My Sister's Best Friend [T.Chalamet]

2

I look at the uniform Saoirse has already given me. In roughly an hour, I had to start school; it was my final head before I graduated and left for university. I stared at the uniform.

It was a white formal shirt with a navy-blue skirt. It was quite long for my liking, so when I wore it, I placed it higher, so it rested on my waist rather than my hips. I stood in front of the mirror and styled my hair to suit the day and my mood. I reapplied my lip gloss, then grabbed my bag, which Saoirse had gifted me for my first day.

I walked out of my room to see Saoirse cooking breakfast for us, only to find Timothée sitting on the table as well with a coffee in his hand. They both smiled at me. "Okay, Y/N, please give this school a chance; only one year, and then you're done with school. Okay, please make some friends and have fun. Have you thought about what you want to do after school?"

I just stood there.

"Okay, well, have this conversation when you come back."

I took my bag off my shoulder and sat on the table as Saoirse bought the food for breakfast. I carried on playing around with the food, not eating any of it.
"You're going to have to eat something Y/N before you go," Saoirse said to me.

I looked at her, then at Timothée, who was already on his second bagel.

Screw it.

I picked one up and started eating it, then another, and one more.

"Christs Look at the time. Y/N, come on, I'll take you because it's your first day, but you should be able to find your way soon. I assume you have Paul's number, right? He will be your pickup and drop-off. He will wait for you outside the school building." I got my bag and followed Timothée and Saoirse out of the building and into the car.

We arrived at the school; it was mixed but separated. Both boys and girls were going in and coming out together but went down separate stairs. I looked at the board: Constance and St. Jude's.

Saoirse mumbled something to Timothée, then smiled at me. "Come on, let's go; the headteacher is waiting for us." She said this as she climbed out of the car. I saw the crowd turn and see both Saoirse and Timothée. They widened their eyes and looked back at one girl, holding her gaze longer and then smiling at me. I smiled back.

Saorise and I walked into the school towards the headmistress's office. We found her waiting outside.
"Welcome, welcome. At Constance, we share great pride in creating the perfect girl, not just academically but socially, allowing them to prosper in this current society." The headmistress said this to Saoirse as we sat in her office.

Time passed. Papers were signed. Small conversations were held. Soon, Saoirse was leaving, and I was heading to my first lesson, conveniently free. I kept on walking to find a female bathroom. Once I did, I locked the stall and lifted my hair up, holding it in a ponytail, then I barfed out my entire breakfast. I had been holding that in for the last few hours.

•••

The bell rings, and I see everybody walk out of the classroom and outside. I guess it is lunch time. I follow the crowd, take a seat on an empty table, and look around. One person catches my eye. In a room full of girls, there is just one boy.

His brown hair is rich in caramel tones and deep earthy hues, which are beautiful in every light. His uniform is ironed to crisp perfection and fits his body perfectly. In his hand, he has a packet of cigarettes and a lighter as he inhales the cigarette. He exhales, and grey smoke slides through the air, the smoke diffusing across towards my nostrils. I cough. I hate the smell of cigarettes and just smokers in general, but he makes it look good. I continue to gaze at him when he turns and looks directly at me. I jump back in surprise when his eyes retain contact with mine as he nods his head to me, smirking.

His light blue eyes. I hadn't realised that blue could be such hot fire until I saw those eyes. In his blue eyes, a dark black radiated from each pupil as if it were a bright new sun. Ironically. I carried on looking at him, him looking at me, smirking when a group of girls walked over, one leaving the group and jumping into his arms and kissing him.

I shrivelled my face in disgust, yet I kept looking at him. His eyes shut as soon as she began kissing him. How their faces moved in opposite directions when kissing. They break apart, and he immediately looks at me, which causes the girl to snap her head at me, her glare silencing the crowd and causing whispers amongst the crowd. Swiftly, I pack my bag to walk out when a figure appears in front of me, causing a shadow to cast over me. I look up, and it's the girl; she's got her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth with a wide smile on her face.

"Hello," she says innocently.

I raise my eyebrows at her and smile. "Hi," I reply.

"I have never seen you here before. Why don't I know you?" She asks me, taking a seat opposite me.

"I'm new; I just recently moved here." I reply.

"That's really interesting." She says, smiling, "but you're like, really pretty."

I shrug my shoulders and say, "thanks."

"So, you agree then?" she questions, cutting me off.

"What?"

"Do you think you're really pretty?"

"Oh, I-"

"Here you go Leigh" he says and places a bowl of salad on the table, sitting next to her. Leigh—I guess that's her name.

She pecks his cheek to show her gratitude and begins eating the salad. "Oh! This is Lorenzo, my boyfriend and I'm Leighton Meester," she says, taking her hand out for me to shake it, which I do.

"Ok," I say and get up.

"Aren't you going to tell us your name?" She asks and I look at her, her smile still wide as before; it's kind of creepy. I look at her boyfriend, Lorenzo, who's got his eyes locked on mine as he drinks his water.

I remember Saoirse's words. Maybe she's right. Maybe this change will be good for me. I'm not going back home for sure. Here, I can redo myself. Change.

I sit back on the table. "It's Y/N Ronan."

"No way. Shut up. Shut up," she says, looking around for an audience.

"I didn't say anything," I say, which causes Lorenzo to chuckle. Again, he locks his eyes at me and smirks. Just from that smirk, I feel a shiver down my spine, which I ignore.

"No, it's just Ronan. So, you're related to Saoirse Ronan," she asks, "right?"

I lightly roll my eyes, I guess the secrets are out now.

"Yes, she's my sister."

"Wow, who would have thought that." She says this and looks at Lorenzo with a surprised face, Lorenzo just shrugs his shoulders.

"Listen, last lesson Mr Smith doesn't really listen; he just gives us pages to do, and nobody bothers attending anyway. Let's go," she says to me, stuffing lettuce in her mouth.

"Go where?" I ask her.

"Out. Me and you. I'm taking you shopping. You just moved here. You need to know all the best places and shops to go to in New York." She speaks. I try to interrupt her, but she doesn't listen. "No excuses, Y/N we'll meet you back here in about 15 minutes."

"Okay," I say, surrendering as she walks out, hand in hand with Lorenzo.

-

(1322 words)