Page 2 of Wild Elite

The walls were lined with priceless artwork, and I had a feeling that I might be indebted to the Van der Veers for life if I so much as accidentally bumped into something. There was no way I could afford even the smallest thing in this house… and yet, somehow, the last time I stepped into a party at a mansion just like this one, I’d well and truly paid for it anyway.

“Katie! You came!” Willa’s smooth voice sounded from our right. We turned to smile at her as she headed toward us, champagne glass in her left hand. She waved at a dark-haired woman in a maid’s uniform, gesturing for her to take our coats.

She was wearing a clingy cobalt blue dress with a sweetheart neckline, and a matching mask dangled from her right wrist. She looked gorgeous, as always, and her tastefully-applied makeup, sparkling diamond jewelry, and statuesque body made her look a lot older than her true age of eighteen. She looked more like a twenty-five year old supermodel, not a high school student. As lovely as she was, I’d always been intimidated by her flawlessness and sophisticated nature.

Her perfectly-arched brows rose slightly as she looked at me. “Tatum, wow... I wasn’t sure you’d come. But I’m so glad you did. It’s been so long!” She leaned down and hugged me, her cloying perfume lingering in the air around us. “Will you be okay?” she added softly.

I smiled tightly as she drew back. “I hope so.”

She waved her hand in the general direction of a room beyond the stairs, through a double door with a carved wooden arch above it. The loud music from earlier seemed to be coming from there. “Don’t worry, seriously. Everyone is on your side, and besides, it’s all old news by now. There’s a new scandal every five minutes in this world.”

Katie poked me. “See? I told you.”

“Thanks, Willa,” I said, my smile more relaxed now. Katie was right earlier; this party could be good for me, even though I was so nervous right now.

Willa slipped her mask off her wrist and put it back on. “What do you think?” she asked, flicking her free hand outward in a ‘ta-da!’ motion.

“It looks amazing,” Katie gushed, putting her own mask back on. I did the same with mine: a black domino mask with lacy details. It made my forehead a bit itchy, but it felt like the right thing to do. After all, it was meant to be a masquerade party. I also liked the idea of being fairly anonymous with the mask on. It was a good way to mingle and get used to being at social events again without feeling as if I’d been dropped directly in the deep end.

“Your masks are great too. But you don’t have to wear them all night, obviously,” Willa said, leading us to the double doors. “Most people have already taken theirs off. It was a fun idea, though,” she went on, sighing with a regretful air. “Anyway, I heard from your mom that you’re going to France next year?”

Katie nodded. “I’m taking a gap year in France as soon as senior year is over. The Gagne side of my family is from Metz, so that’s where I’ll be staying.”

“That’s so exciting! You’ll love France, especially in the summer,” Willa said as we stepped into the main party room. It stretched all the way to the back of the house and featured enormous windows which looked out over a shimmering, moonlit lake.

Throngs of beautifully-dressed people stood around in suits and gowns which probably cost more than my dad’s car. Some guests were masked and some were bare-faced. Everyone seemed impossibly gorgeous and chic, as if being born into wealth made them naturally more attractive than someone from a lower-middle class background like me. I knew a lot of that perception stemmed from my own insecurities, but still, it was hard to dismiss that sinking sensation of not being good enough.

I felt far too young and out of place, even though it was Willa’s party, which meant the guests ranged from eighteen—our age—to their mid-twenties. Everyone here just seemed so much more worldly and mature than that, despite their youthfully glowing skin and lithe bodies. I guess all the travel and other opportunities they were afforded from a young age helped with that.

Willa grabbed two glasses of champagne from a nearby tray and handed them to us. “Here you go,” she said before taking a sip of her own. “And what about you, Tatum? What are your plans after senior year?”

Before I could reply, Katie jumped in. “She got early acceptance to Roden!” she squealed. “With a full scholarship!”

Willa’s eyebrows rose. “Holy shit. Roden?”

I nodded, a blush warming my cheeks. Roden University was one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges in the States, and it was also a top member of the Ivy League. It beat out Harvard and Princeton in the rankings almost every year, along with all the other Ivies. Situated in New Marwick, right here on the Gold Coast of Connecticut, it was simultaneously known as the best college in the country and a seething hive of old-money WASP snobbery.

I wasn’t looking forward to the snobbery—if those rumors were even true—but I was looking forward to the amazing education I would receive. Even after all the hardships I’d faced, especially over the last year or so, I’d put my nose to the grindstone and worked my ass off in school, and now I was finally reaping the benefits.

“Yes. I’m going there for a campus tour next week,” I said.

Willa’s eyes were still wide. “That’s so cool! I don’t know anyone who got early acceptance there, and I know a lot of people try. Me included, and I’m a freaking legacy.” She clinked her glass against mine. “Good job! You deserve it.”

I smiled warmly. “Thank you. I’m sure you’ll get in too.”

“Thanks! I hope so.” She craned her neck and peered back through the doors we’d just come through. “Shit. My brother’s stupid friends just showed up. I told him I don’t want them here tonight!” she huffed.

For the first time, she actually seemed like a teenager, and Katie caught my eye and grinned as if to say: See? They really are just like us.

“Ugh… sorry, you’ll have to excuse me,” Willa went on, rolling her eyes.

She strode away. Katie looked at me again. “How are you feeling?”

I nodded slowly and lifted my mask onto my head so I could scratch my face. The lacy details were making the skin around my eyes itch like mad. “Good. It’s such a nice place.”

“I know, right? I’d chew off my own arm to live somewhere like this.” Katie sighed. “Who knows, maybe I’ll meet some super rich guy tonight, and he’ll fall in love with me and whisk me away.”

I giggled. “That’d be nice, although I have a feeling guys our age are more interested in trying to whisk us into bed, not marriage and a mansion.”

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