Beneath the Gilded

Chapter 2

"I hate him, that pompous sleazebag! One day, I'm going to kill him. I would snuff him with his pillow while he's sleeping, but that seems to kind. I will disconnect his testicles from his body and stitch it to his forehead so everyone will know that he's a-."

You know what I was about to say.

Evan winced in his chair and cupped himself indiscreetly. We were at the Coffee Bean next to Heights, like we always went everyday after school to do our homework. The tantalizing aroma of ground roasted coffee beans filled the air. But I wasn't in the mood to appreciate it. I had spent the last twenty minutes, time I had needed to finish my homework, to tell my friends how I was going to neuter Lancaster(for I had decided to call him solely by his last name because it seemed to be a way to insult him), in detail. My English teacher would have been proud.

"Bloody hell, woman, did you really have to be that precise?" Evan cried.

"And you say you call yourself a pacifist, you sadist," laughed Emily, my other best friend (the one I don't have a crush on), flipping her mane of fiery red hair, her forest green eyes sparkling. Emily is the heiress to Dova Chocolatiers, which means she had unlimited access to gourmet truffles, so she was a great friend to have. She was somewhat of a loner before Evan started talking to her, like the nice guy he was. She was nice and witty, so I had no problem with her joining our little group.

Okay, that was a lie. At first, I was somewhat jealous, jealous of her superior beauty (red hair and green eyes are so much more interesting than my Asian black hair and black eyes) and yes, the closeness between her and Evan. But instead of acting like the small-minded jerk I am, I accepted her with open arms. See? Mature. And she grew on me, like the little fungus she is.

I continued with my rant.

"I am a pacifist, but that doesn't count toward arrogant, entitled, spoiled, malevolent, execrable-"

Evan snorted loudly, cutting me off.

"What?" I growled.

He chuckled. "Only you, Irene. Only you would use the word "execrable" while ranting about the unfortunate bloke who annoyed you."

"He isn't just execrable. He is also reprehensible, atrocious, fiendish, and odious."

He looked beautiful right then, his blue eyes lighted up in laughter and gazing fondly at me. My heart threatened to burst. Then I remembered the topic of my rant so far, and my mood soured again.

I couldn't believe I'd once thought him hot (even though it really was only a few hours ago). He really was anything but.

Lying won't get you anywhere, my conscience told me. Shut up, conscience.

"That SAT word-of-the-day app is really doing wonders for your vocabulary," Emily grinned. "Remind me, how much does it cost?"

"I just can't believe his nerve. People like him think they're better than everybody else just because he's loaded. It's not even his money, it's his parents'! He has no right."

The emotion I packed into my last words got through my friends' thick heads that this is important. They both finally looked at me with concern.

"Do you want me to go punch him?" Evan finally asked, lifting up my spirits again.

"Aw, that's sweet, but his family would sue your butt off, and he weighs like, I dunno, two hundred pounds?"

"True dat," he said, deflating, with a cute pout on his face.

"I see you've been practicing Californian terms," Emily remarked, raising an eyebrow. Okay, why is everybody around me able to do that?

"Yes, and doesn't it sound more cool in my accent?"