Chapter 5

I realized even my hands were shaking. The weight on my chest finally lifted. I could go to college now. I didn't need to repeat another year with a 626 score hanging over my head.

Mom pulled me into a hug and started crying again.

Dad finished a whole cigarette before saying, "I'm texting all of our relatives right now! We're having a going-to-college dinner!"

…

The dinner was held at a restaurant in a hotel near our house.

When we arrived, I realized Preston was having a similar celebratory dinner there as well—same day, same restaurant.

His parents, Michael Nolin and Leanne Richmond, happened to be downstairs greeting guests. Since Michael had business dealings with Dad, he immediately came over enthusiastically.

"George, you guys are having dinner here, too? What a coincidence!"

Then he turned to me with a grin. "Fi, why haven't you come over to see Preston lately?"

Before I could answer, a bright female voice suddenly cut in.

"Fi, you actually came!"

Nicole rushed out of the lobby and grabbed my hand. "I thought you wouldn't come. You—"

But before she could finish, I yanked my hand away.

She immediately looked as if she'd been wronged, her eyes reddening. "Fi, you still haven't forgiven us? Preston and I already apologized to you. Can't we just work hard together for the next year?"

Mom stepped directly in front of me.

"Nicole, for the past three years, my daughter has paid your tuition and helped bail you out of trouble. I've never said a word about any of that. But after what you did, even if Fi doesn't hold it against you, her father and I won't let someone as ungrateful as you stay in her life."

Nicole's face turned deathly pale.

Michael and Leanne stood to the side, exchanging confused glances.

Just then, Preston walked over to us.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rycroft, you're the adults here. Don't you think it's too much to talk to a young girl like that?"

I was just about to leave, but hearing him drag my parents into it, I stopped in my tracks. I stepped in front of them and turned to Preston.

"Too much? Preston, when you helped Nicole change my applications and left me with no college to go to despite my decent grades, was that not too much?"

Preston frowned. "That's already in the past. Can you stop—"

"I don't think it's in the past," I interrupted. "And I also don't think there's anything left for us to talk about."

I took a deep breath, grabbed my parents' arms, and said, "Mom, Dad, let's go."

But Preston suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist.

"That's enough, Fiona. You've been throwing a tantrum for days. Aren't you done yet?" he asked, his voice edged with impatience.

"You're not preparing study materials, and you're not going back to redo your senior year? Do you still want to go to Murlowton U with me or not?"

As he spoke, he started digging through his backpack.

"I got the study notes from this year's top scorer. You—"

"Preston Nolin, I think you've misunderstood something," I said, cutting him off without a second thought and staring him dead in the eye.

"I'm not repeating my senior year, nor am I going to go to Murlowton U with you. I've already been accepted by another college in Sorlington. That's what we're celebrating today."

The stack of study materials slipped from Preston's hands and scattered across the floor.