See me playing

Clash of cliques

Winnie

Two weeks.

That is how long I have been here for.

Do I like it here? Yes.

The campus was stunning, Chloe and her group quite a good company and, most importantly, classes were outstanding. Professors were competent musicians and compositors someone young could learn from.

But have I given up on Juilliards? Much to my father's dismay, no.

Does it sound selfish? Yes. But going to Juilliards was something I wanted- dreamed of - since I was little. This feels like giving up on my childhood dream and, although Academia started to grow on me, I don't plan to stay here to finish my studies.

"You don't feel like eating, do you?"

Linda's voice brought me back to the reality. In that moment I realised I have been pushing my food around the plate absentmindedly using fork for quite some time.

"I'm just tired, that's all."

I have looked around the table and realised how not much has changed in the last two weeks. Breakfasts and lunches are usually uneventfull. Most of the time Imogen reads some book and rarely decides to participate in some conversation of ours. Marcus ogles every guy that walks past him. Linda laughs at him and Chloe separates them when they start fighting.

Now that I think about it, I never found out one thing.

"Marcus, why do you call Linda Lolli?"

"Because it annoys her.", was his simple answer that earned him a hard shove from Linda.

I didn't miss the nasty look she threw his way.

Before I could ask more about it, I realised something.

The whole room suddenly became silent. That was strange for a room this big.

"Uh, oh. Drama alert.", said Marcus.

I was still confused. But then I saw what was the cause of this sudden silence. It was not hard to pinpoint it. Everyone was looking in their direction after all.

And by 'them' I mean Aiden and his friends or, as Marcus calls them, Magic five, or Royals, depends on his mood. His sense of humor is wierd.

But they were not the only people everyone was looking at.

I instantly recognised the girl who decided to poke the bear. Blond hair that reached her waist. Long legs. Resting bitch face. It was Aiden's ex, Darleene.

And, although the whole canteene was silent, I couldn't hear what she said. Whatever she said was enough for Aiden's sister, Alexis to abruptly stand up.

They had some strange starring contest. Alexis looked furious. Kind of furious you want to hide away from. But not Darleene apparently. She looked like she was ready for a fight.

The other four people sitting at that table looked uninterested, but, after Alexis said something to Darleene through gritted teeth, Matthew started laughing. Sound of his laugher made me jump in my chair. It was so loud it sounded unnatural in this awfully quiet space.

Darleene's face paled and, after Alexis said something, she left with teary eyes. After she left Alexis sat back down and continued eating like nothing has ever happened. Everyone slowly started minding their own bussiness again and vivacious chatter filled the silence. It was like nothing ever happend. But it did.

"What the hell just happend?"

"Oh, nothing new. Get used to it. This was pretty tame if you ask me. ", said Imogen.