Elise POV

I was seated in the meeting room with Amelia and Esmeralda. We had been waiting for a couple of hours for Ms. Malle and her friend to arrive. She walked through the door and I saw her friend.

I asked, "Who is the guy next to you? " motioning for the boy beside her.

She answered, "That is my son. Tyler Malle."

Tyler walked up to me and said, "Nice to finally meet you heiress." I shook his hand and smiled.

Esmeralda added happily, "Now you and Elise will become besties."

Ms. Malle cleared her throat and said, "Anyways we have a lot of work to do." She clicked on the pointer which displayed a PowerPoint presentation. Esmeralda took the center of the room and said, "Ms. Malle and I have had a thorough discussion on your weekly rating and appearance."

My eyebrows furrowed, and I said, "What's wrong with my weekly rating? And what's wrong with my appearance?"

She replied, "There's nothing wrong. The ratings have been going up steadily since you have entered this school. Great Job. The thing is the Theo-Iris-You case is gaining popularity."

I sighed trying to hide my emotion and said, "And?"

Ms. Malle stated, "We are trying to make sure that the press stays off of it. We don't need another scandal happening and your father doesn't need to worry about this."

Esmeralda added, "And, we don't need more headlines like this." showing me her phone. The headlines ranged from "Elise DeMoretti's School Performance."

I read them aloud, "It turns out Theodore McLoughlin and Elise DeMoretti's relationship is going downhill. Just yesterday, after a performance Theo was caught kissing Iris. And, just before the performance, Elise looked distraught. Many believe this could be the end of their relationship. Is there trouble in paradise? Stay tuned."

I sighed and said, "What the actual fuck?" Everyone, including me, was surprised by my use of profanities.

Esmeralda said, "See! That's what I mean. This needs to stop."

Ms. Malle agreed, "It's best if you try to keep things private and not make any sudden moves."

I said, "Easy, I'll just not look and talk to Theo, now can we move on to the rings?"

Ms. Malle nodded and said, "The rings. Esmeralda, if you please."

Esmeralda pulled out the book Ms. Malle showed me months before. After handing it to Ms Malle, she said, "What have you come up with?"

I sat up and pulled out my notes, "So, I read through my grandmothers journal and translated most of the Latin."

Ms. Malle added, "You translated her journal?"

I said, "Well, only a bit, I couldn't finish."

"It's okay. Just give us a rundown of what you got."

I took a breath, "The first ring had this clue and codes. 'My heart is a rose, my eyes are emeralds, my voice is a bell, my hands are petals, my lips are thorns, my hair is silk, my body is a garden. My roots are the ground, and my crown is the sun. You are the gardener, and you must water me.'

Tyler thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it's describing a location? and her emotions?"

I said, "That could work. There's also this code we're trying to crack."

He read over the code, "What language is this?"

"Latin. And, we're still figuring it out. But, that's the ring."

Tyler snapped his hands and said, "My lips thorns, my hair silk. I don't know but I think its feelings associated with when your in the cold."

I nodded, "Maybe. There's also this, My body is a garden."

Esmeralda read the code and said, "My heart is a rose, my eyes are emeralds, my voice is a bell. I feel like you could make it a location or a feeling, not sure."

Ms. Malle thought, "Hmmm...maybe its a flower. It could be a rose, an emerald, a bell."

I got up and realized, "No, it's the Evergreen Haven Retreat, the mountain range. Think about it? She was there when she met her first love."

Ms. Malle sat straight up and said, "Of course. You need to go there. But, not yet. Let's think about this. So, she's saying that her heart is a rose, her eyes are emeralds, her voice is a bell, her hands are petals, her lips are thorns, her hair is silk, her body is a garden. That could be the mountain range. My roots are the ground, and my crown is the sun."

I turned to Amelia but she said, "I'll set up a crew during the winter holiday you can go." I jumped up for joy and said, "Yes, can I bring Sophie and Kitty. Sophie has been dying to go there sometime."

"Sure, but make sure they don't interfere."

I nodded, "Will do."

**

Mackenzie POV

Brooke slammed her fifteenth computer on the ground before facing Jessica and me on the bed.

"I don't understand it! It's just not fair!" Brooke exclaimed, throwing her head into her hands.

"What's wrong?" Jessica asked, scooting next to her.

"That bitch."

I turned my attention to my freshly manicured nails and said, "Elise."

She sighed and said, "Of course."

"I'm not suprised," Jessica muttered before switching on the television and watching a movie on Netflix

She rolled her eyes and said, "It's not like you have to worry about anything. You have everything."

Brooke turned the volume up and watched the movie, ignoring me. I received a text from Sebastian saying that he'd meet me at the park later. I quickly typed out a response, feeling a flutter of excitement in my stomach.

I smiled and said, "Well, I'm going to go see Seb."

"Don't do anything stupid," Jessica said, not looking away from the screen.

I tossed Jessica a pillow and said, "Shut up."

As I went out the door, Brooke rolled her eyes, saying, "Goodbye, drama queen."

"Bye!" I yelled, slamming the door. My driver, John Claude, drove me to the park and opened the door for me, which is when I saw Sebastian, he was wearing a simple sweatshirt saying, Yale. He held his hand out and helped me step out. We walked along the park, holding hands. I heard some girls talking, and I heard something about how cute we looked together.

We got to the swings, and Sebastian said, "You have such an adorable giggle."

"You are the one with an adorable giggle," I retorted.

Sebastian started laughing and said, "Oh my god, you're so annoying."

I laughed and replied, "Well, you're the one that started this whole thing." He looked into my eyes and leaned forward and kissed me briefly before saying, "Yeah, I'm sorry."

"I accept your apology," I said. We kissed again, lingering for a few moments.

Sebastian pulled away and asked, "Do you wanna come over tomorrow?"

I raised my eyebrows and said, "Sure, why? What's wrong."

Sebastian toyed with his thumbs adn I instantly knew it was something personal. I whispered, "Is it about your father?"

He sighed and looked at me and said, "University, Dad wants me to go to Harvard.."

I placed my hand on his shoulder and said, "But you want to go to Yale. I saw the way you were trying to impress the scout during last week's game."

He gave me a soft smile and replied, "Yeah, that's what I told him. But he was adamant, so I just gave him the answer he wanted to hear. I can't believe you noticed."

"How could I not? You were on fire out there."

"Thanks. It means a lot that you supported me. Even if I am playing a sport you don't care for."

"Hey, it's your choice. Besides, it's not like I didn't cheer for you. I did and will do it again. I'm just saying."

"You're the best, you know that?"

"I'm very well aware of that Mr. DeMoretti."

Sebastian smirked and said, "Careful, that could be your surname one day."

I gasped, "I love you Seb."

He leaned closer and kissed my lips. "You are so beautiful. You know that right?"

I giggled, "Thanks, I guess."

Sebastian smiled, and we continued walking.