Making the Grade (The Model Spy #2)

Chapter 16 - Six Days

Millie and I walked to the dining hall together for breakfast the next morning. Thankfully, the questions concerning Max were no longer pressed by Millie. Instead, she skipped happily down the hall and chatted about a banquet in London that coming Saturday for her parents’ charity.

“Will and Kate couldn’t make it, but of course they are busy. I saw them several weeks ago and they have their hands full with little George!” She took the steps two at a time.

It took me a few seconds to wrap my finger around what she had said. When it clicked: “You know…you know the Duke and Duchess?” I asked.

“Well, I don’t. Not personally, anyway. But with all the charity and political work my dad does, he has run into them a few times. My parents just had dinner with them a few weeks ago.”

The dining hall was bustling with students. Some were finishing homework and others were chatting over cups of tea and coffee. A table of boys eyed Millie as she walked past, leading me towards the buffet-style line of food. I looked back over my shoulder at the group, Jayden unsurprisingly among them. It was pure jealousy of Millie that caused them to be so hostile towards her. It wasn’t her fault that the tuition was rising. It was the board’s fault. They were greedy and saw what people were willing to pay, that wealthy families had the money to pay for St. Margaret’s.

Millie and I filled our trays and walked towards the far wall of the dining hall. A small table, a square one that seated four, was pushed against a large window. Outside, the sky was a bright blue. Only a few clouds hovered on the horizon, but they were white and airy, like uncolored cotton candy.

A boy and a girl were waiting at the table, already halfway done with their breakfast. When they caught sight of Millie and me, they both waved.

“They are so excited to meet you! I told them all about you!” Millie waved back.

All about me? All the lies I had to spew out? Then obviously they didn’t know that much about me.

The girl, her hair big and curly and tied away from her face with a blue ribbon, moved her homework to the side of the table so I had room to sit my tray as I took a seat next to her.

“I’m Haylee.” She smiled.

“Lucas,” the boy, who had ruffled blonde hair, said between two forkfuls of scrambled eggs.

“I’m Laura.” I went to sit down on the hard plastic seat, but nearly missed and grabbed hold of the table’s edge to keep from falling to the floor.

Haylee placed a hand on my back. “You alright?” she asked.

I nodded, feeling the warm blush creep across my face. How long did it take for me to make a fool of myself?

“Millie tells us that you are from America. Which state?” Lucas asked before taking a sip of water.

Let the lying game begin. “New York. Upstate,” I clarified.

“Have you ever been to the city?” Haylee asked.

I nodded. “I go all the time.” Really, I had gone twice. Once to see Hairspray on Broadway, the other time because my dad was sent as extra security when the governor of California went on a visit.

“That’s my dream,” Lucas chimed in, “to walk down 42nd Street.”

I looked to Millie for clarification. She took a bite out of her toast and laughed. “Lucas wants to be on Broadway.”

“LuPone, Menzel, Foster,” he said dreamily. “Bryant Park, the Battery, Times Square.”

“He hasn’t been further from his home than London,” Haylee felt the need to add.