Page 45 of Be Your Anything
She thinks she’s so clever.
She relished my hatred for that nickname, enjoyed how uncomfortable and upset it made me because I made the mistake of asking her to stop. It got me nowhere but more intensely mocked by Ellison and her flock of friends.
At most schools, there’s a line between popular and unpopular, if we’re to believe what we see on TV and in the movies.
At Roth Prep, that didn’t really exist. Instead, the line was drawn between types of wealth: old money versus new money.
The old money crowd is incredibly small, since the majority of the people who would find value in such a concept would never dare to leave the east coast, where old money truly reigns supreme.
My mother may have wanted me to spend time with Ellison growing up, but I already had a best friend. I had agroupof best friends, and I wasn’t going to change that just because the Roth family wanted the next generation to pursue connections in the vein of faux friendship.
This handful of clans—the Tillmans, the VanDiers, the Elrichs, and the Kellworths—are the people who see my connection to the Kennedy family as evidence of my social value, as an indicator of my worth.
I don’t ascribe to that perspective. Growing up, it all drove me insane. It doesn’t matter whether your wealth stems from the fact that your royally connected family crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower or because your dad created an app that started an empire.
Money is money is money.
But am I familiar with that perspective? Sure. It’s something my mother cares about, that’s for sure, as well as the majority of the Roth family. When I left for college, moving to an entirely new environment filled to the brim with these elite families? Holy shit was I schooled on the difference between old money and new.
It was my legacy name that got me into my sorority, as much as I don’t like to admit it. I saw dozens of new money daughters turned away, their experience with society and wealth not giving them enough history or roots to be considered an asset.
On the west coast, in a new money state, the emphasis on old money isn’t as high, the divide between the small faction of old money almost unnoticeable if you’re not aware of it—but it’s still there.
Out of all my friends, I’m the only old money girl.
Paige and Otto and Wyatt? Their family wealth comes from good investing, one or two generations of strong business decisions, and cutthroat politics.
Ji-Eun comes from old money, but it’s international, and youknowold money white families are some racist bitches.
Rebecka falls somewhere in the middle since she has some ties to the Vanderbilts, but for some reason there was a falling out and her family doesn’t associate with them anymore.
Lucas is the one anomaly. His family is wealthy, but his ‘value’ comes from celebrity. The minute you become famous, those oddball eccentricities become just a part of the special, desirable package.
Unfortunately for me—or I guessfortunately, depending on your perspective—The Roth Foundation is overflowing with old money. Nearly every employee and volunteer stems from a family that has historical connections to the Roths, Kennedys, Vanderbilts, or Rockefellers.
There are lots of horrible things about old money bitches, especially those like Ellison Marie Tillman. They wield access to money and power like a sword meant to cut others down, exacerbate any divide they can find, and try to put huge gaps between themselves and everyone around them.
But the worst is when their eyes fall on you as a target.
So, back on that fateful day in high school, when Ellison started calling me Ditzy Day after my horrible presentation, my irritation with her began to simmer. It has been a slow, steady bubbling beneath my skin, a constant companion whenever she’s near.
Having to work with her is probably the most torturous situation I’ve ever been in, and that includes the time I got stung by a jellyfish on my face when I was surfing with Lucas and Otto.
But today absolutely took the cake.
We were sitting in a meeting discussing the Pier-to-Pier Swim, an annual summer event that is just a few weeks away. The Roth Foundation is always a sponsor, especially since the man it was named after was friends with my grandfather.
I’m usually laser-focused in meetings, making sure my phone is face down on the table and on silent, not vibrate. It’s a policy my mother is pretty intense about and, being the dutiful rule-follower that I am, I always want to make sure I’m following the directions she has set for everyone to a T.
But I glanced briefly down at my phone to check the time and realized I had a text from Lucas.
Lucas: Busy tonight?
I must have grinned or something, because I heard my name and suddenly realized all eyes were on me.
“What?” I asked.
Ellison let out that little titter of a laugh I caught her practicing in the bathroom mirror one time during seventh grade.
