I Was Told It Would Get Easier(83)
She shut the door and I hailed a cab. It was only when I got back to the hotel and went to the bathroom that I realized she’d totally let me leave the house with the stripy top hat still on my head.
She’s probably still laughing about it.
Saturday
New York City
8:00 a.m.: Breakfast: Review of the tour
10:00 a.m.: Columbia University
12:00 a.m.: Lunch at famous Upper West Side institution Tom’s Restaurant
2:00 p.m.: NYU
29
EMILY
Breakfast was surprisingly entertaining this morning. Will and I sat next to each other, as did Alice and Casper, who were clearly now an item. I prayed she wouldn’t be a total bitch and dump him as soon as we all got back to LA. He wasn’t her usual type (she tended to date older, cooler, scornful guys) but then again, Alice’s superpower was her ability to transcend the trend. Her dad was sitting on her other side, trying to hide the fact he was full-on working, and failing completely.
I was kind of hoping the adventures of the night before would stay secret, but Alice opened breakfast with the story of Casper tackling her chauffeur, and everybody thought it was hilarious.
Well, everyone except Cassidy. She glared at me accusingly.
“Wait, the FBI told you someone on this trip was a potential cheater and you didn’t tell me?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t think it was true.” This was a lie; I’d thought it was probably Alice or her mom, but I didn’t need to underscore that again.
Cassidy clicked her tongue. “What if it had been true? What if the reputation of E3 was ruined forever on my watch? The embarrassing calls from admissions people was bad enough, but if this gets to my bosses, I’m done.” She was clearly annoyed.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “The FBI told me not to tell anyone.” Then I made an egregious error. “Besides, what if it had been you?”
“Me?”
I paused, taking in the sudden glint in her eye, and shook my head. “No, of course not.” I swallowed. “It couldn’t possibly have been you.”
“Me?” Cassidy stared around the ring of people, then completely blew her stack. “Me? Do any of you realize how hard the other side works? All of you are obsessed with your college applications, taking classes, hiring coaches, bribing people . . .”
She glowered accusingly at Alice, who turned up her palms.
“Not me, dude,” she said. “Talk to my crazy-ass mother.”
“Allegedly,” chimed in her dad, ever the professional.
But Cassidy was past caring. “And none of you—NONE of you—ever think about the hours and days and weeks of work that go into the college process from the other side. The colleges have people working around the clock trying to fill each class with the best and most deserving kids, sorting through every single application, trying to make sure nothing gets missed and no one is unfairly treated, all the while being inundated with thousands upon thousands of essays and transcripts and personal statements and references and all of them are children with parents who pressure the shit out of them to be the best and then all of a sudden you don’t get into your first choice, or your second choice, or your safety, and you end up going to community college and discovering that doesn’t really make any difference!” She stared at us wildly. “It’s what you do with it that matters! It’s all the goddamn same!!”
She’d gotten up during this speech, presumably in order to get more lung capacity. “And the parents? The parents are the worst! They completely lose their minds, like academic bridezillas, focused on getting their precious mini-me into college and never for a minute thinking about what happens when the poor bastards actually get there, not to mention when they get out! God forbid they learn to fend for themselves or trust their own judgment or fail and struggle and succeed on their own terms. No! Everything has to be smoothed out and landscaped for Tiffany and Kody and Jasmine and Joshua, and if regular people get run over in the process, then that’s how the cookie crumbles!” She threw her sheaf of papers into the air. “I’ve had it with you people!” She stormed out of the room, pulling her phone from her pocket as she went. The door slammed behind her and we all sat there in silence.
Alice’s dad scrambled to his feet. “She’s amazing. I’m going to hire her.” He headed after Cassidy, and the rest of us sat there taking a moment to let our blood pressure settle.
Casper said, “Well, I’ve had a great week. And I have a confession: I already know I’m going to Caltech for earth sciences.” He sounded sheepish. “I got in last year, but my parents thought I should finish high school like any other kid.”
“Why did you come on the tour then?” asked Alice.
“Because my mom thought it would be a good social experience.” He smiled at his mom and suddenly hugged her. “And she was totally right.”
Will spoke up. “Casper and I are starting a company together.”
Casper nodded. “I filed articles of incorporation the other night.”
“We’re doing a monthly geology crate. It’s going to be fantastic.” Will looked around. “We’re calling it Rock Gods.”