Gold Rush

Chapter Five

By Friday, the whole high school knew about the party Kevin was throwing at his house. It wasn’t that surprising— everyone knew Kevin. He was probably the richest kid at the school. His parents donated money with way too many zeroes to it every year, which made him the favorite with the principal, which gave him certain privileges.

            “Yun, is it true Gold is going to your party tonight?” Michelle, a junior in our art class, asked Kevin. Her eyes were lit up with excitement. “Like, you guys are friends?”

            “They will be attending,” Kevin told her, looking smug. “Gold wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

            “What wouldn’t we miss for the world?” Rian asked, dropping into a seat next to me. He glanced at me, a smirk gracing his lips. “Hey, Iris.”

            I raised an eyebrow at him. “Hey?”

            Rian had developed a strange habit of greeting me with a smirk every time he saw me. I didn’t understand it, nor did I want to, but it was kind of unsettling. It was like he knew a secret about me, but wouldn’t tell me what he knew. Of course he couldn’t know anything about me, since I hadn’t told him anything.

            Suddenly a group of underclassmen were surrounding out art table, each staring at Rian with wide eyes. Apparently if one girl came up, it was an open invitation for anyone else who wanted to talk.

            “Will Brendon be there?” Michelle inquired.

            Before Kevin could respond, I cut in. “No, he’s out of town.”

            Her expression fell quickly.

            “Who’s Brendon?” Rian asked, turning towards me.

            “No one,” I responded quickly. If he found out whom Brendon was… erg, I didn’t even want to think about it.

            “Rian!” a short girl cried unnecessarily loudly. “Yesterday I heard one of Gold’s songs on the radio!”

            Rian turned to her, grinning. “Really?”

            “Well I was listening to the top ten songs on 101.3, and your song was number three,” a brunette I recognized as Amelia, the sophomore class president, added.

            “I bought your new C.D!”

            “I have all your albums!”

            Rian’s head snapped in the direction of every girl that called out. I was surprise he didn’t have whiplash. Suddenly Chloe appeared from the group of girls, slumping into a seat across from me. Luke and Noah appeared moments later, sending the girls who were still standing around us into excited twitters.

            “Can I take your picture?” Amelia asked, whipping out her cell phone. “I know they teachers told us we couldn’t, but I’m sure it’s fine if we have your permission.”

            Rian exchanged quick looks with Luke and Noah before shrugging. “Sure. Gold, or just me?”

            “All of you,” Amelia clarified, beaming. “Wow, you guys are awesome.”

            “Only snobs are jerks to their fans,” Luke told Amelia, sending her a million dollar smile.

            Someone cleared their throat from the front of the room, and everyone turned to see Mr. Smith watching my table warily. “Whatever you all are plotting, leave it until after class. You need to work on your projects now.”