Chapter 11: I’m Not Worried

The night of the Edenbrook Academy Gala had finally arrived. While I was sure that the plan was going to work, I couldn’t help but get something akin to stage fright and anxiety the closer the event got.

Mal must have infused the dress she made me with some kind of special confident-boosting potion though because I felt as light as a feather when I slipped it on. As I gazed at my reflection, I actually felt beautiful in the short, but flowy fairy dress, like a fairy princess that Mal was trying to make me look like.

Then I twirled and the fabric fluffed up and nearly rode up too far up my thighs, my pleasure at feeling sexy was replaced by mortification. That was when I wanted to choke Mal.

Did she really expect me to dance and jump around onstage in such a short dress?

But not much I could do now. I quickly put on some simple makeup and rushed out the door to head to the gala.

My fairy wings were a bit silly, but as I hurried through campus, I laughed at the thought that it would be so nice if they actually worked.

"Ellie!" a familiar voice called.

I turned to see Aiden rushing toward me. He was dressed in a white suit with gold trim that actually matched my fairy costume perfectly.

"I didn't know our outfits were going to match!" I was enthused once he was in front of me. I laughed. "We look like we planned this."

Aiden scratched the tip and his nose and grinned. "Yeah, pretty sharp huh? I asked Mal what you would be wearing, and she picked out this outfit for me."

My jaw dropped. “Mal picked this?”

“Yep, she’s got good taste.” Aiden nodded with a chuckle, but then his gaze turned serious as he gave me a look up and down. "You look beautiful, Ellie."

I giggled lightly. "Thanks. Mal is a miracle worker."

I toyed with some of my long strands of thick hair. Luckily, I had managed to get them into nice, loose curls.

Aiden looked away for a moment, suddenly seeming shy and nervous. He held my gaze a moment later, his blue eyes burning. “Would you be my date to the gala?”

I blinked. “You’re so silly, Aiden. This isn’t prom or anything like that. We don’t have dates.” I turned and hurried toward the steps leading up to the large event building. “Come on, Mal is already there. Let’s not make her wait.”

The event building where the gala was taking place was in the heart of campus. The building was dome-shaped like a royal cathedral. It was probably the biggest, grandest building in this part of the city, but the space was only used a handful of times each year. This was the second biggest event, the largest being graduation.

I’ve been in this breathtaking hall a handful of times, but I was still in awe each time I stepped through the large double doors with swirly vine patterns.

The ceilings were high, which was true of all of the buildings in Edenbrook Academy, but the event space was even taller. It was clearly designed to be luxurious and opulent with ornate chandeliers and rich, plush furnishings. Rose petals were sprinkled on the tables and along the main pathway that stretched down the whole length of the room.

It’s also the only place I knew that got completely renovated several times a year. The flooring was completely replaced to reflect whatever event was taking place. This time, marble tiling with a tasteful floral pattern was chosen.

It looked nothing like a university fair, and much more like some kind of red carpet event.

The gala wasn’t officially supposed to start for another half hour, but it looked like it was in full swing. Many of the guests, a lot of them Edenbrook Academy alumni, were wandering around, looking at the various student displays.

“You’re not performing for another couple of hours, right?” Aiden gestured toward all the large, lavish booths toward the center of the room. “Want to check out the other booths before we head to the theater stage? I’ll let Mal know where we are.”

I nodded sure and we headed toward where the majority of people were hanging around. There were quite a few guests, but mainly students most likely sizing up the competition.

The culinary club had some impressive pastries like fruit tarts and eclairs that we were able to sample. The archery club set up a full course that was themed to medieval times. They wore armor and shot at lion statues with painted targets. My favorite was the art club’s full gallery of paintings and sculptures.

My eyes narrowed when we got to the debate club’s display.

Aiden whistled low. “Man, they really went all out this year.”

I wanted to kick him in the shin, but even I had to admit that their area was impressive.

The debate club had walls put up inside the grand event space. They had giant banners with their intricate logo on them. The event hadn’t started yet, but there was already some kind of heated debate happening between none other than Penny and one of her male club members.

I couldn’t help but cross my arms as Aiden and I stood to the side, watching the little show that they were putting on. I found myself immediately envious of Penny’s cool confidence.

She was a pretty girl, with dark straight hair that always seemed perfect. I listened to Penny and her fellow club members prattle on about global warming of all things. Although it was clear that Penny was going to win the argument, they were all still extremely invested.

They had already gathered a crowd that was watching as if they were a bunch of sports enthusiasts watching the biggest game of the season. I was wondering why the audiences were so interested in the debate, then suddenly noticed that they weren’t invested in the topic of the debate at all.

They were invested in Penny.

She was wearing an extremely low-cut blouse. It took me up until now to realize that there were quite a few older alumni who were leering at her curved figure.

I looked up at Aiden to see what he thought of the debate.

“I hate to say it,” Aiden started when he realized I was staring at him. He grinned a bit sheepishly at me. “If you want to win the competition, you might have to cut your collar a few inches lower and your skirt a few inches shorter.”

I groaned with frustration and grabbed Aiden’s arm, pulling him away from the growing crowd.

Penny, for real?

Mal had warned me that Penny would play dirty, but I never thought the proud brunette would actually stoop so low as to use her body to attempt to win this competition.

We decided to grab some dinner at the buffet that was provided before we headed to the theater club. That would still leave us plenty of time to help set up since we were performing toward the end of the night. I couldn’t help but angrily plop some mashed potatoes onto my plate. Aiden followed me, putting a healthy helping of steak onto his plate.

“You’re not actually worried about tonight, are you?” he asked as we finished up filling our plates and went to find a table.

“Not really.” I had confidence in my plan, especially, even Professor Bennett seemed to like it.

We found an empty candle-lit table that was littered with fresh rose petals. We put our plates down, but Aiden put a hand on my shoulder before I could slide into one of the seats.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he said in a low, gentle voice. “You don’t have to worry. You’re not doing this alone. Mal and I are going to be there for you, even if we’re not onstage, we’ll just be a few feet away, cheering you on.”

“Thank you, Aiden.” I gave him a grateful smile.

“You’re welcome, girl!” He grinned back and suddenly wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his chest. There was something a bit too intense in the supposedly comforting embrace. I patted his back awkwardly.

My eyes widened and I jumped back and out of Aiden’s hold when I saw Professor Bennett coming purposefully toward us. He looked calm, but there was something almost murderous about his expression.

My face immediately flamed as it tended to do when I was anywhere near the hot professor.

He was cloaked in a dark tuxedo that seemed tailored to perfection. The midnight black fabric clung to his frame, accentuating his broad shoulders and tapering waist, as if the suit were custom-crafted to epitomize his elegance.

“Good evening,” he said in a low, smooth voice that caused my skin to prickle. He wasn’t looking at me though. My eyebrows rose in confusion as Professor Bennett glowered at Aiden.

Aiden’s blue eyes darkened as they narrowed, and he squared his shoulders. He was six two, but Profesor Bennett was even taller.

I stepped toward Professor Bennett, shooting Aiden a warning look. Even if he saw the professor as a competition for popularity among girls, he shouldn’t be rude.

“Good evening, Professor,” I chirped.

Professor Bennett tore his hard gaze away from Aiden to look down at me. His expression softened a bit.

“I thought I should swing by and wish the theater club good luck,” he said. He bent his head slightly toward me and said in a lower voice. “Although, luck might not be necessary considering what you’ve got planned.”

“Thank you.” I felt my cheeks start to heat up and I tried to send him a knowing smirk.

Aiden looked between us, obviously confused.

Professor Bennett nodded. “I look forward to the show.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly as he glanced at Aiden before leaving us alone and heading toward the main section of the event.

Aiden pinned me with an almost stern look.

“What was that all about?” he demanded.

I tried not to laugh nervously and settled for a forced shrug. I turned away so he couldn’t see my face, slipping into one of the chairs.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Aiden. He was just wishing us luck.”

He was about to say something when my phone rang.

"Hey, Mom."

"Ellie, thank God you picked up. Listen, we have to talk."

"What's up?"

"It's about the house. Our mortgage is due, and if we don't pay soon, we're gonna lose it."

My heart dropped. "What? How much do we owe?"

This time, she was silent, and that only made me more worried.

“Ellie, we’re so sorry … we tried to figure things out, and we’ve been trying for the past two months…”

“What?” I gasped, “Why haven’t you mentioned a word of this to me?!”

“I, I'm sorry! We didn't want you to worry. You have your own life and—"

“But Mom, now you guys are going to lose the house. Our house!” I interrupted.

Aiden tapped on his watch, signaling that we needed to get going unless we wanted to be late. I took a deep breath and demanded as calm as I could. “Mom, just tell me how much we need?”

She hesitated, but eventually told me, “Five thousand. We have two weeks to make the payment.”

I sucked in some air. Five thousand … how the hell was I supposed to get that much money in two weeks? But all I could tell her was, “Okay, don’t worry about it. We’ll figure it out.”

I looked up. Mal was waving at Aiden and me from a distance. It was time and I needed to get ready for the show.

Mom choked, “Ellie, we’re so sorry, we…”

“Mom.” I tried my best to keep my voice calm. “It's okay. I’ll take care of it, I promise. I gotta go, I have a pretty important thing that I need to take care of now. Let me call you back tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay, sweetheart. Good luck with whatever you’re doing.”

I sighed, “Thank you, Mom, I need it.”