“Three. Vincent’s already left school; he works for my dad. Oliver won’t start here until next year, and Malcolm’s in his last year. You probably saw him at Latin Society.”
Emmy nodded. She wasn’t sure if she should say more. It seemed like Jack’s brothers were a bit of a sore spot. “Are there other school societies?”
“Yeah, loads,” Lola said. “Jack does all the artsy ones—painting, sculpture, all that junk.”
Jack laughed. “While you do all the useless ones like rowing and football.”
“Football? You mean soccer?” Finally, a club Emmy could get excited about.
“No, I mean football,” Lola said, “and you’d better get used to calling it that around here. I’m an attacking midfielder.”
Jack snorted. “Yeah, well, I think you took your role as an ‘attacker’ a bit too seriously last year.”
“Why, what did you do?” Emmy asked.
Lola rolled her eyes. “It was no big deal.”
“Oh, are you talking about Lola’s suspension?” Natalie looked over at them. “I was on the pitch when it happened. She punched a girl in the middle of a match and got herself banned for most of last season. It’s practically a school legend.”
“It wasn’t my fault!” Lola protested.
“How is it not your fault when you punch someone in the face?” Jaya asked.
“That girl was making fun of Mariam’s hijab. She’s Muslim, and she likes to keep her head covered when she plays. What else was I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know, but I probably wouldn’t have started a punch-up in front of the official,” Jack replied.
“Do you have much football in America, Emmy?” Natalie asked.
“Yeah, there’s lots! I mean, our professional league isn’t as popular as some other sports, but lots of people play soccer—I mean, football.”
“You should come and watch us on Saturday,” Natalie said. “The whole school usually comes to our matches.”
Emmy’s smile faded. Her mom probably wouldn’t like her going to a soccer match. “I don’t know. I’ve got a lot of homework.”
“Who cares about homework when we’re playing Saint Mary’s?” Lola asked. “They beat us for the East Anglian Championships last year—we’ve been waiting to play them for six months!”
Emmy tugged on her ear. Her mother hadn’t said she couldn’t attend matches. “Well…I guess I could take few hours off from studying.”
The others kept talking about the match, but Emmy wasn’t listening. She drummed her fingers on the table. What her mother didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.
• • •
Three days later, Emmy tossed her laundry in a washing machine and looked at her watch. She’d have to hurry if she was going to eat before the match started. She ran upstairs, threw on a sweatshirt, and was almost out the door when she grimaced. There was a lot of homework piled up on her nightstand. She should probably stay in and get some work done. Thanks to Victoria and her irritating friend Arabella, Emmy had hardly gotten anything done all week. They constantly played annoying music, and their nail polish smelled so bad it was like living in the school’s chemistry lab.
As aggravating as Victoria was, Emmy’s research on her dad was even more frustrating. She was getting nowhere. Anytime she had a moment alone, she’d grab the letter and the box and examine every inch of them. If there was a clue to what those medallions were for, or who had sent the letter, she couldn’t figure it out. She didn’t know what to do next.
Emmy looked at the homework pile again. If her mom knew she was going to a soccer match when she had so much work to do…
She squared her shoulders and ran out the door. Her mother wasn’t here, and she’d get to it later.
She ran into the Hall and started piling food onto a plate. The tables nearby were strangely quiet. The talk about the accident had died down by now, but there was always something that kept people buzzing. Usually everyone was talking over each other, but there was a lot of whispering today. She looked up and her mouth fell open. Half the room was staring at her. Her face got hot and she looked down at her toast. How had she screwed up now?
Jack and Lola were sitting near the door, and Emmy made a beeline for them. Lola looked up and choked, spewing her orange juice across the table.
“What the bloody hell are you wearing!?” she spluttered.
Emmy looked down at her clothes. Blue sweatshirt. Jeans. Old sneakers. Wasn’t that good enough for weekends at Wellsworth?
Jack stared at her, a sausage hanging limply from his fork. “You. Cannot. Wear. That. Today.”
Emmy pulled at her sweatshirt and sat down. “I thought we didn’t have to wear our uniforms on weekends.”
“Your uniform would be better than that,” Lola scoffed.
“Why, what—”
“You’re dressed head to toe in blue,” Jack said. “Blue is Saint Mary’s color. You look like you’re supporting them.”
Emmy looked around the Hall. Everyone was wearing Wellsworth’s official colors of green and gray. She started chewing her nails. There were so many unwritten rules at this school, she’d never keep them all straight. “I don’t have anything green or gray left. I threw it all in the laundry, because I’ve been wearing it all week.”
Jack turned around. “Jaya! Emmy needs some emergency Wellsworth kits. Think you can help?”
Jaya looked Emmy up and down and jumped out of her seat. “No time for breakfast, let’s get a move on!”
Twenty minutes later, Emmy was tugging on the cowl of a delicate cashmere sweater. Overflowing sodas and vinegar-soaked fries were being passed all around her in the football stands. Please don’t let me spill on this thing. The sweater was beautiful, but somehow it made her feel even more plain than usual. Cashmere belonged on girls like Jaya: tall, thin, and chic. Emmy had to roll up the cuffs on Jaya’s slacks, which seriously lessened their sophistication.
Finally, she spotted Jack waving at her, and she eased her way toward him and his friends. A sandy-haired boy leaned down from the row behind and gave her a friendly smile. “It’s Emmy, right?”
She nodded.
“I’m Cadel,” he said, “I’m Jack’s roommate.”
Emmy tried to smile. This was one of those times when she was supposed to say something friendly but couldn’t figure out what it was.
“I expect you didn’t see much football in America,” he went on. “Have you ever been to a match before?”