Chapter
Twenty-seven
Virtual
Girlfriends
Meanwhile,
at his mansion high on Sunrise Hill, Darcy was so over everything. He was no
closer to finding a suitable fake girlfriend to impress his grandfather and his
school profile always matched with Paige’s, no matter how many interests he
deleted. He was starting to contemplate the idea of a virtual girlfriend. When
he toyed with the idea of internet dating only the most unsuitable girls came
up – the pressure was on. His grandparents had emailed him recently and he’d
had no ‘interesting’ news to relay. He
was totally bored with himself and knew he had to find a more productive life.
He’d tried going to the gym because his
body was like a temple to him. Instead of concentrating on his weights he over
analyzed everything and thought too much about Paige Bennet.
The need for a virtual girlfriend was an
issue. He didn’t really believe in casual hook ups. He’d tried dating and
discarding different girls more than once in the past, but he just ended up
feeling used – used for his good looks, his money and his family’s social
position.
Darcy played virtual tennis in front of a
screen while he considered the pressure upon him and the worrying email he’d
received from his grandfather only moments ago.
His grandfather was pressuring him to get
his life in order and apply to go to university in England or Australia. Also, he
wrote, he was keen to meet Darcy’s new
girlfriend… and this one better be a keeper.
Darcy kicked his shoes off and slouched
over his chair. He was so over everything. He’d actually said “Hi” to that
weird new exchange student, Amadeus, then invited him to the pool party. He’d told
Mackenzie to stop being so racist when she mocked Amadeus’s accent. He was so
over it that he let his rival, Paige and that tool Rys, win in debate club
again. Plus, he’d let Paige completely psych him out by returning her smile and
her polite greeting at recess before she ignored him at lunch. Oh, and he
missed an easy goal at soccer practice. The whole week was embarrassing from
start to finish. Now it was Friday night and he began to consider how to
present himself on sunriseteenmatch.com. It was embarrassing.
Just then, he got a text from his sister.
She was with their mom in New York but would be home soon. Blair was doing well
and his parents were back together after their ‘temporary separation’ so
everything was running smoothly now, except him.
He knew who to blame for this.
Paige Bennet had really crawled under his
skin. Ever since he’d been nice to her at Mackenzie’s she’d practically ignored
him, messing with his mind. The sooner he was back on home turf, back in
Australia, the better. He could hang out in the baking sun and visit his extended
family. He had his sights set higher than some lame high school competition.
He flicked on the intra-debate club score sheet Mrs Tartt
had given them during class today. The winning team of the national
championships got to spend a week over summer in Oxford, England for the International
Schools finals. He wanted to win that scholarship. He wanted to prove to Paige,
apart from anything else, that he was better than Rys.
He’d need Mackenzie on board to help him do
this. And while they were there he could always pretend Mackenzie was his
girlfriend. As long as she hid her true colors, his grandfather would like her.
He was pretty sure she was a good actress and possibly up to the task. His
grandfather would be thrilled. The Bingleys were almost as rich as the
Donovans. He’d probably have to write Mackenzie’s lines but confidentiality
wouldn’t be a problem. He’d also have to write their debate speeches, but he
enjoyed writing. On the up side, Mackenzie was a good debater – perhaps even a
great one – when she deigned to skip her hair appointments and show up to class.
Still, he wanted to win.
They were offering a scholarship and one of
the reasons he was so disinterested in student activities was that he needed
every spare minute to study if he was going to spend the summer in Oxford. He
flicked on a picture of the ancient university as his screensaver. Oxford would
be the perfect place to spend the week and get the better of Paige Bennet,
finally. Besides, his grandparents owned an estate there.
*Note from Honey Woodhouse
(Wednesday’s bestie): I am filling in the blanks for Wednesday until she
returns from her hectic filming schedule in Wilmington.
We noticed Darcy studying like a fiend before Wednesday left to film her
show in Wilmington. Even during final rehearsals for Spring Awakening (I
reluctantly took Wednesday’s part – we Skyped any changes - assuring her both
my ‘job’ with Mackenzie and her role would safely be delivered back to her when
she returned in under a fortnight).
Meanwhile, Darcy hid his debate notes under the play script. He hated
that play but I had to agree with Wednesday – something about the stage lights
made him look way cuter as winter became Spring, Wednesday arrived back and
Spring finally headed towards Summer.
By the way, Wednesday is too modest to admit it, but her performance in
the rewritten version of our school’s Spring Awakening was a big success. Now
we’re just waiting to hear whether her television pilot is going to be turned
into a series! Ahhhhhh. I’m so excited for her. That’s how true besties are,
dontcha think? Happy for the success of their friends.
By the time Wednesday returned to
school, well, everyone was talking about the new romance by then – the one
between Mackenzie and Darcy. I could
have told all those juniors and seniors
the course of true love never did run smooth but I doubt they’d have listened…
now, returning to the story… when I’m a junior, I hope to have one of my own.
For now, the story of Darcy and Paige must suffice…
