Mercedes Lucas sat nervously at a table across from one of the hottest guys she had ever seen. Luke van Huntington had taken her to the best restaurant in Jamaica but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to happen. Noticing her nervousness, Luke leaned forward and held her hand, “Hey. You okay?” He thought she looked a little pale. She went paler still as she glanced towards the three girls and the guy that walked in. Luke only glanced for a second in their direction as he laughed slightly, “Hey! Don’t worry about it! What are they going to do in a place like this?” He was right of course. The place was absolutely packed with tourists and celebrities so it wasn’t as if they could just walk over and – Drops of ice-cold water burnt their way down her back as she gasped, trying her very best not to either swear or shriek. A smooth voice apologised quickly, “Oh, I am so sorry! I just tripped over… your chair leg.” Mercedes breathed deeply through her nose and used the same polite tone Carolina had in replying, “Oh that’s absolutely… fine,” she turned to Luke and forced a fake smile onto her face, “I’m just going to the Ladies for a second.”
Standing up, nearly nose-to-nose with Carolina, she smiled again before walking towards the bathrooms. She could feel the cold seeping straight through to her bones. Walking into the Ladies, she faced the full mirror and as there was a mirror on the wall directly behind her she could see the soaked back of her shirt. Sighing in annoyance, she pulled out a spare shirt she had left in the bag since the start of the week. It was made from wrinkle-free material but still looked as if it had been sat on and balled up a couple of times. She was lucky – it matched her outfit – but she still preferred her old shirt. Once she was changed, she realised that she couldn’t put the soaking shirt back into her bag and so spying a bin in the corner, she gritted her teeth and dumped it. Returning to the mirror, she stared into the violet eyes and straight nose. Attempting a smile, she only managed to glimpse her straight teeth before anger overcame her. Sighing loudly, she thought back to the events which earned her three enemies.
*Two Months Earlier*
Mercedes was lost. She had arrived at Blairwood Academy just as they school was prepared to leave for one of their ‘excursions’ to Italy and hadn’t had time to make any friends. Watching the crowds she saw a cute couple that flitted from one shop to another at the impulses of the dark-skinned girl. A pair of twins strutted past arm-in-arm and sat at a nearby table. She knew a couple of people by name and as she sat in the waiting room at the New York airport she saw the van Huntingtons. Luke was standing by his sister’s arm, looking as though there was nothing that could possibly be more boring.
Victoria, being the Queen Bee of the school, brushed away her flocking admirers as if they were annoying flies, leaving her latest boy toy to offer his arm. Mercedes laughed as she stood up to board the recently called flight, shoving them into a far corner of her mind. Sitting down in a random seat (Blairwood was using its private jet) she looked out the window until a random girl seated herself in the vacant seat. The girl turned to her and said, “Hello! I’m Leah.”
Mercedes smiled vaguely and answered quietly, “Hello. My name’s Mercedes.
Leah laughed and said, “Well that’s a mouthful! What do I call you? Merry? Sadie?”
Mercedes, deciding that she liked this girl answered, “Most people call me Cece.”
They conversed until roughly an hour or two had passed, the conversation halting when Leah tired and fell asleep. Mercedes once again used her time to survey the crowds and noticed that the van Huntington twins were located only a few seats in front and to the left. Scanning the enclosed space once again, her eyes again landed upon the two. Expecting to see only the back of their heads, she was met with a pair of curious blue eyes and quickly dragged her eyes away from the captivating gaze of Luke van Huntington.
