Snakes and Ladders

Chapter 3: A Whole New Perspective

Tony felt utterly frozen when he saw the elegant inscribed words, slammed against his sea green eyes.

"Hey" Em as her sister called her said shaking my shoulder "Are you okay Blondie?" Worry evident in her voice.

'No. No he wasn't alright at all' he wanted to shout at her. Frustrated that the school administration would bring a naive innocent girl into their school.

Despite the undeniable high ranking reputation of Queensburry Academy, there was nothing good about it. All it is was a glorified relentless playground, where the most affluent families, including himself controlled society, bending it to their will when necessary. The Opulent Five were the puppet masters, and everyone else was being played on invisible strings.

A thought occurred to him in his daze. Something Tatum Beaumont had said to him prior one month before.

"I hear we're getting a new student this year. My father had said that the family comes from the lower middle class. Emilia Wentz I think her name was. The administration accepted her because of her intelligence"

Tony hadn't payed much attention to what Tatum was saying, at the time being pissed at his parents logic involving his grades. But he was listening now, the pieces coming together to form an ugly picture.

"Your Emilia Wentz" he breathed out, breaking out from his over consumed thoughts.

She blinked, then narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "How did you figure that out?"  She asked a wary look in her light brown eyes.

"Because......I go to the school you just got admitted to" Tony admitted

Emilia gaped at him "Y-you attend Queensburry Academy?"

Tony sighed "Sadly yes" he straightened his shoulders "I am a student" he affirmed

She parted her lips, bewildered before she resumed to narrowing her eyes again.

"Okay spill. This charade is over. I want answers. Who the hell are you?" She demanded

"Alright fine. You do deserve answers" he said nodding his head

"Your damn right sure I do"

"Have you heard of the Vasiliou family?" Tony asked, knowing for certain that she had. Not to be cocky, but even if Emilia didn't know his face, she had to know his family's name. If she didn't, the girl must have been living under a rock her whole life.

She widened her eyes in realization "Wait your-"

Tony cut her off "Yes Antonio Vasiliou heir of business tycoon Arsenio Vasiliou and supermodel Bellatrix Adair. But please call me Tony. I hate my full name" He said wrinkling his nose slightly in distaste.

Emilia looked speechless for a second "So you really are that important"

Tony chuckled "Afraid so"

As if something had dawned on her she tilted her head in question "Wait. That still doesn't explain why you froze when you saw my acceptance letter" she pointed out.

Tony gulped

The girl had a good memory.

He ran his hand through his fair hair, trying to put together an explanation.

"Well you see Queensburry Academy isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Behind closed doors it's actually unofficially run by five students"

"Are they dictators?"

"No!" Tony instantly defended

"Okay....then what's so bad about this student run democracy?"

"Although the five are not dictators per say they're not benevolent leaders either"

Emilia crossed her arms "Okay stop beating around the bush who are they?"

"I'm getting there! Well first off there's the leader, Tatum Beaumont" He informed

Emilia gasped, shocked. "The Tatum Beaumont?"

"Who else would it be" Tony deadpanned

Emilia blushed "Sorry it's just his family is most well renowned. I mean his dad Prescott Beaumont was the owner of his own company Beaumont Enterprises and his mom was a renowned surgeon and-"

Tony cut her off "Yeah yeah he's a big name hence why he leads the little cult. Now can I finish my story without any interruptions"

"You interrupted me! Several times in fact" she protested

"That's different"

"No it's not"

"Your insufferable. May I continue?"

Emilia begrudgingly nodded her head.

"Thank you. Next up is Regina George's hotter more youthful sister Eden Olivera. Her mom Cecilia Olivera owns one of the biggest oil companies, and her dad Christopher Olivera is an eminent author in the writing industry"

This time Emilia simply nodded her head already seeming to know this, but respectfully waiting for him to continue.

"Then there's sarcastic notorious bad boy Nikolai Valentine. FYI he's a totally ass so try to avoid him in halls if possible. His parents were apart of the largest Mafia organization Sinestro Vergada, bloody brutal those fellas"

"Didn't-"

"His parents get murdered?" Tony finished "Yes they did. But don't ever bring that up within earshot of Nik he's sensitive about that type of stuff" Tony warned

Emilia nodded firmly "Okay and the last two?"

"There's the last girl of the gang the sweetheart February Derveaux. Feb's mom Sarah Derveaux is a successful mobile app developer and her dad Lincoln Derveaux is a famous actor"

"Why do you call all of the four you mentioned by nicknames?" Emilia inquired

"Because" Tony sighed "I am the last member of the Five clan"