It did sound vain and big-headed but Emily got it. It was hard to do all the work and not take any credit.
Leila continued, “At the end of the day Emily, the blog revelations are funny for students to read but obviously kids could get kicked out for some of them. That’s not the point. It’s meant to keep the rumor mill going. If students doing all the bad stuff leave, there would be no Conundrum. Get it?”
Emily got it. Without the baddies there were no mysteries to write. No crimes to solve.
“And obviously if anyone knows that Xander and I are writing it, we won’t be undercover and…” Emily said.
Leila cut her off.
“You’re smarter than you look.”
Leila patted Emily on the head like a dog and walked off. But before she left the common room, she turned around.
“Conundrum is my baby so don’t fuck it up, Emily. If you do, I’ll make your life a living hell here.”
Emily didn’t plan on it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
THERE WERE SCHOOL dances at Edison. But people didn’t really take dates. Sure, there were a few students that were already “dating,” for whatever that meant, but mostly people would go with their friends and stand around the edges when a slow song came on feeling geeky and awkward.
But at Harlow it was a whole different can of worms. There were a decent amount of solid couples in the school and teenage hormones raged. Almost everyone wanted to ask or be asked. Emily included.
She and Georgia sat in Georgia’s room looking at outfits online. It would be a Halloween ball and the costumes were sure to be elaborate. Emily could not believe Georgia’s life. Her mom told her to find something and keep it classy and reasonable. Reasonable. A $300 budget. Emily wasn’t even in that world. She couldn’t even imagine how to spend that much on a Halloween costume.
Meanwhile, Emily had just called home asking that her family give her money for her birthday this year. She could use it to get something fab to wear. Emily knew that the best Halloween costumes were all about the accessories and creativity.
“So, I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Georgia said in her every so laid back and cool way, “I finally decided who I’m going to the dance with.”
She had been asked by three different guys. Not only that, but they were all older: one lower, one upper and one senior. And to top it all off, she was confident enough to tell them she would “get back to them,” and that she had to “think about it.” One of them pushed her for an answer on the spot and she said if he didn’t want to wait, he could ask someone else. Like a pro.
Georgia was confident, but she understated, and not in your face about it. One of those people who was cool without trying, she just had it all. She was sporty, beautiful, just smart enough to stick with the pack and had a designer wardrobe to die for.
Georgia let the boys who asked her to the dance sweat not only because she truly wasn’t sure which one she wanted to go with (she thought one would be fun, another was cuter than the other and the last one, her parents would hate, which she loved), she wasn’t that interested in any of them.
Georgia didn’t seem boy crazy at all. Emily wouldn’t have considered herself to be the type to swoon over guys either, but when she met Pierce, she found herself fixated.
“Okay… so who did you pick then,” Emily asked.
“Well,” said Georgia, “I don’t really like any of them so I might as well get something out of this exchange. So, I picked Spencer.”
Spencer was the senior her parents would hate. He was shorter than Georgia, played ice hockey (a sport her parents thought was for thugs) and only about a five and a half out of ten for looks. Compared to the two other good-looking guys who asked her, it may have seemed a poor choice. But for Georgia, who was still angry with her parents for sending her to Harlow (even though she liked it there), it was the perfect one to be in dance photos with her. She wanted to think about them weeping as they put the Halloween Ball photo on the mantlepiece.
Georgia’s parents were super rich and upper class in a way Emily hadn’t known existed before coming to Harlow. They hoped to have Georgia make her “debut” next year at a debutante ball in Texas. They had high society aspirations for her. It was Georgia’s nightmare, so old fashioned and silly and frilly. But she had especially struggled with being mixed race and doing such a thing. There weren’t many high school aged balls to choose from and she said they seemed racially divided.
But Georgia’s parents wouldn’t budge and told her they would be happy whatever ball she picked, as long as she picked one.
Emily couldn’t believe things like debutante balls and cotillions still existed. It seemed like something for British people or like something out of Gone With the Wind. Not that Emily had read the book or watched the movie.
Emily gave a silly laugh when Georgia first mentioned the debutante thing. Georgia said, “Yeah, Princess Kate really messed this all up for us. Why did a commoner have to go and be made a princess? Now every parent is a wannabe.”
Georgia would do anything to dash her parents’ hope of her being sophisticated. But despite her best efforts, what Georgia didn’t realize was that sophistication, style, etiquette and high society were both born and bred to her. It was nature and nurture for Georgia and she couldn’t escape it. She was posh through and through and because she didn’t care about this feature, her nonchalance only raised her cool factor.
“So, who’s the lucky boy to take you, Em. Please tell me Pierce has asked you,” she said.
Even though Georgia didn’t seem to like any Harlow guys, Pierce had charmed her, and she rooted for Emily.
“I don’t think he will. I mean, we’re just friends. Or maybe not even. I’m just like, his cycling buddy,” said Emily, trying to keep her yearning in a box.
“Oh, come on! For the past few weeks you guys have chatted the whole time at cycling. He must like you. I mean, he’s friends with Grayson. If he didn’t like you he’d rather hang out with his friend,” she said, “He’ll ask you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
IT SEEMED AS though Pierce and Emily rolled up earlier and earlier on Sundays to chat before cycling club started. This week, they both sat on the lawn by the club meeting spot at 6:30am and it was a beautiful morning. The sun shined down, warming their cheeks.
They sat side by side with only about a foot between them, Emily noticed that they seemed to sit closer and closer to one another, but she wondered if it was just her imagination.
“Funny how we keep getting here first, huh? Guess you just have to see me?”
Pierce gently bumped her side with his, coy and flirty.
“Well, you’re showing up early, too,” she said, trying to keep up with his confidence.
“Yeah…” he went quiet for a minute and looked out over the lawn, “Well, little one, it just seems like since we like each other so much we should go to the Halloween Ball together.”
OMG!
She loved that his asking was telling, his confidence was so hot it made her blood boil. But she tried to play it cool.
“Is that you asking me?”
“Well, I’m not about to let you say ‘no,’” he said, inching closer to her, “I like you. You’re fun and we have a lot in common.”
Thank God she had on layers or he may have been able to see her heart pop out of her chest.
“Ok. I’ll go to the dance with you,” she said, smiling nervously as he was now closer to her than he had ever been before.
He moved even closer, very close. Emily could see every eyelash and smell his minty toothpaste. In fact he was all sort of amazing smells… cologne beckoned her to look at his neck where his tanned skin looked so touchable and soft. She wanted to nestle her cheek there and sniff in his manly perfume.
He raised his hand and gently pushed a tuft of hair behind her ear.
“I’m glad that’s settled,” he said.
Then he smoothed his hand from the top of he head to the back of
it and pulled her closer. It was as if it was all in slow motion.
It was a gentle, closed mouth kiss. His lips were warm and soft. He rubbed her hair at the nape of her neck with his hand. A kiss for the big screen and a happy ending.
Pierce pulled back and smoothed her hair one more time as Emily tried to keep her cool. As if she kissed boys all the time.
“Well, this will be fun,” he said “I’m actually looking forward to it now. Should we match costumes? I think some people are going are doing that.”
Emily had goosebumps now. He wanted to go to the dance with her AND match costumes. Only couples matched costumes.
“Ok. As long as we are something scary,” she replied.
“You’re even cooler than I thought,” he said and winked at her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
EMILY DANCED INTO her meeting with Xander that evening. She practically skipped on her way to the library. She had been on cloud nine from the moment Pierce had asked her to the dance. She doubted that this feeling of total bliss would ever end.
This Conundrum blog was hard work. Trying to get the balance right between exposing sordid stories and sounding like tattle tales was tricky. Xander and Emily met as often as they could and their Sunday strategy session was always the one where they had the most time together.
Scared to have video calls on the chance that someone might overhear, they shared only rare emails and texts about it. All it took was a text coming in while they went off to the bathroom and a snoopy roommate having a peep. Not that Georgia would ever be that curious about Emily’s life when hers was so glamorous. Xander’s skepticism would allow him to trust his roommate, so their meetings were more important than ever if they were to deliver on this blog.
Their usual Sunday evening spot was Kain library. It was quiet but had amazing acoustics so people couldn’t sneak up on you.
With Kindles and tablets and cells, most kids wouldn’t get too excited about a library In fact, apart from the ones at her elementary and middle schools Emily was sure she never even went to a library before. But the library at Harlow was one of the most spectacular buildings that Emily had ever been in.
Emily walked up the staircase and into the entrance. She crossed through the enormous atrium and to the grand piano. She sat down on the stool to wait for Xander.
She recalled the incredible concert she heard a week ago on that very piano itself. A student named Geoff Wu was a genius on the keys. They said he was a prodigy. Emily looked up to the ceiling, eight stories high and open right through the centre of the building. She could see the spines of two hundred thousand books staring down. Emily felt suddenly flooded with privilege. How did she get so lucky?
“Hey Em, sorry I’m late. I got caught by Miss Norman after class and so got dinner late, yada yada yada,” he said.
“No prob of course. I just got here myself, anyway, you’re on time.”
Emily got up, and they headed to the staircase to walk up the many flights of stairs to the top floor. Emily loved looking down as much as looking up in this place.
“So, how was cycle club today?”
Emily took a moment to answer. All Emily could think about was Pierce, but she really didn’t want to talk with Xander about that.
“Yeah, fine. Great actually. I mean, you know, I love those crazy bikes.”
Emily felt stupid. “Crazy bikes?” Why was she suddenly feeling awkward talking about cycle club? Or about Pierce? Xander was supposed to be her friend.
“What did you get up to today?” she asked, as they climbed the stairs.
“A bit of everything. Slept in. Mom called. They want to do Lapland for Christmas because my sister’s never been. She didn’t really remember the time we went for me.”
“Lapland… that’s like, the North Pole, right?”
“Yeah, there’s this whole Santa experience, northern lights, reindeer rides and huskies. It’s pretty cool but Poppy was only two when we went. Anyway, we’ll probably head there over the winter vacation for a couple days so that will be fun.”
“Wow. Sounds amazing,” Emily said, “I’ll probably just see Santa at the mall again.”
“Ha. That’s funny. I’d like to see that photo.”
They reached the top floor of the library and pushed through the heavy fire door and walked to their usual table. They set their things down.
“I’ve just been thinking,” Emily said after scanning the place for prying ears, “I’m not really sure this story we are on to is the best one to run.”
Dorm photos had just been taken. In one dorm, Beard Hall, the preps had been made to stand in a separate photo from the rest of the students as part of their “initiation,” aka hazing.
Dorms were allowed to take almost any number of photos. In Graves, the senior girls did a separate photo this year and had written GRAVES HALL on their cheeks and did a close up. Apparently it was common for seniors and preps to do separate photos as well as the big, overall group one. Rumor had it, the separate prep photo for Beard was ominous this year. While the photo was being taken, the preps had water dumped on them as an unpleasant surprise. Two girls who had watched the photo being taken thought the liquid smelled of more than just water.
Emily had overheard the girls chatting quietly in the bookstore about it.
“I swear that smelled like pee and… I mean, God knows what…” said one girl.
“Ew… and you saw the whole thing?” asked the other.
“I was just glad not to be close enough to get some on myself. I swear there was more than pee in it, too. If you get my drift,” the girl said.
It took Emily a minute at the time but she finally got the drift. She broke their rule and had to text Xander this one. In fact, it was such a humiliating thought she took almost ten minutes to finally push the “send” button.
“Literally Xander,” Emily said, as the pair took off their coats and sat down at their usual table on the edge, overlooking the atrium, “I don’t think I can even bring myself to snoop around on this one. I just… I can’t. I mean, does this stuff really happen? I thought this place was more sophisticated than that.”
She didn’t want to tell him she was mortified thinking about this stuff. This kind of prude attitude wouldn’t be good for long term detective work.
“Ugh, Em, welcome to pretty boy central. Self-entitlement brings out all sorts of evil in people,” Xander said, “But it is really gross. I’m a dude and I don’t really want to talk or think about it.”
They looked at each other, both trying to stay cool, but also considering scratching the story.
“But I will,” Xander suddenly said, “I mean, I’ll take the lead on this one. At the end of the day it’s a hazing story that needs to get out there.”
“It’s pretty embarrassing for the guys it happened to.”
“Well, yeah, it is. But we won’t post the story unless we expose the guys who did it. It’s kind of revenge for the preps, isn’t it? I mean, at the end of the day the guys who put the, eh hem, substance together pretty much had a circle jerk.”
Emily threw her head in her hands. She spoke through them, muffling her words.
“I cannot believe I am talking about this with you,” she said, turning beet red and squeezing her eyes shut as if hiding behind her hands wasn’t enough to mask her discomfort.
Xander laughed.
Emily looked up and shook her head with a smile. This was madness. Conundrum certainly was expanding her horizons and the spectrum of life.
“On another note,” Xander said changing the subject, looking over the edge into nothingness, “There’s this Halloween Ball coming up.”
“Yes there is,” Emily said, trying to act cool.
She was so happy that Pierce had invited her and yet, something inside of her didn’t really want to tell Xander. But she would have to.
“I was thinking…” Xander continued, “Well, we could go together. I mean, as friends or… whatever.”
In
that moment, Emily was pretty sure he wanted to go as more than friends. It was his lack of eye contact. Him wringing his hands a bit. But she couldn’t entirely tell.
But, she already had a date. She tapped her foot and bit the inside of her cheek. She really didn’t want to let Xander down.
“Oh… yeah… well, I would have actually loved to go with you. But Pierce asked me just this morning. I was going to mention it tonight but, you know… you beat me to it.”
Xander tried not to look disappointed. He tried not to look annoyed. Pretty boys.
“Oh, yeah, no problem I just don’t really want to ask anyone in particular and wanted to make sure you didn’t go alone.”
“Stupid. Man, you are stupid,” thought Xander to himself.
“Oh, well, thanks for thinking of me, I guess,” Emily said, not sure what to think of his so called chivalry.
“Do you like that guy?”
“Who, Pierce? I mean, of course. Yeah, he’s cool,” she said, trying to not make a big deal of her massive crush.
“I mean… We have a lot in common.”
“Cycling. You have cycling in common.”
The crinkles around Xander’s eyes smoothed and he cracked his knuckles.
“You don’t like him?”
“Oh. He’s ok. Well, actually, Em, no. I don’t think I do like him. He’s a show off.”
Was Xander jealous? She decided to keep her enthusiasm for Pierce under wraps. And she would definitely not tell Xander about the kiss.
“Well, he’s all right. He’s nice to me… and it’s just a dance. It’s not like we’re going out or anything.”
Xander knew Emily deserved better. Pierce and Emily weren’t cut from the same cloth. He was an entitled meathead, and she was… well, she was better than him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“GEORGIA? GEORGIA!”
The End Defines the Beginning : A Boarding School Coming of Age (Harlow Academy Series Book 1) Page 11
