Page 19 of New Year

“That’sNate Swift.”

I’ve learned that when people around here don’t give an explanation but pause meaningfully after dropping a name, that it’s someone important, but it doesn’t help me be any less lost.

“And?”

“His mom’s a founding heir, and his dad’s a doctor,” she says. “And yes, he got a perfect score on the ACTandthe SATs. Plus, he’s like, a coding genius. I heard he hacked into the school’s system and changed all his grades to a hundred percent, and no matter what the tech guys do, it always reverts back automatically. He doesn’t even have to hack in and change them again.”

“Okay, but if he’s so smart, why doesn’t he just ace all his classes?”

“Oh, I’m sure he does,” she says, pushing open the door to the gym. “He just wants everyone to know how clever he is.”

“Like a serial killer,” I mutter, remembering the rage I saw vibrating through him. Seems like a weird choice of friend for Oliver, but then, I’m chasing down Elaine, so I can’t really talk.

“Oh, look,” she drawls when we step into the closet where she’s dragging out tumbling mats for the cheer squad to practice on. “My knight in shining armor, here to rescue me. I always thought you looked a little manly, Daria. It’s the square jaw. Maybe the mustache. And… Whatever you are.” She gives me a dismissive look and grabs another mat, hauling it from the supply closet.

“I’m not here to rescue you,” Daria says, crossing her arms. “I’m here to yell at you. First off, you know the rules. We don’t fuck with Nate. And secondly, you basically said Lindsey should kill herself. You better apologize.”

“I didn’t say that,” Elaine snaps.

“You said if you were related to him, you’d kill yourself.”

“Wait, Lindsey’srelated to that weirdo?” I ask.

“See, she agrees with me,” Elaine says. “He’s a freak who needs to be locked up. I don’t see why he’s even allowed to go here after he hacked into the mainframe. He shouldn’t be exempt from the consequences of his actions with girls too. He threw me on the floor! I should file assault charges.”

“You sat in his lap,” Daria points out. “That’s at least sexual harassment.”

“Fine,” Elaine says, planting her hands on her hips. “I’ll apologize to Lindsey. But that’s not what I meant about being related. I meant because our parents used to date. If my dad had married his mom…”

“Then you’d be a founding heir,” Daria points out. “And also kinda incest.”

Elaine glares.

“So that’s why you hate him?” I ask. “Because his mom dumped your dad?”

“No, I hate him because he’s a creep,” she says, glowering at me. “And my dad’s the one who dumped her because he found someone better—my mom, who was smart enough to go to the same college as Lindsey’s mom, and rush the same sorority, so they became best friends when they were homesick and reminiscing about Faulkner. His mom’s so dumb she married a nobody when she could have had any guy in town.”

“Isn’t his dad a doctor?” I ask, glancing at Daria.

“Yeah,” Elaine says scornfully. “Doctor Nobody.”

“I still don’t get how he’s related to Lindsey.”

“Their moms are cousins,” Daria explains. “They’re both founding daughters, and her dad’s obviously a founding son, which makes her, like, double royalty.”

“Nate doesn’t even have a founding family name,” Elaine says with a sneer. “The fact that people still call that creepy littlefreak a founding heir just goes to show that title has no meaning anymore.”

I have a million more questions, like why he goes to school here with Lindsey instead of Willow Heights, and if their families are estranged and that’s why they’re not supposed to talk, but the bell rings, and I have a pop quiz, so I have to go to class.

I reconsider the lunch scene as I listen to the teacher drone on after our quiz. Maybe it’s the fact that Elaine hates him so much that makes me think maybe he’s not so bad—the enemy of my enemy is my friend after all—or maybe the fact that he’s Lindsey’s distant cousin. Sure, he looks like a nerd because he had a laptop out at lunch and he wears glasses, but that computer was new and top of the line, and when I think back on it, he was wearing a Ralph Lauren polo shirt and designer jeans. Plus, he passed Oliver’s morality test, so he must not be a horrible person. More important than all that, he threw Elaine on her ass in front of half the school, and that fact alone makes me decide he must be okay.

Of course I won’t do anything about it, since I’m in Lindsey’s group, and he clearly isn’t a fan. But at least I decide not to judge him anymore until I have further proof of what kind of person he is.

seven

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