High Life | ✔️

19

"Andrea, right?" Mrs. DuPont asked.

Staring at both his parents, I came to understand where Elias inherited his looks. His parents were the very image of beauty, refinery and elegance. They were both in their forties, and both dressed formally for tonight's dinner. Everyone was, in fact.

I began shaking my legs wildly.

"Yep. What are your names?"

"You can call me Valérie," Mrs. DuPont smiled a very forced smile.

"Maxime," Mr. DuPont echoed after his wife.

I ignored them. "So... where's the food? I'm starving."

Elias's father, a regal man who was in a suit, nodded at presumably a servant behind me.

Soon, the first course was served, a warm and rich mushroom soup that consisted of a clear broth poured over a mound of mushroom pate. I licked my lips as I took my phone out to take pictures of my food. I saw Elias's mother's eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

When I was done, I grabbed the dinner spoon (instead of the soup spoon). I was about to dig in when Elias spoke up for the first time.

"I will say grace," Elias said.

His father nodded approvingly.

I watched as the three of them shut their eyes and intertwined their hands. When Elias started praying, I began drinking the soup. I made sure to slurp as loudly as possible. Maxime DuPont frowned at this, but didn't say anything.

By the time they were done with grace, I had almost emptied my bowl of soup.

"This is so fucking good," I moaned exaggeratedly, like how female porn stars do it. Then I placed the spoon down and lifted the bowl to drink from the sides.

This elicited flinches from some of the servants.

But no one commented.

"So, Andrea," Maxime DuPont finally addressed me. "Where are you from?"

A napkin was folded in this elaborate origami crane. I lifted the crane to wipe my lips, (without undoing the crane). I took another picture of the crane just to annoy the occupants at the table.

Finally, I looked up. "Oh my God, sorry, did you ask something?"

Maxime's jaws were clenched. "Yes, I asked where you came from."

I shrugged. "I'm from 'Rich man' Park. Sorry I meant Richmond. There's just, sooo many rich people there, you know?"

Maxime's gaze was steely and intense. "How did you afford to study there? Are you on scholarship?"

Here is where I can redeem myself by sounding smart. But I threw the opportunity out of the window.

I snorted like a pig. "Scholarship? Those are for like, nerds or something. I got my sugar daddy to pay my fees. He's so rich, oh em gee."

Valérie took this in with a slow nod. "A sugar daddy... I hope it isn't what I think it is."

Maxime interrupted his doubtful wife. "So, Andrea, I take it you are not a Christian?"