Chapter Nine
NINE
After a quick breakfast, Theo and I head to class—the same class, apparently.
We’re both in General Science, which really is like what I pictured my English class would be: science for those with no interest in pursuing the discipline.
It’s mostly tech, which I like, and it’ll satisfy the breadth requirement, which is all I need.
Allegra’s in the same class, and when it ends, she falls in step with me as Theo stays behind to talk to a classmate.
“It’s morning break,” she says. “Twenty minutes when we are supposed to go out for fresh air, as if we are wilting violets. All I need is coffee.”
We walk into the dining hall, where there’s a coffee bar that’d been shut down by the time Theo and I arrived for breakfast, leaving us to the two self-serve espresso machines, which were fancier than anything I’d ever seen.
The machines are still operating, but there’s also a big industrial one, manned by a silver-haired barista who moves with the speed of a pro, filling orders while chatting with the students.
“Miss Allegra,” he says. “The usual?”
“Please.”
The barista’s gaze settles on me as he starts Allegra’s coffee. “And our new arrival. Miss Liliana. Do you have a favorite?”
“A mocha?” I say hesitantly. “Half-sweet, if you could.”
He smiles. “I can do that. Milk choice?”
“Regular, please.”
“Dark chocolate or milk?”
“Umm…”
“You’re probably used to milk chocolate, so let’s go half-dark and see what you think. Whipped cream?”
“Yes, please.”
We move down the counter…to a tiered tray of patisserie-worthy baked goods.
“I could get used to this,” I say, smiling as I select a tiny cream puff. “An actual barista and—”
I stop. I’m not with Theo. This is Allegra, who has probably never gotten excited over anything in her life, and definitely not for baristas and fancy pastries.
“Sorry if I’m being gauche,” I say. “It’s all very new to me.”
“Gauche.” She rolls the word around. “How is it gauche to marvel at going to a school with a world-class barista and Parisian pastry chef?” She sips her espresso as the barista passes it over. “The greater sin, I believe, would be indifference. To accept this as our due.”
She takes a mini almond croissant and heads for the door, and I realize this is just how Allegra talks. In pronouncements. I don’t think they’re meant to be pronouncements. They just sound like that, with her cool demeanor and measured way of speaking.
Also, confidence. The confidence of knowing that your words are important and that others will listen.
“The mocha is acceptable?” she says as we walk out the back door.
“It’s incredible.”
“Enzo is an artist. Tell him you liked it. Let him work with it until he finds exactly the recipe for you. It’s not a ‘bother.’ It is what he does, and he’ll be pleased once he’s found the one.”
“Okay.”
“I see you’ve changed your look today. Is that intentional?”
I brace. “I’m still figuring out my style.”
“You don’t need one signature style. You can have several.” She eyes the vintage peasant top and jeans with heart appliqués. “The jeans, yes. The shirt, maybe. Not the sneakers. You’re going for bohemian, yes?”
“Uh…sure.”
“It works for you. We can adjust the specifics. Starting with footwear.”
She continues talking as we walk, and I keep waiting for her to ask what I’ve decided about the Liliths, but she doesn’t. She seems to be giving me time, and that’s a relief.
—
Theo recommends I eat lunch with his society, the Apollos. He says it’s a good way to get to know more classmates and also to do a little society-shopping, in case the Liliths don’t suit me.
As Theo explains, in the early days, your choice of society was obvious: Lilith for girls; the Apollos for art; Mercury for industry and commerce; Hephaestus for science.
Today, the lines are less clearly drawn.
Girls can join any society, and if you were, say, a digital designer, you might look at either Apollo for the artistic side or Hephaestus for the tech.
Given that Westdale is a school for rich kids from rich families, Mercury is the biggest society and Apollo is the smallest after the Liliths.
It has nine students, with Theo as the Dux.
Eight are here today, and I’ve already met two: Carlee, a writer, and Kai, whose father is the lead singer of a band my parents played on repeat.
The Apollos are all about creativity. The lunch topic of discussion is Taylor Swift, except the usual “love her, hate her” debate doesn’t enter into it, and by the end, I couldn’t even say for sure who is and is not a fan.
The discussion is about Swift as an artist. Ideas flow so fast and sharp that my brain is popping.
I even get a chance to contribute, raising the topic of Swift’s issues with her first label and the subsequent “Taylor’s Version” albums. I’m interested in that as a fan, of course, but I’m even more interested in it as a future MBA.
Where do corporations go wrong in their dealings with artists and how can the relationship be fairer and more mutually beneficial?
The Apollos answer my questions from the artist side, and Kai and I get into a wonderful debate.
The afternoon whizzes by, and then it’s study period. Isolde has a meeting with the Liliths, so we plan to meet up just before dinner. Until then, I finally get a chance to start pursuing a mystery…and to check out what I’m sure will become my favorite room in the school: the library.
Like the house itself, the library is straight out of a gothic novel in the most delicious way—like those online photos that bookworms label “reader goals” but you know the picture is AI because no real library looks like that.
The Westdale library is all dark wood, with stacks to the ceilings, creating endless nooks furnished with massive leather armchairs and embroidered chaise lounges and plush seats with ottomans.
Every study desk must be an antique. Some even have those old-fashioned magnifying glasses—the ones on tripods that you set over a book page, and I don’t know if anyone uses them or if they’re just for ambiance, but I still want one.
Then there are the books. I’m surrounded by the smell of first editions. Okay, maybe first editions don’t smell any different, but knowing they’re firsts turns that old-book scent into the headiest perfume. I so badly want to browse, but I have a mission: Find my parents in the yearbooks.
Locating the yearbook itself is easy. While Mom didn’t graduate, she’s there, in all her glory, grinning from her official photo and a half dozen others, and I linger over those, and yes, I cry a little, careful not to let my tears fall on the page.
There’s no sign of Will Green in these pages. I’ve already done an internet search, of course, but it’s such a common name that I get endless results, none of them ever about Dad. And searching on his name plus “Westdale” hadn’t gotten me anything.
Maybe he lived in a nearby town? Or Savannah? Sure, his accent had been northern and his mom had lived in Vermont, but maybe he’d moved to Georgia? But even now, as I rerun those online searches with added information, I get nothing.
My watch vibrates, my alarm telling me it’s time to meet Isolde. I throw open the massive oak library door—and crash into a stranger, sending a book flying from his hand.
“Oh my god,” I say. “I’m so sorry.”
I pick up the book, and he just laughs softly.
“Liliana, right?”
I nod. We haven’t been introduced, but he’s the guy Allegra kicked out of his seat in English yesterday. He’s tall, with olive skin, brown eyes behind glasses, and a mop of light brown hair.
“Cosmo,” he says. “Rumor has it you’re running for Optima.”
“Rumor has it you are, too.”
A wry smile and he says, “Parents,” as if that explains everything, which I guess it could.
“I’m not sure if I’ll run yet,” I say. “I’m just getting a feel for things right now.”
“Well, hot tip. Theo Dubois will be the guy to beat. I’ve, uh…” He shifts his textbook. “I’ve seen you two together. You seem friendly.”
“He’s been showing me around.”
“Just…be careful. I like Theo.” His cheeks darken in a blush. “I mean, as a person, though, obviously, he’s very…Er, so, just be careful.”
“In case he’s setting me up for a fall?”
One shoulder lifts in a shrug. “I’m not saying he would.
Just…he’s a lot more cutthroat—and ambitious—than he seems. We went to the same feeder school in California.
Anyway, if you do run, watch your back.” He pauses and then hurries on.
“But don’t let that discourage you. Competition is healthy, right? ”
“It is.”
“Anyway, nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, and thanks for the tips.”
“Anytime. I want this to be a fair race. Aboveboard, you know?”
“I do,” I say, and I agree, but something tells me Theo is right. Cosmo isn’t going to make it through this race. He couldn’t even stand up to Allegra yesterday.
How do I feel about that? I should say I feel bad. He seems like a good guy.
But one fewer competitor is still one fewer competitor. And Theo isn’t the only “nice” person who’s a lot more ambitious than they appear.
—
After dinner, it’s games night, and I play with Theo, Kai, Isolde, and Polly.
Then Allegra needs to speak to me, and Theo suggests the library, saying it’ll be empty at this hour.
One student is studying there…until Allegra marches over and stands in front of her.
The poor girl scrambles up, gathering her things.
As the girl passes me, I murmur “Thank you,” and she looks over, as if startled.
“Oh. Uh, okay. No problem.”
Allegra follows the girl and shuts the door behind her. Then she turns to me. “You haven’t given me an answer, and I know you had lunch with the Apollos today. Is that some kind of negotiation tactic?”
“Uh, no, it’s a ‘I just got here yesterday and I’m working things through’ tactic.”
“The Liliths will give you prestige and power. A foot up in the Westdale Optima race.”
“And I will give them prestige and power if I defeat Theo.”