A frustrated sigh had me looking up to see who I’d run into. Trina Saunders. The Ms. Popular party-thrower herself. She held a soda that was now dripping down the front of her shirt.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
I expected her to say something snarky but instead she shook her head.
“No, it’s fine. I wasn’t looking. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. My phone? Not so much.” I held it up.
“That sucks.”
I pointed to her shirt. “That sucks.”
“Yeah. I think I have another shirt in my car … ” She trailed off and I realized she was searching her brain for my name.
My name did not exist in her brain. I did not hang in any of the circles she did. Not the student council circle or the fancy car circle or the sporty girls with perfect hair one. Definitely not that circle.
“Madeleine. Maddie,” I filled in for her.
“Maddie, did your phone break?” she asked.
I looked down at the phone. “Yes. It’s my own fault for texting and walking. Thousands of people end up in the emergency room every year from text walking, I should know better.”
She laughed, then stopped. “Wait, are you being serious?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I like to learn stupid facts and apparently tell them to innocent people who probably just want to leave.”
Trina laughed again and I wasn’t sure if she was laughing at me or with me. “So, do you need to go to the emergency room?” she asked.
“No. I’m fine. Fine. Thank you for asking.” Now shut up and walk away, I told myself. I waved my broken phone at her and headed off.
I found Blaire in the library working on her laptop.
“Hey, winner,” she said, looking up and giving me a secretive grin.
I sunk into the chair next to her. “I’m so stupid.”
“Actually, you’re super smart. Almost top in your class.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re one percent better.”
“What happened?”
“I bumped into Trina and broke my cell phone and then I acted totally awkward.”
“Oh, you meant socially stupid. Yeah, you are. At least you constantly reaffirm what side of the Popular Fence you belong on.”
I smacked her arm. “Thanks, brat.”
“Well, I’m also one percent ahead of you in that area.”
I smiled and looked at her open laptop. “What are you working on?”
“Ugh. That paper Mrs. Avery assigned.”
My stomach dropped. “Oh no!” I’d meant to work on the paper last night but I’d been so exhausted from all the lottery excitement that I’d fallen asleep with all my lights on. “When is that due again?” I asked frantically.
“Tomorrow,” Blaire said, and I felt relieved. I could write the paper tonight.
My phone buzzed. It was a text from Elise. You all in the library?
Before I could even text back she was walking through the double doors.
“You told me not to eat or I’d regret it. Tell me that means you have food for me.”
“Oh, right! Food.” I pointed to the bag on the table. “I’m treating you all to the most delicious food this campus has to offer because, you know … I can now.”
Elise opened the bag and let out a long, happy sigh after taking a big whiff of the contents. “You are my hero.” She took out a sandwich and unwrapped it. “My super-rich hero. Like Batman. Or Tony Stark.”
I laughed.
“Trina broke Maddie’s cell phone,” Blaire said out of nowhere. “I think that proves she’s sinister, like I suspected.”
“What?” I said, pausing in the process of unwrapping my own sandwich. “She did not. I broke it myself. I was text walking. Trina was surprisingly nice about the whole thing. Even with soda dripping down her shirt.”
“You ruined her shirt?” Elise asked. “What kind of shirt? Do you think it was designer? She won’t want you to pay for a new one, will she?”
“It just looked like a regular shirt, I think. It had flowers on it or something.”
Elise’s eyes widened. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter if it was designer. You could afford to buy that now, Batman.”
“Not loving that nickname.”
“But you need one,” Elise said. “I’ll work on it.”
“And no, I don’t think Trina’s going to make me buy her a new shirt,” I added.
“What did she say?” Elise asked.
“She asked if I was okay.”
“Was she with her friends?”
“No, just her.”
Blaire made a face and pretended not to hear anything we’d just said. “Yes, she’s sinister. The villain to your superhero.” She looked at my phone, which I still held. “Don’t text and walk again. You’ll end up in the emergency room next time.”
I laughed and handed her a sandwich. I had the perfect friends for me.
It had been almost a week since I’d found out about my lottery win, but it felt like an entirely new world—especially at home. My parents laughed more than they fought. My brother went to bed at a decent hour and showed his face during the day. And on his face was a smile he hadn’t worn in years. The promise that in his near future he’d be completely debt-free did wonders for his mood. It probably also helped that when I bought myself a new cell phone, I had bought him one as well.
“You’re still going to the zoo today?” my brother asked as I came into the kitchen Saturday morning, my gray work shirt on.
I was still getting used to the sight of Beau wide-awake in the mornings. He was standing by the toaster waiting for a bagel to pop up.
“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked, opening the fridge for orange juice.
“Oh, I don’t know … because you’re a millionaire now and don’t need to earn money.”
The thought had occurred to me, but I wasn’t ready to give up the zoo yet. “I like the zoo,” I explained. “I want to go to the zoo. It’s fun. Besides, it’s the first Saturday in March so the weather is perfect.”
“The weather is pretty perfect on any given Saturday. We live in Southern California.”
“Don’t try to bring me down.”
Beau laughed. “I bet it would take a lot to bring you down these days.”
“True.”
He had his new phone out and was scrolling down the screen.
“What are you doing?”
His eyes lit up. “I’m looking at condos. I think I’m going to move out.”
“Move out? Into a condo?”
“Yeah, you know, moving out is that thing kids often do when they get older and want to start living their own lives.”
“No, yes, I mean that’s a great idea. I just thought you wanted to move into the dorms with your friends. Go back to college.”
“That was before I had money. Now I will go to college while living in an awesome condo. My friends can come to me. This will be the best.”
I smiled and my heart hummed in my chest. My brother was coming back. Who said that money couldn’t buy happiness? I needed to buy that person a thing or two so they’d understand.
When I got to the zoo and found Carol, she gave me my assignment.
“I’m going to have you clean the Farm today,” she said. The Farm was a big red barn surrounded by enclosed pens, where kids could come pet and feed goats, sheep, pigs, and more. It wasn’t my favorite thing to do at the zoo but, as Beau had said, not much could bring me down nowadays.
“Sounds good,” I said, and made my way to the Farm.
The Farm was in the midst of kiddie land. I passed the carousel on my left, its music light and bouncy as it spun a slow circle. On my right was the train ride where I could make out Louis prepping for its first trek around the zoo.
Seth was already at the Farm when I arrived, and I noticed two things right away. One, he held his video camera. Two, it was pointed at Rachel, who apparently was also working the Farm today.
She stood in the rabbit pen holding a handful of rabbit food. Several rabbits were eating from her palm.