Belvedere Academy

THE DEAL

I feel my face flush as he slowly leans back with a little smirk. He's enjoying my reactions, finds it amusing how easy it is for him to get under my skin.

"You seem to have misinterpreted my little statement."

"And how the fuck am I supposed to take something like that?!?!"

"When I say be mine, I'm merely proposing the same arrangement I had with Molly."

"And what arrangement might that be?"

"This isn't the right place, too many unwanted eyes and ears. I'll tell you all about it at the party tonight. I trust I'll see you there."

"Party?"

"Yes, the party"

He stands up to leave as if that clears everything up. I take hold of his wrist, hearing a few gasps from our silent audience. I forgot we were being watched. I quickly let go but he grabs my hand instead. Lacing our fingers together before stepping closer. My heart is beating fast, sure that he might kiss me. But he doesn't.

"I'll text you the details."

"But you don't have my number."

He smiles at that

"I'll have you know that I've texted that phone multiple times in the past. It was Molly's after all."

The last part comes out as a whisper. I'm convinced I imagined it but the expression on his face proves otherwise. I can feel the weight of it in the side pocket of my blazer. It makes sense now, The Little Mermaid was Molly's favorite story growing up. It's the reason she became obsessed with the ocean. But as she grew older, it wasn't just because of the story, the ocean offered her an escape from all the shit her parents made her deal with. It was her happy place, her special place, her fortress of solitude. The design suits her well. I'm tempted to pull the phone out of my pocket and trace the seashell crown with my fingers but I don't. She often said that if she had the power to create a world of her own, it would be a world with a single island surrounded by an endless ocean. No cities, no cars, no TV, no phones, no people. Just me and her laying on a beach, eating some gigantic mangos and laughing at whatever.

I can feel my eyes water but I stop the tears. I can't afford to cry here, in front of the vultures. I must remain calm and remember why I'm here.

"Good girl."

And with that, Alec walks away. I return to my table and eat silently. I can still feel a number of eyes on me but I ignore them. The show is far from over. In fact, it's only just begun. And the audience must wait in anticipation for what happens next.

XXX

Apparently this school is more unique than I thought. Instead of the strict rules of early bedtime and other stuff that are very typical in all boarding schools. They actually have parties. Normal teenage parties with alcohol, drugs, sex. And not only that, but the Head Mistress is aware of all the parties. If a person wants to throw a party, they simply inform her and that's it. In fact, it was her idea to begin with. If the students are allowed as much freedoms as possible, they are less inclined to break the essential rules like no leaving school premises or no phones that aren't issued by the school and so on.

After finishing my meal, I went straight to my room. My phone already buzzing with a thousand notifications from the gossip column. I take a quick look and sure enough my face is all over a dozen articles and I'm being mentioned by a dozen people in the chat section. He really is a big deal around here. I search for info on the party which doesn't start until 10pm. It's an open party so no invite required and there's no restriction on the dress code. I decide to take a little power nap, I have a feeling I'm gonna need as much energy as possible. When I'm up, I take my time getting ready. I'm aiming on being fashionably late. I take a long hot shower, pick out a few outfits and try them all on until I settled for just one. A short white flared corset dress and black and white converse. I don't bother packing a jersey as it's a warm night. I let my braids loose and put on some light makeup. For accessories, I settle for a gold necklace, a gold bracelet for my wrist and ankle to match. I don't bother changing my earrings. I take a blue pill. And I'm all set.