Chapter Three Julia #3
“Our standardized testing season begins in six weeks, and as willing as I am to make allowances for special families and students, your results on those tests are irrefutable. It boils down to simple data, and my hands are tied once the numbers come in. The scores alone will determine your ability to stay here or not.”
Suddenly it felt like my blood was quickly draining from my face.
If I wasn’t able to stay at this school, that meant we wouldn’t meet the stipulation and wouldn’t inherit the money, right?
And even though my family had agreed that wasn’t everything, I didn’t want my non-math brain to complicate things.
Especially now that I knew we’d been about to lose everything before the inheritance bomb.
“So,” Liam began, shooting me a glance that was telling me to calm my ass down, “we can set her up right away with your best tutor and get cranking on this?”
I could tell he didn’t get it. He understood that I needed to do better as a student at Gardenwood Academy, but he hadn’t caught on to the fact that our millions could possibly be in jeopardy if I didn’t score high enough on the tests.
And I wasn’t going to enlighten him.
I felt dizzy from the stress of this news and definitely didn’t need more pressure from him or my parents.
“Absolutely we can,” Mr. Green said. “I will speak to the teacher in charge of the tutoring staff and we can determine who might be the best person to work with her.”
“That would be great, thanks,” I said, feeling the need to speak up because suddenly it felt like Liam was my dad or something. “And is there a way to, like, keep this kind of quiet so I’m not—”
“We employ complete discretion,” he said, making relief settle over me as he added, “I absolutely understand that as a new student you might worry about the optics of needing extra help. I know with one hundred percent certainty that you would not be judged for taking your grades seriously, but we can definitely arrange after-hours, off-site help if it eases your mind.”
“Yes, thank you,” I said, glad he understood. “That would be great.”
“Why don’t you two take these,” he said, grabbing two folders from his desk and handing one to each of us. “Your schedules and student handbooks. Let’s get you on your way to starting your first day, and Julia—just stop in and see me before you go home and we can get the tutoring scheduled.”
“Okay. Sounds good,” I said, even though it didn’t sound good at all.
Liam and I opened our fancy schedules, printed on thick card stock, as Mr. Green—Seth?
—continued. “I have two volunteers waiting for you in the office, student guides who will help you get assimilated. They will accompany you to your classes, facilitate introductions with staff members, lead a tour of the facility, and foster peer-to-peer new engagements.”
Peer-to-peer new engagements? Dear Lord, this truly felt like a different world.
“You can feel comfortable leaning on your volunteers and assigning them any requests and inquiries. They will eat lunch with you and are at your disposal. Use them.”
We stood and followed him out of his office, and as we headed into the lobby area, I wished Liam and I had the same classes, like when we were little.
It’d always been nice to let him go into a nerve-racking situation and be his social self while I enjoyed the protection of hanging in his shadow, comfortably invisible.
“This is Jasmine,” the headmaster said, gesturing toward a girl with a long black braid, wire-rimmed glasses, and dark red lipstick who was clearly waiting for us. “She will show you around, Miss Lowell, and provide all the assistance you’ll need in getting comfortable at Gardenwood.”
“Hi,” I said awkwardly, because what was I supposed to say to this stranger? “Um, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” she said with a really warm smile, making me feel marginally better. I glanced down at her shoes, and she also had subtle shoes that looked expensive but understated.
“This is Mr. Lowell—”
“Liam,” my brother interrupted, extending his hand to shake hers.
What the hell is he doing shaking her hand?
Her eyes narrowed as she looked directly at his hand like she was confused by the gesture, but she smiled, shaking his hand and saying, “Jasmine.”
“And this is Beckett,” the headmaster said, pointing toward a tall blond guy in a blazer who looked like a Hollister model. “He will be your right hand as long as you need him, Liam.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said to my brother, then smiled at me.
“Classes start in fifteen minutes, so you should probably make your way along now,” Mr. Green said.
“Thanks, Seth,” my brother said.
Seth. So, so weird.
“Yeah, um, thank you,” I agreed, always Liam’s backup hype man.
“Miss Lowell, your first class is down the hall to the right. Mr. Lowell, you are on the third floor to start your day. Good luck, you two.”
Liam tossed me an enthusiastic wave and followed Beckett up the grand staircase. Leaving me alone (with Jasmine) and a firestorm of nerves.
Here we go.