The Heir

Chapter 20

"Lina, c'mon!" Hannah shouts down the hall.

I'm busy setting up the vanities as she urges Lina into the room. Hannah's vanity is covered in makeup; various eyeshadow palettes, mascara, foundation, concealer, brow gel, blush, lashes. Mine is filled with pre-heating straighteners and curling irons.

Right about now Wyatt and Rob should be showing up to the great hall. Ryan and Duke are waiting, they have been for a little while. Once I explained the extent of the plan, they were both more than happy to help. But I'm not getting my hands dirty, not with this one. It's homecoming and I have an image to uphold.

Lina scuttles into the room with her robe tied tightly and garment bag tossed over her shoulder. Her hair is still wet from the shower and she grabs my blow dryer.

Much like Lina and Hannah, I keep my silk robe tied together as I get ready. Hannah throws on some
playlist before planting herself in front of the makeup. The music is barely audible over the hair dryer though. I carefully curl my hair, watching myself in the mirror for any flaws.

"Hey, Elle," Lina says, powering off the hair dryer. I look at her in the mirror and she continues. "Is Ryan going tonight?"

"Yeah," I reply, adding, "why?"

"He wasn't in his room," she shrugs. "His roommate said he left a while ago."

"I think he's helping my brother with something," I reply vaguely. That should squash any further questions so I go back to perfecting my hair.

"Is he seeing anyone?" Lina asks softly.

I whip around to face her, "my brother?"

"Dude," Hannah groans, turning in her chair as well.

"No," Lina rolls her eyes but her cheeks burn red. "I meant Ryan."

I look her up and down, "why? You interested?"

"Oh god," Hannah exclaims. "Two couples in the group? Seriously?"

"I was just curious," Lina's returned to speaking at no more than a whisper.

"Sure," I roll my eyes as I turn back around.

"You never answered her question, you know," Hannah points out, going back to her eyeshadow.

I look at Lina's reflection, "as far as I know he's single."

Her shoulders slump in what appears to be relief. Interesting; maybe Ryan really will get what he wants. They make sense but in a very weird way.

They're both on the quiet side but in different ways; while Lina is shy, Ryan is cautious. Neither is smarter than the other; they take the same classes and typically get similar grades. They're both athletic; Lina could out sprint a cheetah but Ryan, on the other hand, could probably beat someone to death if given the opportunity. But at the end of the day, they're some of the nicest, most kind hearted  people I've ever met.

I add a finishing bit of hairspray before switching seats with Hannah. I examine myself in the mirror carefully. I've been very lucky my entire life to have never experienced acne. I don't have any intricate skincare routine, I just don't get breakouts. So I bypass any face makeup and go straight for the eyes.

"Who do you think is going to win this year?" Hannah asks excitedly.

"Probably Josephina," Lina shrugs. "She's senior class president after all."

"What about Olivia?" I question. "She's captain of the swim team and the girls soccer team."

"What about you?" Hannah laughs.