Code and Conduct

Play by the rules.. or else

As we walked into the main hallway of the school, every person fell silent. Then, not long after, several whispers arose. "Is that Alethia Cantin?" "Why is she with them?" I heard many people talking about me in particular. This was, of course, was due to the fact that I was new to the merry band of gang members. Nikolai fell back, nudging me with his elbow. "Hey gorgeous, they're talking about you." I chuckled humorlessly. Nikolai put his hand on my back, leading me through the halls. Where his hand touched me, it was as if a shock was sent through my body. I looked around, seeing several girls staring at me with envy clearly in their eyes. Ahead of me, Demitri, Jaxson, and Emmeline had stopped in their tracks and turned around. I noticed that the skinny blonde boy who had egged Nikolai on to kill me wasn't with us. "What?" Nikolai said with a touch of humor in his voice. Jaxson narrowed his eyes. "Why aren't you in the front?" he questioned the leader. "Because I'm top dog and I'll do what I want, Jax. Now either keep moving or you'll be walking in the back.. permanently." Jaxson grimaced but nevertheless kept walking. "Now, what's your first class? I'll walk you there." Nikolai said under his breath. "AP Lang&Comp." I said, glancing at my schedule.

Turns out, Emmeline was also in my first period. She sat next to me and immediately started talking. "Oh my gosh, Alethia. Nikolai totally has a crush on you, I'm so jealous." she rambled. "What? No." I said, surprised. "Oh, definitely. He won't even have a second glance at me, much less walk me to my class!" I felt my face flush with heat, and I knew I was blushing like a school girl. Emmeline caught this and giggled. "I think we're gonna be good friends." she said as the teacher finally walked in. The teacher droned on and on until I thought my head was going to explode from boredom. Finally, the school day was over. All of us met up after class to go to headquarters for a meeting.

  "Rules- they're essential to the Elitists. And since we just started a new school year and we also have a new member," Nikolai began, glancing at me and giving me a slight wink. I felt the heat rise up in my face once again, just as it had earlier that day. "Anyway, rules are important to go over. The summer has been all fun and games but now it's down to business." he finished, still looking intently at my face. "First, no one disrespects either you or the rest of the gang. Second, I am in charge around here, let nobody be confused on this point. Third, freshman are to be put in their place and even upperclassmen are to fear you. Now, there are many unsaid rules that you'll learn along the way. There's also one rule above all... if anyone knows too much about how we work, bring them to me, immediately. Do not take matters into your own hands, or there will be consequences." he finished up with a stern look on his face. Everyone nodded, silently agreeing to his terms, and the meeting was over.
   "So, hotstuff, what you got planned for tonight?" I rolled my eyes. His flirting tactics were not working on me at the moment. I just wanted to get home and get something to eat before I got even more pissy because I needed food. "Oh, so you're gonna ignore me?" he chuckled. "I'm hangry, leave me alone Nikolai." I said grumpily, stalking off towards my car. He grabbed my hand gently and spun me around, a bemused smile playing on his face. "I could tell, and I'm a bit famished too. I was gonna ask you if you wanted to go grab a bite to eat?" I feigned astonishment, putting my hand over my heart as if I were going to feint. He laughed. "So will you?" he pushed. "Sure, but you're buying and I'm driving." I said, continuing towards my electric blue Mustang. "Hey, I may be a cold-hearted gang leader, but I'm still a gentleman." he said as he got into the passenger side of the car. "Could've fooled me." I said cynically. "I like your attitude, Cantin."