Heath didn’t live in the West End of town anymore, however, he still referred to him as part of the Havenot crowd.
While Ed and I both came from money. Ergo, we were the Snobs. Another name I detested.
Labels, in general, were not my thing.
Still, it had been my mother who had helped to write and pass legislation that set up government grants for college scholarships for children whose parents were victims of the opioid crisis.
Heath had already qualified academically. While he never put in the work to compete for Top Academic, he always tested off the charts.
All he had to do was pick a state school where he wanted to go.
For that matter, so did I. Everyone assumed that I was going to be Princeton, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to follow in my mother’s footsteps. Not when they were as large as hers. Not when I knew what her future might hold.
“Everybody needs to stop with the Princeton shit,” I said firmly. “It’s like a given I’m going to go there when that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m exploring all my options.”
Ed raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You’re going to tell your mother no?”
“Mom doesn’t care where I go. She just wants me and Gigi to be happy.”
“Exactly. She’s like the world’s best mother. Which is why you would never do anything to disappoint her. Which is why you’re going to Princeton,” Ed said. “Sorry, I won’t be joining you, but I’ve already downloaded my application to Stanford.”
Stanford, which was on the other side of the country. As far away as Ed could manage.
“Hoping if you’re all the way in California, you can finally shake off Bee?” Heath asked with a half laugh.
Ed, however, wasn’t laughing. “Shut your mouth, Heath. Or I’ll shut it for you.”
Bee, Ed’s sort of girlfriend, sort of ex-girlfriend, was always a sensitive topic. Heath should have known better than to bring her up. Bee had also been a resident at Thornfield Home, until being placed with the Etheredges. I’d always thought Heath was protective of Bee, more so than the other kids he’d been with at Thornfield. But when word got out about what she’d done this summer, it was like he couldn’t care less about her anymore.
Still, I was curious about her situation.
“Is she coming back to school this year?”
Ed shook his head tightly. “No. Mrs. Etheredge doesn’t think she’s ready to handle school. She’s going to continue to homeschool her.”
I winced.Notreadywas code for still not mentally fit. It was pretty much the worst kept secret in school that Bee had attempted suicide this summer after Ed had tried to break up with her. That she still hadn’t recovered enough to come back either meant she was too embarrassed or too unstable. I hoped for the former, but I was guessing it was the latter.
After all, it had been Bee’s crazy obsession with Ed that had made him want to break up with her in the first place.
Now he was stuck, and everyone knew why.
“Don’t look at me that way,” he barked at me.
“I’m not,” I insisted.
“You are. You’re looking at me like I’m the guy who’s never going to get laid again because I did it one time and my girlfriend fucking freaked out.”
Heath laughed darkly. “Ed, that’s the way everyone in this school looks at you now.”
“Screw you both,” he said, standing and walking off.
“Hey, watch it.”
In his snit and sudden departure, Ed hadn’t seen another member of our class walking between the tables with a tray, who he’d almost bumped into.
I looked up and frowned at the newcomer.
“Wick,” I nodded politely.
