“I think you can interpret dreams however you want. That there is no set meaning, only what you make of them.”
“I do wish I were a bird.”
“Don’t we all.”
“It’s late,” I had said, pulling the phone away from my ear to check the time. “And it’s a school night.”
“Are you going to melt?”
“I might.”
But we didn’t hang up, and my eyes became heavy as he talked about a movie he’d watched the night before.
“You still there?” I remember him asking at one point.
“I’ll be here as long as you want me,” I said in my half-asleep state.
Now I inwardly groaned. Had I really said that? How had he responded? I couldn’t remember now. Had he laughed that warm chuckle of his? The one he did when he was amused? Or had he whispered something back? Words I couldn’t conjure up now.
I rolled out of bed and headed for the shower. Hopefully I hadn’t ruined anything. Seth really was my grounding force right now and I didn’t want things to get awkward because my crush was showing.
I shut off the shower and grabbed the towel hanging on the hook outside the curtain. That’s when I heard voices. My parents were fighting. It was the first time in weeks I’d heard that sound and my heart sank.
I snuck down the hall, wondering what they could possibly have to fight about.
“Have you seen his new place?” my mom was saying. “He thinks he has more money than he actually has.”
“He has a lot of money,” my dad said.
“But no way of making more right now. Does he think it’s going to magically replace itself? He needs to go to school or get a job. That’s how it works. I know some people in this house don’t understand that concept.”
“Are you talking about me? You don’t think I know how money works?”
“I often wonder. You’ve seemed to think we could survive without it for the last three years.”
“How long are we going to have this argument?”
“Until you get it.”
“I’m not the one who just quit my job.”
“Excuse me?” she asked.
He growled. “Let’s not get sidetracked. We’re talking about Beau. He needs to figure it out on his own. Stop treating him like a child. He’ll learn.”
“With you as his teacher?”
“I’m glad to know that money doesn’t erase bitterness,” my dad said.
“And it doesn’t erase laziness either.”
“I’m going to play golf. Am I allowed to do that? Or should I just sit here and read all day?”
“Is that what you think I do all day? You don’t appreciate me. I worked for years for us. And now I’m here at home working to make our house nice, to be here for our kids, and you still don’t appreciate me.”
He let out a heavy sigh, and then Dad was walking my way. I could hear his angry footsteps on the tile. I quickly backtracked and shut myself behind my bedroom door.
I sat down on my bed. The door slammed down the hall, startling me. It was just one fight. Couples were allowed to fight. It didn’t mean that everything would come crumbling down. But it felt that way.
As I headed to class I noticed Blaire and Elise in a tight huddle around Blaire’s locker. I stopped and waited for a moment, but they remained, talking quietly with each other, deep in conversation, like they’d been that way for hours.
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, trying to decide if I wanted to go up the aisle and see what was causing so much intensity. My decision was made for me when Elise glanced up and met my eyes.
I smiled and lifted my hand in a wave, which hung there, only half committed, when she looked back to Blaire and said something. Blaire turned around, a guilty expression on her face. Had they been discussing me? It was the only explanation for this reaction.
“Hi,” I said, feeling more than awkward. I forced myself to walk toward them. “What are you guys doing? Did you meet here before school without me?” I’d said it as a joke, to try to lessen the tension, but the way they exchanged a glance made me realize they had.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I was just filling Elise in on the article,” Blaire explained.
“Oh.” I hadn’t decided who I was going to tell and who I wasn’t, but Elise was definitely one of the ones I was. “Okay.” I still didn’t understand why this had required a special early meeting. Or why I wasn’t included in said meeting.
“We know who talked to the journalist,” Blaire said.
My heartbeat ramped up. “You do? Who?”
“Trina,” Blaire said.
“What? Why do you think that?”
“It makes the most sense,” Blaire replied. “She’s been nosing into your life since the second she found out you won the lottery. It stands to reason that she would be gathering information to use to her benefit.”
My eyes shot from Blaire to Elise, who shrugged, then avoided my gaze by kicking at a rock by her foot. I had thought they were going to give me solid proof, but this was just conjecture.
I sighed. “I mean, I guess it could’ve been her, but it really could’ve been anybody, right? I don’t think that’s enough proof to accuse her of anything.”
Blaire threw her hands in the air. “She’s the only one with any motivation.”
“And what motivation is that?”
“She’s sinister. She thought you were getting too much attention or were going to dethrone her or something.”
“I think whoever did this was motivated by money. They were probably paid. And money could be a motivation for anyone,” I said. “What do you think, Elise?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I guess.”
“Why are you defending Trina?” Blaire asked me.
“Because she’s been nice to me and I don’t want to jump to conclusions based on speculation.”
“You don’t trust our opinions?” Blaire asked.
“It’s not that at all. It’s just that anyone could’ve done it. For all I know, one of you did it.”
Blaire’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“I’m not saying that you did; I’m just saying we have no proof.”
“You’re changing, Maddie,” Blaire said.
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What? How?”
“Ever since you won the lottery it’s like you don’t care about the things you used to. You got a C on your history quiz.”
“I did?” She’d obviously graded it for Mr. Stovall. But she couldn’t wait for me to find that out on my own? It was the first C I’d ever gotten in my life and it hit me like a punch to the gut. “It should be okay,” I covered quickly. “It’s only a small part of the grade. My other scores will help me maintain an A.” I hoped that was the truth.
“You would have never been okay with a C before,” Elise said.
“I’m not okay with it now. But there’s not much I can do about it. I’m trying to make myself feel better.” Tears were threatening and I did not want my emotions to take over this conversation.
“We’re just saying, we want the old Maddie back,” Blaire said. “The one who knew who her friends were and had her eye on her goal.”
“I thought I still was that Maddie. I’m not trying to act different. People around me are treating me differently now that I’m rich.”
“Don’t pay attention to them,” Elise said.
“I’m talking about you,” I said quietly. “Both of you.”
Blaire looked hurt. Her eyes were just as shiny as mine felt. “We just don’t want to see Trina take advantage of you. Your new financial status and need to be popular are going to end up hurting you.”
“My need to be popular?” I asked, shocked. “I don’t have that need.”
“But you’re reveling in it, hanging out with Trina and her friends. You seem to love all the attention you’re getting at school.”