah smiled, looking at Cody for the first time. “Perfect. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  He shook his head. “I might have been wrong about you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Extortion suits you. You’re more like the Goldens than I thought.”

  Chapter Six

  Step 6: Begin Training

  The next morning Hannah pulled up outside Cody’s massive house and beeped the horn. After five minutes of waiting she grew impatient, turned her car off and stormed up the stone steps.

  “If he thinks he can blow me off he has another thing coming,” Hannah muttered to herself. She pushed the pewter doorbell and listened to the pleasant chiming resonate through the house.

  Cody lived in an impressive three-story New England style house. Everything was stone, white or covered with weathered cedar shakes. It was colossal compared to Hannah’s modest two-story just up the road. Her family wasn’t poor by normal standards, but compared to Cody’s family and the rest of the Goldens, she was a pauper.

  Hannah stepped back to look up at the windows, wondering which one was Cody’s. She let out a low appreciative whistle taking in the beauty of his home up close. Hannah could admire the architecture, but she would never understand the need for such a huge home. From all the media coverage after his DUI, Hannah knew Cody didn’t have any siblings and he lived in this home with only his father, Thomas Matthews, a corporate attorney for a ritzy hotel chain. According to the newspaper, Cody’s mother, Tabitha, divorced after some family scandal and remarried when he was only six. She moved to New York with her new husband and had two children, whom Cody never met. The reporter’s angle was that Cody had abandonment issues that led to his reckless ways.

  All of the stories surrounding Cody’s arrest whirled through Hannah’s near photographic mind as she gazed at the palatial house. She shook her head. It didn’t matter how regal the home looked, Cody would never escape his reputation in this town.

  Hannah was about to press the doorbell again when she heard the locks tumbling. The door creaked open slightly and a short, thin man in a gray suit peered out at her. Not Mr. Matthews. Hannah knew his face from the news. Maybe a butler? Did people really have those?

  “May I help you, miss?”

  “Um, yes. I’m here to pick up Cody for school.”

  The man looked perplexed as he glanced at his watch. “It’s 5 am.”

  “Yes, well I have tennis practice before school, so this is what time I leave.”

  The man blinked and opened the door wider. He made a sweeping gesture with his arm, ushering her inside. Hannah tried not to
gawk at the lavish interior of Cody’s home but the magnificent winding staircase and massive chandeliers dazzled her. When she realized her mouth hung open in awe she quickly snapped it shut and turned back to face the sharply dressed man.

  “Cody and I made arrangements to ride to and from school together for the rest of the school year.”

  “Oh. I apologize, but Master Cody doesn’t usually inform me of his plans. I’m afraid he may still be asleep. Would you like to me to wake him?”

  Hannah sighed. “That’s okay. I can do it myself. Can you point me to his room?”

  The man’s nervous eyes grew larger, but he nodded and led the way up the winding stairs. Hannah passed several maids dressed in pale gray uniforms, dusting or polishing the obscene amount of ornamental knickknacks. Hannah noticed how sterile the house felt as she followed the butler down the echoing marble hallways. Nearly everything in Cody’s home was white. It reminded Hannah of an empty hospital. How could anyone feel comfortable here?

  The butler’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. “Master Cody’s room is the last on the left,” he said giving a curt bow before retreating back down the hall.

  Strange. Hannah thought the butler would have at least walked her to the door. With how formal everything was it seemed like he should have announced her or something. What if Cody wasn’t even home? Would she just be left to wander the house and show herself out?

  Hannah checked her watch. 5:05. Not good. She was behind schedule. She would be late for tennis practice at this rate. Frustration drove her to march forward and knock on Cody’s door.

  No response.

  “Jerk,” she muttered to herself. It was day one and he was already pissing her off. But Hannah didn’t get to where she was by giving up easily. She twisted the knob and barged into Cody’s room.

  It was pitch black inside with the curtains drawn and she tripped over piles of things that littered the floor. She heard soft snoring from the bed and muttered expletives under her breath as she made her way to the curtains.