Rags to Riches

I spent the next few days focusing on homework. It was really the only thing that would get my mind off of Kenny. The idea of not getting accepted to Harvard was enough to get me back on track. With all the excitement of playing dress up and going to dinner parties, I'd been neglecting school, which was weird for me. I had two papers and three exams coming up, none of which I had paid the slightest bit of attention to until the night after the dinner party. After a week of meeting with every teacher that would allow me to pester them during their free time, I spent the entire weekend hunched over textbooks and notebooks.

Ever since I'd decided to stop hanging out with Avia and whoever was mooching rides off of us at lunch, I spent most of my time either talking to teachers, or hanging out in the corner of the library that I had dubbed as my throne. I found that if you're in the library, it doesn't matter if you're always alone. People just assume that you're a hardworking student cramming for some exam, rather than a loner writing erotic fanfiction by herself every day. I already had my label as a hardworking student anyways, so not much had changed.

I was going back to my regular throne when I sensed something wrong in the atmosphere of the room. Everyone had their usual spot in the library, and since I was a senior, no one dared to take mine. However, sitting on my throne was a girl I hadn't seen before with her nose buried in a book. She kept brushing short blonde curls out of her face when they fell in her eyes, parting her momentarily from the story she was reading. At least, I assumed it was a story. No one looked that interested when reading a textbook.

I wondered if she knew that she was in my spot. I was far too nice to tell her off, but I was uncomfortable with the way I'd been dethroned like that. I casually set my books down a couple seats away from her, on the other side of the table. She glanced up for a moment, then back down at her book. Well, that didn't work the way I hoped it would. I reluctantly opened my textbook anyways, starting my notes in a different seat, despite how uncomfortable I was.

"You can have your seat back..."

I looked up when the girl spoke again, in a softer, higher pitched voice than I expected. She was smiling at me, carefully placing a bookmark in the book. She reminded me of Tinkerbell, if Tinkerbell was cute and sweet instead of sassy. I shook my head quickly.

"Oh, it's not my seat. Public library. Anyone can sit anywhere," I told her quickly, only to get shushed for being too loud.

"Anyone can sit anywhere, but I always see you sitting here. So you can have it back," she said. "I just wanted to sit here to see if there was a special reason why you sit here all the time, but I guess I can't see what you can. So you can have it back."

Before I could protest again, she moved to the seat right next to her, seemingly waiting for me to take the seat back. She didn't seem like she was about to give it up, so I sighed and moved back, turning red from embarrassment at my own behavior. I pulled my textbook over and started on my notes again quietly, looking away.

"My mother used to work for TechNet, you know," the girl spoke again. "She moved to a different company a few years ago, but she used to talk about how she looked up to your dad, even though she never got to meet him. She worked with your brother, though. Caleb?"

"Connor," I corrected quietly.

"Right, sorry," the girl said. "Anyways, my name is Nicole."

I sighed and closed the textbook slowly, realizing that studying wasn't going to happen. "I'm Callie."

"It's nice to meet you," she grinned.

After that, the bell to signal our next class rang, and I stood up from my seat. Nicole stood up and walked with me, clutching her book to her chest.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked.

"Uh, sure," I said, never having met someone so eager to hang out with me.

"Great!" she grinned, hugging me before running off to her next class.

I stood there for a moment, stunned. Well, she was quiet, but she definitely wasn't shy. I guess I wasn't going to fight it. I needed to be a little less lonely.

Later that night, I was cooped up in my room again, once again hunched over textbooks. I hadn't realized how late it had gotten until my dad walked in and closed my textbook, reading the labels on some envelopes in his hand as he tossed each one on my desk in front of me.

"Princeton University, UC Berkeley, Georgetown University, and Cal Tech," he said.

I awkwardly pushed the unopened letters to the side, avoiding my father's piercing stare. When I didn't say anything, he spoke again.

"These are all responses to your college applications. Unopened. You know, the ones you told me you hadn't heard back from yet?" he said slowly. "It's funny, actually. I found them sticking out of your bag today, all bundled up with a rubber band. I wonder, how they could have been put there without you noticing them?"

"What were you doing looking through my bag?" I frowned.

"I wasn't looking through it, they were sticking out. Besides, I'm your father. I paid for that bag, along with all of your other bags, so I can look through it whenever I want," he said sternly, challenging me to try and talk back to him. I never.

"I'm not opening any of them until Harvard responds," I admitted quietly. "I won't open them unless I get denied acceptance."

"Callie, don't do this to yourself," Dad argued. "You've gotten to the point of obsession with this school. Do you have any idea what some people will do to get into some of the schools you've heard back from? And you're just setting the letters aside like it's no big deal. Cal, Harvard is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. If you don't get admitted, I don't want to see you get crushed like that."

"But if I do get admitted, I don't want to know where else I got accepted or denied," I told him. "I don't want to have second thoughts about my decision."

"You're a smart girl, Callie. But that might have been the least logical thing you've ever said to me," Dad sighed. "Just open one of them. Just for me, okay?"

"Dad..."

"Please?" he begged, picking up the Princeton letter and handing it to me.

I reluctantly took it and slowly opened up the envelope, quickly reading over the letter. Oh. I folded it up again, expressionless, and set it down. Dad looked at me expectantly, waiting impatiently for an answer and looking a little concerned at how blank I was.

"I'm in," I said quietly.

"You're in?" he exclaimed, eyebrows shooting up. "Callie, that's amazing. Princeton is an amazing school! Why aren't you excited?"

"I am," I lied, giving him a half smile. "I kind of just want to go back to studying for now, though. I'm refusing to catch senioritis."

Dad sighed and shook his head, carefully sliding the letter back in the envelope and tucking it into my drawer for me. He glanced up when my mother walked down the hallway past my room, giving him a slight nod on her way. He then cleared his throat awkwardly, looking back down at me. The exchange was strange, and something I wasn't sure what to make of. Neither my mother nor father were smiling at each other, but they didn't seem upset with each other either. Just blank and emotionless.

"Listen, Callie, I called Connor. He'll be around to get you in a half hour or so," he said. "Sorry I didn't tell you earlier. It was kind of a last minute decision."

"Woah, what?" I frowned. "You're sending me to Connor's place?"

"Just for one night!" he said quickly. "You can take your stuff with you and he'll drive you to school tomorrow morning. And I'll get your stuff from him and pick you up. Alright?"

"Why? Dad, I need to study," I protested.

"Callie, you've been studying non-stop for days. Be a teenager and take a little break, okay?" he sighed. "Mom and I need a little alone time. Every couple that has been married as long as we have needs time without their kids around, Cal. Don't make me go into detail, but that hot tub is calling our-"

"Okay!" I said quickly, cutting him off. "I'll pack up my stuff. Fine."

Dad chuckled and kissed the top of my head before exiting the room, leaving me there. I quickly changed out of my hoodie and sweatpants to something a little bit more presentable. Around Ella, I needed a little mascara and eyeliner to feel confident in myself. I stuffed some clothes into my backpack just as the front door opened and I heard Liseph talking to Connor. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and came down the stairs to approach them. Dad was talking to Connor in hushed tones, and both of them quieted down.

"Ready to go?" Connor asked.

"What were you guys talking about?" I asked him, glancing between him and my father.

"About Princeton," Connor smirked. "Congrats, kid. That's huge."

"Dad, don't tell the whole world," I groaned.

"I told your brother, Callie," Dad said. "Anyways, you two kids have fun. I'll see you both tomorrow."

I hugged him goodbye before following Connor out and climbing into his car. I waved to him and my mother as we peeled out of the driveway, on the way to Connor's apartment in the city.

On the inside, it was no secret that Connor was not okay. On the outside, however, he was the "American dream". He was tall, handsome, athletic, and well off to say the least. He'd been featured once in Forbes's 30 under 30, and twice in different athletic magazines during his 15 minutes of fame as an Olympic Athlete when he was eighteen years old. He lived in the penthouse suite in one of the nicest high rise buildings in the city with his inhumanely gorgeous girlfriend and fancy little dog, who greeted me as soon as I stepped inside.

"Hello, Mochi!" I gushed as I picked up the fluffy Pomeranian and cuddled him close as he tried to squirm out of my grasp.

I spotted Ella lying on the couch a little bit away, smiling and waving to her. Despite wearing a plain grey t-shirt and black leggings while snacking on cheese puffs, she still looked like a superstar. How was that even possible? She grinned and offered me the bowl of cheese puffs, which I politely declined.

"Hey, Callie. We were thinking about putting on a movie before heading to bed. What do you think?" she asked.

"Unless you're too busy being a child genius," Connor added, ruffling my hair as he dropped his keys in a bowl by the door.

"Yeah, making up for your failures," I told him, fixing my hair. "Gotta make sure the Seville family has something to be proud of, right?"

"Okay Baby Einstein, I dare you to make another remark like that," he challenged.

"What about your failure?" I teased. "I don't need to say anything, your sad and pathetic demeanor speaks for itself-"

Connor didn't let me finish before coming up from behind and picking me up, swinging me over his shoulder. Growing up, Connor and I were constantly fighting. Not in a genuinely hating way, but in the typical brother-sister way. He'd cut my doll's hair to annoy me, and in return, I'd flush his iPod down the toilet. For the most part, we never screamed or yelled at each other. Rather, we'd start fighting to the death until Liseph or our father pried us apart. At the end of the day, we were both covered in scratches and bruises, but we still loved each other. Even if we wouldn't admit it.

Things hadn't changed much. I kicked and yelled to get loose, but Connor was always much bigger and taller than I was, and had no problem carrying me to the back and shoving me into the broom closet, closing the door and locking me in the dark with the cleaning supplies. I banged on the door, but it didn't do much.

"Let me out!" I demanded.

"You can come out when you learn how to behave," he laughed, banging right back on the door before walking away.

I was in there for a good ten minutes before Ella finally got the key from Connor and let me out. "You two make me wish I had siblings..."

"To lock you in broom closets?" I asked.

"That's one way to think of it," she smirked. "Anyways, movie?"

"Actually, I've kind of had a long day," I told her. "And it's a school night. So I'll probably just go to bed."

"Alright, whatever floats your boat," she smiled. "I should get Connor in bed, too."

When I gave her a weird look, she rolled her eyes at me and added on to her last comment. "For sleep, I mean. He was up before the sun today. He'll probably be up tomorrow, too. Jesus, Callie, we're not animals."

"Goodnight, Ella," I giggled, hugging her before heading to the guest room I always stayed in.

I yawned and closed the bedroom door behind me, wandering out onto the little balcony the room had. I leaned on the railing and looked down at the cars and people lighting up the night in the city below me, wind blowing through my hair. It was nearly one in the morning, but people were bustling about down there like it was no big deal. It wasn't a big deal. And that's why I was ditching Connor and Ella to wiggle into a somewhat nicer outfit and go out.

I flopped on the bed on my stomach and pulled out my phone, instinctively flipping to the only contact that I genuinely enjoyed spending time with. My thumb hovered over Kenny's name, hesitating before sending him a text. I hadn't talked to him since the night of the dinner party. I'd been so caught up in my schoolwork, and in a way, was a little bit nervous as to how he felt about the night after having a little bit of time to think about it. I eventually decided there was only one way to find out, sending him a quick text.



A couple minutes later, he responded.











I quickly sent him Connor's address and went to change, taking some time to fix my hair and makeup until I got the text that Kenny was waiting outside around an hour and a half hour later. Connor and Ella were both asleep in the other room, like they thought I was doing too. I quietly snuck out the door so they wouldn't wake up, shutting the door as softly as I could. While I knew that Connor wouldn't care about me being out and about, I also knew that he'd ask who I was with. And lying to Connor had to be harder than lying to both my parents, mostly because he could tell if I was lying in an instant. And he'd never let me live it down.

Kenny was waiting anxiously in a beat up old car, bouncing his knee impatiently. He reached over to unlock the door for me. He didn't hesitate to drive away from the building as soon as I climbed into the car.

"If my parents find out I took the car on a school night, this may be the last time you see me alive," he grumbled. "I didn't know you'd ask me to come all the way out to the city."

"Connor lives there," I explained, pointing behind me to the building we were driving away from. "I'm spending the night at his place."

"Does he know you're out here with me?"

"He's my brother, not my father," I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry about it."

Kenny sighed and nodded, leaning back in his seat as he squeezed back into the bustling traffic of the city. I could tell he didn't come around the city very often. While we lived in two very different neighborhoods, we were both from fairly suburban areas. I caught him glance over and look me up and down for a second, casually looking back to the road when I looked back at him.

"Where are we going, anyways?" he asked. "It's kind of late, and neither of us would fit in at a sleazy nightclub."

"I don't know, I just needed to get out of there," I sighed, shrugging.

"Why, what happened?" he asked, frowning. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," I reassured him. "I got accepted to Princeton today."

Kenny raised an eyebrow in surprise, much like everyone else in my family. "So what's the issue?"

"I don't want to go there," I admitted. "I've had my heart set on Harvard since I was a kid."

"So... what's the issue?" he slowly asked again.

"Exactly," I said. "There shouldn't be an issue. But for some reason, there is."

He looked like he was going to ask me about it again, but quickly got the message that I didn't want to talk about it and snapped his mouth shut again. The next few minutes were spent weaving through traffic, honking at other cars, and rolling down the window to shout obscene things at rude people as Kenny made his way out of the city, back on the clear road, where there were fewer cars and people.

"Where can two people under 21 go at this hour...?" Kenny mused to himself, thinking for a moment. "Hold on, I know a place. Do you have a curfew?"

"As long as I'm back before dawn, I should be okay," I told him.

He nodded as he pulled onto the highway, taking me in a direction near home. Around twenty minutes later, I recognized his neighborhood, though we weren't going in the direction of his house. I looked outside at all the houses lining the streets, all smaller and blander than I was used to. There were a few people out, but they didn't look like the kinds of people I wanted to be hanging out with at night. Kenny, on the other hand, seemed okay. He lived here, after all. None of this was new to him.

He drove up to an empty park at the end of the block, which was seemingly neglected. Unlike the bright, colorful, and safe-looking playgrounds I grew up with, this seemed on the more eerie side. The swings squeaked softly as they swayed in the breeze, metal playground sporting rust on the edges and corners. There was a dent in the side of the slide and some spray painted tags on the wall around the playground.

Kenny parked on the side of the street, pulling on his jacket as pulling an old blanket from the backseat, throwing it at me with a half smile as he exited the car. I rolled my eyes and wrapped it around my bare shoulders, not exactly in the right attire for a chilly night at the park. At least Kenny knew it. He moved to my side and opened my door for me, nodding towards the park.

"I spent most of my childhood here," he told me as he took my hand and shut the door behind me.

When we held hands, I couldn't help but feel a little safer and more comfortable, following behind him and listening while he recounted his childhood at the park.

"I broke my arm falling off the monkey bars over there. And I broke another kid's arm when I accidentally pushed him off the swing when I was seven."

"How do you 'accidentally' push someone off a swing?" I asked.

"It's easy, really. If they're hogging and don't get off within a half hour of you telling them you're waiting, all you have to do is grab the chain while they're swinging so they fly off," he shrugged.

"That doesn't sound like an accident."

"I was seven," he smirked. "Everything is an accident when you're seven. And from what I was told, I was a cute kid who could get away with bullshit like that."

"You're still a cute kid," I laughed, bumping him lightly.

He grinned and squeezed my hand lightly, sitting down on the swing and looking up at me. While things had gotten a little weird the last time we were together, I'd completely forgotten about how nervous I was over seeing him again. In fact, I think I spoke for the both of us when I say I was happy to see him again. I hadn't realized how much I missed talking to him.

This time, however, things were different. If we had been this comfortable with each other before, I didn't remember or acknowledge it. But now, I wanted to be close to him, and I wanted to hold his hand.

"I'm just going to be straight with you right now. I missed you, Callie," he finally said after a few moments of silence, seemingly reading my mind.

"I did too," I admitted. "Like crazy, actually. Why didn't you call or text me?"

"Why didn't you?" he asked, swinging lightly.

"I didn't want you to think I was pushing myself on you," I told him. "Don't shit yourself, Kenny. It's no use pretending like we never kissed, and it's no use for me to pretend like I didn't feel a connection there. I may not exactly be an expert in this department, but I'm not dead inside."

When I looked at him again, he was just staring at me with a blank expression, processing my miniature rant. I felt myself turn red as I pulled my hand away, but he took it again, this time pulling me into his lap and putting an arm around me, more in a comforting way than a romantic one. I sighed and resting my head on his shoulder, just swinging back and forth gently for a minute or two before he broke the silence.

"It might be weird. For other people, I mean," he said quietly. "Your family might not like it."

"Does it matter what my family thinks?" I asked.

He shrugged, lightly running his fingers through my hair. "It might."

"So what, then?" I asked, a little annoyed. "You tell me, because I can't seem to get on your wavelength right now."

"Well...," his voice trailed off a little bit, but he seemingly gave up, sighing. "You're right. I should just let it happen. No more secrets, Kenny."

"Secrets?" I asked. "What secrets?"

"Lots of secrets," he admitted sheepishly. "From my family, especially. From you, too."

"But I tell you everything," I frowned.

"I tell you everything too. Well, except this. But you might lose all respect for me."

"I'll lose all respect for you if you don't tell me what it is right now," I said, genuinely concerned now.

"Well, I'm under the impression that your dad hasn't told anyone how he met me. For my sake. And I definitely haven't told anyone either, but I know you need to know," he said, speaking slowly as he thought of how to word it. "Well, I'll cut to the chase. I made some bad decisions, and I needed some money. I had a knife in my pocket, a crazy idea in my head, and enough confidence in myself to put my hood up and jump the next person who walked past me. And that person happened to be your dad."

I was speechless, staring at him in shock. Did I hear him wrong, or had he told me that he mugged my father? I never in my life would have guessed that Kenny would ever do such a thing, unless he was hopelessly desperate. He seemed to notice me tense as I sat up a little too quickly, nearly falling off him on the swing, had he not caught me.

"Relax, Cal, nothing happened," he said quickly. "I was a wimp, and your dad saw through me like I was made of glass. I think you can assume that since he's happy and healthy at home. He gave me the money I needed and told me that I can work it off. That's it. No one got hurt."

"What the hell were you thinking?" I gasped. "You could have been put away for a long time. Do you have any idea how long?"

"I wasn't thinking! That's the point. And yeah, I know how long I-"

He cut himself off suddenly, looking back at me and furrowing his brow. "Wait, I just told you that I pointed a knife at your father, and your biggest concern is what would've happened to me?"

"You've met my dad, Kenny. He's immortal. He can talk his way out of anything," I said, rolling my eyes. "I can't believe you didn't tell me this."

"Are you mad at me?"

I sighed and looked back at him, seeing how genuinely sorry and worried for me he was. Gosh, he was making it so hard to be mad at him with that face. I sighed and shook my head, resting my head on his shoulder again. Relieved, he pulled me a little closer and kissed the side of my head, which surprised me. In a good way. He was making it really hard to be mad at him, and a part of me wondered if he knew that. We stayed like that for a little while before he stood up from the swing, putting me back on my feet with him.

"Well, if we're not keeping any secrets from each other, I guess I should tell you the biggest secret of them all," he said, walking backwards in the direction of a tree in the grassy area. "The big secret of Marymount Park. Every kid who played here knows the secret."

"Oh? And what secret is that?" I asked, following him to the tree.

"This tree right here? It gives you gifts," he told me, patting the trunk. "But you have to promise to give it something in return, too."

"It gives gifts?"

"Yup," he nodded.

He took my hand and moved it up over my head, to where the tree trunk split into thick branches. I was hesitant when he told me to feel around up there, since any animal could be up there where I couldn't see, but my hand landed on something else instead. Plastic? There was a shallow, hollow area between the branches, and it felt like there were little trinkets left in the hollow part. I picked up the first thing I touched, which felt like a piece of fabric. When I looked at what was in my palm, I saw a little plastic doll in a frilly pink dress, with head full of tight red curls.

"Oh, I get it now," I said, smiling down at the doll in my hand.

I then looked down at myself and what I had on me, and unclipped my bracelet from around my wrist. It was a cute bracelet with a silver heart charm on the end, but I had lots just like it. Besides, it was the only thing I could really give back. I handed it to Kenny and he reached up to put it back with the rest, for the tree to give to someone else.

I sat down on the ground at the base of the tree, still looking at the doll in my hand. Kenny sat down next to me, taking the blanket off me and wrapping it around the both of us, leaning back against the tree trunk and letting me cuddle up next to him.

"Some kid is going to be really happy to get that bracelet," he said.

"I hope so," I chuckled. "How long have the kids been doing this? I'd imagine some kid would have taken everything from the tree by now."

"Actually, it started a long, long time ago. Or so they say. Back during the depression," he explained. "See, the kids around here don't really have much. We never got shiny new toys whenever we got bored with our old ones. So someone came up with this anonymous trade thing. Everyone trusts each other, I guess. No one has ever taken everything from the tree."

"That's adorable," I said, putting the doll down in my lap gently. "Tell me more about you as a kid."

He did just that, telling me about his endeavors as a kid, hanging out in the playground, breaking bones, and leaving gifts behind in the tree. Eventually he got to where his sister was born, which I listened to a little more closely. While I knew he had a sister, he rarely talked about her. Even then, when he was spilling his guts to me about near everything, he didn't say much about her. From what I could tell, he really cared about her. The age difference couldn't have been much too different than it was between me and my older brother, but I couldn't imagine him and I being that close. For the most part, we lived completely separate lives.

At some point in Kenny's stories, I fell asleep. I had no idea how late it was, and frankly, I didn't even care. I was just happy to be with him again.