Georgetown Academy, Book One

Chapter Six: Brinley

Tuesday, 9:13pm.

Brinley, aware of Brooks’s eyes on her, tried to stop fidgeting, as the town car pulled up the long gravel driveway.

“Are you okay?” he asked. No, Brinley wanted to respond. The kicky Adderall buzz she had been feeling at home was beginning to wear off and she was seriously regretting her decision not to pop another one before they left. She had a pill in her purse, but there was no way to take it right now with Brooks in the back seat with her, watching her like a hawk.

“I’m fine. I’m just irritated with Graham,” she said, which was also true. “I texted him that I was on the way and he hasn’t texted back yet.” He was probably annoyed about her storming out on him earlier. Brinley sighed. Another person she’d have to apologize to, along with Ellie, of course.

Finally, the car stopped and Brinley quickly stepped out. She had settled on a bronze organza Burberry dress that brought out the gold in her eyes and that she happened to know Graham loved on her. A few soft gold and diamond Bulgari bangles hung on her delicate wrist.

The party was already in full swing as she and Brooks made their way to the front door. The massive, Antebellum-style mansion was impressive, even by Brinley’s standards: boasting impeccable, sprawling lawns and what looked like about a billion bedrooms. Anton Saratov, the junior who lived here, threw at least a few huge ragers each year. His father was a Russian diplomat which meant the cops couldn’t step foot on his property. Thank God for diplomatic immunity—it meant Brinley and everyone else at G.A. had the perfect house to party at. Not that they had problems getting around the law anyway.

G.A. students were notorious for evading sticky situations. Just last year, a G.A. student had come forward to the headmaster about several of his fellow classmates who were smoking pot on campus. The students were at risk of expulsion until one of them made a call to her father, who also happened to be secretary of state at the time. All of a sudden, the administration pulled a miraculous about-face and pronounced that the students had merely been smoking oregano, which was perfectly legal and not against school policy. In Brinley’s mind, it was sweet justice that the only person whodid get suspended was the pathetic tattletale who had brought it to the headmaster in the first place (and whose parents had barely contributed a grand at the G.A. Annual Giving Drive last year).

Brinley had her own life preserver—someone so powerful in the Defense Department even the president was scared of him—to be utilized if she ever got in serious trouble. Though she never had to use him before, she was comforted by the fact he existed, just in case. She thought of him as her own little version of the red phone.

Brinley now made her way inside, looking for either Graham or Ellie as she walked through the impressive entryway complete with three large crystal chandeliers, fifty-foot ceilings and a sweeping staircase that siphoned off at a landing half-way up into two separate winding stairways.

“I’ll see you later,” Brooks said, spotting a few of his fellow lacrosse players across the room. He walked away just as Hunter’s BMW pulled up outside, the car visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Brinley cracked her knuckles anxiously as Ellie and Hunter walked to the front door. Aside from the Adderall letdown that was just beginning to hit her, apologies were not exactly her forte. Usually she’d prefer to just pretend like whatever transgression she had committed had never happened and hope the other person got over it (and if not, too bad for them), but she knew sensitive Ellie had probably been mulling it over all afternoon. Brushing it under the rug might not work in this circumstance.

As soon as they entered, Brinley felt a small surge of pride that Ellie was wearing one of the outfits Brinley had put together for her. At least that could be her in.