Chapter 56

It’s a random Wednesday about a month after the homecoming dance when Neil slaps an envelope down on the kitchen table. Mia and I are eating lunch and are confused. I’m more confused when the envelope has my name on it.

“What’s this?” I ask.

“Stipend,” Neil says. He’s very blasé and continues to ruffle through the pile of mail in this hand.

“Stipend…?” I draw the word out so he knows I’m confused. Instead of elaborating, he just kind of waves his hand nonchalantly.

“For being in the Court,” he says.

I feel my eyebrows go up. “I get money for that? I thought it was just some formality.”

Neil finally turns to look at me. He sets down the mail in his hand, holding only one envelope to his chest. He sighs.

“For you, maybe,” Neil says. “But for others it’s the highest of recognition. If anything’s a formality, it’s the stipend. Twenty-percent of monthly Hayes earnings have to go to the members of the Court. Some old school thing our ancestors set up because they needed to keep the underlings happy. Now, this is penny-cash to most of members of the Court. They can make this in a day on their own.”

I frown down at the envelope before taking it into my hands. Penny cash to me is just that: pennies. The way Neil puts it, I’m expecting my stipend to be twenty or fifty dollars. Maybe I can repurchase my Led Zeppelin shirt that Archer threw out.

However, when I open the envelope, I gasp.

My name is written neatly in red ink. Below it, the words read out “FIVE THOUSAND AND ZERO ONE HUNDRETHS.” I blink at it a few times, trying to process the amount.

Five thousand dollars. This is more money than I’ve ever seen in my life let alone held between my hands. I almost feel the check burning into my skin like a flame. My heart is pounding so hard in my chest that my brain is getting foggy. I look up at Neil.

“This is five thousand dollars,” I whisper.

Again, Neil waves a hand. “Yeah. It’s that twenty percent of our monthly profit divided by the twelve members of the Court. So like a twelfth of twenty percent.”

My brain hurts trying to do the math. I knew the Hayes were rich but this is just insane. The ability to have all that money definitely wields them some power. Somehow, it makes their attitudes make more sense.

“Wow,” I breathe.

“Yeah, it’s not much,” Neil says. “We should probably give you more but the twenty percent is a maximum and a minimum.”

I’m appalled by how calm he is by all this. I shake my head. “This is more than enough, it’s – wow.”

Neil looks down at my shoes and gives me a half a smirk.

“Maybe get some new shoes that aren’t covered in mud, yeah?” he says.

I frown.

“I like my boots.”

Neil gives me a grimace of a smile before kissing Mia on top of the head. He gathers the rest of the mail he was holding and marches out of the room. I still can hardly believe my eyes at the zeros on the end of this check.

I never worked a real job in Greendale. Most of my “jobs” were helping my mom, moving cargo and being back up security for the big gang in town. None of those jobs gave me an actual cash check. It was all random twenties shoved into my hands in wadded up balls. Additionally, no payment was more than a hundred bucks. The day the gang gave me $80, I lost my mind. I went out and bought the Docs that are still on my feet this day.

Maybe that’s why I can’t get rid of them. But I look down at their muddy, caked soles and the way the leather is peeling up from the yellow stitched seam and wonder if maybe it’s time to retire them.

Mia and I finish lunch and I go back to our room. While she naps, I ping Angela and ask if she has anything to do and could take my shopping. She sends way too many exclamation points of excitement before saying she loves shopping and agreeing to go with me. I rouse Mia an hour later and the cranky baby and me get into the back of Angela’s car.

The mall that Angela takes us to is pretty close to campus. I haven’t been off campus since I arrived so it feels nice to be beyond the magical barriers of Moonriver. Angela get me to go in a few designer stores but nothing is peaking my interest. Finally, we reach the Doctor Martens store.

Everything is shiny and new. I get the sales associate to help me find the newer version of my boots. They slide on like a glove. Angela goes crazy when she sees the matching ones for a baby and talks me into buying Mia a pair. Hers are bright pink and mine are my normal black. I giggle a little when we try them on and stand next to one another.

When we’ve picked everything out, we go up to the register. I hand the cashier my check and her eyes bulge out of her head.

“Ma’am,” she says. “We can’t take this it’s not for the correct amount.”

“Well can’t you just give me change?” I ask, confused.

The cashier looks equally confused. Luckily, Angela steps in. She flashes a black metal card and tells me I’ll pay her back after we deposit the money in the bank. I blush slightly in embarrassment but am grateful for her help.

The total winds up being a little more than two hundred dollars. My heart races with the thought that I’ve barely put a dent into my stipend. We leave the shop and Angela has her car take me to the bank.

She tells the banker I want two accounts and a debit card. Sure enough, he shows me how I have my own checking account and savings account. There’s an app on the phone the Hayes bought me that allows me to transfer between accounts. The little card they give me directly links to one so I never have to have cash around. It also has a password so no one can steal my money.

We leave the bank and I’m more overwhelmed than ever. Angela rubs my shoulder reassuringly.

“Look at you,” she says. “All grown up with a bank account!”

“Who would’ve thought?” I mumble.

Angela shakes me gently. “I would’ve! You’re made for greatness, Chloe.”

I sigh. I’m starting to think that maybe I am.