The Chocolate Money by Ashley Prentice Norton

Author:Ashley Prentice Norton [Norton, Ashley Prentice]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: General Fiction, (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)
ISBN: 0547840047
Google: SEEyk8lOTQIC
Amazon: B006R8PKMM
Goodreads: 13429643
Publisher: Mariner
Published: 2012-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

I don’t see Lowell at the dining hall. Dinner runs from six to seven thirty, so I guess we’ve missed him. Meredith makes herself a large salad and some Crystal Light from a packet she has brought from the dorm. Holly helps herself to the hot entrée: chicken with Tater Tots. She eats as if she were still in Iowa. We form a little clump in the table by the window, and no one joins us.

I can tell by the deliberate way Meredith holds her fork and scans the room that she is looking for Cape. He isn’t there. I do see Jake. He is sitting by himself, reading the New York Times. He doesn’t seem to be clued in to the fact that you’re supposed to eat with other people. Or at least pretend to have friends. His indifference makes me think of Babs. I wish I could be like them. I stare at Jake a bit, and he lifts his head to meet my gaze. Waves at me. I nod back.

This does not go unnoticed by Meredith.

“So you know Jake?” she says, almost laughing.

“Not really—we met over a smoke this morning,” I say defensively.

“He’s a total slut with major attitude. He’s from California and seems to think the East Coast is lame. He’s slept with over fifteen people.”

“How do you know?” I wonder.

“I know almost everything,” Meredith says, pushing a piece of romaine into her pretty mouth. “Seriously, his roommate from last year is a friend of mine and that’s what he told me.”

“Sounds unlikely.”

“Whatever,” Meredith says. “Just be careful. Besides, he’s not even hot. You could ruin your chances with other boys down the road. Also, he’s Jewish.”

Did she really just say that? Is everyone in Meredith-land WASPy?

“So am I,” I say, just to fuck with her. But maybe I’m not lying after all. For all I know, my father could be.

“No, you’re not,” she replies confidently. “Bettina isn’t a Jewish name.”

Huh? Part of me just loves hearing what Meredith considers cast-iron logic.

“Anyway, way more important,” she continues, “is that last year, Jake gave this girl, Riley Sayler, a black eye. She dropped out after that.”

Jess says, “Mere, Riley said she ran into a door. Also, she was really depressed all year and had to go on meds.”

“Whatever. I’d be depressed too if Jake Kronenberg hit me. But I guess it’s your call, Bettina. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Holly seems concerned all of a sudden. “Bettina, you should listen to Meredith. What if he really does hit girls?”

I don’t believe Jake is violent, not really, but a dark part of me wants to find out. I also wonder if he really slept with so many girls.

Jake’s hand on my thigh earlier did indicate a certain expertise, but where would he find fifteen girls to sleep with? Would I be number sixteen? Kind of a scary thought. I feel like once you lose your virginity, you’re in sexual free fall. Open for business. But sleeping with him would give me a leg up on Meredith.

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