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The boys seemed more excited about how the schedule was going to work. My first period would be calc with Bryan, then lit class with Paxon and Justin, music with Toby. We’d all get to eat lunch together, then I’d have a free period with Justin and Toby, physics with Toby and Bryan, and PE with Paxon and Justin. The only period I didn’t have with any of them was during study hall during the third period. I could already tell I was going to get distracted, but I didn’t care, not if they were there to help pass the time.
The conversation continued as everyone chatted about their final year and what they most looked forward to. Paxon got passionate about soccer and how he planned to take their team to the championship. Justin mentioned swimming briefly. Apparently, his team wanted him to be team captain this year, and he had quickly shot them down. Bryan and Toby were in the going home club like I was.
I turned to Seth.
“What are your plans now that you’re done with high school?” I asked, mostly to make conversation.
He shrugged. “I’m taking online classes with the SUNY school nearby. Working toward a degree in architecture.”
“That’s awesome,” I said thinking about the state universities set up throughout New York. Some of them were really good schools.
Seth nodded and smiled.
“Why online classes?”
“I work for a construction company. I’ve worked for them through high school and made a deal to work for them after I graduated college if they help with funding.” And that explained his broad frame and defined muscles. He was used to hard labor every day, and it had strengthened his body in a way high school boys couldn’t achieve, even if they did sports.
I nodded and looked around the chaos of his kitchen. He’d said he lived here for a bit now, but there were still boxes unpacked, and I knew he said his parents moved, so he used the opportunity to live on his own. I bit back laughter, because my house reflected his pretty much, neither of us in a rush to unpack.
“Your parents won’t help you?”
Bryan practically growled at my words. I looked at him in surprise, forcing my heartbeat to stay steady despite his aggressive response. Not saying anything, I just stared at him, but I think they noticed the slight flinch I couldn’t hold back.
His eyes were hard as he glared at me.
What did I ask that was wrong?
“Don’t mind him,” Seth said, the warning in his tone aimed at Bryan.
Bryan didn’t back down like Seth probably expected. “Not everyone has rich parents who can buy them nice cars and clothes.”
My confusion must have been clear on my face because Seth cleared his throat. I didn’t realize that what I asked had been a sensitive question, but by the anger Bryan was throwing at me, I’d stepped on a landmine.
“My family isn’t well off. I refuse to put that kind of stress on them. They offered, of course, practically begged.” His lips curved into a small smile. “But I refused. They have enough to deal with. Besides, I can afford it. I’ve learned to invest well enough to get by. I don’t roll in the dough, but I’m not hurting either.”
“Oh.” What else could I say?
“Yeah,” Bryan said, his sarcasm working at full blast. “Not everyone can afford to be spoiled.”
I knew he was taking jabs at me, and it hurt. I wasn’t spoiled. Hell, I was the moneymaker in my family. Lindie was the spoiled one and now that she was in the mental institute, I was still supporting her stay there. The state would have sent her to a less expensive place with barely adequate care, but I pushed for Higginham Memorial. Everything I had now was because I had been forced to be locked up in my music room to do the work Lindie kept throwing at me. I didn’t point that out to them though. I didn’t know them, nor did I trust them.
Frankly, I didn’t even understand why I was there in the first place. People scared me. Part of my job dealt with meeting clients and putting on performances, but in some ways, I still lived in a bubble with a protective layer between them and me. And Lindie had always acted as a wall, keeping clients away from me as much as she could, fearing I would make them change their mind.
Calvin shifted next to me, his elbow pressing into my side as he moved, and it reminded me why I was in this house, surrounded by five boys, one of whom seemed to hate me.
Bryan continued to talk out of his ass with no concern for my feelings. He had judged me and I failed in his eyes. “Do you even know what it means to work? I see your clothes and I’ve seen your car out front of your new house. I can spot rich a mile away.”
I focused completely on him, not letting the wary glances from the others distract me. He didn’t have the right to belittle me, and I wasn’t going to sit there and take it. I’d had enough of it growing up, that I refused to take it from a stranger.
I straightened my spine and swallowed my anxiety. “What about you?” I asked, my voice steel.
He blinked and his mouth dropped open. My question effectively stopped him from his tirade.
“You said you can spot rich a mile away? Is that because you are too? Tell me, who bought your fancy clothes? Or that watch? Since I’mrich, I’m familiar with brands, and although you dress casually, if you add up the cost of all your clothes and accessories, I put it easily around a grand. That’s an expensive watch you have there. Who bought that for you? Your daddy? Your mommy?”
The room was quiet enough to hear Bryan’s teeth grind. Someone swore underneath their breath, but I refused to look away from the rich boy to find out who. If I was going to step on a landmine, then I might as well make sure the explosion was a grand one.
I stood up, my mouth suddenly too dry. “Thank you for dinner, Calvin. Seth.” I nodded to them. “But I need to get back. After all, Seth isn’t the only person who has to pay his own way through life.”
