Heavenstone 01 - The Heavenstone Secrets

the sight of it and our grounds embarrassed me. I had been so happy finally to be thought of as one of them, and with only one look at my home, that “aura of royalty,” as Cassie referred to it, instantly returned.
    “You could put all of our houses into your house, Semantha,” Susie said.
    “How many servants do you have?” Bobbi asked.
    “None.”
    “None? Not even a maid?” Eddie asked.
    “No. Cassie and I and my mother do all the work. My mother likes it that way. She’s a great cook, and Cassie’s a great cook too, so we don’t need a cook.”
    “Lucky you,” Bobbi said, and I could feel the underlying resentment of the Heavenstone family slowly returning.
    “We inherited the house,” I told them, hoping that would make it sound more acceptable.
    “My father inherited my grandfather’s debts,” Noel quipped.

    “How is your mother?” Kent asked.
    “She’s getting better, thank you.”
    “I would like to see the inside of your house someday,” Susie said. They all agreed.
    “As soon as my mother’s well enough, I’ll invite you all to dinner.”
    “To dinner?” Eddie asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Do we have to wear jackets and ties?” Noel asked, smiling.
    “No, of course not.”
    “We have to mind our manners, though,” Eddie said. “No eating with your fingers, Noel, like you do at your house.”
    “My parents aren’t stuffy people,” I said defensively, maybe too defensively. No one spoke for a few moments.
    “Where we going for pizza?” Kent asked to break the silence. “Let’s stop at Luigi’s, which is right before the mall. The mall place is nothing.”
    “Big spender,” Noel said. “That is more expensive than the mall pizza, though.”
    “We could chip in,” Susie said.
    “I bet Semantha could buy it all,” Eddie quipped. To my surprise, even my new girlfriends laughed.
    “I didn’t bring much money,” I said, in a little panic.
    “Just kidding,” Eddie said. “If we can’t afford some pizzas and drinks, we oughtta stay home.”
    Even so, I felt a combination of embarrassment and annoyance. The conversation moved on to other things, but the echo of their insinuations aboutme and my family and our wealth hung in the air around me. Once again, I wondered if Cassie wasn’t right. We were different, and we should be more discriminating about whom we chose as friends. I hated feeling like this, but I couldn’t shake it off. At the restaurant, I know I was markedly quieter than the other girls. Kent kept asking me if I was all right.
    “You don’t mind eating in a dump like this, do you, Semantha?” Eddie asked with a wide smile.
    “Stop it, please, Eddie. I’m not a snob.”
    Eddie laughed, but that seemed to end the teasing.
    Kent whispered an apology for him as we left the restaurant. “He’s just feeling his oats because he’s able to drive at night and has a new SUV,” he explained.
    I tried to relax, but no one else but me seemed to be enjoying the movie later. Eddie and Susie talked so much that people around us began to complain loudly. Bobbi and Noel were kissing so passionately that they couldn’t have followed the story, anyway, so when Eddie suggested that we leave and go to Cary Lothar’s house, they all leaped out of their seats.
    “C’mon,” Kent urged me. I had no choice but to follow them out. Our leaving brought some applause from the people who were sitting behind and in front of us.
    “How can we just go to Cary Lothar’s house?” I asked when we all got into Eddie’s SUV.
    “He’s home alone with Nikki Benson and told me we could come over after the movie, but why waste time, especially with this dog of a film?” Eddie said.

    I was afraid to say I had been enjoying the movie. As soon as we got into the SUV, Kent put his arm around my shoulders and urged me to draw closer. He kissed my cheek and neck, and then, when I turned, he kissed me on the lips. I was self-conscious about kissing like this in front of the others, but aside from Eddie, who had to drive, everyone else was kissing, too. However, Susie was practically on Eddie’s lap nibbling on his ear.
    “Oh, boy. You’ve got my full attention,” he said, and sped up.
    None of us in the rear could have warned him. We were all too occupied. Susie had apparently put her hand between Eddie’s legs, and he wasn’t paying much attention, either. The elderly man who backed out of his driveway was either distracted by something himself or was just careless, but