AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 6
Astrid
When I walk into the dorm room, a girl is hanging out on the twin bed opposite an empty one. Her side of the room is decorated with spider plants, some photos pinned to a corkboard, and a huge chair that looks like it’s made of pink teddy bears. It didn’t occur to me to bring anything but my suitcase. She’s lying on her stomach, reading a textbook, but she stops to check me out. I feel that sharp look in my gut, and it makes me wince. Not more of this judgy shit. I give my suitcase a kick, and it wheels itself into the corner as I stand by my unmade bed, frowning.
The girl keeps staring at me, so I decide to tell her who I am. “I’m Astrid Bowen of Weymouth, and my dad paid my way.”
The girl’s lips quirk into a smirk. “Excuse me?” She shakes her head dismissively. “You don’t look like one of them. I’m Veronica Star Griffin, formerly of New Jersey. Never call me Veronica because it’s Roni, and I’m here under duress.” She sits up cross-legged on her bed and smoothes down her school polo. She’s opted out of the khakis and has on black baggy jeans. Her dark roots are showing, and her shoulder-length blonde hair can’t decide on frizz or waves, but it works on her. Roni pushes her wire frames higher up her nose as she eyes me grimly.
“I didn’t know I needed sheets.” I shrug my shoulders, sitting down on the edge of my bed.
“You can call housekeeping,” she replies, “and they’ll make your bed. There’s a house phone in the lounge with a direct line.”
“Thanks,” I mumble. If she keeps looking at me, I might have to get nasty. At my school, staring was an invite to fight, but I’m at Stonehaven now. I need someone to give me a clue, but they’re not handing them out for nothing.
“Look, we have to lay down some ground rules,” she says as if she’s read my mind. “The first one is no overnight guests, and I mean boys. In fact, I don’t want them in my room at all.”
“Fine,” I sneer, “I don’t want them in here either. Plus I don’t have a boyfriend.”
She tilts her chin up and gives me a surprised look. “You seem cool. Not what I was expecting.”
“So do you,” I reply without a tone, “what were you expecting?”
Her pouty lips soften into a crooked grin. “Never mind.”
I run my hands through my short hair, knowing it’s going to stick up if I keep touching it. “Okay, so, I’d like to know what I just landed in.”
She sighs then nods. “There’s a rumor going around that you’re friendly with the boys.”
Looking up at the ceiling, I scoff, “I’m guessing the word friendly is loaded?”
Roni laughs. “It’s how you supposedly earned your tuition. Did you piss off that guy Pierce? I saw him hassling you in the dining hall.”
The heat rises to my cheeks, but I go with the truth. Better to tell it fast and straightforward and just get it over with. “I worked in the dining hall over the summer. My father is rich, but he’s not married to my mother.”
She nods her head as if she knows me.
“But I’m not on a scholarship,” I continue, then pause, thinking, what if she is? I can’t blow this. I need a friend here. “That’s not bad. I’m just not on one. My father paid my tuition.” Not the way I envisioned this conversation going. “I’m not a slut.” Sighing, I cut my rambling off.
Roni throws her arms open wide with a big smile to match. “Neither am I,” she says, “Hurray for us.”
We laugh the awkwardness off, and soon we’re talking about home and our friends. I don’t dare mention the Pit, but Roni looks like the kind of girl who would walk into the place and own it. I can see her running circles around the regulars as she tells them they’re doing it all wrong.
“Don’t sweat these kids, Astrid. They live in a bubble of entitlement. Throw them out of the gates, and they wouldn’t know what to do without googling it first.” She smiles as I laugh at her sarcasm. “BTW, I’m new money as opposed to their old. My ancestors didn’t discover gold or build railroads back in the day. My dad’s in plastics. He figured out a way to hang a hook on a wall without screwing up the paint. And poof, one day I’m rich.”
“Sort of like me,” I reply and then wish I hadn’t said anything.
“What do you mean?” asks Roni.
I take in a big gulp of air as I figure how to answer without saying too much. “Let’s just say my rich dad wasn’t around, and then one day he showed up.”
Roni nods her head as if she’s heard that story before. “There’s a reason why daddies come looking, Astrid. Watch your back, girl. Rich people don’t give something for nothing.”
I nod, then frown, knowing Roni is right but not knowing anything else, not even who he is. “Outside of the gates, I can take care of myself, but in here…” My words drift off as I look out the window that frames the setting sun. The sunlight makes shadows in the old oaks on the walkway, and it really is beautiful here, but I’d rather be home. My first day is ending, and I’m waiting for graduation day to hurry up.
Roni gets up and places a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Come on, Astrid. I’ll show you where the house phone is. And when you call housekeeping, tell them you want your linen. If you say sheets, they’ll show up with paper.”
We walk to the end of the hallway to a lounge that is decorated like a page in a catalog. Big stuffed sofas in hip teal print and wood study tables are scattered throughout the room with scenic windows that look out onto the campus. It looks like a painting of Stonehaven, but it’s real, and slowly it’s starting to sink in that this is my life.
