Skyler
“Mom. I want to. Please, just take it. It’s not even that much.”
“A thousand dollars is a lot of money.”
“Well, it’s not as much as I wish I could send.”
Mom’s silent, probably crying, so Dad takes his cue. They always talk to me on speaker phone. “We are so, so proud of you, honey.”
I shrug. “It was just a little tournament, nothing to get too proud over.”
“It is to us,” he says. “And it may just be a small tournament now, but I know without a doubt that one day, you’ll win tournaments so big you can’t even imagine them right now.”
“Whatever you say, Dad. Any word on that promotion?”
He pauses. “Not yet. I’m still holding out though.”
I nod, but my gut tells me I should be worried.
Mom and Dad both work in retail. Dad has been up for promotion to manager at least four times that I can remember, but his boss always screws him over.
They do what they have to to make ends meet, but since neither of them finished high school, they don’t have much to work with.
But they work hard. Damn hard. And I’m determined to help them and maybe, one day, make it where they don’t have to worry about working, at all.
“You’ll get it, Dad. I know you will.” I smile just as I key in the door code to the sorority house. “I just got home, I’m going to turn in. Love you guys.”
“We love you too, sweetie,” Mom replies through what are now clear sobs. I chuckle a little and end the call, stepping into the foyer. When I do, I nearly crash into Ashlei.
“Whoa!”
“Oh my God,” she whisper-yells, clutching her chest. “You scared the shit out of me!”
“What are you doing? It’s after three in the morning, Lei.
” I note her eccentric makeup and eye her curiously.
She’s dressed in what looks like pajamas, but clearly she wasn’t sleeping.
She, Jess, and Erin helped me get ready for the tournament earlier, much to my surprise, before Jess and Erin headed off to the social.
But Ashlei said she couldn’t go, so why was she covered in neon makeup?
Ashlei shifts under my gaze, adjusting the gym bag on her shoulder. “Um, I went out. To a club downtown.”
I cock a brow. “Really? With who? I thought you couldn’t go out tonight.”
She bites her lip, curses, and pulls me to the couch. “Listen, please don’t say anything to Jess or Erin, okay? I had other plans tonight. That’s why I couldn’t go to the social.”
“What other plans?” My brows rise higher.
“I can’t tell you…”
“And why is that?”
She sighs. “Just, please, Skyler. Don’t tell them and don’t make a big deal about it. I was out with a few friends. That’s all.”
I study her for a moment more, but nod. “Okay, Lei. I won’t say anything.” She lets out a breath of relief. “Should I be worried, though?”
“No. I’m fine. Trust me.”
“Okay.” I nod again. “Well, I won the tournament tonight but I am exhausted. I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Yeah,” she says, smiling. “And congrats, Skyler. I may not understand the whole poker thing, but I know it’s important to you. And I know what it’s like to be worried about what others might think of the things that make you happy. So just know I’m proud of you.”
I smile, but can’t help but wonder how she knows what I feel like. Ashlei fits this sorority and all our friends like a glove. I’m not sure what she knows about worrying what others think of her. “Thanks, Lei. Love you.”
She blows me a kiss and I scamper up the stairs to mine and Jess’ room, quietly letting myself in and stripping down to my underwear before crawling into bed.
Before I plug in my phone, I type out a quick text to Clinton.
When no answer comes in after five minutes, I sigh and roll over toward the wall, pulling the covers up to my shoulders.
Something weird is going on with Clinton, and now Ashlei is acting strange, too.
I know Jess is hiding something from all of us – something boy-related, if I had to guess.
And Erin has barely spent more than ten minutes with me since classes started.
I hate not knowing what’s going on with my friends, and it hits me that maybe I need to stop focusing on distracting myself and start paying attention to the people around me, instead.
There are way too many secrets floating around PSU right now, and I’m determined to start uncovering them. It’s time to hone in on my friends and reveal their truths.
Starting with Clinton.