Pyromaniac

Chapter 2: A Day in the Life of Estella Churchill

            The nickname struck Estella. Hard.

            “Don’t call me that,” she snapped on instinct. And then she cursed herself out. A reaction like that would definitely bring forth suspicion. Now Drew would realize that’s a sore spot and call her Stella over and over again.

            That was two things her brother and him had in common. They both had the name Drew and they both called her Stella. Estella gritted her teeth.

            Drew raised an eyebrow, knowing he hit a landmine. But he decided not to push it. “So you were lonely?” he asked slyly.

            He was badgering her, but not in the spot that she had expected. It was nice in a way, like he knew exactly how to swerve an unwanted situation.

            Estella scowled.

            “Until I came,” he pressed a little further.

            “Get lost, Sterling,” she muttered under her breath, trying to fight the twinge of appreciation she felt. That’s what he was known for, anyway. A player. Someone who could read emotions. Smooth. Poor financially, but a very clever womanizer.

            Just as Drew racked his brain to work up some witty response, another waiter passed by and smacked him upside the head.

            “Ow! Dude…”

            “Drew, stop flirting. Table Seven wants two large hot fudge sundaes. Chop chop!” He glanced at Estella, his eyes making a beeline for her chest, before nudging Drew in the shoulder. “Nice,” he drawled before walking away.

            Estella glanced accusingly at Drew before picking up her water and bringing to her lips.

            “Uh, that’s my cue, I guess,” Drew awkwardly concluded after he scowled at the passing waiter. Rubbing the spot where he was whacked, he stood up.

            “Hey.”

            Estella didn’t look up.

            “Get lost,” she repeated.

            His eyes rested on her for a few moments.

            “Enjoy your water,” he said.

            And then he was gone.

            That evening, Estella found herself sitting on a barstool, wedged in between a situation she didn’t know how she got into.

            To the left of her was lovely, charming Blair, with her natural, California golden waves, crystal blue eyes, bronze skin, and bubbly personality. Blair was the closest thing to a friend she had, and also one of the few girls Estella actually remembered the name of.

            However, to the left of Blair was a sobbing girl with bleached blonde hair and mascara streaks from her overload of eye makeup, chugging down her God-knows-how-many-th glass. Her name? Estella didn’t know.

            “He is such a dirt bag,” Blair encouraged gently in an agreeing tone. “God, I hope he gets herpes, and if he already has them, AIDs.” She nodded and patted the bleached blonde comfortingly. “You’re so right. Yep. Ugh, totally.”

            Estella wasn’t too sure whether Blair was making up responses or if she could really understand what the blubbering girl was saying. But she did know that she did not belong here and it was time to bail.

            Standing up from her seat, she slung her Gucci bag over her shoulder and gave the bleached blonde an unconvincing look of pity. She nudged Blair on the shoulder and spoke: “Don’t we have a psychology exam tomorrow? Can’t afford another failing grade. I’m leaving, you two take your time…”

            Bullshit. Estella Churchill didn’t study. She didn’t even need to go to college. But if she didn’t go to college, where would she go? With all the money her grandparents left her, the next few generations could live more than luxuriously. There was no need for college, a job, anything.

            “Oh!” Blair suddenly chirped as if she hadn’t heard Estella. “Hey, Ella, isn’t there that party Saturday? It’s at Jonah’s, right? Savannah, why don’t you come? There’ll be a ton of hot guys there. You can find a new guy.”

            Savannah. So that was her name. It sounded kind of familiar.

            Estella was slightly peeved that Blair acted as if she hadn’t said anything, but then again, that was the point she liked about Blair. That’s what made her different from all the other girls—she treated Estella no different than anyone else.

            “Hey, Savannah, look. Estella had an even more recent breakup than you did, and she’s robotic and mean, as usual,” Blair teased. “Why did you dump Stephen, anyway?” she asked innocently, directing her attention away from the sulking Savannah.

            Aha. That was the million dollar question.

            Why did she break up with Stephen?

            She didn’t break up with Stephen because he went bankrupt. She—oh, what the hell—loved him. So, why? Sure, her mother dropped a few cruel words, but she had lived with it practically her whole life. Estella could get over it within a few days.

            Just before the breakup, Estella thought it over to herself. She thought up scenarios of what would happen between Stephen and her if they didn’t break up. They would still be in love and happy. Her parents would be furious. Where would Stephen live? Maybe at Drew Sterling’s infamous motel-house? Estella wasn’t too sure if she was okay with that—after all, there were other girls at Drew’s. If Stephen did stay at Drew’s place, she would be constantly suspicious, her parents would be even more furious, and Stephen would complain about it every day.

            At this point, Estella stopped and went back to the very first fact she had gleaned. They would still be in love and happy. Would they? She dreamt up another scenario: the very next time they saw each other after his family went bankrupt. And that’s when she realized, no, it wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t be the same at all.

            Stephen cared about his social standing and money was a huge part of it. If the money was missing, a large chunk of Stephen was, as well. He wouldn’t act like the same haughty, cocky, and hard-to-get Stephen Bullard he was with half of his confidence gone. Things would be awkward, and Stephen would feel inferior to Estella.

            And there was nothing Stephen hated than being inferior.

            That’s why Estella broke up with him, because nothing would be the same after that incident.

            It was also why she hated money more than anything else in the world.