Chapter 38

It took Adrian a while to absorb what his sister had just told him. Miles was actually studying? Taking notes in class?

Elise looked so determined to defend him that a possibility began to occur to Adrian. Had the little bastard worked out how to win her over? Was he pretending to study just to make her happy?

“Don't think I can't see what you're doing,” he said with a scoff. “You, paying attention in class? I'll believe that when pigs fly.”

Miles had never had any patience. As far back as Adrian could remember, he hadn't once managed to sit through a whole day of lessons. Listening to a teacher was a reliable way to shorten his already short fuse. The longer the lesson went on, the angrier and more restless he became.

Miles felt an uncomfortable twinge of guilt. He really was studying now, but his foundations were so weak that he was making painfully slow progress. The notes he'd been sending Elise weren't even his.

And the more firmly she believed in him, the more he regretted deceiving her.

Julian appeared to have reached the same conclusion as Adrian. His sharp gaze moved over Miles as though he could see straight through him.

Miles pressed his lips together. With his sister beside him, the guilt made it impossible to argue. If those two kept questioning him, they might expose the whole thing in front of her.

Instead, Elise looked at him seriously, then turned to Adrian.

“He didn't like studying before. That doesn't mean he'll never take it seriously. He's decided to make an effort, and that's a good thing. We're his family. We should encourage him, instead of doubting him and telling him he can't change.”

Her brows drew together. When she spoke again, her voice was firmer.

“You're his older brother. You should be on his side.”

In their previous life, the brothers had never been particularly close. Their parents had lavished affection and comforts on their daughters while holding their sons to much harsher standards. As children, the boys had played and fought together, but growing up had brought a long list of skills each of them was expected to learn. Julian, especially, had been trained to take over the family business.

They'd seen less and less of one another, until there was very little left between them.

Somewhere along the way, they'd decided family was something that simply existed, requiring no particular care. Older brother and younger brother had become titles. The older ones felt no special obligation to protect the younger ones, and the younger ones saw no reason to respect their elders.

Even after the bankruptcy, when Elise had brought them all home, she'd been what held them together. Without her, they would have gone their separate ways long before.

Adrian stared at her for several seconds before it sank in. His sister was really angry with him.

The mockery disappeared from his face. He lowered his head and prodded the food on his plate.

What had he even done? He'd barely said anything. Miles was clearly up to something, and Elise had gone and believed him.

She was always on Julian's side or Miles's side. When had she ever taken his?

Was he too honest for this family?

Beside him, Miles began to relax. Then something considerably warmer replaced his nervousness.

Elise had scolded Adrian for him.

Being praised was good. This was better. She'd actually got upset on his behalf. When it mattered, she'd chosen to stand with him.

His guilt vanished. He gave Adrian a smug glance. There it was: he mattered more to her than Adrian did.

“Don't be angry,” he told Elise, softening his voice. “I'll pay attention and take proper notes. I won't let you down, Ellie. I'll show them I'm serious about this.”

He really ought to buy some handwriting practice sheets for Dylan. Better handwriting would make his progress look that much more convincing. Elise would see how hard he was trying, and she'd keep praising him.

Elise smiled and nodded, looking deeply pleased. She'd been wrong about Miles. Once he decided to improve, he could change so much that he almost seemed like a different person.

Her encouragement really did help him.

She would have to praise him more often.

When Elise arrived at school with Miles that morning, she'd barely settled into her seat before Nora caught her arm and began talking excitedly.

“Skateboarding really isn't as scary as I thought. Once you stop being afraid of falling, it's fun. And girls look so cool doing it!”

Her eyes shone. She seemed to have discovered an entirely new way to enjoy herself.

Elise couldn't help smiling. “You've learned already?”

“Not yet. But Jade spent ages teaching me. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.”

Elise raised her eyebrows. Hadn't Nora been urging her to keep her distance from Jade only yesterday, afraid she'd pick up bad habits? Now the two of them were practically friends.

She put her textbooks on the desk.

“I thought you said I should stay away from her. Should I start giving you that advice now?”

Nora remembered what she'd said and lost some of her confidence.

“I didn't know her then,” she protested. “She's actually really nice. At least, she isn't nearly as frightening as she looks.”

She'd found Jade cheerful, direct, and easy to be around. Nothing like the intimidating ringleader she'd imagined.

Elise was glad to hear it.

“Exactly. The only real difference between her and us is that she doesn't like studying.”

Nora nodded in wholehearted agreement.

Morning study wasn't over yet when Ms. Parker came into the classroom.

“Sports day is coming up. I want everyone to sign up for whatever events they can manage. You don't have to win anything. Taking part matters, and you could all use the exercise.”

The announcement met with very little enthusiasm. They were in an advanced course group. Getting good grades ought to be enough. Most of them had no desire to spend an entire day sitting beside a track when they could be studying.

Ms. Parker was used to that response. She continued without concern.

“We're also choosing the representatives for the school honor procession. Three places per class. You'll nominate candidates yourselves, then vote. The three with the most votes go through.”

That got their attention.

Each class had its own contingent in the sports-day parade, but those were generally thrown together with very little effort. The school honor procession was what everyone watched.

Originally, each class had been supposed to choose three well-rounded students, recognized for their studies, conduct, and participation in sports. The students voted for their representatives, and one person from the resulting schoolwide group would be chosen to lead the procession.

Once the vote was in the students' hands, though, their priorities had gradually shifted. The girls who won their class places tended to be the prettiest. On the school discussion board, the annual selection had become the unofficial school beauty vote. Whoever led the procession got the title along with it.

“My favorite part of the year. Time to pick the school beauty again.”

“Who were our three last year?”

“Kayla, Hannah, and Grace.”

“We're going to have a very different lineup this time.”

“Who won the whole thing last year?”

“Hannah.”

“She hasn't been here for days. Neither has Kayla.”

Listening to the discussion, Ms. Parker tapped her forehead.

“Oh, that reminds me. I have an announcement. Kayla has transferred to another school.”

The room erupted.

“Why am I so happy that we've lost our resident bully?”

“Why wouldn't you be? She spent long enough pushing people around. Look where it got her.”

Glances slipped toward Elise. Kayla had been able to do as she pleased for so long, then she'd picked the one girl she couldn't get away with bullying. Elise had several brothers behind her, and every one of them was formidable.

Elise's eyes widened. Kayla had transferred?

The last time they'd clashed, Kayla had dumped her backpack in a trash can. Some of the stains simply wouldn't come out. The decision at the time had been that Kayla's family would pay for a replacement.

Elise had been genuinely angry, which was why she'd demanded compensation. But she'd only meant to frighten Kayla. Adrian had got the backpack through someone he knew for next to nothing. How could she really ruin a family over something that had cost almost nothing?

She'd gone to speak to Adrian about it afterward. At first, he hadn't agreed. Eventually, he'd relented and let Kayla off the payment.

And Kayla had transferred anyway?

Had she been afraid Elise would change her mind and demand the money after all? Was that why she'd left in such a hurry?

Elise couldn't make sense of it, so she stopped trying. She probably wouldn't see Kayla again.

“With Hannah and Kayla out of the picture, Grace has this one. None of the other classes has much competition for her.”

“Who says? You're forgetting Elise.”

“Right. Honestly, Elise is prettier than Grace.”

“I think so, too. She looks good from every angle. Grace looks good in profile, but straight on... Have you ever noticed she looks a bit like one of those round-cheeked cartoon mascots?”

Several people heard that. Laughter broke out around them.

Grace's expression had already soured at the mention of Elise. Hearing someone openly mock the size of her face made her fingers tighten on her workbook until its edge creased. She whipped around and glared at the speaker.

The students who'd been laughing had the sense to stop.

She hadn't worried about the bet she'd made with Elise over their grades. There was no way Elise could beat her.

But now they were praising Elise by putting her down?

Grace tugged so hard at her workbook that a small piece tore from the cover.

Hands went up around the room as students called out nominations. Ms. Parker wrote the names on the board in chalk.

“Grace Miller. Claire Sutton. Natalie Harper... Who else?”

“Elise Whitmore!”

Grace looked back. Logan Reed had his hand high in the air, looking as though he'd been waiting for his chance. Having called out the name, he exchanged a sharp high five with the boys beside him. They'd clearly all been thinking the same thing.

Who in their class was prettier than Elise? Who in the whole school was?

Grace's eyes darkened. Those boys were among the most popular in the class, and the best-looking. All of them had chosen Elise.

She bit her lip.

Every year, the procession leader drew endless discussion online. Her picture went on the cover of the school paper and the front page of the school website. With Kayla gone and Hannah on leave, who else could it have been this year?

Then Elise had come along.

At her desk, Elise frowned slightly at the sound of her name. She didn't want to join the school procession. There might be rehearsals after school. She could spend that time studying.

Nominations were followed immediately by a secret ballot. Ms. Parker read out the votes while a student went to the board to tally them.

Grace usually had plenty of support. A good number of her friends voted for her every year.

Elise had no interest in the proceedings. With nothing useful to contribute, she bent over her exercises and made the most of the time.

Grace watched the board without blinking. Each time Ms. Parker read her name, she relaxed a little. Each time she heard Elise's, she tensed again.

She was ahead by two votes.

Then Elise caught up. Another tally, and she passed her. As the count continued, the gap between them kept growing.

Grace bit her lip again and lowered her head. She couldn't bear to watch. Every repetition of Elise's name made her more jealous.

Why had everything changed as soon as that girl arrived? Everyone had disliked her at first. Now they were all voting for her?

When the last ballot had been read, Ms. Parker turned to the board.

“Grace, twelve. Elise, thirty. Claire, eight. Sophie Palmer, two...” She checked the remaining names, which had only one or two votes each. “So Elise, Grace, and Claire will represent our class in the school honor procession.”

Elise's lead was overwhelming. She'd received more than twice as many votes as Grace.

She looked up at the board, surprised.

When she'd transferred, these same people had shouted that they wanted her out. Then they'd shut her out instead. Their attitude really had changed. So many of them had voted for her.

Nora clapped excitedly, looking almost as proud as if she'd won herself.

“Elise, you're definitely going to be this year's school beauty!”

Elise could only smile helplessly. The whole thing seemed a waste of time, and she didn't particularly want to go. She'd have to find a moment to ask Ms. Parker whether her name could be taken off the list.

After Elise left for school that morning, Adrian had lost what little appetite he had for breakfast. He'd gone upstairs and shut himself in his room.

He lay on his bed, holding his phone above his face and scrolling without much interest. The more he remembered Elise's stern voice, the worse he felt.

He'd said a few things about Miles, and she'd been that angry.

He was supposed to be winning her attention away from Julian. Instead, he'd failed at that and acquired another rival.

How was he supposed to live like this?

There was something wrong here. He was clearly the best-looking of the brothers. He had tens of millions of fans, and they begged him for selfies every day. Why did his own little sister prefer Julian and Miles?

Adrian sat up abruptly and switched to his front-facing camera. He took several pictures, admired them for a while, and chose the best one. Then he opened Elise's chat and sent it.

Surely she couldn't look at a face like that and stay angry with him.

He waited. No reply came.

Was she in class? He checked the time and settled down to wait for the lesson to end.

Two hours later, there was still nothing.

He got off the bed and began pacing around his room. So this was what waiting for a message felt like. He'd never bothered much about answering other people. Now he understood what he'd been putting them through.

He stared at the phone, but the screen remained stubbornly quiet. He frowned at it, miserable, afraid to send anything else in case she found him annoying.

Was she still angry? Was she refusing to speak to him?

What if she came home that evening and ignored him? What if she never wanted to talk to him again?

He clutched his head and groaned silently.

This was too hard. Far too hard.

His phone vibrated. He lunged for it and opened the chat.

Elise: ?

Elise: Wrong person?

Her math teacher had run over that morning. She hadn't taken out her phone until the end of the following lesson. Finding Adrian's selfie waiting for her, she'd been genuinely puzzled.

Adrian held his phone carefully in both hands. What was he supposed to say? He considered one answer, rejected it, tried another. He typed a reply and deleted it.

At school, Elise saw the typing indicator and stayed in the chat, waiting.

Five minutes later, he was still typing.

Elise: ...

She decided he needed a reminder.

Elise: Adrian, my next class is about to start.

He read that and began typing so quickly that he could barely keep up with his own fingers.

Adrian: I was wrong this morning. Please don't be angry with me, Ellie.

Adrian: I know I messed up. Please don't stop talking to me. [hurt face] [sobbing]