Eastwood Academy

Chapter 41: Questions and Surprises (River's POV)

Between the conversation with my father and the sports committee meeting, it's an understatement to say that my week has gotten off to a rough start. But the rest of the days pass smoothly, without incident.

I don't get the opportunity to repeat the best part of Monday (the hour we spent alone on the baseball field) with Brooklyn for the rest of the week. We both have to cram to scramble together the work we put off last week after our fight and the dance. When she's not playing catch up with me, Brooklyn is with Jessica, writing her college essays. I can't complain, though; I get to spend every day with her, walking her to class, holding Brooklyn's hand, and stealing kisses as we walk down the corridors between class periods.

By Thursday, the entire website for the tournament has been completed and launched. Brooklyn happily reports our progress during our next meeting. When she's done talking, Beth rises smoothly out of her seat to congratulate us smugly and offer a solution for tracking who is selling the most: giving everyone a personal link and QR code. She's also set up a private page with charts to show who is winning. Gavin is only too happy to get out his computer and demo the system for us. When he hands the remote to Beth so she can show us the sales chart, I see why; Beth has already sold an astronomical number of tickets. When the data pops up on the screen, Beth crosses her arms and finally allows herself to smirk. I hear Brooklyn inhale sharply. I turn and see her looking at the screen, eyes wide and scared.

"Don't worry baby, we've got this," I murmur, so low only she can hear. I'm already formulating a plan in my head. One that I'm very confident will work. I have no need to win the competition. I'm practically guaranteed a spot at a top university of my father's choosing. But I'm not about to let Beth beat Brooklyn without a fight.

The next big step we need to take to win is taking advantage of Parents Weekend, which is coming up, to get all the wealthy Eastwood families to buy tickets through our link. Brooklyn balks a little at this idea, saying that the upper-class society the families of this school belong to scare her. While I often detest the company of the people I grew up with, I know how to handle them, and I know that this kind of outreach project is exactly what my father needs to see me doing. He'll give me a load of shit for it, but he also knows it will make him look good by extension, so I'm sure I can get him to help. Or at least use Gordon's resources. I can borrow (or swipe) his phone or computer to pull names from his contacts when he visits for parents weekend, which he will do purely for appearance's sake.

I still have flashes of anxiety and guilt. The trip back to my house brought memories of Imeria that I've tried so hard to keep buried roaring to the surface of my mind. My father's cruel words about us not being together if she was still alive today haunts me as much as the thought of being yanked out of Eastwood and forced to live under his roof. Is he right? I know what we had went beyond the normal teenage infatuation. The question that haunts me the most is would I have fallen for Brooklyn if I met her even if Imeria was still alive?

But the guilt is the worst of all. While I still love the memory of Imeria, I can feel myself falling deeper and deeper for Brooklyn every day. Maybe it's because it's been almost four years since I met Imeria, but my connection with Brooklyn feels deeper and stronger. And I feel terrible about that. I can't help the part of me that feels like I'm replacing Imeria, dishonoring her memory.

At the same time, there's no way for me to stop myself from falling for Brooklyn completely. Ever since the first time I saw her, she's had a hold on me like no other. So I try my best to surrender to it, distracting myself whenever I feel any anxiety or guilt. It's not hard when I have Brooklyn beside me when I feel her small but strong body in my arms. But when I'm alone, I can't stop my dark thoughts from creating a vortex of confusion and doubt.