Chapter 5: Warning Signs
"Hey! How are you Chas? Is Boston every bit the frigid hell you thought? Girl, we miss you soo much over here!" Madison talked animatedly. Chastity's best friend was eager to catch her up on first day of school news.
"It's not that bad actually. Tell me all about school today. Is Stella trying to swoop in and take my place? How's Brett? Did your speech go okay this morning?"
"Whoa. One at a time Chastity." Madison happily related the events of the day, and the two girls giggled at inside jokes and familiar traditions.
"You know how Old Mrs. Tiller left right? Well they got this new counselor to take her place. God Chas, she looks our age. Anyway, turns out she's from Boston. She was asking about how StuCo (*student council*) was run last year, and of course your name came up. But what's really fascinating is that she had a lot to say about your school, Willington Prep."
"O, like what?" Chastity's curiosity peaked.
"She was saying how it's a fantastic school, and how all the students are practically ushered in Ivys. So of course we told her how utterly brilliant you are, and how you'd fit right in there."
"What's so strange about that?"
"Patience! I'm building suspense. Well isn't your school full of other Asian people, like an inordinate portion of the student body right?"
"Yeah, I noticed that today. You know how it is though. The Chinese clump together, always deep in competition. If there's one good school, they'll all make sure their kids go there," Chastity groaned.
"But that's just it. Willington is so competitive, about everything! Last year though, some news leaked out that kind of tarnished its squeaky clean reputation. One of their most outstanding students dropped out of school suddenly and around the same time these rumors about sabotage, cheating, and all sorts of mess started floating around."
"What do you mean?" Chastity's voiced was tainted with concern.
"I guess it means they'll stop at nothing to be the best. And I've heard that these kids really aren't angels. They party like South Beach hoodlums, but still manage the 4.0s."
"I don't know Madison. Everyone is really gifted, but they all seem really honest too. Maybe it was just a rumor started by a competitor school. As for partying hard and still setting the curve, isn't that what we do best? Seriously Madison I wouldn't think too much of it."
"I just wanted to give you a heads up Chastity. Who knows about those rich kids. O but did I tell you how Serena and Steven are an item now? It's the funniest story. So there we are at the Baxter BBQ…"
The conversation shifted to some harmless gossip, and the subject of Willington was dropped as suddenly as it was brought up. Chastity wondered if it were at all true, but she couldn't imagine how any of it would affect her anyway. It's just one year, and if this school can get her into an Ivy League, then it had to have its merits.
Once the school year swung into full gear, Chastity became swamped with work. She'd grown very attached to her new group of friends, and they took really good care of her. A couple of weeks had passed since school had started, and Chastity felt fully adjusted, happy even. Sitting in the bright library of Ken's house, Jerry had some exciting news for Chastity.
"So at last week's meeting, we discussed the possibility of opening up a new office. Vanness has been psycho overwhelmed with committee work. He's asked for someone to split the job with, and there's homecoming in a month or so," Jerry started.
"What Jerry's blabbering on about is whether or not you'll want to be Event Coordinator this year," Shelly interrupted impatiently.
"Seriously? That'd be great. To tell you the truth, I've really missed being in the middle of all the mayhem," Chastity beamed. This really was good news. Not only would she get back some of the responsibility she was so used to, but she'd get to spend more time with the crew. Time and again, she still felt like an outsider to them, especially with Vic who wasn't around very often.
"But won't there have to be elections or something? I mean, you can't just give me the spot right?" Chastity wondered.
"Ken says you're pretty artistic. I told Mrs. Garwin you had sketches for the homecoming decor to show her. And as far as elections, don't worry about it. You're as good as in," Jerry assured her.
Chastity found it incredulous that they could just put her in office like that, but she was too elated to care. Didn't Ken tell her it was all about who you knew? She could whip up some ideas for homecoming in no time. In fact, in her enthusiasm, she got right to work when she got home that night. They usually finished up most of their homework together as a group, and Chastity didn't have much to do that night anyway. The next morning, Chastity stepped out of Ken's car as three other BMWs screeched to a halt in the surrounding spaces. Chastity thought it was funny that the guys all drove the same car, just in different colors. The whole group was really into uniformity and ritual she noticed. She helped Vanness adjust his uniform tie before going off to homeroom. Willington Prep's uniform really was, preppy. Chastity thought she'd hate it, but she rather enjoyed waking up knowing what to wear everyday. The pleated skirt was almost cute and paired with a cardigan sweater Chastity looked so country club.
~
"Well, look who it is," Melissa sneered at Chastity.
"Stop it Melissa. Shut up," Ashlyn tried to hush her friend. Chastity merely smiled at the girls clumped in the back of the room. It was ironic how much Ashlyn's attitude toward her had changed since she found out Chastity was friends with the student government gang. Melissa made catty remarks occasionally, but no one gave Chastity any real problems. Chastity visited the restroom after first period, and as she was washing her hands she found Melissa standing behind her.
"Which one of them are you sleeping with?" Melissa challenged.
"Excuse me?"
"Or maybe you're paying them. I want to know why you, little Miss Californian, feel you're privileged enough to hang out with Jerry's crew," Melissa went on.
"There's this little thing called friendship. But I wonder if they taught that lesson at etiquette school."
"Friendship? Ha. They don't make friends with anyone. It's always been them, ever since grade school. Ken was their last inductee, but that was years ago. Anyone can see Ken fits in with them, but you…what's so great about you?"
"Why do you talk about "them" like it's some secret society? Ken and I have been friends since before we were potty trained. It's not my business who "they" like or don't. Quit trying to hassle me about it. Green probably isn't going to compliment your complexion," Chastity assumed that was the reason behind Melissa's confrontation. She guessed Melissa really was jealous of her relationship with Ken.
"Don't kid yourself. I'd be careful if I were you. Before you know what hit you, they'll have dumped you," Melissa sashayed out of the bathroom in a huff. Chastity decided to keep this little encounter to herself. It was the second time someone had warned her to be cautious at Willington.
~
"Hey daddy. How was work today?" Chastity and her family ate dinner together every night. She dipped her chopsticks into a plate of greens.
"Not bad. Our new software is doing well in the market. The labs are doing some impressive research on new products now," Mr. Tse was proud of how well the company was doing in Boston. He had his hesitations, but his children and his business seemed to be flourishing in Boston.
"I'm glad. I was reading about this F4 virus that's been going around. Has it affected work at all?" Chastity continued.
"No, no. Those things are too trivial to harm our systems. It's probably just a couple of bored college students trying to plague the internet," Mr. Tse said disapprovingly.
"That's good. This F4 thing seems to shut down networks completely. There's a Honda dealership back in California that Newsweek said was really distraught by it. Something about a large shipment of parts going missing. I guess since every business transaction goes through computers now, a system malfunction can be crippling," Chastity reasoned.
"That's why there's such a demand for our products now. Our latest line of protective software is proving effective against the new wave of hackers," Mr. Tse grinned at his inquisitive daughter.
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"Hey! How are you Chas? Is Boston every bit the frigid hell you thought? Girl, we miss you soo much over here!" Madison talked animatedly. Chastity's best friend was eager to catch her up on first day of school news.
"It's not that bad actually. Tell me all about school today. Is Stella trying to swoop in and take my place? How's Brett? Did your speech go okay this morning?"
"Whoa. One at a time Chastity." Madison happily related the events of the day, and the two girls giggled at inside jokes and familiar traditions.
"You know how Old Mrs. Tiller left right? Well they got this new counselor to take her place. God Chas, she looks our age. Anyway, turns out she's from Boston. She was asking about how StuCo (*student council*) was run last year, and of course your name came up. But what's really fascinating is that she had a lot to say about your school, Willington Prep."
"O, like what?" Chastity's curiosity peaked.
"She was saying how it's a fantastic school, and how all the students are practically ushered in Ivys. So of course we told her how utterly brilliant you are, and how you'd fit right in there."
"What's so strange about that?"
"Patience! I'm building suspense. Well isn't your school full of other Asian people, like an inordinate portion of the student body right?"
"Yeah, I noticed that today. You know how it is though. The Chinese clump together, always deep in competition. If there's one good school, they'll all make sure their kids go there," Chastity groaned.
"But that's just it. Willington is so competitive, about everything! Last year though, some news leaked out that kind of tarnished its squeaky clean reputation. One of their most outstanding students dropped out of school suddenly and around the same time these rumors about sabotage, cheating, and all sorts of mess started floating around."
"What do you mean?" Chastity's voiced was tainted with concern.
"I guess it means they'll stop at nothing to be the best. And I've heard that these kids really aren't angels. They party like South Beach hoodlums, but still manage the 4.0s."
"I don't know Madison. Everyone is really gifted, but they all seem really honest too. Maybe it was just a rumor started by a competitor school. As for partying hard and still setting the curve, isn't that what we do best? Seriously Madison I wouldn't think too much of it."
"I just wanted to give you a heads up Chastity. Who knows about those rich kids. O but did I tell you how Serena and Steven are an item now? It's the funniest story. So there we are at the Baxter BBQ…"
The conversation shifted to some harmless gossip, and the subject of Willington was dropped as suddenly as it was brought up. Chastity wondered if it were at all true, but she couldn't imagine how any of it would affect her anyway. It's just one year, and if this school can get her into an Ivy League, then it had to have its merits.
Once the school year swung into full gear, Chastity became swamped with work. She'd grown very attached to her new group of friends, and they took really good care of her. A couple of weeks had passed since school had started, and Chastity felt fully adjusted, happy even. Sitting in the bright library of Ken's house, Jerry had some exciting news for Chastity.
"So at last week's meeting, we discussed the possibility of opening up a new office. Vanness has been psycho overwhelmed with committee work. He's asked for someone to split the job with, and there's homecoming in a month or so," Jerry started.
"What Jerry's blabbering on about is whether or not you'll want to be Event Coordinator this year," Shelly interrupted impatiently.
"Seriously? That'd be great. To tell you the truth, I've really missed being in the middle of all the mayhem," Chastity beamed. This really was good news. Not only would she get back some of the responsibility she was so used to, but she'd get to spend more time with the crew. Time and again, she still felt like an outsider to them, especially with Vic who wasn't around very often.
"But won't there have to be elections or something? I mean, you can't just give me the spot right?" Chastity wondered.
"Ken says you're pretty artistic. I told Mrs. Garwin you had sketches for the homecoming decor to show her. And as far as elections, don't worry about it. You're as good as in," Jerry assured her.
Chastity found it incredulous that they could just put her in office like that, but she was too elated to care. Didn't Ken tell her it was all about who you knew? She could whip up some ideas for homecoming in no time. In fact, in her enthusiasm, she got right to work when she got home that night. They usually finished up most of their homework together as a group, and Chastity didn't have much to do that night anyway. The next morning, Chastity stepped out of Ken's car as three other BMWs screeched to a halt in the surrounding spaces. Chastity thought it was funny that the guys all drove the same car, just in different colors. The whole group was really into uniformity and ritual she noticed. She helped Vanness adjust his uniform tie before going off to homeroom. Willington Prep's uniform really was, preppy. Chastity thought she'd hate it, but she rather enjoyed waking up knowing what to wear everyday. The pleated skirt was almost cute and paired with a cardigan sweater Chastity looked so country club.
~
"Well, look who it is," Melissa sneered at Chastity.
"Stop it Melissa. Shut up," Ashlyn tried to hush her friend. Chastity merely smiled at the girls clumped in the back of the room. It was ironic how much Ashlyn's attitude toward her had changed since she found out Chastity was friends with the student government gang. Melissa made catty remarks occasionally, but no one gave Chastity any real problems. Chastity visited the restroom after first period, and as she was washing her hands she found Melissa standing behind her.
"Which one of them are you sleeping with?" Melissa challenged.
"Excuse me?"
"Or maybe you're paying them. I want to know why you, little Miss Californian, feel you're privileged enough to hang out with Jerry's crew," Melissa went on.
"There's this little thing called friendship. But I wonder if they taught that lesson at etiquette school."
"Friendship? Ha. They don't make friends with anyone. It's always been them, ever since grade school. Ken was their last inductee, but that was years ago. Anyone can see Ken fits in with them, but you…what's so great about you?"
"Why do you talk about "them" like it's some secret society? Ken and I have been friends since before we were potty trained. It's not my business who "they" like or don't. Quit trying to hassle me about it. Green probably isn't going to compliment your complexion," Chastity assumed that was the reason behind Melissa's confrontation. She guessed Melissa really was jealous of her relationship with Ken.
"Don't kid yourself. I'd be careful if I were you. Before you know what hit you, they'll have dumped you," Melissa sashayed out of the bathroom in a huff. Chastity decided to keep this little encounter to herself. It was the second time someone had warned her to be cautious at Willington.
~
"Hey daddy. How was work today?" Chastity and her family ate dinner together every night. She dipped her chopsticks into a plate of greens.
"Not bad. Our new software is doing well in the market. The labs are doing some impressive research on new products now," Mr. Tse was proud of how well the company was doing in Boston. He had his hesitations, but his children and his business seemed to be flourishing in Boston.
"I'm glad. I was reading about this F4 virus that's been going around. Has it affected work at all?" Chastity continued.
"No, no. Those things are too trivial to harm our systems. It's probably just a couple of bored college students trying to plague the internet," Mr. Tse said disapprovingly.
"That's good. This F4 thing seems to shut down networks completely. There's a Honda dealership back in California that Newsweek said was really distraught by it. Something about a large shipment of parts going missing. I guess since every business transaction goes through computers now, a system malfunction can be crippling," Chastity reasoned.
"That's why there's such a demand for our products now. Our latest line of protective software is proving effective against the new wave of hackers," Mr. Tse grinned at his inquisitive daughter.
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