MORGAN'S POV
"Please don't tell me you're really going to go there."
I peered into the apprehensive green eyes of my best friend in the whole world and said, "I won't tell you but you'll know because I'm not going to show up for the match. And neither will you."
She gasped like I had just said something scandalous and peered around the bathroom as if expecting people with cameras to pop out from the stall like they did the last time.
"Morgan, you can't be serious. It was just an anonymous message. It was probably from one of The Dynasty girls. You know how jealous they are of you. They act like they fear and worship you, but deep down they're all just bitter bitches with blackened souls waiting for you to break down."
I applied another coat of sparkly pink lip gloss over my lips and pursed them together. They looked amazing.
"Did you know that Chloe is a hot topic among the boys now?"
Gigi's eyes widened in disbelief. She scurried closer to me and bent her head conspiratorially and said in a whisper, "The scholarship girl? The boys are really talking about a scholarship girl?"
When I nodded, Gigi looked like she'd pass out and I held her steady while she fanned herself with her hand.
Now, the thing with people who attended Briarwood Academy was that they never associated with those whose parents didn't have a hand in the payment of their tuition. Scholarship kids were mostly ostracized, looked down on and left to their own devices. If a scholarship student was being mentioned among members of the school population, not to talk of The Dynasty, that was because they did something humiliating that warranted them to be gossiped about and nothing else. I couldn't care less if a student was on scholarship or not just as long as they didn't cross my path. This particular student, however, has refused to stay in her lane and was already a hot topic just three weeks after joining us. I did not like it.
"I looked her up."
Now Gigi was on the verge of collapsing. Her face turned pale and she looked like she was going to throw up the salad she had for lunch.
"Morgan Delphina Kaelson, you did not look up a scholarship girl!"
"I did." I pulled out my compact and gently patted the powder on the plush cushion on my face. "And guess what? She's actually from a wealthy background."
"No way!" This little piece of information seemed to bring the color back to her cheeks. Gigi smelled a scandal, or at the very least something to gossip with the girls during archery class with and she was eager to hear all about it.
"Yeah. Her father actually owns a mall back in her state."
"Like a chain mall? Like Macy's? Or a single site mall like Harrods? Or the one Prescott's parents own?"
"More like just one or two franchises all within their state." Her face fell instantly and she was back to looking like she did earlier. "But he does make decent money. She used to go to a private school before she came here."
"You mean like Kensington?" There was disgust in her tone.
It was exactly Kensington, but I had a feeling if I told Gigi that she'd just about die. Everyone who went to Briarwood saw Kensington as the private school for the 'poor' and middle class. They didn't care that their annual tuition cost roughly about $50,000.
"I'm telling you, forget about that stupid text message and focus on cheering Orion on during the match."
"But that's the thing. Orion wouldn't be at the match, now, would he? Not according to the note. He'll be at the boy's tower and that's where we'll be." Gigi did not like the sparkle in my eyes when I said that one bit.
"But what if you go to the boy's tower and you don't find him there? What if he actually does end up being at the match and you're not there? People will talk. They'll think your engagement's off or something. And what would they say when they find out it's because of someone like that scholarship girl? You'll be the laughing stock of the academy."
I rolled my eyes at her exaggerated paranoia and ridiculous conclusion. Grabbing her hand, I led her out of the girl's bathroom on the fourth floor.
"Morgan, please. Let's go back. We'll get in trouble if we get caught."
"If we get caught, Gigi, which we wouldn't. I have done this a million times."
That was a lie. I had never, ever gone to the top of the boy's tower before. This was new territory to me and I was scared shitless, but I couldn't stop now when I was so close to finding out what I wanted to find out.
"It's almost time for dinner. If we miss roll call, we could get detention. If we get caught in the boys' tower, we could get expelled."
Her worries were valid, but I shrugged them off. Some would say it was because I was confident in the connection my parents had with the school authority, but I'd say it was simply because I didn't give two shits if I was expelled from this castle filled with silk-stuffed snobs.
Our high heels echoed in the empty hallway as we tip-toed like amateur spies. I could practically feel the fear emanating from Gigi when we got to the top of the tower where the boys' lounge was.
"We'll be quick. I just wanna see if it's true."
I had gotten an anonymous tip this morning. The note was slid under my door and usually, I ignored messages like that because the girls in my school were jealous, bitter bitches who wanted to see each other crumble, but there was something about this particular message that caught my eye. I had to see if it was true myself.
Apparently, my fiancé was cheating on me with Chloe, a scholarship girl that just got transferred from Kensington Prep. I knew Orion was no saint and that his love for me was only surface deep, but I still believed that he was not as stupid and crass to commit infidelity with a noob that hadn't been vetted by The Dynasty yet.
"I'm going back," Gigi announced just as we got to the window. She started to retrace her steps faster than she should have and ended up bumping into one of the decorative knights that were arranged for the purpose of terrifying kids that wandered at night. It was a good thing my reflexes were on point and I caught the knight before it crashed to the floors and announced our presence. My shoulder, was however not spared.
"We're already here, Gigi. I got the keycard from Prescott during lunch. We can get in no problem. Just be cool."
I looked around us briefly before pressing the key to the door. On hearing the automatic door unlock, I pushed it open and walked in.
Their tower was most definitely smaller than ours and not as aesthetic, but it gave off this male, brutish vibe and I thought it suited them well. They did have plush seating, beautiful mahogany and leather accents, a cool chandelier and an amazing sound system which was just as far the similarities between the two towers went.
"Someone's coming!" Gigi said in a panicked whisper. I spun around and listened for the sound she just heard. Sure enough, someone was approaching.
"Hide. Now!"
We scrambled across the room looking for where to hide, but in the end, we decided to go to the balcony where we were certain we wouldn't get caught. If we stood away from the ledge, no one below was going to see us.
"What the hell do you mean by that?" I heard the unmistaken voice of my boyfriend say. He sounded angry, like really, really pissed, and I inched closer to the door to get a better listen.
"What the fuck do you think I mean by that Orion?" spat his angry female companion. "Did you get hit in the head too many times with a football that your brain got all messed up and is unable to process information or are you just that dumb?"
Wow! No one has ever spoken to Orion Breene like that before. He would have their head just for walking on the same path as he. He was a tyrant and an asshole, but he was my tyrant and asshole and I did not like the way that girl spoke to him.
"Chloe, you are standing on thin ice right now." His voice took a sinister undertone and it sent a shiver down my spine. My heart did a double take when his companion's identity was confirmed.
So, the note was right!
I tried to get a view of Chloe, but the glass was translucent and I was only able to see her outline.
"You did this to me, Orion. Fix it!" Her voice was calm but it also had a hint of superiority and authority that Orion seemed to hate so much because the next thing I knew, he was throwing things across the room and yelling "Fuckfuckfuckfcuk!!!!"
Gigi trembled uncontrollably behind me.
"Gigs, I'm gonna need for you to calm down. Chill the hell out, okay?"
"What if he hurts her?"
I frowned at her statement. Orion was a hothead and he would most definitely punch a guy if he so much as dreamt of taking his spot in the dinning hall, but to hit a girl because she asked that he fixed whatever he broke? Not a million chance in hell.
"You're gonna get rid of it." The color drained from Gigi's face at Orion's declaration. I was more worried about her facial expression than what he meant by that statement. My best friend looked sick, like she was about to hurl everything she has ever eaten in her life.
"Are you okay, Gigi?" I moved closer to her to touch her forehead. She was trembling badly, and she looked like she was going to pass out soon.
"Gig?"
"We need to get out of here, Morgan. We cannot be here. We need to leave, now. You need to leave now!"
She screamed that last part like she wasn't bothered about being heard by the two people arguing inside. Something was wrong. There was something that happened or was said that put her in such a mood, but I didn't know what it was.
"Gigi, you need to calm down, okay? Calm down." I tried to hold her steady, but she started struggling with me. Her hands flailed and moved every which way, slapping me out of the way, desperately trying to escape that balcony we were trapped in. I tried to see reason with what she was doing, but there was no reasonable explanation as to why her mood suddenly changed and she became as violent and aggressive as a southern wind.
"…Don't talk to me like that, Chloe! Don't you dare."
I had almost forgotten about the chaos ensuing inside because of the one I had to deal with outside. I heard Chloe scream shortly after the sound of glass shattering into a million pieces reverberated outside. I gasped, and with quick reflexes, I let go of Gigi and turned to open the door.
"No!" Gigi screamed and pulled me back. But she was so forceful with her pull and I was just way too thin for my own good, and the wind was not in my favor, that by the time I hit the edge of the parapet and my motion did not slow down like it was supposed to, I was in the air.
Air roared passed my ears, my fingers clawed at empty space in an attempt to grab onto something solid that'll save me. My stomach lurched and I felt like throwing up. Down, down, down, I went, over a hundred feet below me.
I really should have gone back when Gigi said we should.