Chapter Thirty-Six Maya

Chapter Thirty-Six

Maya

February 2012

Over the past week, snow had swept down over campus, covering the quad in deep blankets of white. Stepping out of my building, I ran my fingers along a wall of snow until they went numb.

DuPont had been using me. To tutor his friend’s son. To cheat Calum’s way in. To gain leverage over me. And he was bribing the dean of admissions to do this tens, hundreds of times. It was worse than I’d thought.

But we had to be smart about this. We couldn’t just turn him and Marsden in. We would be the first to get expelled.

I was about to call Nate when my phone rang. It was Aunt Ella.

“Aunt Ella. Is everything all right?”

“Maya?” My little sister’s voice on the other end of the line made my heart leap.

“Naomi? Hi! Are you okay?” I wondered if the social worker had come back.

“Yep,” she said, easing my anxiety. “I was just calling to see if you’re coming home soon?” Her words brought tears to my eyes.

“I want to,” I said, heart breaking. “But flights are expensive right now. And I’ve been saving up so that you can change schools.” I paused, tears pricking my eyes. “I’m going to get some money soon and everything will be better. You’ll be here in no time.”

“Really? I can live with you at Princeton?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. That’s not what I’d meant, but the hope in her voice meant I had to find a way to make that happen. “You’d love it here. The library has six floors and is built like a castle.”

“A castle?”

“You’ll see. Anyway, how’s school?”

“Good.”

“Are you happy? Are you feeling okay?”

When she didn’t answer, I closed my eyes, filled with guilt. She needed me and I was thousands of miles away.

“I’m okay,” she said finally. I hoped she wasn’t just saying that.

“If something happens, you can tell me. I promise I won’t be mad.”

“I know.”

“I love you, you know that, right?”

“I know.” There was a sadness in her voice.

“I’m going to figure out a way for us to be together really soon,” I said. “I promise.”

“Miss you, Maya,” Naomi said.

“I miss you too.” I kept the phone pressed against my ear until she hung up the line.

I was slowly lowering the phone from my ear when in the distance, walking quickly with her hood over her head, there she was. The person I’d been looking for: Lila.

—

I’d been trying to find her since the conversation the girls and I had had over dinner the other night. The angry look on Cecily’s face. “I heard Lila is trying to get Greystone shut down.”

My hand had covered my mouth. Oh my god. Lila had warned me against joining Greystone…but I had no idea she’d take it this far.

“I don’t know what she’s thinking,” Cecily said. “But we have to do something to stop her.”

I watched as she cut into a rare piece of steak, bright red oozing onto the white plate. Greystone meant a lot to her. Not only was she president, but her family had founded the Society.

Kai looked at me. “Maya, you should talk to her, you’re closest to her.”

I nodded. “I’ll do it.”

—

Hidden under the fur hood of my jacket, I followed Lila as she cut down a cloister of Rockefeller College. If what Marta had warned me about was true, Lila might have fallen out with Professor DuPont…but still, she couldn’t really want to bring the whole club down. Did she realize how much was at stake for all of us? For me? If something happened to Greystone, that would mean the end of my lifeline to my sister. Maybe if I could explain this to her, she would understand. I watched her go into the library, and I hurried to catch her.

—

Lila’s things were strewn about her usual study spot, but there was no sign of her. I was about to turn back when her laugh echoed from down the hall. Careful not to be seen, I followed the sound until I was deep within the stacks.

There it was again: her laugh, from the other side of the shelves. And another voice. She was with someone else.

“What are you going to do now?” The voice sounded familiar…where had I heard it before?

“I told Professor Williams what I knew. She said an internal investigation is under way. I have enough evidence to take to the police,” Lila said, barely above a whisper. She was going to the police?

I pressed my ear against the books but could only make out a few words. Matthew DuPont and the Society.

I crouched down lower, finding a natural crack between the spines where I could see the hem of her skirt and her friend’s jeans.

I craned my neck farther. Standing next to Lila was Austin, the drummer whom I had met at Terrace.

“I was able to get ahold of some of the Legacy Foundation accounting spreadsheets,” Lila said. “They’ve got millions of dollars from funds linked to Greystone, and they’re funneling them to Marsden.” Marsden…the dean of admissions? “It’s like corporate money laundering, but for spots at Princeton. Usually wealthy alumni just donate a building or something. But this is different. These donations are from Greystone on behalf of their members. ” Lila’s tone gave me chills.

“This’ll be the biggest story The Prince has ever seen,” Austin said. The Prince was short for The Daily Princetonian, the school paper, which was known for reporting the truth, no matter what. The blood had left my face and pooled at the base of my stomach. Was Calum Fuller one of these “laundered” applicants?

“I’m certain the new investment fund Senator Bain is backing is breaking all kinds of laws too,” Lila added. “The return is way too good to be true, so I’m guessing they’re trading information, inflating prices, the whole thing.”

“Let’s focus on Marsden and the admissions piece for now. You’ve got real evidence there.”

“I can’t wait to take Matthew DuPont down,” Lila said.

“And Greystone,” Austin agreed. “I can’t wait to watch those overprivileged assholes fail for once in their lives.”

I pressed my back against the books, heart loud in my throat. What had happened to make her want to go to war against the Society like this? If Matthew’s shady business practices were exposed, everything else would start to come out too—the girls doing drugs with Alex Bain, the money I’d accepted from Mrs. Fuller. Our reputation. Our future.

Panicking, I slipped into the bathroom down the hall and hid in the first stall, quickly typing a text to Daisy: NEED TO TALK NOW!

Daisy responded right away: Meet us in Cecily’s room.

—

“I know Austin,” Kai said, after I told the girls about what I’d heard. “She’s the editor in chief of The Prince. ”

“What does that mean for Greystone?” Daisy asked.

“It’s not good,” Kai said. “All the money we have is provided by the Legacy Foundation. The staff, the building, our member fees, loans, it’s all from that foundation. Greystone can’t exist without it.” I thought of the job offer I’d gotten from Mrs. Fuller—and the ten-thousand-dollar check I’d cashed—and felt weak.

Daisy twisted a strand of hair in her fingers, eyes darting between the girls. “What about the photos of us with Alex Bain?”

Fear and dread wound themselves in my gut. “We could all be expelled,” I said.

“Not just expelled,” Kai said. “We could end up in prison.”

“The dean of admissions was in Greystone too,” I told them. “Matthew’s been paying him to let in kids of Greystone alumni…If that gets out, it’ll be all over the news.”

Cecily suddenly stood.

I watched her grab her bag and head for the door. “Where are you going?”

She didn’t turn around. “I’ll explain later.”