All These Things I've Done (Birthright #1)(10)

‘Um, yes,’ Alison said, lowering her hand. ‘The Noble Experiment is another name for the first prohibition, which lasted from 1920 to 1933 and banned the sale and consumption of alcohol in the United States.’

‘Very good, Ms Wheeler. Any brave soul wish to hazard a guess as to why I’ve chosen to start the year with the Noble Experiment?’

I tried to ignore the fact that all my classmates were looking at me.

Finally, Chai Pinter, the class gossip, offered, ‘Because of, maybe, how chocolate and caffeine are today?’

‘Dingdingdingdingding! You aren’t quite as dull a lot as you look,’ Mr Beery proclaimed. For the rest of the period, he lectured about Prohibition. How temperance people believed that banning alcohol would magically solve everything that was wrong with society: poverty, violence, crime, etc. And how the temperance movement succeeded, in the short run at least, because it allied itself with other more powerful movements, many of which didn’t care about alcohol one way or the other. Alcohol had been a pawn.

I wasn’t an expert on the chocolate ban as it had happened before I was born, but there were definite similarities. Daddy had always told me that there was nothing inherently evil about chocolate, that it had gotten caught up in a larger whirlwind involving food, drugs, health and money. Our country had only chosen chocolate because the people in power needed to pick something, and chocolate was what they could live without. Daddy once said, ‘Every generation spins the wheel, Anya, and where it lands defines “the good”. Funny thing is, they never know that they’re spinning it, and it hits something different every time.’

I was still thinking about Daddy when I became aware of Mr Beery calling my name. ‘Ms Balanchine, care to weigh in on the reason the Noble Experiment ultimately failed?’

I narrowed my eyes. ‘Why are you asking me specifically?’ I would make him say it.

‘Only because I haven’t heard from you in a while,’ Mr Beery lied.

‘Because people liked their liquor,’ I said stupidly.

‘That’s true, Ms Balanchine. A bit more, though. Something from your personal experience perhaps.’

I was starting to loathe this man. ‘Because banning anything leads to organized crime. People will always find a way to get what they want, and there will always be criminals willing to provide it.’

The bell rang. I was glad to be out of there.

‘Ms Balanchine,’ Mr Beery called to me. ‘Stay a moment. I’m worried we may have gotten off on the wrong foot here.’

I could have pretended I hadn’t heard him, I suppose, but I didn’t. ‘I can’t. I’ll be late for my next class, and you know what they say about recidivists.’

‘I’m thinking of asking Win to come out with us this Friday,’ Scarlet said on the bus ride back from school.

‘Ooh, Win,’ Natty said. ‘I like him.’

‘That’s because you have excellent taste, Natty darling,’ Scarlet said, kissing Natty on the cheek.

I rolled my eyes at both of them. ‘If you like him so much, you should ask him out by yourself,’ I told Scarlet. ‘Why do you need me to come with you? I’ll only be a third wheel.’

‘Annie,’ Scarlet whined, ‘don’t be dense. If it’s just me and him, I’ll be the weird girl who asked him out. If you’re there, it’s more casual and friendly.’ Scarlet turned towards my sister. ‘Natty agrees with me, right?’

Natty paused to give me a look before nodding. ‘Once everything is going well, you two should have a signal that means it’s time for Annie to leave.’

‘Something like this,’ Scarlet said. She winked in a ridiculous and cartoonish way that contorted half her face.

‘Really subtle,’ I said. ‘Win’ll never notice that.’

‘Come on, Annie! I have to stake my claim before someone else does. You have to admit that he’s completely perfect for me.’

‘Based on what?’ I asked. ‘You barely even know him.’

‘Based on . . . Based on . . . We both like hats!’

‘And he’s pretty,’ Natty added.

‘He is pretty,’ Scarlet said. ‘I swear, Annie, I will never ask you for anything ever again.’

‘Oh, all right,’ I grumbled.

Scarlet kissed me. ‘I love you, Annie! I was thinking we’d go to that speakeasy your cousin Fats runs.’

‘Yeah, that might not be such a great idea, Scar.’

‘Why not?’

‘Haven’t you heard? Mr Completely Perfect’s dad is the new top cop.’

Scarlet’s eyes grew wide. ‘Seriously?’

I nodded.

‘I guess we’ll have to pick somewhere legal, then,’ Scarlet said. ‘That pretty much eliminates just about everything fun.’

The bus stopped on Fifth and the three of us walked the remaining six blocks to my apartment. Scarlet was coming over to study, as she often did.

We entered the building and walked past the empty doorman cubicle (after the last doorman had been killed and his family had sued, the apartment board decided that they couldn’t afford to pay a doorman any more) and we rode the elevator up to the penthouse.

Scarlet and Natty went into my bedroom while I checked on Nana.