I lift my chin a little. “Then let me put your worries to rest.” As much as I wish something happened between me and Astor, it really didn’t, and I tell her so. “I’m not going after a boy who’s dating another girl, Victoria. I’m not like you. I have at least some self-respect.”
She glares venomously at me. “I don’t believe you. You mark my words. I’m going to make it my mission to get your ass thrown out of this school for good! Then Astor will never see you again.”
“Don’t mess with me, Victoria,” I warn her in a dangerous voice. “You won’t win. Every time you’ve tried to come after me, it’s backfired in your face. Let this go and leave me alone.”
Victoria shakes her head. “Oh no. I’m not letting it go. I’m coming after you and I’m not going to give up until you’re gone, no matter what it takes.”
I’ve had enough. It’s just more of the same she’s been threatening me with for two school years now. I do pause, however, as I brush by her and offer a parting reminder.
“You might have Astor, but I’d like to see if that changes if you try to get me expelled again.” I glance back at her. “I stand by what I said earlier. Nothing happened between us, but if it was up to Astor … it’d be a different story.”
I walk away from her angrily, knowing I’ve just goaded her more. It was stupid, but she should know where she stands. When I get to the library, Wills and Blair are waiting for me with Dana so we can all get some last minute studying in. They take one look at my face and they know that something is very wrong.
“What is it?” Wills asks as I reach them.
I sigh and drop my books a little too hard on the table. “Victoria.”
“Of course.” Blair groans. “What’s she doing now?”
“You know, the usual stuff.” I sit with them. “She thinks I’m after Astor, and wants to get me expelled … that sort of thing.”
Blair shakes his head. “Don’t worry about her. She’s all bluster.”
“I don’t know,” I say, then drop my head into my folded arms and let out a loud groan. “I told her she’d be stupid to try to get me expelled again, but I think I just made it worse.”
“No,” Wills says. “You’re right. You’re not on your own anymore. Blair and I might not have as
much pull as Astor, but we can put up a good fight if they try.”
That perks me up for the next couple hours of studying. Eventually it’s just me and Wills in the library until the librarian finally has to come shoo us away in order to close. It’s late when we get out, close to midnight, which is why I’m so surprised when I see Eli Hamilton, the representative from Columbia, hurrying our way down one of the halls.
When he spots us, he calls out and waves for us to come to him. Wills and I exchange a tired glance, but we do as we’re asked and I make sure to smile as politely as I can, given the fact that I’m exhausted and certainly look like I’ve seen better days. I’m surprised he recognizes me at all. I’m a far cry from the glamorous creature he saw at the last dinner.
“Mr. Hamilton, how nice to see you,” Wills says as well, reaching out a hand to shake his.
“Please, call me Eli,” he says, but his attention is focused on me. He’s eyeing me curiously, and it makes me squirm uncomfortably.
“What’s brought you back to Hawthorne?” I ask, hoping to shift some of his pin-point gaze away from me.
“I’m doing a series of guest lectures on forensics and detective work here. My last one ran a little late,” he explains simply, then quickly changes the subject. “I’ve been thinking about our conversation at dinner. You said that you don’t know who your parents are, but I didn’t have a chance to ask you … do you happen to know about any other members of your family? Or maybe even just a family surname?”
I shake my head. This again? “I really don’t see the point,” I say. I glance up at Wills. I haven’t even told them what I found out recently. It’s not exactly unexpected news, but I’m not keen to talk about it either.
But Eli just keeps looking at me expectantly, so I figure if I tell him it’ll just get us out of here and off to bed as soon as possible for tomorrow’s test. “A friend of mine did a little looking and found out my mother … my birth mother, anyway … was a drug addict who overdosed just shortly after I was born. That’s all I know about her.”
Wills looks down at me with concern. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
I shrug, and say, “I guess I just didn’t want it to become a thing.”
He frowns, but just squeezes my arm reassuringly.
Eli, meanwhile, looks totally intrigued. “She died of an overdose,” he repeats to himself quietly. “Is that so?”
“It is,” I tell him, my mind already working out how we can politely extricate ourselves from this conversation as fast as possible.
“Fascinating.” He bites his lower lip thoughtfully and then reaches his hand to my shoulder, and gives me a little awkward pat, picking a few loose hairs off my shoulder as he does.
“Sorry,” he says, “I’m a little neurotic. Carry on! I’m sure you two are busy.”