AllFreeNovel
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“Fuck you. That’s the difference.”
They playfully slap each other.
“I want to join,” I say as they simmer down. “I barely got to do anything in high school. This is my chance to do something fun without my mother hounding me about my inhaler or my father having a chatwith the adult in charge to make sure I’m taken care of.”I sigh. “I want a normal college experience with parties and no curfews and?—”
“Sex with hot frat guys,” Violet says. “Yeah, we know.”
They titter. I blush.
“Well, no. I don’t mean that.I just don’t want to be treated like a broken kid anymore. I want to?—”
“Wake up in a random bed next to a sweaty frat guy after an all-night kegger,” Courtney quips. “We kno-o-o-w.”
I deflate. “I want people to get to know me for me and not just because my dad’s famous.”
“Oh, you’ll never outrun that,” Courtney says. “Trust me. During my freshman year, most guys hit on me just because they wanted to meet my dad. Double so for my mom. At least yours is just a professor. Mine’s been on billboards.”
“Try being the Home Run Baby,” Violet adds. “Imagine the entire world knowing you exist because your parents had a drunken one-night stand.”
I sigh. Great. “Well, I’m still gonna try,” I say. “There’s gotta be people at Chicago North who don’t care that my last name is Kirby.”
“Right. You’ll blend right in... at the school where your mother currently has tenure. Nothing can go wrong with that.”
“I getfree tuition,” I mumble.
“And I doubt anyone on Greek Row even remembers John Kirby,” Courtney says. “No, their eyes will glaze right over that very prominent commemorative parking space right outside the Delta Xi house.”
“Or the wing named after him at the student rec center.”
“Right. No one goes there anyway. Go, Bearhawks.”
Again, my shoulders sag. “Go, Bearhawks.”
“Listen, Dana, try not to worry about it,” Courtney says. “Sounds basic, but it’s true. Best thing you can do is ignore it and live your life. All kids of famous parents go through this. You’ll find your people. We did, too.”
“Yeah?” I ask, hopeful.
“Just keep your guard up,” she adds. “Because there are people out there who will try to take advantage of you. Luckily, they’re easy to spot.”
“You might not spot them until your legs are over their shoulders, but meh.” Violet shrugs. “C’est la vie.”
I blush. “Right.”
Violet leans forward, studying me closely. “Hmm.”
I tilt back. “What?”
“You know, I never really thought about this, but...” She cants her head. “You’ve... had sex before, right, cousin?”
Courtney widens her eyes. “Oh, you might be on to something...”
I snort. I scoff. “Yes,” I say, fidgeting. “Of course, I’ve done it.”
“No, she hasn’t,” Violet says.
“Nope.” Courtney shakes her head. “Big virgin energy up in here.”
“Stop it,” I whisper. “Okay, fine. I don’t have a lot of... experience. It’s not a bad thing.”
