Читать книгу Diamonds in the Rough - Michelle Madow, Michelle Madow - Страница 8
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High Schools > Nevada > Las Vegas > The Goodman School
First Day of School!
Posted on Tuesday 9/3 at 11:37 AM
I can’t believe school starts tomorrow! Summer has gone by way too fast. I wish I could live in summer forever, gossiping about who’s with who at what club, who has the best tan, and when we can stay out all night without having to wake up at dawn the next morning to sit in class all day.
Adrian Diamond’s three daughters will be starting at Goodman this year, and since they supposedly grew up in some random town in northern cali, it’ll be interesting to see how they adapt. They made a splash the first week they arrived, but since then they’ve been under the radar. Probably because they’re nothing special and don’t deserve any of the attention they got when they first arrived!
Anyway, I’m off to work on my tan and do some last minute back to school shopping. See you all bright and early tomorrow morning! : )
1: Posted on Tuesday 9/3 at 12:56 PM
Savannah Diamond posted some YouTube vids singing and playing guitar (she’s good, even though her vids are crappy quality on her laptop webcam and haven’t gotten tons of views), but her and her sisters haven’t been around as much since the first week they got here. Which sucks, cause they’re HOT!
2: Posted on Tuesday 9/3 at 2:07 PM
I hear they’re majorly behind on academics because their old public school sucked so they’ve been getting tutored so they won’t be behind at Goodman. What a shitty way to spend summer!
3: Posted on Tuesday 9/3 at 4:21 PM
Nick Gordon’s been MIA all summer too, and he was totally hanging with Savannah Diamond the week she arrived. Maybe they’ve been so involved with each other that they haven’t had time for anyone else!!!
4: Posted on Tuesday 9/3 at 4:51 PM
Or she’s been moping because Damien peaced out to travel all summer. Savannah was supposedly so obsessed with him that he left just to get away from her. Haha poor girl. Awkward, much?
Savannah Diamond wanted her first day at her new school to be perfect, so she’d woken up extra early to get ready. But her nerves had her so on edge that she couldn’t even sing into her hairbrush along with her favorite songs, pretending she was a pop star performing a show. Peyton used to get so mad at her for it every morning, since she, Courtney and Savannah shared a room, and Savannah woke up earlier than Peyton because she needed more time to get ready. Having a room to herself was the best.
If this were her first day of her sophomore year at Fairfield High, she’d have thrown on jean shorts, a pastel tank and sparkly summer flats. But The Goodman School was a fancy private school in Vegas, and since she and her sisters had found out last summer that billionaire casino owner Adrian Diamond was their father, and had moved into the penthouse next to his in The Diamond Residences, Savannah was supposed to be a sophisticated hotel heiress—not a girl who’d grown up in a poor neighborhood in a small town. She needed an outfit to fit the part. And since the only dress-code rules at The Goodman School were no ripped jeans and no belly buttons showing, she had plenty of options.
She settled on a metallic spaghetti-strap top by Young Fabulous & Broke, paired with a black flair miniskirt and strappy Jimmy Choo heels. She curled her hair to give it volume, put on a Swarovski crystal headband and went all out with makeup—deep purples and silvers from her Urban Decay Vice palette, winged black eyeliner with liquid gold sparkles, extra coats of mascara and shimmery lip gloss. As she walked to her jewelry box to decide what to match with the outfit, someone knocked at her door.
“Savannah?” Her sister Courtney peeked her head into the room. “Breakfast is here, and Adrian and Rebecca are on their way. Are you almost ready?”
“Are these earrings too much with the bracelets?” Savannah motioned to her dangly crystal earrings and Alex and Ani bangles.
Courtney examined Savannah’s outfit. “I don’t want you taking this the wrong way, but isn’t it a bit much for school?”
Savannah pulled at her top and frowned. “The personal shopper from Saks said the outfit was perfect on me.”
“It does look great on you.” Courtney bit her lower lip. “But it seems better suited for a cocktail party or other nighttime event…. Not for school.”
“I shouldn’t have bothered asking.” She played with her charm bracelets, shuffling her feet as she scrutinized the outfit in her full-length mirror. It was flashy. But she couldn’t take fashion advice from Courtney, who had on jeans, flip-flops, a sky-blue T-shirt and practically no makeup. The only jewelry she wore was a practical watch and that boring old key necklace Grandma had given her for her birthday last year—an heirloom from their great-great-grandmother. “Sure, it would have been too much for Fairfield High, but this is private school in Las Vegas. The first day is when everyone gets most dressed up, so I want to be ready.”
“I was just trying to help, but whatever makes you happy.” Courtney toyed with her necklace. “You’re lucky you aren’t nervous.”
“You think I’m not nervous?” Savannah had tossed and turned all night, and her hands had been shaking all morning. “I don’t know anyone in my grade. And I have no idea what’ll happen if I run into Damien or Nick—which I’m assuming I will, since the school is small.” She frowned, thinking about how stupidly optimistic she’d felt in the beginning of July at the Diamond Hotel grand opening, when Damien had apologized for kissing Madison, and Nick had given her attention all night. Because a week later, Damien had left on a month-long teen tour to Alaska and Hawaii, and Nick was always busy with work. “I’m worried that they’ll see me and pretend they don’t know me. Or that they’ve forgotten about me.”
The pathetic part was that it had been weeks since she’d heard from either of them—aside from an occasional text from Nick that he felt bad about not having time to hang out—and she checked up on them daily on Facebook and Twitter. Nick had been inactive on both, but Damien had posted pictures on Facebook from his trip, of him with gorgeous, confident girls—the types of girls who made Savannah fade into the background. Girls like Madison Lockhart.
Which was why it was extra important that her first-day-of-school outfit was perfect. She needed to stand out, not fade away.
“You’ll make friends,” Courtney said. “And if Damien and Nick ignore you, they’re not worth your time.”
“Maybe.” She knew Courtney was right, but that didn’t mean it would hurt less if they pretended they didn’t know her.
“I’m worried about the classes,” Courtney said. “What if the tutoring this summer wasn’t enough and we’re behind? I could barely sleep last night thinking about it.”
“You do look tired.” Savannah observed the dark circles under Courtney’s eyes. “Let me help.” She applied concealer on her sister’s face, pink blush to brighten her cheeks, and mascara so she looked like she’d made a little effort. “That’s better. Now no one will know.”
“Unless I fall asleep in class.” Courtney laughed, wringing her hands together.
“That’ll never happen,” Savannah said. “You’ll probably find class so fascinating that it’ll keep you wide awake.”
“We’ll see,” she said. “But let’s head into the dining room. Adrian and Rebecca will be here any minute.”
Savannah jingled her bracelets again at the mention of their father, Las Vegas hotel owner extraordinaire Adrian Diamond. He still didn’t know her or her sisters deeper than surface level, even though they’d been living here for weeks. But he and his fiancée, Rebecca Carmel, had insisted they order room service so that they could have breakfast together before the first day of school. Adrian had been making small attempts like this to chat with them all summer, but he constantly traveled for work, and when he was in town he had business meetings, golf games or was locked in his office. He made time for Rebecca, but whenever he talked to Savannah and her sisters, there was a wall between them.
Savannah followed Courtney into the dining room. “Is Peyton up?” she asked.
“She was waging war with the snooze alarm twenty minutes ago, but I forced her awake,” Courtney said. “She should be out of the shower soon.”
“Sure she will,” Savannah said. Peyton was notorious for her marathon shower sessions that stole all the hot water and made them late for school.
Her phone buzzed with a text message. It was from Evie, her best friend in Fairfield. Her heart warmed when she saw the text—texting before school had been something they did all the time before Savannah moved.
Good luck on your first day! You’re so lucky your new school starts in Sep. Stupid fairfield high starting so early. #jealous ;)
thanks! I’m so nervous tho. wish you were here!!! <3
Fairfield high isn’t as fun without you! <3 What’d you decide to wear?
Savannah snapped a picture of herself and sent it to Evie.
Cute! But isn’t it too much for school?? I would totally LOVE it for a party, but you don’t want everyone to think you’re trying too hard…
it’s fine for school in Vegas!!! ;)
Savannah’s hands shook, and she paused before pressing Send. Could Evie be right? It was the same thing Courtney had said, and while Courtney didn’t care about fashion, Evie did. Maybe she should switch out the skirt for jeggings, or match it with a more casual top, or wear shoes that wouldn’t hurt her feet by lunch.
She was almost back to her room to change when the door to the condo opened, and Adrian and Rebecca strolled inside.
Adrian wore a navy suit—Savannah had never seen him in anything but a suit—and even though it was 7:00 a.m., his blue eyes were bright and his skin was glowing. The same couldn’t be said of Rebecca, whose brown hair tumbled down her back in the most unruly way Savannah had ever seen it, and who was still in her pink silk pajamas. She poured herself a generous amount of coffee and cradled the cup as if it held the key to her survival.
“Is Peyton not ready for breakfast?” Adrian asked, pouring his own cup of coffee.
“I’ll get her,” Savannah said, glad to have something to do. Especially since this was the opposite of breakfasts back in Fairfield, which had usually been eaten on the go, because their mom had cared more about sleeping off her hangover than waking up so they could eat as a family.
“Peyton?” Savannah stepped into her sister’s room and found her bent over, unraveling a towel on her head. “Are you almost ready for breakfast?”
“In a minute,” Peyton mumbled, wrestling a hairbrush through her hair. Once finished, she flipped her hair up, giving a full view of her outfit.
“You’re not allowed to wear jeans with rips in them,” Savannah said. “It’s against the dress code.”
“Screw the dress code.” Peyton marched to her vanity and lined her eyes with thick black liner. “These are the jeans I feel like wearing today.”
“But you have so many jeans without rips in them,” Savannah pointed out, knowing the only reason Peyton “felt” like wearing those today was because they were against the dress code. “Why don’t you wear one of them instead?”
“Because I want to wear these.” Peyton jutted out her chin and continued with her makeup. “And you apparently want to dress like you’re going to a club instead of to school, but I’m not knocking your outfit and telling you to change, am I?”
“You just sort of did, but whatever.” Savannah ran her hands over her skirt. Her clothes might have been more fashion forward, but they didn’t break the dress code. Besides, what did Peyton know about what students wore at The Goodman School? No more than Courtney or Evie. “It’s not my problem if you get in trouble. Are you coming to breakfast?”
“It’s so dumb that we had to wake up thirty minutes earlier for this fancy breakfast,” Peyton grumbled.
“I think Adrian’s trying to be nice,” Savannah said. “But you should see Rebecca. She’s so not a morning person.”
“I guess I have one thing in common with her.” Peyton smirked. “And what about Adrian? Pristine, as always?”
“Of course,” Savannah said. “You would think he doesn’t need sleep.”
“Maybe he’s a vampire.” Peyton laughed. “Like in those movies you like where they sparkle. They don’t sleep, right?”
“I know you secretly like Twilight.” Savannah’s stomach rumbled, and she wrapped her arms around it. “But I’m starving, and the food smells amazing. Come on.”
Room service had finished setting up breakfast, so the glass table had a white cloth spread on top of it, and the plates waiting at each seat were covered with silver domes like they were at a banquet. Adrian raised an eyebrow when he saw Peyton’s jeans, but said nothing.
“Is Brett coming?” Savannah asked Rebecca.
“He had trouble waking up this morning, so he’s still getting ready,” Rebecca said.
Savannah wasn’t surprised. Ever since Courtney and Brett’s public kiss at the grand opening, Brett avoided as many family meals as possible. Savannah had tried talking with Courtney about it, but her sister had shrugged it off, saying the kiss was a one-time thing, since Brett was off-limits as their stepbrother-to-be, and she needed to focus on school instead of guys. It was so typically Courtney—she was too much of a rule follower to rebel, and she was an expert at controlling her emotions. Savannah wished she could control her own half as well.
Still, she felt bad for Brett. He had a lot in common with Courtney, and they’d gotten along so well. But Courtney wouldn’t budge—she’d had schoolwork and studying for the SATs on her mind all summer. Brett would have to get over her.
Just like Savannah would get over Damien. And Nick.
At least, she hoped so.
“Are the three of you looking forward to your first day of school?” Adrian removed the cover from his plate, and they all followed his lead.
“Yeah.” Savannah poured syrup on her pancakes and took a bite. They were fluffy and delicious. “I’m excited to meet everyone.” Her knees also bounced with worry about Damien and Nick, but she couldn’t discuss her guy problems with Adrian.
“I’m nervous about the classes.” Courtney cut her omelet, releasing the steam from inside. “I hope I’m not behind.”
“Your tutor said you’re ready to begin Goodman,” Adrian said. “She was impressed by your work ethic.”
“Thanks.” Courtney took a bite of her food, although she chewed so slowly it was like she was force-feeding herself.
“What about you, Peyton?” Rebecca asked.
“The only thing I’m excited about is how this will be the last first day of school I’ll ever have,” she said. “I can’t wait to be done with classes forever.”
“You don’t know that,” Rebecca said. “You might change your mind about college.”
“No, I won’t.” Peyton huffed and poured herself a cup of coffee. “I can barely sit through high school classes, and I’ve heard they’re short compared to college classes. No, thanks.”
“You can make a decision about college when you find out which schools accept you,” Adrian said calmly. “No one is forcing you to go, but it can’t hurt to explore your options.”
“Whatever.” Peyton shrugged and focused on her food.
Once they finished eating, Adrian placed his napkin on the table and glanced at his watch. “Your ride will be waiting at the valet stand in fifteen minutes,” he said. “Peyton, you need to change your jeans before you leave.”
Peyton crossed her arms and glared at him. “Excuse me?”
“You have to change your jeans before you leave,” he repeated. “I assume you put those on to disregard the school dress code. Your point has been made—you dislike following arbitrary rules—and while I understand your stance, it would be selfish to make your sisters late because you insist on fighting a battle you can’t win.”
Savannah couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping, and Peyton’s glare turned to her. She refocused on her food and took another bite of pancake, even though it was now cold and soggy, and she was full.
“It’s almost time to leave,” Adrian said, his eyes on Peyton. “If you would like, Rebecca or I can assist you in choosing a more suitable pair of pants.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Peyton shoved her chair back, the metal shrieking against the marble floor. “I can dress myself.”
“Glad to hear it,” Adrian said as she slammed her door. No one at the table said a word, and the hint of a smile crossed his face. “I used to be the same way when I was a teenager.”
Savannah couldn’t imagine Adrian as a teenager, especially a teenager who was similar to Peyton. But his approach worked, because Peyton returned a few minutes later wearing black jeans with no rips or holes in them, her lips pressed into a pissed-off line. The jeans were so low-rise that a slit of skin showed between them and her shirt, but her belly button wasn’t showing, so she wasn’t breaking the dress code.
“Much better.” Adrian nodded at Peyton’s choice. “I have somewhere I need to be now, but I’ve made a reservation for dinner tonight so that you can tell Rebecca and me about your first day at Goodman.”
They said their goodbyes, and Rebecca stayed behind, making sure their bags were packed with everything they needed. Instead of Savannah’s ancient backpack, she had a new purple Longchamp tote—the same bag that many of the volleyball girls at Fairfield High had had and that she could never afford. Inside of it was her MacBook Pro. Apparently at Goodman, bringing a laptop to school wasn’t begging someone to steal or vandalize it.
As Adrian promised, a limo was waiting for them at the valet stand. Savannah had been on many limo rides since arriving in Las Vegas, but it still didn’t feel normal. Courtney’s bodyguard, Teddy, drove them, and Savannah’s and Peyton’s bodyguards followed in a car behind. One of them would be on the Goodman campus at all times when they were at school. So awkward.
“It’s dumb that Adrian won’t let me drive us,” Peyton said once they were seated. “What good are the Range Rovers he bought us if we can’t take them to school?”
“He probably doesn’t want us getting lost,” Courtney said.
“And my car’s been good for learning how to drive,” Savannah pointed out. She couldn’t wait to get her license when she turned sixteen in December. Along with the summer tutoring sessions, she’d taken an online drivers’ ed class. Rebecca had been driving with her for the required fifty adult-supervised hours.
After fifteen minutes, the limo turned at a brick sign with The Goodman School engraved on it in block letters, and Savannah moved closer to the window. A long, scenic road led to sprawling stucco buildings that resembled a college campus. Where were the security guards, the threatening chain gates and the windowless, prisonlike buildings? The buildings here looked bright and airy, with large paned windows and groomed gardens surrounding them.
“Here’s the Upper School.” Teddy stopped the limo at a pink domed building with a stone fountain in front. “I’ll be waiting here to pick you up at the end of the day.”
Savannah stepped out of the limo and looked up at the building. Did people at Goodman actually say they were in “upper” school instead of high school? It sounded so strange.
“Where to now?” she asked Courtney.
Her sister glanced at her phone, where she kept notes about these details. “We have to go to the Upper School front desk, where we should find a lady named Betty. She’ll give us our locker assignments.”
They walked to the entrance, the students nearby watching them and whispering. None of the girls were dressed up—they mostly wore designer jeans, fashionable tops and flats. Savannah’s hands shook, and she gripped the strap of her bag, focusing on not tripping in her three-inch Jimmy Choos. She should have worn her Tory Burch flats. Why had she worn such an over-the-top outfit, despite Courtney, Peyton and Evie’s advice?
Oh, right—because she’d thought everyone at Goodman would dress up. And because she’d stupidly thought it would catch Damien and Nick’s attention. Seeing as no one else was as dressed up, she might catch their attention…but not in a positive way.
Her throat constricted, and she wanted to run back to the limo and beg Teddy to drive her back to the Diamond so that she could change. But that wasn’t an option. She would have to suck it up.
Betty at the front desk was an older woman with short gray hair—she looked like a grandma who baked cookies for her grandkids after school. She welcomed Savannah and her sisters and handed them their locker combinations.
“Here’s the sheet you sign whenever you need to leave school, or if you arrive late,” she said, pointing to a clipboard on the desk. “Seniors have senior privileges and can leave whenever they want. Everyone else has to say why they’re leaving early.”
“With a note from a parent?” Courtney asked.
“You don’t need a note,” Betty said. “At Goodman, we trust students to leave only when necessary. You’re responsible for any missed material, so it’s understood that attendance is crucial to earn high marks.”
Peyton laughed. “And no one takes advantage of how easy it is to skip?”
Betty smiled. “The students here want to attend their classes so they can excel in their studies.”
“It sounds nice.” Courtney looked around in wonder at the well-lit, airy, carpeted building.
“What are senior privileges?” Savannah asked.
“As a sophomore, you won’t have to worry about that for a while,” Betty said, turning to Peyton. “Since you’re a senior, you’re allowed to leave campus for free periods and lunch, as long as you’re back in time for class. There are a lot of restaurants nearby that students enjoy.”
Savannah’s mouth dropped open, and she closed it so she wouldn’t look like a gaping fish. The seniors here went to restaurants for lunch? At Fairfield High, a good fraction of students were on subsidized lunches—including her and her sisters. They wouldn’t have dreamed of going out to eat, or had the time, as Fairfield’s lunch blocks were short and rushed. But with seventy-five minutes set aside for lunch, and credit cards connected to their parents’ bank accounts, students at Goodman had no reason not to go to restaurants.
“What happens if we don’t get back in time?” Peyton asked.
“If it happens more than three times, your senior privileges will be revoked,” Betty said. “But that’s rare, since students want to keep their privileges.”
“You really trust the students here.”
“It’s the Goodman philosophy that everyone is capable of rational self-discipline,” Betty explained. Then she told them to come to her if they had more questions, and they cleared out so that she could talk to the students in the line behind them.
“I guess this is where we part ways,” Courtney said.
Savannah’s stomach flipped. Goodman might as well have been in a different universe than Fairfield, she was dressed all wrong, and she had a terrible feeling that despite her summer tutoring, she would still be behind in her classes. Girls in a nearby clump were looking her over, smirking and whispering what Savannah imagined were mean comments. She pulled her miniskirt down to cover as much of her legs as possible (which wasn’t very much), not wanting to leave her sisters’ sides.
But they had no classes together, so she didn’t have a choice.
* * *
Savannah arrived at first period early and situated herself in a seat in the middle of the U-shaped table configuration, then browsed YouTube on her phone to look busy. After putting her first video online—the one Nick had bought for her of her singing karaoke at Imperial Palace—she’d dreamed it would go viral and she would become an internet sensation. Instead, it had reached around three hundred views and plateaued off. She’d posted a few more videos since then, but despite her best efforts, she still hadn’t cracked a thousand views on any of them.
Maybe she just wasn’t that great and should stop trying.
“This is European History, right?” a short girl with long, dark hair asked from the door. She wore designer jeans and a fitted green T-shirt that looked like a Michael Stars, and the raised triangle label on her black tote was distinctly Prada.
The bag made Savannah regret her Longchamp. The girls at Goodman seemed to favor higher-end bags by Prada, Chanel and Givenchy, to name a few. After school, she had to go shopping for a new bag. She could use the Longchamp when she went to the pool.
“Yeah.” Savannah placed her phone on the table and smiled, hoping to look friendly and approachable. “At least, I hope so. It’s my first day. I’m Savannah.” She moved her bag off the seat next to her so that the girl could sit there.
“I’m Alyssa.” Instead of taking the seat next to Savannah, she left one between them.
Savannah’s cheeks burned. Why did this girl not want to sit next to her? Was she really that overdressed? Or maybe Alyssa had heard rumors about her and already didn’t want to be friends? Savannah knew people talked about her online, but she’d hoped her new status as Adrian Diamond’s daughter would make people want to be friends with her—not avoid sitting next to her.
“Sorry.” Alyssa shrugged. “My two best friends are in this class, and I promised to save them seats.”
“No problem.” Savannah forced a smile. If she’d had a class with Evie and Evie had asked her to save her a seat, she would have done the same thing. She shouldn’t take it personally. But that didn’t stop her throat from feeling tight, as if Alyssa had purposefully insulted her.
“Did you go out last night and not have time to take off your makeup this morning?”
Savannah jerked at the question. “Um, no,” she said. “Why?”
“You just seem really…done up for eight-thirty in the morning.” Alyssa motioned to her own natural makeup, which was opposite from Savannah’s purple metallic shadow and gold glitter liner. “I don’t mean it in a mean way,” she said. “I just guess Goodman is different from whatever school you transferred from.”
“It’s definitely different.” Savannah sighed, not wanting to describe Fairfield High. It would probably make this girl judge her even more.
Then Alyssa pulled out her iPad, and Savannah saw something on the back of it that made her brighten—a sticker of a volleyball.
“You play volleyball?” she asked.
“Yep,” Alyssa said. “I’m on the team here. Do you play, too?”
“I was on JV at my old school.”
“Ohhh, okay.” She nodded condescendingly. “Since Goodman’s so small, we only have varsity.”
“I was one of the best players on JV, and they subbed me in for varsity sometimes,” Savannah said. “Maybe I’ll have a chance.”
All right, they’d subbed her in only once, when a stomach bug had made its way around school and a lot of the varsity players had gotten sick. And they’d lost that game. But Savannah was one of the better players on JV, and she would have been a serious contender for varsity this year at Fairfield.
“Maybe,” Alyssa said, although she didn’t sound like she believed it. Then other students filed in—including the girls Alyssa was saving seats for, Brooke and Jackie. The three of them gossiped like they hadn’t seen each other in years, and Savannah brought out her laptop, pretending she was busy on it.
Being new and knowing no one in her grade really, really sucked.
She didn’t fair better in her next class, so when it was time for lunch, she was on her own. Everyone else joined up with their friends, but Savannah hurried into the nearest restroom, waited for the door to shut, and burst into tears. Why did no one want to be friends with her? She ripped the stupid crystal headband that she’d thought was so cute this morning off her head and tossed it into her bag, along with the sparkly, dangly earrings. If only she could be like Superman and change her outfit, too.
She sniffed, grabbed a paper towel and fixed her makeup, trying to remove the glitter without making it look like more of a wreck. Then the toilet in the end stall flushed, and she froze, her hands propped on the sink. How had she missed that someone else was in the bathroom?
She wanted to dive into the nearest stall, but before she could, the girl opened the door and met her eyes. Luckily, this girl didn’t look like the gossiping type. Her coarse brown hair was pulled back into a boyish bun. She wore thick-rimmed glasses and baggy cargo pants, and her fraying backpack had Japanese cartoon characters stitched into it.
She must be the school weirdo.
“Are you okay?” the girl asked as she washed her hands.
Savannah stared at her blankly. Of course she wasn’t okay. But she wasn’t about to confess her problems to this random girl, either.
“I’ll take that as a no.” She took a deep breath. “You’re new here, right?”
“Yeah,” she somehow managed. “Savannah.”
“I’m Wendy,” she said. “I was about to go eat with my friends, if you want to come with?”
Savannah’s first day of school, and the only person who had reached out to her was the school weirdo. But she didn’t want to be alone at lunch on her first day. And it was kind of Wendy to offer, especially since she knew nothing about her other than that she’d been crying by herself in the bathroom.
“Um, sure.” She glanced at the mirror to make sure the mascara was off her cheeks, picked her Longchamp up off the floor and attempted a smile. “Thanks.”
* * *
Goodman’s cafeteria wasn’t inside the upper school—they had a separate building just for eating. And they didn’t call it the cafeteria, either. They called it the “dining hall,” and everyone bought lunch. Not one person carried a bag from home.
“Upstairs are the normal daily foods—pizza, pasta, sushi, Chinese, salad bar and the hot meal special of the day,” Wendy told Savannah as they entered the dining hall, which looked more like a restaurant than a high school cafeteria. The tables had chairs instead of attached benches, and the walls were covered with giant windows that had views of the swimming pool and the lake. “Downstairs is the deli bar where you can get made-to-order subs and sandwiches, and the grill where you can get hamburgers, hot dogs and fries and stuff.”
“What do you normally get?” Savannah asked, still trying to process that they had sushi and made-to-order subs. That was nothing like the mystery mush at Fairfield High. Why did the seniors need to go to restaurants when they had all these choices at their school? Not that it mattered—she was glad the seniors went to restaurants, since it meant she wouldn’t run into Damien.
“I get sushi almost every day,” Wendy said. “Make sure to stay away from the pizza—it makes the frozen stuff from the grocery store taste like a delicacy. And Thursday is waffle fries day. They’re the best, but you have to get to the grill early or the line will take forever. Anyway, I’m going to grab some sushi—want to come with?”
“I’m actually not a sushi fan,” Savannah said. Well, she’d never tried it—the thought of eating raw fish weirded her out. “I’ll just get a sandwich.”
“The deli’s downstairs.” Wendy pointed at the steps. “I eat down there with my friends from anime club, and sushi is faster than sandwiches, so I’ll save you a seat.”
“Thanks,” Savannah said. Her sisters were nowhere to be found, and sitting with Wendy would be better than sitting by herself. At least she seemed nonjudgmental and kind. But anime club? That was just…not Savannah’s thing.
The line for sandwiches was long, and the last person in it was Alyssa from first period, who didn’t acknowledge Savannah as she stepped into line behind her. Hopefully the line would move quickly, and Savannah could get away from her as fast as possible.
Then the last person she’d expected to see walked through the doors—Damien. He’d gotten tanner over the summer, probably from spending time outside on his teen tour, and his hair was longer—it almost hungover his dark brown eyes. Her heart pounded. Now she would find out whether or not he was going to ignore her and pretend like the time they’d spent together in July had never happened. She took deep breaths and played with the ends of her hair, praying he would notice her.
He waved when he spotted her, and she waved back, trying to keep herself from smiling like an idiot while her stomach flipped like crazy. Was he going to talk to her? At least he’d waved, so her fear of him ignoring her hadn’t come true. This wasn’t how she’d envisioned their first meeting since July—with her dressed wrong for school and her makeup smudged from crying—but he’d already seen her, so there was nothing she could do.
Alyssa was looking at Savannah, her eyes shining with a friendliness that hadn’t been there that morning. “Did Damien Sanders just wave to you?” she whispered.
“Yeah.” Savannah ran a hand through her hair and tried to play it cool, since Damien was getting closer. “We hung out a little bit over the summer.”
Alyssa’s jaw dropped, and Savannah couldn’t help but feel victorious after the way the girl had snubbed her earlier.
“Savannah Diamond,” Damien said, stepping into line behind her. “I’ve been wondering when I would run into you.” Then he studied her closer, his expression morphing into concern. “Are you okay? Your eyes look red.”
“It’s just allergies,” she lied, trying to sound upbeat. She’d never had allergies, but no way was she admitting to crying alone in the bathroom. “Anyway, how was the rest of your summer?”
“I did a Hawaii/Alaska teen tour,” he said. “We cruised through Alaska, toured the Pacific Coast, and stayed at some resorts in Hawaii. It was pretty cool.”
“Is that the tour by Rein?” Alyssa chimed in. “I’m looking into their Europe trip for next summer.”
“That’s the one.”
Savannah nodded as if she knew what they were talking about, even though she’d never traveled beyond California and Vegas. “I saw your pictures on Facebook,” she said. “It looked like you had fun.” She tried not to sound bitter, but when she thought about the album he’d posted, she was reminded of the two tall, tanned girls in lots of pictures with him. Even though it had made Savannah feel like a stalker, she’d clicked on both girls’ profiles. One of them lived in L.A., and the other in Miami, so they couldn’t be a threat, but she hated seeing them draped all over him—even if it might mean he’d meant it when he’d said he was over Madison.
“It was fun, and everyone was cool, but it got old being around the same forty people all the time,” he said. “I was glad to get home.”
“Is everyone keeping in touch?” Savannah asked, thinking mainly about L.A. and Miami.
“For the first few days back we chatted on Facebook and stuff, but most of them are from California, New York, D.C. and Florida, so we’ve mostly split ways,” he said. “But enough about me—what have you been up to while I’ve been gone?”
The real answer: doing mounds of work assigned by tutors to catch up on Goodman academics. But she wasn’t telling Damien that.
“Hanging with my sisters at the pool,” she said casually. She had spent a lot of time at the pool, but she’d usually brought her homework with her. “I’ve also been getting my YouTube channel started.”
“How’s that going?”
“It’s going okay.”
“Cool.” Damien smiled, watching her like he really cared, and a thrill went up her spine. “I’ll check it out tonight.”
Her heart shrank at the realization that he hadn’t seen her videos. “Let me know what you think,” she said. Just because she’d been tracking (stalking?) him online all summer didn’t mean he’d been doing the same to her. He’d been too busy traveling the country—and spending time with L.A. and Miami—to know her YouTube channel existed. Even now, he probably couldn’t wait to get out of the lunch line to hang out with his real friends.
Savannah ordered and paid for her sandwich. “I guess I’ll see you around,” she said to Damien, gathering her plate in preparation to join Wendy and whatever friends of hers would be at that table.
“Hold up,” he said. “Where are you sitting?”
Savannah’s stomach fluttered at the idea that Damien Sanders cared about where she was eating lunch. But she didn’t want to tell him she was sitting with the anime club.
“She was going to join me and some of the other volleyball girls at our table near the pool,” Alyssa jumped in. “Tryouts are soon, and we heard Savannah plays, so we’re hoping she makes the team.”
Savannah glanced questionably at Alyssa, who smiled and tossed her long hair over her shoulder, as if none of this should be strange. Clearly she was being welcoming now only because of Savannah’s connection to Damien.
But did it matter? It had broken the ice between them. Sure, things hadn’t gone well in first period, but now that Alyssa wanted to be friends, she seemed like a fun girl. And Savannah would have more in common with the volleyball team than with the anime club.
“Do you and Alyssa want to eat with me and my friends upstairs?” Damien asked. “If her friends don’t mind, of course.”
“That sounds great,” Alyssa said quickly. “I’m sure they won’t mind.”
“Okay.” Savannah couldn’t believe it. Sure, she was ditching Wendy, but when Savannah glanced around to find the other girl, a tall, lanky guy had joined Wendy at her table, so she wasn’t alone. She would understand. After all, Savannah—a sophomore—had been invited to sit at a table with seniors. And not just any seniors—Damien Sanders and his friends. Which hopefully wouldn’t include Madison, but it was too late to turn back now.
She tightened her grip on her water bottle to keep from shaking. “I thought the seniors went off campus for lunch?”
“We do sometimes,” Damien said. “But since today’s the first day back, most of us want to stay here and catch up.”
He led them upstairs to a group at the center table in the cafeteria, and introduced them to his friends. Savannah recognized two of them from Myst over the summer, but the others were new to her. As they ate, Damien and Alyssa were the only ones interested in talking to her—the rest of them were too busy gossiping about their summers—but that was fine by her.
At least Madison wasn’t sitting with them. But Damien kept glancing at the table where she was eating with Oliver and some of her other friends. Savannah’s heart dropped at the realization that he still wasn’t over Madison. But either Madison was oblivious to Damien, or she was an expert at ignoring him.
At the end of lunch, Savannah followed Alyssa to the trash cans. Alyssa was friendly and continued asking her questions—she was a completely different person from that morning.
Someone else called Savannah’s name, and she brightened at the sight of Nick Gordon pushing through the crowd. He glowed as usual, but there were also huge bags under his eyes.
“Hey, Nick,” Savannah said, relieved he wasn’t ignoring her, either.
“How’s your first day going?” he asked.
“It’s different from my old school, but it’s going well,” she lied, since she didn’t want to sound like a downer and tell him about how awful everything had been until she’d seen Damien in the sandwich line. “I met Alyssa in first period, and we both play volleyball. Do you two know each other?”
“We’ve seen each other around, but haven’t officially met,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m Nick.”
Alyssa nodded, as if she already knew who he was, and shook his hand. “Nice to officially meet you.”
Nick smiled and turned back to Savannah. “Did your tutoring this summer pay off?”
“I hope so,” she said. “But it’s hard to tell on the first day.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” he said. “And I’ve been checking out your YouTube channel when I have time. Your latest videos are great.”
“Thanks.” Savannah shrugged. He was probably only saying it to be nice, otherwise wouldn’t there be more people who agreed with him? “It’s good to know that at least a few people like the videos.”
“I bet one will go viral soon, and then you’ll be an instant hit.”
“That would be a dream come true.”
His blue eyes were so focused on hers, and her breath caught at how electric the air felt around them. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then Damien joined them, and Nick took a step back.
“Hey, man,” Damien said, as if he and Nick were friends. Which they weren’t—especially since Nick used to date Madison.
“Hey.” Nick slipped his hands into the pockets of his khaki pants. “Didn’t see you around much this summer.”
“I was doing some traveling.”
“Bet that was fun.” Nick held Damien’s gaze steadily, and if Savannah didn’t know better, she would have thought they were having a macho territory battle over her.
“I need to get to my next class,” Savannah said, glad to have an excuse to get Damien and Nick away from each other. “Thanks for inviting us to sit with you,” she said to Damien.
“You’re welcome to join us whenever you want.”
“And if you want a change of scenery, you can sit with me and my friends, too,” Nick offered. “We sit out on the upper deck looking over the pool until it gets too cold.”
“Thanks,” Savannah said, not wanting to promise either of them anything. Were they really fighting over sitting with her? Or was she making this out to mean more than it did? “I’ll see you guys around!”
Alyssa linked her arm with Savannah’s as they left the dining hall. “I can’t believe you know Damien Sanders and Nick Gordon and you didn’t mention it!” she said, bouncing as she walked.
“I met them both this summer,” Savannah said. “It’s a long story.”
“What are you doing after school today?”
“Nothing so far.” Well, she was supposed to connect with Evie on Skype to tell her about her first day, but Evie wouldn’t mind waiting.
“Good,” Alyssa said. “You can come with me, Brooke and Jackie to Starbucks and tell us everything that happened this summer with you and two of the hottest guys in school. Judging from the way they just acted, I have a feeling this is going to be good.”
