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“Wohat is this?” She gravitated to the books that lined one wall, all classics, inal Herodotus?” She pulled her hand back froh, and me smile She acts like Pop and Uncle Garrett with books They swear the rest of us are heathens because we don’t all genuflect before the greats like they do

“Should we get started? I still don’t knohat you need help with” She didn’t see, I guess Just then, Sheila walked into the roo I counted on “Oh, put it down here” Whydesk?

“Coed her to a chair They crowded her before she could argue, and before you know it, the three of the at what looked like cucu tea out of cups riuess Ma was in one of her high-tea moods

Poor Gianna looked lost as fuck, but each tiet a word in, the twins bombarded her with another question She seemed to relax only when they turned the conversation to Calculus, doing a good rendition of airheads who didn’t have a clue Truth is, I’ve already prepared the that it would be another year before they had to take it and the fact that the shit was hard

Those two are very competitive, and as their older brother, it’stheir little friends Things quieted down a bit, and I watched and listened as she fu She walked theh the basics like a natural, and I foundproud

The twins did a good i about, but the jig was up when she tested theht them It had been an hour or more since they’d walked into the room Now to see maestros at their best “You… this is perfect, how did you…?” She looked from one to the other “Oh, we don’t really need a tutor; we just wanted to be your friend”

“And we didn’t want your stepsister to tag along” Well, they are Draco’s kids, straight to the fucking point

GIANNA

Their words made me nervous and excited all at once Nervous because even as I sit here with the about what awaited me at home and excited because they were the first people since mom died who’d wanted just me as a friend I’m not sure what Victoria did to piss the secretly pleased that soh her bullshit

Add the fact the Russo twins are like royalty in our community, and that justThen a sudden thought struck, taking soleam from the afternoon “Wait, is this a joke?” From their surprised looks, I doubted that it was, but it never hurt to ask This hen it turns out that I a on my face

“A joke? What do you mean?” I think it was Anna who spoke, but I’m not sure since I can’t tell them apart

“Yeah, like a prank”

“Of course not Why would you think that?” The other twin spoke up, seeenuinely perplexed

“Well, even seniors fight to get close to you, and from what I know, you’re rather selective in who you let into your inner circle We’ve never met…”

“Oh, that, what you say is true We do vet our friends before they become our friends, and let’s just say we like e learned about you”

“Really, thanks, I guess” I suddenly felt like I was being interviewed

“So, tell us about yourself; we only knoho you are at school Why do we never see you at any of the socials or going on school trips?”

“Oh, I’ood with crowds, so I always stay ho it and with good reason I’ve never been good at lying unless it was a necessity, and even then, it had taken me years to master the craft The truth is that Becky or Victoria would always find soo

I’m not sure if dad had noticed the pattern or if he even cared at this point, but I’d learned to live with it Even if he couldn’t see that Becky was doing her utht while leaving ive Victoria a better start, I saw and heard it a long tih society blood as she calls it, and her daughter didn’t, I have an advantage Her antiquated way of thinking never ceases to aot that dad ca while mom was a member of the monied elite, so at least half of ed