icarus

xiii. welcome to hell indeed

For the next two days, the two strangers are all the school can talk about. Where they come from, what their parents do, what list are they going to be placed in are all whispered in the halls. They seem to revel in the attention, judging by the haughty smirks they give each other when they strut down the hall. Tanner, of course, died a little inside as the attention wasn't on him, so he invited them to sit with the rest of the upper-listers for lunch.

Welcome to hell indeed.

"They are from London, from the upper echelons of society." Isabella though, bless her heart, whispers conspiratorially as they sit in their table, waiting for them. Yara snorts, as her fingers tapping the table as she narrows her eyes. "Their father is a baronet, and the owner of a chain of hotels all over Great Britain." Her eyes flit over to Isabella, and her animated brown eyes lighting as she gossips even more, and the expression of rapt attention on Olivia's face. Arlo couldn't care less as he chatted about something with Zane. Xavier, Tanner, Atlas or the newbies were nowhere to be seen.

Yara pulls out her phone. It's 10 minutes after the bell for lunch had been rung. This is his power move. Making her wait? She stood up, garnering Olivia and Isabella's attention. Zane's eyes flit to her, and he cocks his head but he knows why she's getting up. He's a lot smarter than they give him credit for. His eyes flash in understanding and his lips twitch.

"Yara. Where are you going?" Olivia asks, her eyes flashing to the door for a split second, and back to her, swallowing heavily. "You don't need to go anywhere."

Isabella chimed in. "Yeah, just wait for them. They're a little busy. Tanner said they'll be here in 5 minutes."  They are stalling for him.

"I'm going to the bathroom to relieve myself. Not all of us can pause our lives, or bodily functions to help inflate your fling's ego, Livy." Yara retorts. "Anymore questions? Great. If you'll excuse me."

Her shoes click satisfactorily as she walks out of the lunchroom. The bathroom is empty, save for one girl who squeaked when Yara walked in, the rest are in the halls, watching Tanner and the rest strut down the hallway. Yara adjusts her hair, retying her hair back with a white bow, she adjusts her skirt and stares pointedly at her uniform, deciding whether to take off her sweater. Anything to waste their time of course. Shaking her head, she decides to leave it, and rearranges her collar over her sweater. There's charcoal on her hands, and a dried splotch of purple on her finger. A myriad of colours usually stain her hands, and considering she'd just come from her studio, it was an upgrade.

Shrugging, Yara finally leaves the bathroom, and a mischievous smirk curls her glossy lips when she sees Tanner angrily avoiding Olivia's eyes as she sniffles pitifully. The two newcomers are stone faced and Atlas looks bored. Zane, of course, is watching the whole situation with a tiny smile. Atlas, as usual, is sat next to her things, and a tiny sliver of anticipation fills her. Sliding in, she takes a seat next to Atlas, grinning. Isabella is by her side, and she instantly moves away from the chatty brunette and into Atlas's space. His cologne wafts in the bubble they seem to share, and her ears heat.

"Were you all waiting for me? I'm sorry. I had to use the bathroom." Yara says politely, although she isn't very apologetic. Xavier tries to stare at her with icy contempt. Yara's left eyebrow raises subconsciously, with a deadpan look as she successfully stares him down.

Tanner places a hand on the table, unsmiling. "Next time I'd prefer you to be here when I get here." She doesn't bother with a response, and his nostrils flare. "Anyway, everyone. This is Claudia and her brother, Sebastian." They look alike, pale skin, dark hair, dark eyes that seem black upon first glance, but are actually deep blue, and the same upturned noses as they stare at everyone else.