Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Lila
Dear Mr. Mason:
Thank you for your generous donation. As to your inquiry about your ward, Lila Mason’s, progress, I am happy to report she is doing very well and excelling in all her classes as you can see by the enclosed grade summary. I anticipate that she will have her pick of colleges. She is not a very social girl but she has made good friends and appears to be well-adjusted. I can assure you that she has not had inappropriate contact with the opposite sex and that we limit that seriously here at St. Mary’s, as we shared with you when you first came to us two years ago. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
Indebtedly yours,
Headmistress Elizabeth Kura
Mason:
Oh my God.
I just learned that you are paying off Headmistress Kura so that we don’t have any meet ups with the boys from St. Peter’s Reform School. Everyone is pissed at me. I’m draining my bank account to buy them all Prada purses so they don’t hate me. Thanks a lot.
~L
Dear Mr. Mason:
Thank you for your generous contribution. I do not know where the rumor came from that you were somehow responsible for the cancellation of the co-ed interscholastic meet and greet. We have made the necessary corrections and rest assured, Lila is treated with the utmost respect and well-loved by everyone.
Indebtedly yours,
Headmistress Elizabeth Kura
Mr. Mason:
According to interviews of several students, Lila is currently enduring significant backlash over the cancelled co-ed parties. The Prada purse bribe did not have the intended effect.
Recommend that you withdraw Lila or arrange for the dance. Some students suggested bringing in Tyler the Creator or Megan Thee Stallion would improve the general mood.
Thank you for allowing us to investigate this matter for you.
Best,
Ronald Lee, Private Investigator
Dear Mr. Mason:
I am not leaving school. I’m graduating in two months, FFS. Just send me some photos of Beau. I miss him. I wish you would let me come back. Boarding school sucks, just so you know. Also, I heard you attended the boys’ school and that you were legendary for breaking the rules but I can’t even walk near the school without someone threatening to throw me into St. Mary’s solitary? You’re being totally unreasonable.
~Lila
P.S. The concert was a good bribe. Better than the Prada bags. I’m still pissed though.
Dear Mr. Mason:
I’m sorry but I’m not able to get into the dorm to take photos or videos of the interactions the subject has with other students. It does appear that the situation has abated some. I was able to take these photos of the subject with her friends. I want to be clear that the males in this photo were not known to the subject but approached during the meal. I was able to disperse them shortly after by pulling the fire alarm. Enclosed please find the bill from the restaurant for the water damage.
Ronald Lee, Private Investigator
Dear Mr. Mason:
Thank you for forwarding my college acceptance letter. I am really grateful for all that you have done for me these past two years. Despite the admission, my request is to take a gap year and come back. I miss Beau. Please consider this request.
Very truly yours,
Lila
“Colin.”
“Yes, Hendrix?”
“Go and fetch Lila from her school. She wishes to come home.”
A smile breaks across Colin’s face. “Really? I’ll go right now.”
After Colin leaves, I turn my chair to stare out the window. Lila is returning home after two full years of boarding school. I’m not going to survive.
4
LILA
“I bet you’re ready to go home.” I look up from my book to see Wendy. She’s leaning up against the doorframe. As much as I want to get back to Beau and maybe Mr. Mason, too, it's going to be weird not having her and Carole in my life every day.
“When are you heading out?” I close my book, slipping it into my bag.
Yes, I’m avoiding her question. I’m ready to go, but the reality is I don’t actually have a home in a true sense of the word. This place has been my home for the last two years, and although I’m excited to leave, I’ll miss the security of it. It’s one of the only steady things I can remember having in my life.
“I was actually coming to say goodbye to you now.” I stand from my bed, meeting her halfway for a hug.
“I’m going to miss you,” I whisper. I wasn’t some social butterfly. Carole and Wendy are the only friends I’ve made in my two years here. I never really felt like I belonged. I should be good with blending in with other kids. I’ve done it my whole life, hopping from home to home, but it was so different here. I never fit in.
“We’ll text,” she reminds me. “You could also meet me at college next year. That is still an option.” She gives me another push. Both she and Carole were pissed when I told them I was taking a year off.