Masks

Chapter 12

To put it simply,
I wasn't anyone special.

  ~~~

"You play the piano really well," Quinn complimented. "Your dad didn't really teach you though, right? Since you said you never met him."

"I learned how to play for his sake." Violet said. "He's from a musical family, so I wanted to keep it going even after him."

The weather was the same, gloomy atmosphere three weeks into the school year, but unexpectedly, it rained heavily that day. Some students had already left as soon as the bell rang in order to avoid it from getting heavier, however, not many students knew it was going to rain, leaving with their heads covered with just their bags.

Among the students who weren't prepared for the sudden change in weather were Violet and Quinn. Being a new student, Violet had to take care of a few things in the main office, so she unfortunately couldn't run home when the rain wasn't heavy. Being a good friend, Quinn waited for her to finish, which also meant he couldn't escape being drenched either. The two resorted to just staying in the school a bit later to wait for the rain to pass.

They stayed in the music room that afternoon. Neither of them took fine arts courses, so they rarely knew what went on in the music room and decided to visit it. Upon laying eyes on the grand piano in the center of the room, Violet eagerly sat down in front of it.

"You seem like any typical girl from a sophisticated family." Quinn commented. "Plays the piano, transfer student from Paris, and you even used to model."

"Not really," she shrugged. "I haven't done anything nearly as big as my parents. But it's up to me to do what I can to still make them feel proud as they watch over me."

Quinn nodded, standing in the corner of the classroom, his back leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. His eyes were closed, only listening to Violet play. She soon followed him in closing her eyes, allowing her fingers to move freely over the keyboard, smiling with feelings of both nostalgia and sadness. "I can remember Papa playing this song when I was born. He played it every day, so I still remember how it goes."

~~~

Violet's secret spread throughout the school like a virus, much to her horror. Soon enough, almost everyone in the school knew her past as a teen model, thanks to the lively first years. Unfortunately for Violet, it was already too late for her to transfer schools again, and she would have to bear with it for the next school year.

Contrasting to what everyone thought she was: popular, outgoing and energetic, in reality, Violet was rather shy, introverted, and dull, as she claimed to be. When her peers approached her about her life as a model in Paris, she would get flustered and would either start stammering like crazy or run away. Students asking her for her autograph became a normal thing in the school, which she either turned down or reluctantly signed her pen when they begged enough times.

With this sudden raise in her popularity, Violet was especially famous with the boys, ranging from first to third years. Each time she was confessed to, which was at least twice each week, she turned them down without hesitation each time. Although, her modeling career didn't play a great role in the boys' confessions; she was naturally pretty.

"Things are really getting out of hand." Violet sighed, lying down on the floor as she ate lunch with Quinn in the roof.

"Hey, you'll get your uniform dirty." Quinn said, parodying what she said whenever he lied down on the floor.

Violet sat up, pouting. "Is now really the time for that? I'm starting to think of skipping class to avoid this mess."

"It really is bothering you, huh?" Quinn frowned. "Sure, you would be really popular when people start finding out, but it'll get old once you get further into the school year."

"That's true, but what am I going to do about now?"

"I guess it isn't much of a secret now, is it?" Quinn said. "Well, I'm still here, so just run to me when people are bothering you."

"That isn't any different from what I already do." Violet sighed. "I'm sorry that I'm just being a burden to you."

"It isn't your fault." He smiled. "Don't worry about it. Isn't that what friends are for?"

~~~

"I'll see you after school." Quinn waved as they went their separate ways towards their afternoon classes. Violet smiled and waved back before turning around, finding someone's chest in front of her face.

  "S-Sorry." She apologized before hastily making her way down the hallway.

  "You're Violet right? Violet Chatelain."

  Violet sighed before reluctantly turning around. It's another one of them, huh?

  "Y-Yes..."

  "I was looking for you, actually." He claimed. "I'm in your Math class. I heard from Mrs. Roberts that you're doing well. I was wondering if you could help tutor me some time? I'd really appreciate it."

  Violet eyed him in confusion. He's not mentioning me as a model.

  The boy noticed her weirdly looking at him. "Please? I need to raise my grade by the end of next month, since I already did badly last year."

Violet was still suspicious of his words. I just transferred here. I haven't done enough to gain this type of attention in my classes. But, he does seem desperate, so I don't see any harm that could be done.

"Sure, I'd be glad to help." Violet gave in reluctantly. "The school schedule doesn't give me much time outside classes. I'll have to go hard on you."

"Thank you so much! I'll be in your care!" He sighed in relief. "My name's Olivier. Olivier Mont-blanc. Could we exchange contact numbers by the way? Just in case."

Quinn stopped as soon as he saw Olivier approach his friend and had been listening to their conversation while hiding by the end of the hallway. Not that Olivier had done anything wrong, but Quinn felt uneasy upon seeing him with her.