The Education of Hailey Kendrick - Eileen Cook [52]
“My family doesn’t even have that much money. Mandy’s an heiress. I’m just”—my brain scrambled to find the right term—“like, ordinary rich. Maybe not even rich, just well to do.”
“They talk about your vacation home on the lake.”
“That’s not a vacation home. It’s my grandparents’ place.”
“I know that. I’m telling you what the articles say.”
“Articles?” My question came out in a shrill high voice.
“Oh, yeah. There’s a version of the same thing in both of these.” Kelsie tossed the other magazines onto the bed. “Same picture of you too. That’s unfortunate. At least Star Magazine used a shot of you from one of the student government meetings where you have your mouth shut.”
I flopped facedown onto the bed and buried my face in my pillow. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse. “Has Tristan seen these yet?” I asked, my words muffled by the pillow.
“I called Joel last night when I saw it online and told him to give Tristan the heads-up.”
“How exactly did you get the magazines?”
“You know the maid who does the bathrooms? The woman with the ring in her eyebrow that Dean Winston made her take out?” She waited for me to nod that I knew who she was talking about. “Everyone buys their weed from her, so I got her number from one of the girls on the floor and asked her to pick up something legal for a change. Even so, she charged me a hundred bucks to drop them off first thing this morning. Talk about a markup, but what are you going to do?”
“If no one can get off campus, maybe no one will see them,” I said.
“I doubt it. I heard Mandy talking about it in the bathroom last night. That’s how I knew to look for it. If I can get copies of the magazines, you better believe she can get her hands on copies.”
“What is her problem with me?” I rolled over so I could look up at the ceiling.
“Well, first off she’s a bitch in general. That’s her natural state. Then you add on top of it that you were more popular than her and that you were dating Tristan. She always had a thing for him.”
“She likes Tristan?”
“I don’t know if she really likes him, but he’s the most popular guy here. She likes the idea of them as a couple. I’m not sure she’s capable of actual emotion; it’s more a thing of how a relationship can benefit her. Dating him would double her star power.”
“I don’t even know why she’s famous to start with. She’s stinking rich and pretty. That’s it. Oh, and she’s willing to flash her hoo-ha to anyone who wants a peek. There’s a real claim to fame. She should stick a disco ball between her legs and put down a dance floor, there’s so much traffic through there.”
“Maybe that’s why she vadazzled her snatch last year.” Kelsie and I both snorted. Mandy glued Swarovski crystals all over her waxed crotch and then acted surprised when a photographer got pictures. Whoever glues crystals on themselves is clearly doing it with the goal of someone seeing it.
“I still can’t believe, with everything happening in the world these days, that my life counts as news.”
“Tristan’s a big deal. He’s news.”
“What does that make me?” I asked.
“Collateral damage. If you want to look for the positive, your life drama is most likely helping to support someone on the Evesham staff. It’s sort of like sponsoring a kid in a third world country.”
“You think the security guard that sold the picture of Mandy sold this story?”
“Someone did. The pictures of you are from campus. The story is all over this place. It might not be the security guard. It could be a maid, or someone from the cooking crew. Then there’s the guy you’re cleaning with. He’d have an inside track.”
“Drew? You think Drew would do this to me? That’s so unfair. You think he would do that just because he’s from town. Everyone here is always judging everyone else.” I felt like