The School For Gifted Kids

Chapter 9: Elle

I waited till night fell, the school quiet and dark. Slowly creaking open my door, careful not to wake Gracie. I traveled through the halls of the Academy, carful not to draw attention to myself by using the secret corridors. Just when I thought I was in the "safe zone" Riley appeared in front me. " You'd better give me his file, Elly. You'll never make it through these halls without capture." I hugged the envelope closer. " It's Elle. The E at the end is silent. Just let me through..." Two older girls, around fourteen or fifteen, stepped in my way. They were tall and strong, but beautiful in the most subtle of ways. Like killer supermodels. Riley laughed a satisfied cackle. "Meet Isibella and Isidora, two exchange students from Spain." I muttered words under my breath my mother would've disapproved of me repeating. "Just... please move." All three grinned viciously. I slowly started to back up, but Isidora grabbed me by the shirt. " Just where do you think you're headed off to?..." Riley chuckled. She plucked the folder out of my arms, and passed it back to a waiting Isibella, who tucked it into her bag. Riley walked closer to me, the smell of fresh flowers adorned on her breath. "Now, what will happen if this goes missing? People will get suspicious... a bit of charmspeak to point them in the right direction... " I raised an eyebrow. "Which direction is that?" Obviously relishing the moment, Riley took a dramatic pause. "Elle, I know that's Ben's file you've got there. And because that is Ben's file, i'm afraid you're going to be a problem." I sucked a big breath in, with the realization of what she meant. "You mean my direction." Smiling from ear to ear, Riley paused again and then slowly spoke. "You see here, if a student commits enough "criminal activity" they're expelled. Not suspended. Expelled." My heart thumping, I turned and ran, leaving Riley with the envelope.

The next day was so cold it fogged up my glasses. And it was only November! It seemed the heater had broken down and no one knew how to fix it. If only I had remembered that snow came in October last year. I started back to my dorm, looking for the comforts of a woolen sweater. Rubbing my hands together for warmth, I shuffled like a penguin down the hall. I turned a corner to find Riley standing in my path. She and her Spanish cronies were dressed in the finest of mink fur coats, unlike me, who had a thin cardigan on. "Oh, Elle! how could you do such a thing!" Her voice contained what seemed like true despair, put her face proudly bore a smile. "What are you talking about?!" "How you defaced the side of our beloved school with cherry red spray paint. Don't play innocent with me... if you just cooperate, it'll be soo much easier." My heart stopped. Forgetting about any notion of a coat, I ran outside into the flurries of 'flakes. There it was, bright red and everything. A spray painted image of Mrs.Lento turning into a snake.... with my name at the bottom. A "tag" is what they called in gangs and such. I dropped to my knees in the snow, and noticed three bottles of the paint that must've been used in the crime. I was picking one up when a little kid who was playing in the snow nearby saw what I was doing and screamed. "HEY! THAT'S A CRIME! I'M TELLIN' A TEACHER!" I clumsily jumped to my feet and began to run after him. "Hey, kid! Kid! KID!" He didn't stop running and was through the doors before I was close enough to stop him. I didn't know when the tears started, but suddenly I was crying. I stopped running and just gave up.

"Elle... you're such a good kid. We agreed. You could come to the school if there was no more trouble." Fuming, I sat in the chair across from my mom, Selena Lento. Yes, surprise, my mom's the principal. "But mom, I didn't do it! It was Riley!" My mom heaved a huge sigh. "We have one Riley in this school, and she's only a kindergardner."

"But-"

"No buts about it. I'm letting you off on a warning, but only because I trust you. I will issue the punishment of cleaning off the wall."

Arguing at this point was, well, pointless. I silently excused myself and had a good cry in my room. My eyes had begun to dry up when a knock on the door interrupted my thoughts."yes?" The door slowly creaked open and an old friend of mine entered.

"Fliss. It's been a while."

"Wow! You okay?"

"I'm fine. People... aren't being very nice."

"Valarae?"

"Riley, actually."

"Her? That kid is soooo cute!"

"No."

I told her the whole story, even the parts about Ben. (Embarrassing!) And she gave me some info on her roommate, Willa. "She changed a lot after the election. She just sorta melted into Riley's gang. She showed up less at the dorm and came back later and later at night. She was different. You woulda thought riley woulda hated her for standin' up for Past and such. But she was accepted." She snapped. "Like that." We talked about other stuff for a while, but the conversation swung back to the file.

"You need to tell Ben."

"WHAT!? No way!"

"Why not?"

"It'd be like admitting I actually liked him! There is no way-"

"Alright, Alright. But you need to talk to Willa at least.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Ye- ugh. Let's stop. It's my personal opinion that you should talk to her."

I paced the room back forth, the only thing keeping me from kicking her out of my room was my manners. I just felt so frustrated with Riley. Fliss left soon afterwards, and I headed towards the hall for dinner. I sat down beside Tyldy and Co, trying my best to act happy and carefree. "Hey, Elle! Where you been?" I plastered on a fake smile. "Oh, seeing the world."