Prestige & Promises

CHAPTER 1:

Elain was a 14-year-old girl about to start her first day of High School. She woke up extra early that day to look her best. The first days are always the most important. It’s a fresh start, and you get to make any impression you want, shaping your school place.

She had naturally loose, wavy hair that she decided to straighten today. Her natural hair suited her, but straightened hair was always the best. Elain hated wearing makeup every day. She thought it ruined the idea of looking better on special occasions because if you baked your face every day, then you would look the same on a date, party, wedding, etc. However, she always wore mascara and carried her Burt’s Bee tinted lip balm everywhere. When she walked over to her closet to find something cute to wear, she noticed she had forgotten to clean it, so it was a mess. She rifled through it until she found a tight brown tee and paired it with loose grey sweats and her Air Forces, then ran downstairs to get her mom to drop her off.

“Mom, could you give me a ride to school?”

Mrs. Sloane was sitting on the sofa, sipping her cup filled with alcohol, watching Ginny and Georgia. She turned depressed again after having broken up with one of her boyfriends recently.

“Laney, come on, honey, why don’t you go catch the bus?” she sighed. “Let a poor woman watch her show in peace. Plus, I have work to do later.”

Elain walked down the stairs and saw Ginny and Georgia playing. It was one of her favorite shows she watched with her mom. A few others were The Summer I Turned Pretty, Surviving Summer, My Life with the Walter Boys, Stranger Things, Free Rein, and many others. “No, get up. You can come back and watch this, and you have no work.”

“Fine,” Mrs. Sloane groaned. “Take the keys and get in. I’ll be right there in two minutes.”

“Bet.

Elain plopped her bag on her shoulders and ran to the car. On the way, she grabbed the keys that were hanging by the door. Her mom owned a tiny infinity, but it was enough for the only two people living in the house. She was an only child, and her dad had left when she was thirteen because of some lame fight he had with her mom over excessive spending. Her mom had been sulking for two weeks straight until she found herself a new boyfriend who was a year younger than her. Ever since then, she began changing boyfriends at an insane speed. And all of them were always younger than her.

***At school

As her mom pulled into the parking lot of the big High School, Elain was speechless. It was the best and most expensive school in all of Manhattan, Annadale Academy. Elain had received a full scholarship till graduation. There were all kinds of luxurious cars parked everywhere. Compared to them, their infinity looked like hell. Her mom parked on the outskirts of the school since that was the only remaining spot left.

“Okay, honey, off you go!” Mrs. Sloane said as she bent over to give Elain a kiss on the forehead. Elain loved how her mom tried to make an effort to act normal and loving these days, although she was far from it.

“Okay, and thank you again for the ride. Love you, bye!” Elain called back as she ran towards the building. She was already late for homeroom, and first period was about to begin in five minutes. She had received her schedule via email last night. She was supposed to have Math first period.

Inside, there were tons of hallways intersecting with one another, leaving Elain feeling lost. She walked past the same hallway twice, and that’s when she knew she was actually lost. She looked around, looking for someone to ask directions, but there was no one around. Everyone was probably in class. She continued walking aimlessly, looking for any sign of people, until she spotted the washroom. She suddenly remembered how in middle school all the girls used to crowd in the washroom for hours just to get ready. Inside the washroom, she spotted a pretty girl sitting on top of the counter scrolling through her phone. The girl looked up and met Elain’s eyes.

“Hi? Can I help you?” The girl asked.

“Uhm, yeah. I’m kinda lost and am wondering if you could take me to my class,” Elain asked, feeling awkward. She was never that good at starting conversations or getting along with people.

The girl stared at her for ten whole seconds before getting off the counter and walking towards Elain. She stopped short at four feet and smiled. “I like you already. Let’s be friends. My name is Lexi, and trust me, you will never find a cooler or prettier friend than me. What do you say?”

Elain felt ecstatic but didn’t show it. She made a friend on the first day of school. What could be better than that? On top of that, this girl was really pretty with her short brown hair and deep siren amber eyes. “Sure. I don’t mind.”

Lexi rushed forward and pulled Elain into a big hug. “Oh my gosh, a bestie on the first day of school! You’re so pretty, by the way.”

Elain pulled away and chuckled, embarrassed. She knew she was pretty but hated compliments. “Thank you. You are too!”

“I know that,” Lexi said confidently. She walked over to the mirror, pulled out her gloss, and began applying it to her lips. When she was done, she gestured for Elain to follow. “Come on. Let’s take you to class. What do you have right now?”

“Math 101.”

“No way. We’re really meant to be. I have math as well!” Lexi squealed. “Let’s go together. I was planning on skipping, but not anymore.”

While walking to class together, Elain noticed how big the classrooms were and how many there were. The halls were massive. The walk seemed to take forever until they stopped in front of an orange colored door labelled “Freshman Math 101.” They stood in front of it silently, both of them unable to muster up the courage to knock.

“You can do the honours,” Lexi offered. “Since you are new.”

“You aren’t new?” Elain asked.

“Nope. I have been in this school since Kindergarten.”

Elain felt a pang of jealousy. She hated how some people were born wealthy, while others had to work for it, and some even lived in poverty for life. She hated smug rich people and was glad Lexi wasn’t one of them. “Oh. That must be nice.”

“Nah, this school really isn’t all that. I’d do anything to go to a normal school for once, and not one of these prestigious schools for rich people, but my parents would never. It’s either homeschool or this, and of course, this is the best option,” Lexi answered. Elain wanted to tell Lexi how ungrateful she was and that she would love to take her place in life, but didn’t bother. She didn’t want to lose a perfectly good friend.

“Is your family like really rich?” Elain asked, although she knew how stupid that must sound.

“Of course. That’s why I’m here, duh,” Lexi did a mock eye roll. “What about you? Oh, that must sound stupid, sorry. You’re obviously rich, that’s why you’re here as well.”

“No, actually. I’m not; I came here on a full scholarship. I live with my single mom because my dad left when I was little, and we live a mediocre life. Not rich but not broke either,” Elain said. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, but knew friendships that involve honesty are better.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry!” Lexi apologized, feeling genuinely guilty. She reached over and grabbed Elain’s hands. “I should have known. Oh my god, you’re not mad, right? If your family ever needs any help, don’t hesitate to ask me for help. That’s what friends are for!”

Elain flinched. She wanted to slap Lexi across the face at this moment, but knew better. Elain knew Lexi was being genuine because the way she was speaking made it sound like she pitied her, and Elain hates when people pity her. Plus, her family isn’t going through any economic troubles, thankfully. She pulled her hands away. “Thanks, but no need.”

“Oh,” Lexi looked offended, but didn’t mention it. She suddenly realized, amidst all this talking, she had forgotten they were in front of the classroom. “Shit. We’re really late. When we go in, I’ll make the excuse, and all you need to do is find a desk next to me. Got it?”

“Yup.” Lexi reached over and twisted the doorknob. The door opened to reveal a gigantic classroom. The entire class, including the teacher, turned to look at them. There looked to be around thirty kids in here. “That’s Mrs. Rachel,” Lexi whispered.

“Girls, what was the point of this interruption? Never again. Why are you late?” Mrs. Rachel spoke in her British accent. She had tan skin and dark brown hair and looked similar to Meghan Markle.

“We were in the office getting our schedules. There was a really long line-up. We’re so sorry miss, it won’t happen again,” Lexi said. Elain was shocked because Lexi was like a professional at this. Elain could never keep a straight face while lying, but Lexi just did it effortlessly.

“Okay. Go sit down,” Mrs. Rachel said as she began continuing her lesson on advanced trigonometry.

Lexi walked over to the back, where there were surprisingly a lot of empty desks, and took the corner seat. Elain sat in the one next to her.

“You were great!” Elain said. “Can’t believe we really got away with that excuse. At my old school, they would’ve called the office to confirm if we were telling the truth or not.”

“Damn, but they don’t have that type of time here. They don’t care what you do because all the kids pay a lot to be here each semester.”

“Girls at the back, quiet!” Mrs. Rachel shouted. “I’m trying to teach.”

Elain sighed. “Yes, ma’am,” and placed her head down. She hated math, especially Algebra. It was all quiet except for the sound of Mrs. Rachel’s yapping. “And then you will get the sin inverse, which you will multiply by cos.”

It went on like that for another thirty minutes until the lesson was interrupted by the door being opened. “Mr. James. Why are we this late?” Mrs. Robert said, annoyed. It came out as a scowl.

“I don’t know,” James said in a deep, alluring voice. Elain lifted her head and was awestruck for a moment. He was the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes on, with his chestnut-brown hair, deep-amber eyes, and slightly tanned skin. Their eyes met, and for a moment, time seemed to stop. They stared at eachother for over a minute until Lexi whispered something and Elain turned her head.

“Ugh, that’s my annoying, obnoxious brother, James. If he’s ever mean to you, don’t mind him. He thinks he can be mean to everyone just because he’s the most popular guy at school.”

James looked at her one more time before flicking his eyes over to his sister. Lexi stuck out her tongue at him, and in return, he did it back and flipped her off. Then, he walked over to a desk at the back of the room, but at the other corner, so he was still far away from Elain and Lexi.

“He is?” Elain asked.

“Yeah, just because he’s good-looking and really athletic. Most girls in this school are after jocks anyway.”

Suddenly, Elain felt annoyed. The first guy she ever liked at first glance was popular and had an entire fan club. A dark thought crossed her mind. What if he had a girlfriend? Just the mere thought made her recoil back into jealousy. Lexi noticed it too and asked what was wrong.

“Nothing. I do have a question for you, though. By any chance, does your brother have a girlfriend?”

“Nah. He recently broke up with his 50th girlfriend of this year, Aleena, yesterday,” Lexi said.

“So he’s a player?” Elain asked.

“Yeah. Bro has never fallen in love even once. I’ll be shocked and over the moon if he does one day. He needs to stop playing innocent girls’ hearts.” Elain gaped. She wanted to hear a completely different answer. If he were a player, then there was no way she could like him. He would end up breaking her heart.

“Wait,” Lexi stretched the word. “Do you like him? Oh my gosh, you definitely like him. When I said that he’s a player, you looked disgusted, and back then, when I had said he’s single, you looked ecstatic!”

“Hell no. You’re being delusional right now,” Elain spat. Desperate to change the topic, she added, “Did you ever fall in love before?”

“I don’t know. I mean, there was a boy once whom I really liked. We dated for a while, but he cheated on me and moved schools later. Pure son of a bitch. I still can’t forgive him, but I still can’t get over him either. He texted me a week ago to get back with me, but I said no. Now I’m thinking if I should just give him another chance. I mean, I want to but-”

Elain cut her off. “Holy yapper, shut up for once. No, don’t get back with him. Once a cheater, always a cheater. We’re not discussing this anymore. Change the topic.”

“Okay, sure. Let’s just focus on class now,” Lexi suggested, but she looked annoyed.