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“I’m just kidding.” He bursts into laughter. “I skip out early on third period, just long enough to go grab something and bring it back here where I hide out to eat.”
“Oh...sorry…” I laugh uncomfortably. “I guess I just thought…well…”
“That I was that spoiled and rich?” He grins.
“Aren’t you?” I blurt coldly. I almost feel bad, but really, I’m genuinely curious.
He nods bashfully. “Okay, fair enough.” His face lights up as he looks over at me with perfect shining white teeth. “True…my family does have enough money for things like chefs and assistants. And we do have those things, but we weren’t always so rich. We never got into the habit of relying on those things too heavily.”
“Ah,” I grunt as he hands me one of the burgers from his bag. “New money?”
“It’s what the Elites hate about us,” he answers frankly. “But I’m sure you can relate. Your dad has money, after all. And he’s just as despised by the Elites…especially now.”
I shift in the grass, wanting to talk about anything besides my father. Especially because I have no idea if Malcolm is someone I can really trust, or how connected he is with Theo.
“My father probably does have money, but that doesn’t have anything to do with my family,” I confess bitterly. “My mom and stepdad have always worked their asses off to support me on their own. I’m sure our lifestyle is nothing like what your family has grown used to, but I’m not complaining. We’re happy. At least as long as Theo and the rest of the Elites stay out of our lives, anyway.”
Malcolm purses his lips in a grimaced nod before taking a big bite of his burger. We eat like that in silence for a moment until I finally start to feel a little pathetic for sounding so bitter.
“I’m sorry if you and your dad are really close to Theo or whatever,” I add, embarrassed, realizing I’ve probably already said way too much. “I just don’t have the best first impression of him.”
“Just distant business partners,” he says softly. “Don’t worry. You’re allowed to hate your father. I wouldn’t like him either if I were you.”
I’m taken aback by his understanding, which is more than I’d expected. “How much do you know about everything that happened after we met with your father that night?” I ask him, feeling on edge thinking about just where he falls into all of this.
“Well, I’m sure your perspective would take the cake” He raises his brows. “But I don’t expect you to tell me anything. I wouldn’t put you in that spot. I’ve heard enough to piece things together. My father and I didn’t know everything Theo had planned, but after hearing about what happened to Emmett’s dad…we made assumptions…ones that are probably pretty accurate.”
I grow quiet, wishing we could change the subject. The fact that he said ‘what happened to’ Emmett’s dad gives away the fact that everyone is well aware it wasn’t a suicide, and he obviously has his own conclusions about my father’s involvement. I want to stay as far away from it all as I can, so I go back to eating without saying a word.
“I guess it’s no wonder I never see you around school much,” I blurt finally, blotting food away from the corner of my mouth. “If you’re always hiding out here for lunch.”
“I try to stay out of all the bullshit around here,” he replies.
“I thought it had all calmed down,” I murmur. “Until today.”
“Yeah, I thought I saw Vivian lurking around earlier,” he offers empathetically.
“And Lily…who is apparently her new best friend,” I add, with a resentful slump.
“Ah, so I guess the rules of who runs the school still change overnight” He laughs. “Why am I not surprised?”
“I don’t know how all of you put up with it.” I shake my head and crumple an empty burger wrapper in my hand before shooting it into the nearby bag. “I haven’t even been here a full semester and I’m already over it. I can’t imagine growing up like this.”
“I didn’t grow up like this,” he reminds me. “But it wasn’t much better where I’m from in California. Worse maybe, because there were more people with even more money. Imagine ten groups of the Elites all battling it out with each other.”
“What a nightmare!” I gape. “How the hell did you put up with that?”
“Just like I do here.” He motions around to our secluded spot on the edge of the schoolyard. “I keep my head down and stay out of it all as much as I can. I don’t need to rely on the approval of the Elites. My father built his own fortune and has taught me everything I need to know to run it one day. Nothing we do is dependent on the Elites.”
“Which is great, considering they just ran everything into the ground,” I scoff, still surprised that Vivian can show up and be so bold after the scandal her family is facing. “How are you and your father’s software company holding up, by the way? I take it the authorities don’t suspect you two of having anything to do with the sex trafficking rings?”
He shakes his head quietly, seeming disturbed by just how close they came to going down with the rest of the Elites. “We’re free and clear.”
I study Malcolm leaning back in the sun, closing his eyes against its rays. He seems so above all the WJ Prep drama, and I can’t help but wish Emmett could be more like him. Emmett claims to want nothing to do with any of it, but somehow he always finds himself at the center of it all. I guess there’s no escaping it, considering his father was the Elites’ ringleader, a role that has essentially been passed onto him, only now the rest of the Elites are facing time in prison.
“Hey, don’t let Vivian and Lily get to you,” he says suddenly, as I realize we’ve swapped roles. Now he’s studying me as I drift away into my own tangle of thoughts. “Those two are just in rough spots because of everything that’s happened. They’re desperate and grasping at straws. They think you and Emmett are the easiest targets to get a rise out of so they can still feel some sense of control.”
“It’s working,” I confess shamefully. “I know I shouldn’t let them get to me, but that’s why they’re so evil. They know exactly how to push your buttons.” It feels strange to be talking about Lily as if she’s one of them, even though as the day goes on, I’m slowly accepting it as true. “I just can’t believe Lily could turn like that,” I add. “She seemed different. And her family has nothing to do with all this trouble the rest of them are in.”
