The Wild One Read Online Free Page A

word—“environment.” I’m talking too much. Shut up.
    â€œCoco, there’s a whole load of jobs that aren’t finance or teaching,” says Vic. “Maybe your destiny is somewhere else.”
    â€œMaybe…”
    But what I can’t say is the real reason my dad and Julia told me what to do with my life.
    They think I’m stupid.
    They’d never say it, but I know it’s true. Did you know I have an inheritance from my mom? Julia used her inheritance for college, but my preschool qualifications didn’t cost anywhere near as much as Brown. After I was certified, I heard Dad and Julia talking about it once. The rest of my money is locked away until I’m old enough to trust with it. They’ll probably give it to my husband if I ever get married, like a dowry. They never tell me anything.
    I guess it’s because I wasn’t a great student in high school. I just found it really hard to concentrate, and I felt sad a lot of the time, and so I sort of got locked up inside myself. If that makes any sense. It felt like my teachers had already decided who the brainy kids were, and I wasn’t one of them. I really only did well in my Advanced Placement English class … but it’s only because I love reading. Love it. Books are like friends. They make you feel understood.
    My dad always said that reading was nothing more than a hobby, that you can’t make a career out of books. I’m not sure that’s true now—I mean, what about book editors and stuff?—but at the time it made sense.
    â€œYou’ve always been the smart one,” says Vic, interrupting my reverie.
    â€œI am not!” I say, with such venom I surprise myself. “I’m just … I’m not. My dad once said that some people are school smart and some people are people smart and I’m people smart.”
    â€œPeople smart, my ass. You were sitting out here reading Little Women when you were six. You read more than any kid I’ve ever known, except my niece Samantha, and she’s got a PhD in sociology. She’s a smart one too. You’re school smart. Trust me. You don’t give yourself enough credit, Coco.”
    My eyes suddenly fill with tears. I love Vic. He always tries to make us feel better. He’s like our guardian angel or something.
    â€œBut I don’t know what I’ll do if I get fired,” I say. “It’s so scary.”
    â€œYou’ll figure it out,” he says. “That’s the only thing I can promise you.”
    â€œWhat if I can’t? I feel…” I pause, trying to keep my voice steady, willing my tears away before he notices. “Lost. Like my life is empty.”
    â€œEmpty? You live in the best city in the world, with your sister, your best friends…”
    â€œI know, I know,” I say quickly. “But they’re more Julia’s friends, really. Julia went to college with Pia and Madeleine, and Pia and Angie have known each other since they were babies. They only live with me because Julia and I inherited the house and they couldn’t afford to live here any other way.”
    â€œDoesn’t mean you’re not important to them.”
    I nod, using my sleeve to mop up the tears sneaking down my cheeks, hoping he doesn’t notice. Vic’s being nice, but it’s totally not true. Everyone else in Rookhaven is special and beautiful and funny. I am (d) none of the above. I don’t belong.
    â€œAnd I don’t usually get involved in the, uh, the love stuff,” Vic says. “But any man who cheats is not a man. Full stop, end of paragraph, end of story. So don’t waste any more tears on him.”
    â€œOkay,” I say.
    Suddenly I realize that I haven’t really cried about Ethan that much. I’m not heartbroken, and I don’t feel sad, exactly … I just feel scared. Why does everything make me feel scared? And if I