Lydia didn't show up to school the next day, or the next, or the next. I didn't want to be weird, but I kinda started to worry about her.

"Rue?" Lydia pulled her window open with a blink. "Why are you at my window?"

"Hey." she panted after climbing the many stories just to make it to the fire escape. "How's it going?"

Lydia shrugged. "It's going?"

"You not having a good day?" Rue panted, looking into Lydias room. "You gotta drink?"

"More like not having a good week." she corrected her, passing her half empty water bottle to Rue as she climbed into her room. "You?"

"You wanna be my business partner?" she spoke between violet gulps of the water. "I have my bike."

"Business partner?" Lydia gave an innocent smile as she crossed her legs. "What's that mean?"

"It's kinda illegal." the Bennett girl shook her head, pursing her lips. "So, you wanna?"

Truth was, Lydia really knew that she was in the worst state to do anything remotely illegal, but after the past three days of not being able to leave her room because the entire world loved to trigger her, when we were together was the first time she didn't think about curling up in a ball. I know I shouldn't say it out loud because this whole situation is really fucked, but it kinda made me a little happy that I was the only thing that could get her out of her room.

"So, how come you aren't at school?" Rue asked as Lydia got into the back of her bike and they took off.

"My therapist pushed me too far." she admitted, her arms tightened around Rue's waist when she took a turn. "I want to go back to homeschool."

"Well, what about your class with Elliot?" Rue tried to recall which ones she was being tutored in, but it was all a fucking blur to her.

"My grades are fine, it's not the work." she admitted as Rue stopped infront of the location. "Just, with everything that happened."

Rue let her get off first, giving a hesitant look. "Do you wanna...talk about it?"

Lydia shook her head, looking back at the house. "This is our illegal destination?"

"Yup." Rue climbed off and adjusted her blazer as Lydia pushed her hair back to show off the expensive earrings her dad had gotten her, hoping to look professional.

"So, what should our cover story be?" Lydia spoke as they walked side by side. "Am I a recovering alcoholic and you're my sponsor? Oh, or I could say i'm pregnant and in need of money. I mean, if I stick my stomach out it could pass as a little baby bump. Oh! I could tell her-"

"Don't worry, I have it all planned in here." Rue drummed on the side of her head. "You just...look...pretty."

Lydia looked over at her. "You think i'm pretty?"

"Well- I didn't say that." Rue explained as Lydia frowned her eyebrows. "Not that I don't th- I do think you're pretty, I just mean-"

"I'm the beauty, you're the brains." Lydia confirmed with a small grin, winking. "Got it."

After being let in, Rue lead Lydia toward a lady in the kitchen. She looked back at Lydia and gave her a not so subtle look. The woman poured herself a cup of coffee. "You girls want some?"

"Oh, i'm okay, thank you." Rue shook her head.

"You?" Laurie nodded to Lydia.

"Well, sure." she hesitant, accepting the cup with a smile. "Woah! Best smelling coffee i've ever smelt in my entire years of smelling. That takes real talent, ma'am. Im so greatful to sit in your kitchen and-and smell this...this coffee."

She forgot to mention she isn't very good at this sort of thing.

Rue gave her a tight lipped smile, Lydia only giving an apologetic one in return. A man completely naked walked from the hallway and into the kitchen, Lydias jaw dropped as Rue cleared her throat. "Uh, ever since I met you at New Years, I was-I was thinking, uh-"

Lydia and Rue shared a similar odd look at the very comfortable and naked man right before them.

"Um, uh, we're in high school, right?" Rue laughed as she stood up quickly, pulling Lydia up with her. "And- I have a GPA of 3.95, Lydia has a 4.0, and let's say, you know, all our friends Jamie, Lainey, and Amy also have a GPA over 3.7. And, Laurie, these are girl that you would never expect in a million years to be saling."

"Very pretty and respected woman." Lydia hummed, nodding as she motioned to her chest. "Massive boobs."

"Hum." Laurie sat down.

"Look, i'm a dreamer. And-and Steve Jobs is my hero-" Rue started.

"Mine is...Obama." Lydia cleared her throat. "Or-or whoever- whatever president you voted for...just realizing he wasn't part of the recent election, okay. Look, we need a woman president who-who, well, you obviously know what it's like to be a woman in business that most look at as a man's job. As do I, the whole dealer, saling thing. So, really, giving us this opportunity would be the best form of feminism the society could really take."

Rue cleared her throat as she looked to Lydia, once again, getting an apologetic smile. Laurie nodded. "I did vote Obama when he was running."

Lydia lit up. "Great!"

"I was just thinking, you know, what if there was a full proof system to sale-" Rue clicked her tongue and motioned toward the side. "-you know, without anyone snitching."

Laurie hummed again as she typed in, the loud beeping echoing. Rue nodded. "So, let's say, theoretically of course, we were able to pay Jamie, Amy, and Lainey five hundred dollars a month to be runners. Now, we would upload their phones to a cloud that I own."

"Why would you want that?" Laurie asked as she shut her eyes in her chair.

"She's a dreamer." Lydia hummed. "Steve Jobs is her hero."

"Oh, that's a good question, Laurie." Rue hummed as she gave Lydia a side eye look. "Well, you see, even though Jamie, Amy, and Lainey have stellar GPA's, there's also things on their phones that they don't want the world to know about."

"Piss porn." Lydia whispered in her direction.

"It would probably jeopardize their ability to get into Yale, Columbia, and Harvest, my top choices. Plus, if they ever got busted, we're looking at six to twelve months in juvie." Rue settled her case.

"It's a way bigger sentence." Laurie pointed out with a shake of her head.

"Not if you're under eighteen." Rue gave her a little grin. "Which is nothing to having your entire life ruined and released in the internet so their insintive to snitch is basically reduced to zero."

"Zilch." the girl by her side agreed.

"This is an amazing plan." Laurie admitted from behind her closed eyelids. "You're a genius."

Rue gave a grin. "Thank you. Don't forget Lydia, the beauty of the project."

"You're also a genius." Laurie met Lydia's eye for a moment. "I'll front the two of you a 50k suit case."

As she walked away, Lydia and Rue gave silent cheers to the other. Rue balanced herself quickly with a shake of her head. "Maybe we should start smaller."

Laurie continued to unlock the bolted door. "10k?"

"Deal." Rue hummed.

"We'll take it." Lydia nodded.

"If you pay each girl a thousand, you can flip it for twenty and that's 7k profit." Laurie walked back with the small suit case. "Three to me, four to the two of you, which you have to split."

"Oh, for sure." Rue hummed as she gave Lydia an awkward side hug. "We don't mind sharing."

"The best pair of business drug dealers you will ever find." Lydia hummed with a wink. "Tell your friends."

"You won't regret this." Rue smiled as she took the case.

"You pay up in a month." Laurie pointed out.

"Counting down the days." Lydia flashed a thumbs up.

"Rue, Lydia." Laurie stopped them both again. "If you screw me, i'll have both of you kidnapped and sold to some real sick people. I always find a way to make my money back. I'm serious."

Lydias eyes doubled in size, looking to Rue as she inhaled. "Okay."

As they walked out, Lydia exhaled loudly. "I can't believe we just did that. I can not believe we really just did that."

"We are officially-" Rue turned to Lydia fully as she latched their pinkies together and did a spin under her arm. "-in business."

"I'm business!" Lydia cheered, circling under Rues arm next.

"Where am I dropping you?" Rue got on the bike as Lydia held the suitcase behind them.

"I was suppose to go to my dads but he took a last minute trip to visit my grandparents in India." Lydia spoke as Rue looked back. "So, just my apartment."

"How come your don't just go hang out on your own?" Rue suggested as she bopped her head, kicking off on her bike.

"Mmm." Lydia shrugged as she held on to her with on arm, the other the suit case. "I don't really like to be alone after the accident."

Rue looked back at her hesitantly. "Want me to go stay with you?"

•

kylie speaks

so, as you probably know
me by now, i've already
written this entire book before
publishing the first chapter and
this one and the next were my
two most favorite ones to write!