Page 140 of Twisted Truth

“Aunt Bethany will be late. Stuck in traffic,” Sterling says, interrupting my thoughts. “She said to go ahead and order, and told me what to order for her.”

“Are you ready for finals?” Ella asks Maya.

“Nearly, but this third year is brutal. I can’t wait for summer break.”

“Yes! We’ll have to adjust our plans a bit since Asher here is keeping me busy, but we’ll still fit in the important things.”

Maya shifts uncomfortably in her seat. “Well, that’s the thing. I’m not coming back to New York for break this summer.”

Ella sits frozen for a second. “What? Why?”

“I got an internship at the museum, so I’ll be working.”

“What? That’s amazing! And I also hate it, but I’m so happy for you. Which museum?”

“The British Museum.”

“Wow! That’s the big one, right? The one you’ve been dreaming about working at your whole nerdy life?”

Maya clucks her tongue. “Yes.”

“You deserve it!”

“Well, I’ll mostly be doing boring admin work, but I at least got in. I’ve been denied all the other times I’ve applied.”

“What are you studying at Oxford?” I ask.

“I’m working on my masters degree for both art and history. My goal is to one day be a curator for a big museum.”

“She’s brilliant,” Ella gushes. “Like a little red-headed Google. She can spout off facts and stories about almost anything related to art or history.”

“Not about anything,” Maya says through a laugh.

“Okay, almost anything.”

Now Maya rolls her eyes. “I specialize in British art and history, but since Britain went around colonizing the world, there is a lot of overlap in other countries’ histories as well.”

“Have you worked in a museum prior to this internship?” I ask.

She nods. “At NYU I did, but I haven’t had the same opportunities here in London as I did back home.”

“Because your professors are classist assholes,” Ella growls.

“Calm down, Els. It’s not that deep.”

“It is too. You’re at the top of your class, there’s no reasonyou shouldn’t have gotten this internship your first year. You shouldn’t be just breaking into the museum to do admin work at this point. By now you should be assisting with the actual job. But you’re a poor American girl on scholarship, with no connections, so you get overlooked every time.”

Maya rolls her eyes again.

“Who are your professors?” Sterling asks.

Maya lists off their names and then furrows her brows. “Why?”

He shrugs. “I could make some calls.”

She stiffens. “That’s not necessary.”

“It may not be necessary, but it will be helpful. Your sister is right. Connections are everything over here.”