“So it is her.”
“Yeah, and the word around campus is that she’s been trying to get into Cody’s bed since they both started here. He rejected her the way he’s done with everyone else, but like Steve told you, she’s the only one who hasn’t given up yet. There’s more, and here is where the trouble may lay, her dad’s a senator, and her mom’s some big shot lobbyist; in other words, they’re filthy rich.”
Jess snorted at Alexis’ recitation. “What?” Alexis asked her with a frown.
“A senator and a lobbyist, this one can probably buy them both ten times over with the interest from her trust fund.” She said it as a joke, but she wasn’t far off. Though I don’t know how much money this Susie and her family have, I’m almost certain it’s nowhere near the Davenport’s obscene wealth. Besides, my family has been buying and selling politicians for generations.
I almost felt a savage glee at the fight ahead. She may not know it, but she was about to reap the wrath that had built up over years of oppression. Without mom here to interfere and no one to hold me back, I feel less restricted. I’m no fighter, mind you, but there’s a new wildness beating in my chest that won’t let me back down this time.
She’d gone too far with the hurt she’d caused, and it was just her luck that she’d struck at a time when I was coming out of my shell. The good thing about spending years at the other end of bullying is that you learn a lot about your opponents. Now I know that they’re usually weak beings trying to hide their own inadequacies by pointing out yours or making them up if they have to. No one wants to be the weakest one in the bunch.
Dad was right! He’d sat me down the night before we left to come here and reminded me of a few home truths, namely, that I was going to be out on my own for the first time in my life. Instead of fear and hiding away from the world, he’d admonished me to stand on my own two feet and be the person he knew I could be.
It’s always been dad who pulled me up by my bootstraps whenever something was amiss. While mom sheltered me into oblivion, dad was always the one wanting me to spread my wings. Now that I was here on my own, it was time to look out for myself and stop being the doormat I’d always been.
I’m sure mom hadn’t meant for things to be that way, but after years of lectures, I’d learned not to tell her when someone was being mean. Things had died down tremendously after Jess came along, but even then, I never had any interest in fighting with my nemeses, those girls and boys who’d tormented me since Pre-K.
Some of them were as wealthy as us, I’m sure, but funnily enough, money had never played that big a part in their treatment of me. When everyone is pretty much in the one percent or close, money really wasn’t that big of a deal.
It had taken me years to realize that it was because I was so different, the girl whose mother still babied her. Or it could just have been that I was an easy target because I never fought back, was never allowed to. This time I won’t back down, won’t shy away. I’m going to wade right in and give as good as I get.
“Did you find out anything else about her?”
“Not yet, other than the fact that she pretty much ran this place for a while. I guess her father’s name holds a lot of weight.”
“So what? There are a lot of wealthy kids here. Who cares about a senator?” Jess huffed.
“It’s not his bank account that scares them but the power his position entails,” I answered her. I would know; Susie won’t be the first politician’s whelp that I’ve had to deal with.
I was tempted to call dad and ask him for some help or at least some guidance, but his words rang in my ears, and I knew I was on my own. I had no doubt if things got out of hand that he’d be here in a heartbeat, which is one of the reasons I feel so bold, I guess. I’m not about to go pick a fight, not physically anyway. But once I make sure that she was, in fact, the one behind the photo, it’s on.
“Well, what now? How do we find out if she’s the one who sent that picture to my phone?” Alexis looked up from her computer screen.
“Nothing, let’s just wait for her to make a move. Since her little ploy didn’t work the last time, I’m sure it won’t be long.”