Chapter 86

The school had been planning its fall trip for some time, a chance for the juniors to relax before senior year. In the end, they chose a three-day camping trip outside the neighboring city.

Elise packed her toiletries and a change of clothes into a backpack. If she kept everything light, one bag would be enough.

She picked up her phone from the desk and checked the screen before putting it away.

A week had passed since Mu Chuan's confession. He hadn't sent her a single message since. She had hung up immediately after turning him down, so she couldn't be certain how he'd taken it. His silence probably meant he had given up.

She was still holding the phone when Adrian pushed open her door, towing two suitcases.

“Here. I packed all your favorite snacks.”

Elise stared at the enormous cases and gave him a helpless smile. “I'm only going for three days. I don't need that many snacks. Besides, everyone else will have a backpack. How would I look pulling suitcases along?”

Adrian frowned at them. “Are they that big?”

He usually took three or four large cases when he traveled and still thought he hadn't packed enough.

Elise politely declined the snacks, then turned down her brothers' offers to drive her to school before finally getting out the door.

The school entrance was crowded with students. Each class had its own bus, and Elise and Nora waited in their class line, chatting as the groups ahead of them boarded.

Bus after bus pulled away. Once more than half the students had left, the entrance began to clear. A few dozen yards away, several luxury cars were parked outside a restaurant.

Nora knew that Elise's brothers had bought her more cars. Since Elise couldn't tell one make from another, Nora had taken it upon herself to educate her friend whenever the chance arose.

“That one's a Ferrari. The red convertible next to it has to be a Maserati. And the one in back... wow, I think it's a Maybach.”

A Maybach? Mu drove one.

Elise looked over just as four men in suits came out of the restaurant. Three were middle-aged, with round bellies and thinning hair. The fourth was younger, tall and striking enough to look as if he belonged to another world. He shook hands with one of the others, a courteous smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes.

Elise's heart gave a jolt. Before she could look away, Mu seemed to sense her gaze and turned toward the school. Their eyes met briefly.

She tightened her grip on her backpack strap and turned her head, keeping her expression as neutral as she could.

“Isn't that Mu Chuan?” Nora asked. Then she noticed Elise's discomfort and closed her mouth.

Nora had seen his confession on X as soon as it appeared. She had known for a long time that he liked Elise, and she'd been thrilled at the possibility of them getting together. In her view, he was a catch in every way. She had sighed over Elise's refusal for quite a while afterward.

Elise lowered her eyes. Mu's expression hadn't changed when they looked at each other; after two seconds, he'd turned back to his conversation with the middle-aged men.

She had worried for days that she had hurt him. Now he seemed all right.

When it was their class's turn to board, she glanced toward the restaurant once more. The Maybach was gone.

The drive to the neighboring city took more than two hours. Her brothers had suggested letting Ethan take her there, but Elise had refused at once. Everyone else in her class was going by bus. Arriving alone in a luxury car with a driver would have been ridiculous.

She put the encounter with Mu out of her mind. Buildings thinned as the bus headed toward the countryside, and the road grew rougher. On a winding stretch through the hills, the jolting made several students carsick. Elise hadn't ridden a bus in a long time, and her face had gone pale too.

“Isn't Elise's family rich?” someone whispered. “Why is she on the bus?”

“That's what I was wondering. Her brothers spoil her so much. Why would they let her suffer through this?”

“Maybe those stories were just rumors.”

“If I were her, I'd have taken a fancy car.”

“Are the Whitmores really as rich as people say? She seems just like the rest of us.”

“So much for the rich young lady.”

Nora had just passed motion-sickness medicine to Claire in the seat ahead. She shot the speakers a glare, and they fell quiet.

Then Nora turned back. “Are you feeling sick too?”

“A little.” Elise accepted the medicine Nora offered, swallowed it, and opened the window a crack. “Some fresh air should help.”

She'd heard the whispers. At school she kept a low profile, even asking Ethan to use the side gate when he picked her up. Only Nora, who was close to her, knew the details. The others knew her family had money, but Elise never put on airs, and after a while some had begun to doubt what they'd heard.

The worst of the rough road was only one stretch, and the students could have endured it. Then the driver braked abruptly. Smoke was rising from the hood.

He climbed out and worked at the engine until sweat ran down his face, but the bus wouldn't start again. Ms. Parker had already been worried about the sick students. When she saw the driver struggling without success, she planted her hands on her hips.

“Wasn't the bus checked before we left? What are we supposed to do now?”

Villages lay scattered around them, but the other buses were nowhere in sight. The driver wiped at his oil-streaked face.

“It won't run. I'll call for a tow. Ask the other drivers if they have seats and see if you can get your students on their buses.”

“They were all full. Where am I supposed to find seats?”

While the two argued, the students began talking among themselves. The stop had eased Elise's nausea a little.

“What happened?” she asked.

“The bus broke down,” Nora said.

The class erupted.

“How are we going to get to camp? The other classes must be nearly there.”

“Can't we call a car?”

“Out here? Where would we find one?”

“Even if another bus has a few seats, it can't fit all of us.”

Elise frowned too. There was nothing to do but wait for Ms. Parker and the driver to work something out.

Her phone vibrated. Adrian had created a group chat for the siblings and named it Ellie and Her Brothers. Elise had changed it, over their objections, to One Big Happy Family. It was a little corny, but she liked it.

Julian: Where are you, Ellie?

Elise sighed and sent her location.

Elise: The bus broke down. We're stuck for now.

Julian: ...

Adrian: What kind of bus breaks down on a trip like that?

Miles: I'll come back for you.

Miles was in the same grade but a different class. His bus had left before hers and was probably a long way ahead by now.

Elise: Don't! You can't do anything if you come back.

Miles: I'll ask my teacher to turn the bus around and pick you up. We're on good terms.

Elise: No. What about everyone else if you only pick me up? Your bus is full anyway.

Elise: Please don't make things more complicated.

She nearly put a hand to her forehead. She knew her fourth brother doted on her, but he could be reckless about it. She didn't want to be treated differently from the rest of her class.

Theo: How many people are in your class?

Elise: ...Fifty.

A bad feeling crept over her.

Elise: Why? What are you going to do?

Theo: @Julian

Julian: .

Elise: ?

Julian: Ellie, I'll call you in a moment. Give the phone to your teacher.

His call came before she could make sense of the exchange. She sat holding the phone for a moment, then remembered what he'd said and got up.

“Elise, where are you going?” Nora called after her.

Outside, Ms. Parker was sweating and anxious. The bus had broken down in the middle of nowhere; she couldn't find a ride nearby, and even if the other buses came back, they had no room. As the class's teacher, she was responsible for getting all her students safely to the campsite. At the moment, she had no idea how.

Elise held out the phone. Ms. Parker looked at it in confusion.

“What is it?”

“I think my brother wants to speak to you.”

A parent calling now? Ms. Parker hardly had time to deal with one. Still, she took the phone and kept her voice under control. “Hello?”

Elise couldn't hear what Julian said. She watched Ms. Parker's expression shift from uncertainty to disbelief, then to delight.

“Thank you so much! Yes, yes, we'll wait right here. That's the address.”

She hung up with a long breath. Relief had brought a smile to her face that she couldn't hide. She patted Elise on the shoulder twice, too overcome to find the words she wanted.

“Good girl! Oh, wonderful!”

Elise stared at her, bewildered.

When she returned to her seat, classmates crowded around her.

“What did you say? Why is Ms. Parker so happy?”

“I don't know...” Elise really didn't. Her head was still a little cloudy from the ride. As the dizziness eased, she finally guessed what her brothers had done. Julian must have sent a vehicle to take them to camp. Renting a bus would be easy for him.

Half an hour later, a long line of cars appeared in the distance, and her smile slowly froze.

Her dream of keeping a low profile was finished.

More than a dozen black, stretched Rolls-Royces were approaching at a leisurely pace. Ethan was driving the first one.

Ms. Parker's mouth fell open.

On the phone, Julian had been polite and modest. He'd said he knew their class was stranded and happened to have some spare vehicles available to take them to the campsite. She had accepted at once. With fifty students, surely he would send a bus; it would be the easiest solution. A bus was hardly beyond the means of the Whitmores, and Julian was simply looking after his sister.

But where was the bus? What were all those stretched Rolls-Royces doing here?

Students leaned out of the windows.

“Where did that convoy come from? Is there a car show somewhere?”

“Maybe they're from a rental company. A wedding, perhaps.”

They watched to see where the cars would go. The line drew closer, then stopped beside their bus. Conversation died. The students looked at one another.

Elise met Nora's eyes and gave her a strained smile. With a resigned sigh, she got off the bus.

Ethan directed the cars into place, stepped out, and approached her with a respectful dip of his head.

“Miss Elise, Mr. Whitmore arranged the lead car for you. Miss Ellis can ride with you. There are snacks, drinks, and afternoon refreshments inside. The other cars should have enough room for your classmates.”

Elise looked down the line of stretched Rolls-Royces. “Are these all Julian's? I haven't seen them in the garage.”

“They're business vehicles Mr. Whitmore keeps available. The company uses them sometimes.”

Ms. Parker finally recovered enough to come over. “Elise, are these the cars your brother sent to take us camping?”

She had never ridden in a stretched Rolls-Royce in her life, and this was how it was going to happen. She had known the Whitmores were wealthy, but seeing their wealth lined up in front of her was another matter. She looked at Elise with a complicated expression.