Page 13 of The Charade
Good.
I might be able to handle those.
"I'm from Ridgewater, New York," I said, unscrewing the lid of my water bottle and taking a quick sip to moisten my dry mouth. "And I'm a senior."
"Cool," Cambrielle said. "So you're not too far from home."
"Nope. It only took about four and a half hours to drive here." I set my water bottle back on my tray. "What about you guys? Where are you from?"
"We're actually from here," Cambrielle said. "Our estate is just on the other side of Eden Falls."
Estate.
As in, not just a house but a place with a big ol' plot of land and probably a castle to go along with it.
I swallowed, realizing that most people at this school probably grew up in places you didn't call home but rather "the estate," "the penthouse," or "the mansion."
Sure, in Ridgewater we had families like the Carmichaels, Perkins, and the Brooks who were wealthy, but their homes could still technically be called homes.
I was so out of my element here.
"I'm guessing you're day students then?" I asked, hoping my face didn't give away how out of place I felt.
"We are," Cambrielle said, "But it almost feels like we live here sometimes since we're here so much."
"Are you involved in extracurricular activities?" I asked.
She nodded. "I'm in the drama club with Nash. I'm not a spotlight hog like him and so I've mostly just been part of the crew, but I'm thinking about auditioning for a part in the winter musical this year."
"I'm not a spotlight hog," Nash said. Then tossing his head dramatically, he said, "It's not my fault that the crowd adores me."
I couldn't help but smile at the dynamic between these two. They were hilarious.
"Elyse was hoping to get involved in the drama program, so I'll have to tell her to talk to you two about it."
Nash seemed to perk up at my mention of my sister having similar interests. "I'd love to show her the ropes." And when he looked at my sister with sudden interest, I had a feeling she was going to be receiving a similarly warm welcome from him.
"I think warning her about Nash may be a better way to go." Cambrielle grinned as she glanced over to my sister who was in the middle of a conversation with Mack, Hunter, and Scarlett. "But it’ll be fun to have her join us. My best friend was in the drama club with me last year, but she transferred to a school in London. So, I'd love to have a new friend in there with me."
"I'm sure Elyse would love a friend in there, too. While I can be amazing when it comes to pretending to be my sister when we feel like tricking our mother, beyond that my acting skills die. I'm actually hoping to play basketball this winter."
You know, if I get the right grades.
"Basketball?" Nash pulled his attention from my sister at my mention of the sport. "If you're into basketball, you've sat at the right table. Mack, Carter, and Hunter are all on the boys’ team and Scarlett plays like a banshee on the girls’ team."
"Really?" I asked, though I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Mack was basically a giant and Carter was really tall, too.
"Yeah, they practice on the court at our house all the time," Nash said. "I'll be too busy with the winter musical to play for the school's team this year, but I could totally put together a scrimmage game or two at our court sometime, if you want to practice before the tryouts in November."
"S-sure," I tried to say, caught completely off guard at his offer. "That would be fun."
"Actually," Nash said, his eyes lighting up. "We're having a back-to-school barbecue at our place this weekend. You should come."
I was being invited to a party?
Already?
"Th-that sounds fun." Social circles were decided quickly at schools like this, and I’d better jump into the social scene while the invitation was there.
