Page 15 of The Big Easy & Other Lies
“About what happened in here earlier,” I started.
He glanced up. Gray. His eyes were light gray.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’m guessing you were tasting them for quality control.”
I swallowed. “Not exactly.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said before picking up a crostini. “I won’t snitch.”
I let out a breath, trying to control it so it didn’t whoosh out in a huge gust of relief. “Thank you.”
He nodded, and I turned to leave before I could say anything half-witted.
“Hey, what school do you go to?” he asked.
I turned back around. “LaSalle Prep.”
“Do you like it?”
“I like some of it,” I said. Was he trying to strike up conversation?
“What are the kids like? Cool?”
“Some of them,” I answered again, cautiously. If he was in Angelique’s house, he could be one of Angelique’s friends. Which was a shame because he was super hot, and the flashes of humor in his expression intrigued me.
His smile stretched bigger. “Wow. You’re informative.”
“You know Angelique, right? I’m sure she’d be glad to give you the dirt on LaSalle,” I said.And me,I added silently.She’ll tell you all about how I’m a swamp rat loser.She made a point of telling me often enough. In the nicest possible terms. That was how belles rolled.
“I’m looking for the real deal on LaSalle.” He popped the second crostini into his mouth and chewed a few times while he eyed me. “I’m pretty sure the version I got from Angelique isnotthe real deal. That’s why I asked you.”
And what didthatmean? Navigating the social currents at LaSalle meant mastering the art of subtext. Did I qualify as the real deal because in my current work clothes I was the flip side of Angelique’s buffed, polished, and waxed appearance?
“LaSalle’s okay,” I said. “It’s the only high school I’ve gone to, so I don’t have much to compare it to.”
“It’ll be my second school. I hope it’s better than my first,” he said, and a tiny crease marked his brow.
“You’re going to LaSalle?” I knew I sounded shocked, but I couldn’t help it. Most of us started there our freshman year and we rarely got any new transfers after tenth grade. A new student would ignite a gossip frenzy within ten minutes of enrolling.
His eyebrow rose at my tone. “Yeah, I start tomorrow, and you’re not giving me warm fuzzies.” He reached for the serving tray again and fished another hors d’oeuvre from the middle. “I didn’t realize I was hungry. Thanks for bringing these, uh...”
“Crostinis,” I said.
He cleared his throat. “No, I meant, what’s your name?”
My cheeks heated again. “I’m Cam.”
“I’m Rhett,” he said. “And yes, my mom is a fan of the movie.”
I smiled at that. Rhett Butler was the heartthrob our grandmas swooned over inGone With the Wind,a Southern favorite.“We have two Scarletts and three Taras in our senior class. Maybe you guys are destined to be friends.”
“As scary and mysterious as you’re making LaSalle sound, I guess if that’s how I have to make my friends, I’ll take it.” He took a deep breath. “Note to self: your only friends will haveGone With the Windnames.”
I hesitated. I didn’t make new friends. And I didn’t mean that it was hard to make them. I meant that I stuck with Bran and Livvie because they already knew everything about me. Dead mom, crazy great aunt, worn out copy ofTale of Tear Girl.I wasn’t looking to unload that information on anyone else. In May, I’d move the goofy tassel on my graduation cap from one side to the other, accept Livvie’s invitation to a celebration dinner because no family of my own would show up to take me out, and the next morning, I’d be on a plane to New York.
Yet this impulse to offer Rhett a word of advice suspiciously resembled a friendly gesture. The kind I avoided. But my mouth opened, and words came out anyway.
“LaSalle really is okay,” I said. “It depends on what you’re into and who you want to hang out with. Angelique is...well-established. Since you guys are friends, you should have no problem tomorrow.”
