Page 10 of Feel Free to Scream

“Seriously?” I gape. “I lived, like, two hours away.”

It’s wild we both find ourselves on the other side of the country.

"I guess they must have done it on purpose, figuring I could show you the ropes.” Lily beams. “As I said, my friends are pretty nerdy, but it sounds like you’ll fit right in. There’s a concert tomorrow, if you want to come?”

“Sure!” I reply immediately, even knowing tomorrow’s Sunday.

College starts the next day; I didn’t plan on doing much, to try to rest, but I’m certainly not passing on the opportunity to meet new people.

"Hey,” I find myself saying, retrieving the two cards in my wallet. “I got an invitation to a house party tonight. Fancy coming with me?”

I don’t know why I do it. I had actually decided not to go. Keller is too attractive, talking to him is too easy when he’s a stranger, and IknowNoah would hate the fact that I accepted an invitation from a guy. If he knew the guy happened to be the one who gave me the overpriced notebook, plus a huge gift card, his head would literally explode. My plan was staying at home.

But surely, going with afriendisn’t the same as showing up alone. Accepting a guy’s invitation alone is an opening. A bit like a date. I wouldn’t do that. I’m not that kind of girl. But turning up with Lily is innocent. Besides, Keller was just being nice to extend the invite. He saw I was new, friendless, and took pity on me, that’s all.

I make myself ignore the look I caught as I entered the library. The intense, steely stare, without a smile, without a word.

Lily gasps out loud. "Seriously?” She’s almost screaming. “Dude,three dayshere and you got a house card from the fucking wyverns? That's insane.I didn’t get one in a freakingyear!”

I flush. “Oh. I didn’t know. I mean, Keller just said it was his cousin’s house…” I trail off.

“Keller?” she repeats, her voice an octave higher. “You got invited byKeller? Wait, which one?”

I remember him saying there were two other Kellers.

“Darius,” I say.

This only makes Lily stare at me wordlessly.

“I didn’t realize it was a big deal?” I’m a little embarrassed somehow.

“Fuck. Okay, let me explain. I forgot you’re new.” She abandons her clothes and sits on her bed, so I do the same, hopping onto mine. “I said only about ten percent of Rothford is local, right? Well, most ofthemhave been admitted, not because of a pristine transcript like you and I, but because their parents, and grandparents, and great-grandparents studied here. Local rich families founded the school for their kids, and still sit on the board. The legacies are a shoo-in.”

I roll my eyes, nose wrinkled in distaste. “Isn’t that the same everywhere?”

“True. Well, as you can imagine, the spawns of the Archers, and Hunts, and Montgomerys, and Goltzes, and yes,Kellers, certainly aren’t about to share communal dorms with the rabble. So, instead, they built fancy houses on their private lane. What you have here,” she tells me, eyeing the cards on my lap, “are invites to the wyverns, one of the fanciest houses. When you said Keller, I assumed you meant the wyvern cousin. He’s a bit of a wildcard. He plays hockey, actually—badly, from what I’ve seen—and is sort of approachable. Then, there’s Sebastian Keller, who was the head of the Vesper House last year. He passed the bar, and has started working for a big firm in town, but he was pretty chill. Almost human.” She chuckles. “DariusKeller? That guy’s agod, and he knows it. Heneverhangs out with us mortals. I haven’t seen him at any party, concert, or club in southie. He stays with other legacies.”

I can’t deny that was exactly my initial impression of the man. Like he didn’t exist on the same plane as me.

“I mean, it’s pretty normal,” Lily reasons. “Hisdad is a top model, and he’s also been a celebrity for most of his life—nothing huge, but he has a bit of a fan club. It’s not surprising he keeps his circle small. There are some crazies out there. But yeah, all that to say, it’s pretty wild you got that fromhim.”

I can only bob my head. “Maybe I shouldn’t go.”

“Are you kidding? We are absolutely not missing this. It'll be awesome to see them get drunk and ridiculous. Plus, free booze.”

“I don’t really drink,” I argue.

That’s not quite true. I haven’t made the conscious decision to not drink, I’ve just never had an opportunity to do it before.

“Well, I drink enough for both of us, so you can be the DD. Except, it’s thirty minutes’ walk, max, so no point waking up my old, tired car for the trip. All right, what are you wearing?”

Shit.

I have literally nothing fit for a young crowd’s party. A church group’s luncheon, sure.

I look through my wardrobe, far sparser than Lily’s, and find various versions of the simple A-line skater dress I’m wearing, in beige, and pink, and baby blue, and cream. There are a few knee-length skirts and blouses, not unlike the one Lily has on.

My roommate joins me, clearly sensing my despair as I riffle through the selection a second time. “Sorry, I—” I bite my lower lip. “My grandma shops for me, most of the time. I mean, it’s her money.”

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