Gray

Celene Winslow

This first chapter is dedicated to MayTijssen for designing the alluring cover of Gray. 

Yes, it was just like another ordinary day. Well, as ordinary as it could be, that is. Hard as everyone tried, this was not your regular university. At least, it had one fact that would differentiate it from any other universities. One student. One seemingly ordinary female student. Her name was Celene Winslow.

"Celene, Celene, I got you these flowers fresh from the florist," a very nerdy-looking boy handed the girl a bucket of red roses. He was wearing a poor excuse of black nerd glasses. They were definitely not worn for the sake of fashion. Celene could almost swear that he owned that pitiful pair for over a decade or so.

Maybe the odds are in my favor today. Maybe she'll finally look my way and give me a chance. Oh, what a goddess she is, the nerd thought.

Yes, this was one of the many things that made Celene Winslow different. She could read minds. Of the nerd, she gave a little honor. He was one of the very few whose thoughts weren't corrupted but rather pure and genuinely sweet. Celene knew how hard it must be for guys to not think exotic thoughts when she was around, but the nerd did. For this, she took the flower, nodded at him then quickly handed the flowers to one of the two girls who were tailing her path.

Oh, God, she actually took the flowers from my hand! The nerd exclaimed in his head.

Easy there, boy. Don't hurt yourself, Celene thought, wishing the nerd could hear her thoughts.

As she moved along the corridor, thoughts started to fill her mind.

Look at those long legs. Won't it be cool to have them wrapped around my waist? A blonde jock with the university's dark blue varsity jacket thought as he smiled at her.

Someday, I'll tap that ass, a tall ebony hottie wished languorously inside his head.

I was so close to kissing those sexy lips of hers, a tan surfer named Niko thought as he spotted her. They went out for a week before Celene broke things off and moved on. He didn't give her much of a challenge.

More boys greeted her, played with their hair as she passed by, and called her name. Some had such pornographic thoughts that Celene had to make an effort to ignore them. Still, she managed to move swiftly, looking undisturbed by some cat calls, and disinterested in returning any attempts of flirting from those guys in her campus.

One might wonder what made her so special, so different and so desirable. Of course, her beauty couldn't be denied. She had long and luscious, wavy jet-black hair, that hung just above her waist. Her lips were full and were always covered with fresh, nude colored lip gloss. Her skin was milky white; it could remind one of Snow White. Her eyes were always highlighted with black eyeliner, top and bottom part. This only made her scorching blue eyes popped even more. Those eyes of hers were the bluest of blue eyes; so brilliant that looking at its picture, one would be convinced it was edited and enhanced by Photoshop. Her built was slender yet somehow strong. She wasn't tall, not at all. She was only 5' 7", definitely not a model. Although with that face? She could be.

Celene lived alone in the huge Winslow mansion on the outskirts of town, with a butler, maids and a driver to take care of her needs. Stories circled around town about how she ended up living such life. Some believed her parents were really busy travelers and wanted Celene to settle until she finished her study. Some others said that her father was a politician who cheated on his wife and Celene was the offspring of him and the other woman. People got very creative that she didn't keep track. It didn't really matter to her what they believed. They would still bow down at her feet if she so desired.

That day, she was wearing her trusted pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt with a simple, long, black-and-golden necklace with the symbol of peace. Her hair was slicked back to a high ponytail, accentuating her fox-like features.

Just as she was about to reach her first class of the morning, a scene caught her eyes, ears and mind.

"You, bitch! How could you do this to me? I thought we were friends," a girl with slightly matted brown hair shouted angrily.

I knew it! I knew it all along. Dania was jealous of me. She couldn't accept the fact that she was much more of an idiot compared to me. This whole project was my ticket to get out of Yorick. Now it's all destroyed, thanks to her! Her mind yelled even more in rage than her voice.

I can't believe this. She should trust me more! I would never have done that to her! I supported the whole thing. Hell, I suggested the project to her. Why would I destroy that? Am I suddenly too stupid for her that she wanted to get rid of me? This time, a little calmer voice wondered irritably.

"Look, I never touched your project! Not once! I suggested it to you, Ruthie. Why would I destroy something I made you do in the first place?" Dania asked desperately.

Ruthie threw her hands up in the hair exasperatedly. "Oh, I don't know. Because you're a jealous idiot who couldn't stand the thought of her smarter friend getting an opportunity to make it in the future? Because you want me to rot here with a dumbo like you, stuck with your retarded remarks?"

Dania was shocked, her face slightly turned white.

"Is that what you thought? Is that it? So I am just your idiot friend who was never going to be good enough for you and your bright future? That's why you're blaming all of this on me? So you can get rid of me?" Her voice almost broke. She was going to flood her face with tears in a minute.

"I saw you sneaked in to my room last night, you liar! Now you're putting the blame on me? Best friends, my ass!" Ruthie shouted for the last time before walked angrily away from Dania.

"Hope your future can handle your ego and all your shit once you're married to it!" Dania took her last effort to yell at Ruthie. Ruthie stopped for a second, groaned furiously then continued to walk away. Dania watched her friend left and ran towards the nearest toilet.

Ah, nothing like a good little fight in the morning, Celene thought, satisfied. This was the second reason why Celene was unlike her friends. She could make people do what she wanted them to do by using her alluring voice. And most of the time, she used this particular power to create chaos. Chaos defines me, she thought.

She remembered meeting Dania at a bar last night. She immediately saw everything, about Ruthie's project and her future, and how it all started. She remembered walking past Dania, leaning a little closer to her ears and whispered, "Does Ruthie love the project more than you now? Why don't you give her a little lesson and destroy that stupid machine prototype?"

Just like a person being hypnotized, Dania did exactly what Celene told her to do. Dania went back to the bar and regained her thoughts, not realizing what she just did. And the rest happened this morning. Celene smiled. Another strike. Fantastic, she praised herself.

"What was that all about?" one of her followers wondered aloud.

"A good old drama everyone needs to spice up life," Celene answered calmly.