The Academy 2

9

Nicola's POV

I think my face is going to be permanently red from the events that happened earlier. Ali had originally called to ask me to attend a party with her. After I said yes, things got a little heated over the phone. I was so caught up in pretending that my fingers were Ali's, that I didn't hear the door open.

The only thing that got my attention was the shriek out of Rosé's mouth the moment she turned the lights on. I let out a shriek to rival hers and scrambled to pull the covers up. Unfortunately, my foot got caught and I went tumbling out the bed. Rosé kept pointing and laughing since I was naked from the waist down.

I yanked the rest of my covers down to drape over my lower regions. Rosé was still teasing me this morning about the incident. She refused to end my suffering since she found my flustered state to be amusing. It also wasn't any easier when I had heard the chuckles from my phone.

"You look redder than a tomato." KJ sat in the seat next to me.

Taylor and Michael quickly agreed with him. I just groaned and said I had to run here. They seemed convinced enough and dropped the subject. Michael moved to sit beside me once Taylor had struck up a conversation with KJ. I think she likes him, but he's absolutely oblivious to her feelings.

KJ was retelling his fencing match that he won. I had no idea what he was talking about, but either Taylor did or she was pretending to. She was focused and hanging onto his every word. Michael nudged me and motioned over to the pair. I smirked and nodded.

Michael and I spent the free period chatting about random things. He claimed to be very good at cricket. I teased him about how the game was knockoff baseball. He actually educated me and said that cricket originated way before baseball. He concluded by stating that the imperialist Americans were at it again in exploiting another countries' culture. We both laughed at his statement. I agreed and asked him to explain the basics of the game, which he happily obliged.

I was walking to class when I felt an arm around me. I smelt the sweet floral scent and instantly knew it only belonged to one man.

"Hey, girlie!" Leon greeted me. "What do you have planned later? Cher, Hailey and I are thinking about going shopping later. You should tots come."

"I'd love to, but I have an event tonight." I politely declined.

"Nonsense! You tots need an outfit for the event, right?" I reluctantly nodded. "So we need to go shopping to get you one. How else would you get something? And what event?"

"I figured I'd just borrow something from Ali and it's a gala thing." He halted. "What?" My forehead creased in confusion.

"Gala? You said Gala right?" I nodded. "Do you remember which gala?"

"Umm... think she said something about a Hof something?" I thought long and hard. "I was a little distracted and wasn't really paying attention." My face heated up when I remembered this morning's events.

"The Hofburg Silvesterball?" I snapped my fingers and nodded at Leon. "That ball is like a scene out of a movie: think waltzing into a palace to the sounds of Viennese opera sounds, an unobstructed view of fireworks at midnight, and first-class dinner served on pristine porcelain. The Ball promises a high-calibre itinerary that will wow its glamorous guests with its opera ballet, waltz performances, and the ever popular public dancing quadrille. I've longed to go, so I'm def jealous of you." He narrowed his eyes at me. "But that def means we need to get you a dress stat!" He cried out.

"Viennese? As in Austria?" He nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But she said it was tonight? Then again, she tends to get her days mixed up which is weird since she's like a business mogul." Leon drowned me out and started listing the criteria for my dress.