BLUE BLOOD

3 | just like it did to ella

"Kalina?"

"Kalina Jeong. The girl with black hair to her waist. Helen's best friend. She has Asian royal blood in her so that's pretty self explanatory. She's dated a couple of times here and there briefly but no one's been permanent."

I wasn't sure why that was relevant but I guessed that who cadre one dated was the gossip everyone in the school wanted to know. "And the four others?"

My gaze landed on the three guys that now took a seat with Helen, Blake, and Kalina. The third girl was still on a call.

"Do you see the guy with ginger hair and glasses? That's Cole Asto. He's an actual genius. His mother won the Nobel Peace Prize for some scientific discovery and his father is a famous professor at MIT. He comes from old money." Camilla read the shock on my face wrongly. "Yes, I guess that's impressive but Mason Gregory Scott, his parents have won the Grammys and Oscars more than once."

I knew instantly that Camilla had a crush on Mason. It was read plainly from the way she looked at him. "That girl," Camilla pointed to the gorgeous dark skinned girl, "She's Gloria Rosario. Very wealthy family, her father's an influential senator that you may have seen quite a bit on television."

"I have." I didn't mention my father didn't quite like her father.

"The last guy, with black hair and silver eyes, that's Avery Dragomir."

My gaze landed on him, and for a split second, his silver eyes met mine. I knew, however, that Avery didn't consciously see me or notice me because the next moment, he was laughing with Mason. Though I should have turned away, I couldn't stop looking at him, analyzing. He had his tie loose, hair messy as if he had just rolled out of bed, and a smirk that only promised trouble. 

He was the smirking boy who asked that riddle.

"His father owns a huge tycoon in the technology sector. Avery's the best soccer player we have at the academy and you see how he's laughing with Mason? That's his best friend- hey," Camilla suddenly looked at me suspiciously. "Why are you suddenly so interested?"

"Because I finished my lunch," I lied with a smile, wanting her to keep dumping all the information I needed. Thankfully, she wanted to talk about them too much so she accepted it without further questioning.

The reason why I was so interested in Avery Dragomir was because he was crucial to my plans.

Therefore, I had to know everything I could about him.

"They're the blue bloods," Camilla concluded, a wistful tone in her voice.

"What makes them so...special?" I asked, so curious about this academy and it's hierarchy and the ones who sat on top of everyone. "What made them cadre one?"

She considered my question. "Everyone wants to be them. Everyone's afraid of what they can do. But mostly, everyone respects them. In a place like this, where everyone is rich and everyone can afford to look pretty, they stand out. They just do. Other than that, I don't know why."

But I did.

It was the concept everybody admired. It was the concept everyone wanted. These people, like Camilla, grew up in a family who made millions if not billions. When you have everything, why not want more? Why not be the best?

It was clear from the way Camilla spoke that not everybody wanted to be one of them, but there were enough people that did, and so, a hierarchy was created. Suddenly, what the Dean meant was clear. Cadres just told you where you were in this hierarchy.

Oh Ella. Why did you have to be swept up in this hierarchy?

Are you happy now?

"No wonder," I muttered. "Rosa must have tried to date one of them to be a blue blood."

"She's not the first and she won't be the last," Camilla agreed. "Dating a blue blood is as close as being one, though everyone knows you have to be invited to their cadre to really be a blue blood. As you saw from Rosa, you have to be willing to risk everything to become one."

They were like hungry sharks. Predators preying for game.

A sparkle must have shown in my eyes, which Camilla misinterpreted wrong again, because she said knowingly, "Never go for any of them. Seriously."

"Why would I?" I shrugged, trying to hide my excitement.

My plan was slowly coming together.

"Though Blake is dating Helen, he never acts like he is. Mason dates around a lot but it doesn't last. Avery doesn't date at all- he hates commitment. They all make it very clear that no one is special to them."

I watched as the blue bloods started descending from the balcony to leave the mess hall for the next class. They're names and presence meant something to these people.

Just like it did to Ella.

"What about Cole?" I thought it was odd she would leave him out, especially since Cole mattered almost as much as Avery did to my plans.

In fact, Cole mattered only because I had a hatred reserved for him and only him.

Camilla's expression shifted into a way I couldn't read. "He had a girlfriend years ago."

"What happened to her?" My heart pounded for the answer, my knuckles white as I clutched the table.

She smiled softly, sadly. "The blue bloods happened to her."

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