Prologue

Prologue

California Girl

“Aquamarine, I need your help,” my best friend Riley asked me, “I need you to teach me how to conjugate this.” Riley was lying on my bed with his shirt thrown somewhere in the vicinity of the bed. Even though the air conditioning was cranked in my bedroom Riley still insisted on maintaining his usual half-nakedness which I didn’t mind his abs were basically perfect. And perfect abs was something I liked to admire. His dark curly hair was hiding his face seeing as he was staring at his AP French homework.

“No Riles what you need to do is stop calling me Aquamarine. I’m not a freaking mermaid. And I can’t help you with French; you need to help me pack. I have to pack half of my wardrobe up in 4 days. I don’t know the first thing about dressing for winter weather.”

“Abrielle, Elle it is your duty to help us less well endowed with brain power. And besides, all you need is some cashmere, jeans, and boots. Oh, yeah and jackets. And maybe some hoodies. Fur-lined.” He’d been around me and Tory too long.

Riley ran a hand through his black tresses. He was wearing low slung Billabong board shorts. He is the definition of a stud, as many girls tell me when they inquire as to why Riles and I aren’t screwing. He has black brown wavy hair, big chocolate brown eyes, soft full lips, is tall and muscled from years of surfing and tennis. His skin is in between cinnamon and sand. And it’s basically flawless without any signs of adolescent acne, mostly because he never had any.

Riley and I never hooked up but I was about the only one at our, well not mine anymore, Los Angeles alternative private school. We’d been best friends since first grade when Ry threw-up on my pink Osh Kosh overalls and I fed him the crushed saltines I kept in my backpack.

“That’s the thing; I don’t have jackets because my jackets are my hoodies. And I have more bikinis than long sleeved shirts. Get up and help,” I yelled shrilly and slapped his butt. I looked at myself in the full length mirror. My blonde hair, wavy and almost white it was so bleached from the sun, is pulled into a messy bun on top of my head and still smelled of the driftwood bonfire we’d gone to last night though I’d washed it.

Sitting on Riley’s lap last night in the sand, it finally hit me. I wouldn’t have him for months, wouldn’t have him to worry about me. Riley who’d never hurt me like mother and ex-friends have and never would. Like last year at that party in the Valley, where I’d gotten so wasted I almost had sex with my ex-boyfriend Jason. Riley wasn’t even at the party and found me before anything too epic happened.

“Riles, what am I going to do?” I tried to swallow a sob and lay back and rested my cheek on his warm chest. Rickie pulled me up and I was halfway sitting in his lap and on the bead.

“We, we can go shopping this weekend. How about we leave tonight and go, I don’t know to New York City. We can shop for a couple days. Maybe I can go with you to check in there. Since your mom and Tory can’t.” My sister Tory started her first semester at Dartmouth last week and was too busy to come home and get me.

“You hate shopping Riles, and you’d miss school. Besides that not…,” I started, Riley always sacrificed too much for me.

“I’ll be able to bear with it. And school I don’t mind missing that. You can help me with French on the flight. I know you’re leaving in a few days and I don’t want to spend it in school. I’m uh going to miss you Elle and Thanksgiving is a long way off.” He looked so earnest and adorable. I pulled on one of his silky curls and watched it rebound.

“Are you sure? Ask your Dad first. And tell your Dad that I plan to tutor you on the plane. And if we go we’ll go tomorrow morning, bright and early. I need to pack some things tonight.” I tried to hide my giddiness. Riley and I were going to New York together, hopefully. We’d stay at the Plaza, get up at 9:00, hit 5th Avenue at 10:00, and eat room service until 2:00 am. I could kiss him.

“I wish I could come—,” Riley started taking the words directly from my mouth.

“With me. You have no idea Ry. It’s weird because I feel like I’m going to do something stupid there and you’re not,” I said wishing I wasn’t abnormally smart and could stay in his warm safe arms always, “you aren’t going to save me.”

He gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek; he’d been doing that more often. He also touched me more now and was sometimes hesitant. If he felt the same as I did he wanted to go farther than kisses on the cheek but didn’t want it to be awkward. But his phone rang or vibrated in his pocket and I jumped off of him and ran back into my huge closet to give him some privacy. I heard some of the conversation.

“Uh hey Chase, what’s going on? No, I can’t hang out tonight. Well, now I’m helping Abrielle and for the next couple of days I’ll be out of town. To New York City with Abrielle and then to her new school.

“It’s in upstate New York. Yeah it’s a boarding school. Dawntill, yeah, it has the best academic program in America. I know shit, what are we going to do without her tutoring. Well, no we’re just. She’s my bestfriend. Yes, unfortunately that’s all. I know she’s hot, the girl’s beautiful. Well, she’s leaving now so it doesn’t matter now. But see you later. Have fun with her. Wrap it up though, she’s kind of loose.” He talked for two more minutes about some girl Chase was hooking up with and walked into the closet.

“I’ll get your luggage down. How many do you have mermaid?” He smiled looking down at me. I was not short though not tall like him. I’m 5’8” to his 6’3”.

“I’ve got five in here, cowboy and two in Tory’s room. Get all the brown Louis Vuitton ones in the back and toss them on my bed. After I pack some suitcases, can we go to Pinkberry?” I pout knowing he hates Pinkberry but won’t say no, not today. “We’ll get burgers after; I’ll just pick up a smoothie.”

“Sure, we’ll go, just pack,” he instructed picking up three of the suitcases. My eyes lingered on his bare chest and my face felt hot.

“Aqua your eyes are green today. That hasn’t happened for a while.”

“Now you can’t call me Aquamarine, not aqua.”

He scoffs, “I call you that because you look like a mermaid and you made me watch that movie. And they’re still bluish.”

“How exactly do I look like a mermaid? I look nothing like Ariel from “The Little Mermaid”.”

“You look just like the girl from Aquamarine, except prettier. Long blonde hair, huge blue eyes like oceans, uh sort of pale despite the amount of time we spend at the beach and you always have a bikini on. You’ve got one on now.” He said pointing at my black and white string Diane von Furstenberg bikini. I was wearing it under my yellow sundress.

“We were just at the beach and number one, I have pale skin what does that have to do with mermaid-ness. And two Aquamarine totally didn’t even wear a top and Ariel wore shells.”

“Well, the bikini means you are always are ready to swim and like the water. And there’s no sun under the water.” He crossed his arms across his chest pleased with himself. And he did have a point I guess.

“Whatever,” I whispered and he laughed. He’d placed the biggest suitcase on my bed. I started to toss jeans inside of it. And restrained myself on only 7 pairs of cut-off sevens, which I had about fifteen. But pants were a whole different story. Five pairs of cords, 10 dress pants, and 23 pairs of jeans. Riley counted after I put them all in. Once again I stared at myself in the mirror. I’d be so different than the rest of people at Dawntill.

I looked like I was from California. Kate Bosworth in Blue Crush except better is what guys said. And girls they said gorgeous but a bit like a surf bum. And I didn’t get along with girls; my roommate will probably hate me and be some oil typhoon’s great granddaughter.

My mom’s dad basically owns all of Northern California. So all she does is vacation, year round. But my father went to Dawntill and he’d been a four year legacy. I had no idea why my father’s family was so rich; all I knew was old money. He died from cancer before I knew what money was.

But my style would stick out like a sore thumb. I’d never worn winter boots or anything with fur except on ski trips. All my dresses were short and bright. The girls I’d be around for the next year would probably wear Ralph Lauren as much as I wore bikinis.

But I had bought some Ralph Lauren for the occasion; five sweaters, lamb’s wool and cashmere. I liked their dresses though, I already ordered a silk plaid one and a black chiffon puffy number. I would be a prep school pretty and keep some of my style. I mean, when in Rome…

In NYC I could get preppier clothes. A couple of polos, oxford shirts, chic dresses, skinny jeans, much more black, cashmere everything, and plenty of guys clothes for lounging. Paired with my beachy blonde waves, I think it’ll work. And hopefully nobody would here about the whole genius thing. I’d already snagged a few of Riley’s rugby’s, Henley’s, hoodies, and shorts. I packed that in a carry-all last week along with a bunch of photos, if Riley saw that he’d be confused and want to know why I stole his clothes.

The pictures were mostly of he and Tory. One, my favorite, was of me, Tory, and Riley. I was 8, Tory had bleached my pink Osh Kosh overalls and I wore a wonder woman leotard underneath them, she was wearing a green pillow slip that she’d cut head and arm holes into, grey leggings, and a wide white belt, and Riley wore a red sombrero, yellow swim trunks, and a black cap. We did a fashion show for our nannies and I cried because Riley said my outfit was ugly.

“You in there Abrie?” he said squinting and looking at me funny. I’d been so in the zone that I finished packing my fourth suitcase already.

“Yeah, yeah I’m sorry. I was just daydreaming. Are you ready, I think I’ll have Rosaline pack the rest? She’s good about what to pack and what not to.”

“I am if you are.” I decided to change. I went into the closet to change, pulled out a white embroidered Joie top and couldn’t find any pants.

“Riley, close your eyes I’ve gotta get some pants,” I ran to the pants suitcase and grabbed the first ones on top and then turned to look at Riley.

“Don’t peak,” and after I said this he opened one eye, “HEY!”

I threw a Dior flip flop at him and ran back in to change. The skinny black Paige Brand cords fit like a glove. I grabbed a Benefit lip balm to slip in my wallet and pushed him out the door of my room.

“What’s the big deal, I’ve seen you naked a zillion times.” Riley said smiling his amused smile. He did this sometimes and I couldn’t figure out what was funny. And if I asked him what was funny, it just became more amusing.

“When was the last time you saw me naked,” I asked knowing it had been at least a year.

“Yesterday, you changed in front of me,” he said indignantly.

“Yeah, well I had on underwear then didn’t I and that’s basically the same as a bikini,” I said hoping he would miss the fact that I implied that I’m not wearing any now.

“Why’d you get your pants before your—oh. You’re not,” and thank God Rosaline came down the hall then.

“Rosaline, would you pack up the rest of my clothes? I’ll be back to help soon but I’m going to New York early, tomorrow morning. So, yeah, I’ll pay you,” I said slowly to gage her reaction. Rosaline was from Serbia and was only 27. She was halfway their maid and my babysitter. And her English was impeccable. But she’s not easily thwarted.

“Sure, I’ll do it now. But how are you getting to New York, did you buy your tickets?”

“Oh, we’ll take my dad’s jet,” Riley said, his dad’s the Prime minister of Spain.

“Oh, Riley you are going too? You’re not going to that school, I thought.”

“Oh no, He’s not but we’re going to the city to shop because I have no winter clothes and then to school.” Rosaline and Tory were the only people who I talked to about missing Ry, “We’re going to get some dinner and to a party then I’ll be home. See you later.”

“Bye Abrielle, have fun,” and I looked over my shoulder at her when she past us. She smiled and hummed the wedding processional.

“I think your life is going to fall apart without Rosaline and I,” Riley said as we got into his black Mercedes truck. He went home to change while I got my Pinkberry.

“You’re gonna die without this stuff,” he say watching me eat green tea frozen yogurt with kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, and raspberry fruit.

“They have them in New York; we’ll have to get some when we get off the plane.”

“Where do you want to go for dinner,” he asked me, ready to be out of the Pinkberry parking lot.

They usually went to Johnny Rockets, “25 degrees,” is where I’d had my last date at. I enjoyed watching his eyebrows sky rocket and face flush out of the corner of my eye.

“If you don’t want to, we can go to Johnny Rockets. It’s just I wanted to switch things up.”

--

I woke up in a haze. I was lying next to Riley and almost forgot about the trip. Last night we drank red wine (they totally didn’t card us) and ate hamburgers with swiss cheese at 25 Degrees and then went to Camden’s house on the beach.

I’d only had two drinks at first. I remember holding Riley’s hand and kissing him for a while. Then he went to play pool with Chase and some other guys. I got bored and did shots of cranberry vodka, gin, and peach schnapps with Hailey, Camden’s girlfriend. We’d gotten totally wasted and Hailey threw-up on some girl’s Marc Jacobs dress. Riley took me home after that and I slept.

I nudged him about 4 times until he stirred, “Riley,” I whisper-yelled, “get up. What time is our flight? Did you pack, yet?”

He put his index finger to my mouth and pointed to 3 duffle bags by the door and then opened his eyes halfway to look at the time projected onto my orange wall. It was 5:48 and croaked, “8:45, wake me in two hours.”

He rolled over and fell right back to sleep. But I couldn’t, I was ultra-aware of his body warming mine. All I could think of was those deep penetrating urgent kisses last night, the way his hands didn’t trail all over my body but held my face and neck. I knew we hadn’t done anything but kiss because I was still wearing the cords.

They were unbuttoned but still Riley would never. I got up and walked to his bags, got a pair of green shorts and put on Cosabella boy shorts before I put on the shorts. I tossed off the tunic. I thought about getting on the computer but realized it was already packed up and sent to Dawntill. My room was empty besides the furniture and luggage. I crawled back under the pink duvet and closer to Riley. He slept sort of on his back with his limbs spread out so I lay on his arm and he pulled me closer as a knee-jerk reaction.

I remembered when my grandfather first called about Dawntill. He said my father and the last four generations their family went to Dawntill. And that my father and I looked just alike with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He joked about how he used to beg Dad to cut his off and try to pay him to do it.

He said he talked to my mom about how school wasn’t challenging me enough anymore. As if my mother even looked at my grades, Rosaline had probably told her. I was confused then because I went to the best school in L.A. He told me my father would have wanted both of his daughters to go to Dawntill but that since Tory was already headed to college that was out.

And that he thought Dawntill would be perfect for me and my perfect little IQ. He asked where I wanted to go to college. I told him Yale or Harvard. He said both he and his father went to Dawntill along with Yale. He gave me all kinds of stats on Dawntill students. He said that my father would have wanted it and my grandmother was hoping I’d go too. And Dawntill was sold for me.

I’d already been accepted and the tuition paid before I realized exactly what how different a world Dawntill was in. I wouldn’t be finishing my last two years of high school at St. Felecia’s with my best friend who I may or may not be in love with.

That’s what you get for getting five years about your actual age for your mental age on the IQ test and translating all of your favorite books into Latin at age 9. It’d be different if I translated My Little Pony but, of course, I had to pick Jane Eyre.

I mean, who reads a book in English and says it in a dead language. I guess I do. And just think if I hadn’t tried to teach Tory and Riley Latin, the media never would have been alerted. Therefore no article telling Dawntill how gifted I am, therefore no Dawntill all the way in Massachusetts. But I shouldn’t live in the past, what’s done is done, right?

Yes, unfortunately it is. But at least I wasn’t a musical prodigy, I could keep Latin and Physics bottled up inside me but music that way it’d be impossible to be a normal kid. Though they had tested me for musical skills; besides my obsessive guitar and flute playing I was no Mozart.

I heard Riley snore and it was oddly comforting to me and I fell back asleep. And I had the oddest dream.

I was in a white room with one blue wall, where a beautiful mermaid was painted. The mermaid was beautiful but it was more like those water nymphs. The ones who stole human skin to stay beautiful. At first glance it was happy but then in changed and looked ready to attack. I was sitting on a plastic yellow bench kissing a boy.

The boy changed every time I took a breath. After the fifth change the boy was Riley. After one peck, he got up and walking into the wall. And he swam away with it.

After that I had to get up. It was only 6:45 but I had to get organized, call Tory, and my Mom. I picked up my Vertu phone that my grandfather bought me after I got into Dawntill. Who wants a 5 thousand dollar phone anyway? It is a nice change though, from the iPhones all the rest of my friends have. I’d call Tory first, she was easy.

“Tor, hey it’s me.”

“What’s up Chiquita? What’re you doing now, isn’t it kind of early there?” Tory said in her peppy voice, she was probably twisting her long black hair into braids. Tory resembled my mother, long black hair and green eyes. She wanted to go to design school but Mother wouldn’t have it. So she went to Dartmouth instead and focused on her writing.

“Uh, yeah. I’m up early because I’m leaving today, this morning, with Riley to go to New York City. Because I have to buy winter clothes,” I whispered, Riley was still sleeping.

“Why are you whispering? And you should go today because there’s like five trunk shows tomorrow. Ralph Lauren’s is at Barney’s. Have fun, but why with Riley? Have you guys finally tied the knot?”

“Riley’s still sleeping. And no were not together, exactly. We did hook up last night though. The trip was his idea, yesterday he was over helping me pack. And we’re taking his dad’s jet.”

“Can’t say I’m shocked. But don’t get too involved, you aren’t gonna see him for ages, that’ll just make it harder. Davis and I broke up,” she said flatly, Davis and Tory broke up every three months.

“BFD, be prepared to pay me when you get back,” she had to buy me a designer purse every time they were apart and got back together, “But I’ve got to go pack my carry-on bag and everything.”

“Alright, call me when you get on the East Coast. I hope you’ve been to the beach this week, you’d never believe how much I miss it.” The easy part was over. Mother was either in Aruba or Milan, where ever she was, she wasn’t worried about me.

She didn’t even pick up the phone. I left a message telling her I was leaving for New York today and to call Rosaline if she had any questions. What I left out was for her to call me; that wasn’t a possibility so why try?

By the time I packed a couple outfits, DVDs, my knitting, and joke books from Urban Outfitters so Riley and I could play our favorite game, “What Would You Rather”. I slipped on red Citizens of Humanity shorts and a long black tank. I helped Rosaline with breakfast by the time Riley woke up.

“Hey,” I said bending over him, six inches from his face, “Get up, It’s seven thirty and breakfast is ready. Your favorite.” Whenever he slept over as kids we ate seafood eggs Benedict.

He blinked a couple times, then smiled groggily said, “Hey mermaid,” and crushed me into one of his typical bear hugs.

“I’m eating now,” I said getting up, not wanting him to get too frisky. Tory was right and the morning breathe was pretty strong.

“What, no breakfast in bed,” he said getting up, “Let me just find a shirt.”

“And brush your teeth,” I added under my breath, before walking out of my room. One thing I was going to miss the house. It was basically massive and all to me. And Rosaline but who’s counting. And you would think it’d be creepy, big empty house and little old me. But the house was mostly white and glass, virtually no eerie shadows at night. Also never having to clean, that was a plus. Who knew what kind of dirt I’d have to endure at Dawntill. I already had Rosa teach me some of the basics but still.

I sat down at the etched glass table, started on breakfast, and sipped the green tea smoothie Rosa whipped up. I couldn’t wait till my mother comes home to see that I packed up all of her porcelain dishes and replaced them with funky pink, blue, and orange plastic ones. She’d probably pop a couple Xanax, drink her typical gin & tonic, and forget about it like usual.

Hopefully she’d still send me a couple of things she picked up in Milan. Last year I got a barely there Valentino white chiffon and golden tulle dress, which I hadn’t worn yet because nobody does couture in L.A. unless it’s an award show but hopefully in New York they hosted grand balls all the time. The one thing I couldn’t question my mother on was her style. She was an avid attendee of haute couture shows all over Europe and collected the dresses like most women collected jewelry. Not that most women’s jewelry collections could touch hers.

“Elle, let’s go,” Riley said having already finished his eggs and dragging his bags into the kitchen. He’d yet to find a shirt and was digging through various places to find one.

“How are we getting there?”

Rosaline came into the kitchen then, carrying Phoebe, her beloved Russian blue kitten. Phoebe and I still hadn’t made up for the time she pissed on three of my C&C California tanks.

“I just sent 7 of your suitcases away to be airmailed to that school. I left one suitcase with five outfits for the trip to New York. There’s a car waiting outside for you. Call me when you make it there. I booked a train to Dawntill on Sunday morning; they’re in your suitcase. Call when you get on the train and after you arrive. Have a nice trip,” Rosaline said in a motherly tone. She gave me a quick hug.

“Rosa, you’ll come right for parent’s weekend right,” I said clinging to the hope that I wouldn’t have to see my mother until Thanksgiving.

“I’m sure your mother will want to come,” she said knowing my Mother couldn’t care less. She’d only want to keep up the charade up that she was a great mother. I knew my mother would end up coming, embarrassing me by her criticisms, and leaving early from one of her migraines.

“Bye then,” I said squeezing her hand one last time