Page 19 of Built to Fall
“So… how long is this football game, exactly?” Eden asks, squinting up at the scoreboard.
The time begins ticking as the opposing team kicks off, giving us the ball.
“Haven’t you been to a football game before?”
She simply shrugs. “I never stayed the entire time.”
So, for almost the entirety of the first half, Kara and I take turns explaining the premise of football to Eden and whatever rules the two of us understand.
I like learning things and understanding rules, so for me, that’s almost all of them, but I stick to the basics for her benefit.
It’s only during halftime that I notice how long Meredith has been absent from where she was sitting next to us. I glance around the suite and spot her in the lounge area behind us, standing near the tall cocktail table with three girls I’ve never seen before.
The first thing I notice is the bright platinum blonde hair of the one standing closest to Meredith. She’s seriously stunning, and it doesn’t take more than one glance for me to be completely absorbed in her allure.
The four of them together look like they belong here. Meredith, with her sleek ponytail and navy cashmere sweater tucked into tailored jeans, and then the other three girls who are dressed to the nines in luxury branded navy and white outfits.
“Who are they?” I ask, nudging Kara.
Kara cranes her neck to look. “Oh, that’s Savannah, and her two friends, Kenzie and Delaney.”
Eden looks up, mid-sip from her water bottle. “SavannahSinclair,” she then emphasizes.
“Braxton’s twin sister?”The one who’s hooking up with Grant.
Kara turns to me like I’ve asked what a touchdown is. “Savannah is more than Braxton’s sister. She’s a pretty big deal.”
“She introduced the governor at last year’s gala, and she runs Yale’s fashion network,” Eden says, like that clears it up. “And her family’s, like,old money New York.It sounds super cliche, but she’scampus royalty.”
“Not to mention,” Kara adds, “she practically runs Tri Delta. Even though she’s technically not president, she’s the reason they had more recruits this year than they’ve ever had before.”
I look back at the group. Savannah is talking animatedly with her hands while Meredith stands with her arms crossed lightly, nodding along. She looks nice enough.
“So, is she some kind of socialite priss?” I ask, confused.
Meredith is the least social out of all of us. Yes, maybe she’s putting up an act for Braxton’s sister, but I doubt she’d do that. From what I’m seeing, Meredith seems to like Savannah’s company.
“No, no, no,” Eden quickly rebukes. “She’s actually very nice—a ten-out-of-ten, friendly socialite.”
“Everyone’s simply entranced by her. They try to make her out to be some kind of ice queen, when in reality, it’s only because they’re mostly jealous of her,” Kara adds.
“Okay, seriously, this sounds like we’re talking about Regina George.” I chuckle, pushing a strand of hair out of my face.
Except, I can see it. A majority of people hate when they can’t immediately pick out a flaw in someone, so instead, they make up reasons to dislike them anyway.
Savannah is easy to envy.
“You’d actually like her a lot.” Eden nods theatrically. “We should go say hi!”
I glance back at Meredith. She’s still standing there, looking calm and completely at ease with the group. That alone says a lot. Meredith doesn’t hang out with anyone; she’s more often rigid, keeping to herself.
“Maybe,” I say slowly, not quite convinced, but also curious enough to want to see how this plays out.
Kara’s already heading toward them, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Eden follows, dragging me along with a hopeful grin.
As we get closer, Savannah catches sight of us and smiles. It’s warm and genuine, nothing rehearsed or cold. She steps forward, offering her hand first to Kara, then to the rest of us.
“Kara, nice to see you,” she says smoothly. “Glad you could make it.”
