Page 14 of Hidden Lies

“Whoa, careful,” Devan said. I’d been holding a bowl of ice water ready for our heated flask, and he pulled it out of my grasp and set it down on the lab bench. “You just soaked your sleeve. Here, let me—”

He took my sleeve and squeezed the freezing water out into the sink set into our table, but when he started to roll the sleeve up, pulling the drenched fabric away from my skin, I yanked my arm out of his grasp with a gasp.

I tugged the fabric down over my forearm, but a quick glance up at his face told me I was too late. His eyes were still on my arm.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, and I knew he wasn’t asking about the water. He’d only gotten a glimpse, but the burn scars were hard to miss.

“I’m fine,” I said shortly, coldly, and he let it drop.

We finished the lab together in silence, filtering the crystals we’d created and washing them with cold water before setting them out to air dry overnight for the second half of the lab.

Devan went back to his original role as the model lab partner, but I didn’t miss the glances he cast my way, and I sighed as I helped clean up our workspace. Maybe Nora and Frank had been right—I should stay away from these three guys. More to the point, I should probably stay away from everyone.

8

“So, officially, how was your first week? What do you think of this place so far?” Nora’s words were slurred as she spoke through the gigantic bite of ice cream she’d shoveled into her mouth.

Julie made a gagging sound from the far end of the couch. “Oh my God, Nora, were you raised in a barn?”

Frank chuckled, but Nora ignored them both, training her expectant gaze on me.

“Well, I survived,” I said, which was technically true.

I’d made it through, and we’d all decided to celebrate the end of the first week of classes by raiding the dessert bar at the dining hall. We were in our suite, surrounded by an ungodly amount of sweets that were proving to be no match against the appetites of four teenage girls.

“That bad, huh?” Frank asked around a bite of cheesecake.

I shrugged. “I mean, I guess not. It was more or less what I expected.”

Nora cackled at that. “So, a bunch of rich, entitled pricks, huh?”

I tried unsuccessfully to hide my smile. “You said it, not me.”

“So, who were the worst offenders?” Frank prompted.

I didn’t have to think too hard about that. The worst offender by far was Drew, but I didn’t think it wise to sit here and insult Julie’s boyfriend, so I stalled with a bite of a chocolate truffle as I thought it over.

“Well, there’s a girl in a few of my classes—strawberry blond hair, freckles?”

“Ah, Virginia Behrendt,” Nora put in.

“Well, she straight up asked me on the second day of classes how much money I was worth.”

Nora snickered, but two other blank gazes met mine.

I rolled my eyes. “You guys know that’s not a normal question, right?”

Julie shrugged.

“What else,” I mused. “Oh—my pre-calc teacher told us that anyone who got an A in his class could expect him to write a recommendation to the Ivy League school of their choice. And he implied that would be all it would take to get in.”

Frank nodded sagely. “Professor James. He’s not bluffing. You want that A if you can get it.”

My face must have revealed my shock, because she laughed, swinging her braids back over her shoulder. “Lost Lake is no joke. Why do you think we’ve got everything from president’s kids to mafia kids to the kids of CEOs, rock stars, and ambassadors running around this place? The students here have plans, and a Lost Lake diploma and the right recommendation can get you there.”

“What are your plans then?” I asked them.

“Politics,” Frank answered without pause. “Senator, president, I’m not picky.”

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