East Chapel Academy

“Did you hear?”

Sam stood next to my locker his brown eyes round with excitement.

"What was I supposed to hear?" I grabbed my chemistry textbook and closed my locker. There was at least six different rumors spreading around East Chapel Academy at any given time. How was I ever supposed to keep up?

“We heard about something?” Nick bumped shoulders with Sam. There a cluster of deep red hickies rose above the collar of his school-approved button-down, a gift from Crystal I'm guessing.

“There’s a new girl,” Sam announced.

That was it. This is what's got him pissing his pants with excitement, a new student? Surely, there's more. "And..."

“And,” he scoffed, “And? Are you kidding me? That’s all you have to say?”

Nick laughed next to me, straightening his tie. “Sam, you know Whitney still has our little Marcus wrapped around her finger. He doesn't care about some new girl.”

“Really, I thought that was over,” he said his brows furrowed.

“It is over.” I adjusted my books in my arms. The subject of my ex-girlfriend always made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It didn't help that she couldn't take the hint that things were over between us.

“That’s not what Crystal told me,” Nick said, “Whitney seems to think you’re still together.”

See. I sighed. "Well, we're not and you can tell Crystal I said so."

Nick smirked knowing it wouldn't make a difference. "Will do."

“Anyway—back to the new girl,” Sam said bringing the conversation back around to his new favorite subject.

I was more than happy to talk about anything other than Whitney even if it meant hearing him drool over a girl he's never even met. “What about her?”

Nick asked the question we were both wondering, “Is she pretty?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen her yet, but I know she’s a transfer and in our grade.”

East Chapel Academy is a private school reserved for the children of the elite. Celebrities, politicians, we've even had a monarch or two over the years. Most of the student body has gone here since kindergarten, and have known each other even longer than that. It could be drama-filled and pretentious at times, but it was the only school I've ever known.

“I bet she’s from a boarding school.” Sam sighed dreamily, “Maybe she’s a model.”

“Fresh from rehab,” Nick joked.

“I’m still going to make her my prom date," Sam announced.

I snorted. “Let’s not prey on the naïve, Sam. You should at least see her before you start making plans to trick her into dating you.”

“That might be the only way he can get a date,” said Nick.

Sam punched him in the shoulder. “Hey, I have options.”

“Yeah, like who?”

“Don’t you worry about it.” He popped the collar of his East Chapel Academy blazer. “Just know that I have more than one option.”

I rolled my eyes. We both knew that he had no options and that's why he was so excited about this girl with no name. “On that note,” I laughed. “It’s time for me to go to class.”

“I’ll see you at practice,” Nick said, patting me on the back.

I dodged a group of freshmen that blocked the entrance of the science wing as I made my way to class.

The classroom was empty when I arrived and for once I was happy for the few minutes of peace and quiet. I pulled out my copy of 1984 from the front of my backpack. I was reading it for my English class, but I was actually starting to enjoy it. The dystopian was darker than what I normally read but it was a good change of pace from the whimsical fantasies that filled my bookshelves at home.

I brushed the hair out of my face as I began reading. It was time for me to get a haircut or else I was going to look like my little brother, E.J, his hair fell past his shoulders these days. He loved it, I, on the other hand, like to keep my hair cut short. I found that my thick hair weighed me down less that way.

I was just getting into my chapter when I heard the door creak open. So much for getting a few pages in. I dog-eared the page before looking up to see which of my classmates had entered the room. When I spotted the girl my mouth went dry.

She was beautiful.

She wore her hair in long braids that almost fell to her narrow waist. She wasn't very tall, she'd maybe come to my shoulder if I was standing up, but she had long legs. Like a model almost. Her brown skin was radiant, and her eyes glowed the same. This had to be the girl Sam was talking about. I would know if I had seen a girl like her here before.

If Sam thinks he's going to pursue her with no competition he is sadly mistaken.