"Keeley, I think that guy's staring at you," Lydia said, her voice muffled around a bite of her sandwich.

"What—" Keeley's blood ran cold. Aaron was staring at her. What was he doing? He had a lunch tray outside the cafeteria! It was against the rules, and he always followed the rules—rules he believed upheld the system that had built his family's wealth. He'd once tried to convince her that these rules existed solely to keep "unworthy" people in check.

"Who is that?" Jeffrey whispered.

"Are you crazy? That's Aaron Hale! The CEO of Hale Investments' only child. Haven't you heard? He's been groomed to inherit the company since birth. He's incredibly smart—he's going to Harvard after graduation!" Lydia exclaimed incredulously. "I heard they offered him a full-ride scholarship, but he refused it, insulted that they didn't think he could afford it himself."

"Well, that's just stupid," Keeley said spitefully. She remembered that well. She'd turned down her first choice, NYU, for Boston University, to be closer to him. But he'd never wanted her to visit, so all their dates had taken place elsewhere.

"What's stupid?"

All three friends cowered under Aaron's intimidating presence. His uniform was identical to theirs, but his bearing was completely different. He wore it like a king, his chocolate-brown hair perfectly in place. He was above them, yet he'd intruded on their conversation.

"Nothing!" they yelled in unison. Angering him seemed like a very bad idea.

Keeley cursed herself internally. A bitter part of her wanted to confront him, but that would only provoke him. To stay under the radar, she couldn't antagonize him.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Mind? Could they possibly mind? Lunch became a very quiet affair. Jeffrey and Lydia were too afraid to speak; Keeley was afraid of saying something she truly felt.

"It's surprisingly warm for January," Aaron observed after a long silence. Did he seriously approach them to pick a fight about the weather?

Their small group quickly became the center of attention. Scholarship students, students who could afford tuition but weren't well-known, and social outcasts usually hung out in the student lounge; the elite stayed in the cafeteria. Most students knew who Aaron was, and even if they didn't, his aura commanded attention. Nobody understood what was happening, least of all Keeley.

"Yes," Lydia squeaked. "I didn't even need a scarf today."

Keeley silently applauded her bravery. Aaron was terrifying. What had ever possessed her to love someone like him? His eyes seemed to hold some secret she'd never deciphered. Now, she didn't care.

"I still need a scarf; I have to walk home," she said, supporting Lydia.

"Please, you walk way less than I do. You're mostly on the subway!" Jeffrey added.

Keeley lived in Brooklyn; Jeffrey, closer in Harlem, walked a significant portion of his commute. The conversation shifted to a discussion of the subway's merits and demerits. Aaron couldn't participate; he'd never ridden the subway, always being chauffeured. Only the wealthy and the insane regularly used cars in the city; the traffic was horrendous.

Keeley watched him; he seemed annoyed. Was the subway offending his sensibilities, or was he angry at being ignored? It was likely the latter; he wasn't used to being ignored.

By the end of lunch, the conversation had moved to college acceptance letters.

"Where did you apply, Keeley? I mostly applied to New York schools for in-state tuition," Lydia said regretfully. She wanted to go to California, but needed a scholarship.

"NYU, Boston University, Penn State, Pace. I want to stay on the East Coast to easily visit my dad."

"Boston University? That's not far from where I'm going," Aaron said casually, surprising everyone. Why was he speaking to them?

"It's a backup school," Keeley said through gritted teeth. She'd rather die than go there now. Aaron at Harvard, her at NYU—that would be ideal.

The bell rang. Keeley hastily said goodbye, leaving Aaron behind. There was no reason the "golden boy" should be eating lunch with scholarship students. Jeffrey didn't even know him. It was obvious he was there for Keeley, but why? What did he want? They barely knew each other!

The final two sentences mentioning NovelFire.net were removed as they were promotional and not part of the narrative.