The Good Race

Chapter Three

Ryan stopped the car at the gate of Trent Academy and let his sister take her first look at their home for the next ten months. He watched her as she surveyed her surroundings, which were similar to the old, towering universities like Harvard and Yale. Trent didn't have quite the august history of those schools, but Jackie knew the rich and famous sent their kids here—actors, politicians, athletes, CEOs, writers, filmmakers—even two Presidents' children had attended Trent Academy. The physical fitness program produced Olympians. As Toby had told her, she was lucky to get squeezed in. For Jackie, it was just another huge change in her life to get used to.

She knew her newfound brother was watching her closely. How strange that after all these years, she suddenly had a brother just about her own age. She could even see a resemblance between them. They both had those striking blue eyes, sun-bleached blonde hair and deep, healthy tans. They looked like they wiled away their summer on the beach, instead of where they actually spent it—on the stock car circuit.

"Jacks," Ryan said, squeezing her hand and letting it go. Jackie looked over and gave him a smile, but Ryan could see she was terrified. "It's going to be okay. Dad made them give us a two-room suite. They're usually reserved for visiting teachers, but they accommodated him. Trent is steeped in history and on the cutting edge of innovation. It even says it on the website."

"How'd he get the suite?"

"Are you kidding?" Ryan laughed. "I've been coming here for eleven years. My father donates crazy money to this school, and he spent a chunk of that time serving on the Board of Trustees. The boys' dorm is named after him."

"Do you like it here?" Jackie asked. "I mean, really?"

"Usually," Ryan admitted. "Sure, it sucks being away from family, but that's not the case anymore, right?"

"Do you have a lot of friends here?"

"Well, I have a lot of people that want to be my friend here. There are few I do consider my friends. Those that I do, you'll like."

"What do you mean there's a lot of people that want to be your friend?"

"Well, at the risk of sounding snobbish, I'm kind of the popular guy here. Which is precisely why I don't have a lot of real friends—too many are just trying to use me to climb up the social ladder, especially some kids on scholarships or kids of non-celebrities. They're looking for a way in. Some of them are cool, but some you just know aren't genuine. So I keep my friends close. Has that ever happened to you?"

Jackie sighed and looked back at the school as Ryan began to drive up the rolling driveway. "I've never had friends," she shrugged and looked out the window.

"What do you mean, you've never had friends?" Ryan demanded. "How is that possible? You're pretty, nice and smart."

"I think you've grown a little biased," Jackie smiled, looking back to him. "I've got eyes in my head. I may have blonde hair and blue eyes and a beach girl's tan, but the rest of my features are mostly plain. I'm shy. And," she looked down at her chest, "Boys go for what I haven't got."

"Believe me when I say, that's fine with me," Ryan said.

"I'm not a party girl, Ry," Jackie replied. "I had a private tutor and a nanny and governess that traveled the circuit with us."

"You know what? At least you were with your dad, I was here."

"I was with my dad because he was convinced something horrible was going to happen to me."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Maybe he thought our mother would come back. But he was always paranoid. My governess, I don't think that's all she was. She carried a gun."