Model Behavior
Ramble On
Unfortunately for Ryan (and fortunately for Phoenix), he never had a chance to Google her name because right after she left, the bell for 7th period rang and he had to hustle to his dreaded French class. So Phoenix's debut at St. Joseph's Academy was just how she wanted it to be - anonymous...or as anonymous as a new girl can be.
Tuesday morning came, and Phoenix rolled out of bed to the sound of her alarm. Staring at her still oddly new brunette hair, she braided it to one side and went to the kitchen for some juice. Her father met her at the breakfast table. "Ready for your first day?" he asked.
Phoenix yawned and nodded. "As long as the paparazzi don't find me."
"Honey, I don't think that will happen. Between the secrecy of your move and the new hair, it should be a little hard."
She shrugged. "I hope so. It'll be hard enough fending off the boys without them knowing I'm a former Victoria's Secret model."
Her dad stared at her. "Not funny, Fee. I don't want to have to murder anyone your first week here."
"Ooh, murder? I love gore early in the morning." Roxanne said as she came in the front door carrying dry cleaning bags. "Just as long as the blood doesn't get on my new Ferragamos." Everyone laughed and resumed eating their respective breakfasts.
Phoenix grabbed her blazer from the dry cleaning bags and went back to her room. From what she had seen yesterday, the administration wasn't too strict about adherence to the uniform policy. Since it was still rather warm, she paired the plaid skirt and hunter green blazer with some tall socks, biker boots, and her favorite faded Led Zeppelin tshirt. She kept her braid and added a large Fossil leather watch, three different rings and some peacock feather earrings.
In Phoenix's former life, looks were everything. It was simply force of habit to look totally put together.
Her father's town car dropped her off at the front of St. Joseph's. Phoenix plugged her headphones into her iPhone and braced herself for all the stares. Since she was wearing Led Zeppelin, she felt like it would be appropriate to listen to them. Look for Ryan, she told herself. A familiar face, even if she'd only met him once, was better than being totally stranded.
She finally saw him and waved rather largely. He waved back and motioned her over. She joined his group - him, a rather burly Italian boy, a bitchy looking pair of girls - one with a bob, the other with a cheaper version of Phoenix's former hairdo - and twin redheaded boys.
"Hey, Ryan. Good to see you again." Phoenix said with a sunny smile.
"Hi, Phoenix. This is Nick, they're Angi and Vivian, and the twins are Mike and Paul."
Phoenix pointed to each person and repeated their names. "I'm Phoenix Rutherford. It's nice to meet everyone." She turned to Ryan. "Ready to start our bargain?"
As Ryan was about to respond, Vivian butted in. "What bargain?" she asked with a saccharine smile.
Phoenix wasn't intimidated. If she could handle bitchy fellow models all but stabbing her with their stilettos, she could handle one little prep school wannabe. She smiled. "Well, if you needed to know, I'd tell you." Phoenix linked arms with Ryan. "Let's go somewhere a little bit...quieter." she said with just the right overtone to imply that Ryan was going to be a very lucky guy. She whispered in his ear, "I'll check your French homework." with a seductive smile on her face.
All of her flirtation was simply to piss Vivian and Angi off. Phoenix had no desire to be involved with anyone - the paparazzi would have a heyday with that information.
LATER THAT DAY...
The lunch bell finally rang. So far that morning, Phoenix had endured homeroom, Calculus, Government, Literature, and Geology. Her brain was sufficiently overloaded. It was very strange to be in a classroom with other people.
She weaved her way back to the common area. When the weather was nice, students were allowed to eat outside. Phoenix pulled her Wayfarers back out of her oversized bag and laid down on top of a table. She dug in her bag some more and pulled out her old school Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles lunchbox, matching thermos, and a battered copy of Agatha Christie's The Man in the Brown Suit. As she munched on a PB&J, she read her favorite book for about the fiftieth time.
...and then a shadow blocked her light. "What the hell? I just got comfy." She said as she sat up.
Vivian, of course, was in the way. "This is our table. Move." When Phoenix made no movement, Vivian was flanked by Angi and two other minions. "Let me make something clear, new girl. I rule this school. What I say goes. And I say that this is our table. Now move, unless you want to commit social suicide on your first day."
Phoenix was very tempted to put this girl in her place when she heard the familiar rumble of a motorcycle engine being shut off. She perked up and followed the sound with her eyes. Dismounting from a beautiful Harley was a Greek god in the flesh.
Phoenix scooped up her bag and ran full speed at him. "Xander!" she yelled, jumping on to him and kissing him on both cheeks.
"Prinkípissa!" he said, catching Phoenix and kissing both of her cheeks in return. "How are you? And what are you wearing?" he said in his adorable Greek accent.
Phoenix leaned back, her legs still wrapped around his waist. "A rather unfortunate uniform. It's required."
"Required for what?"
"School, darling. I'm retired." she stage whispered.
"That's what I had heard. Won't you please reconsider? I miss you so."
"Xander, don't be ridiculous. You know how I hate the business. And my manager."
Xander laughed and it sent silky ripples of pleasure through Phoenix's body. "Everyone hates your manager."
The bell rang as Phoenix was about to respond. She sighed. "Put me down, please. I have to go back to class. All these rules and people staring.....it's ridiculous."
Xander raised an eyebrow at her. "That's rather ironic, coming from you." he said as he put Phoenix down and she gathered up her books. At her shrug, he kissed her on the cheeks again and slapped her butt. "Go to class, my little troublemaker. Give them something to talk about."
Oh, they'd definitely be talking after that little display.
Tuesday morning came, and Phoenix rolled out of bed to the sound of her alarm. Staring at her still oddly new brunette hair, she braided it to one side and went to the kitchen for some juice. Her father met her at the breakfast table. "Ready for your first day?" he asked.
Phoenix yawned and nodded. "As long as the paparazzi don't find me."
"Honey, I don't think that will happen. Between the secrecy of your move and the new hair, it should be a little hard."
She shrugged. "I hope so. It'll be hard enough fending off the boys without them knowing I'm a former Victoria's Secret model."
Her dad stared at her. "Not funny, Fee. I don't want to have to murder anyone your first week here."
"Ooh, murder? I love gore early in the morning." Roxanne said as she came in the front door carrying dry cleaning bags. "Just as long as the blood doesn't get on my new Ferragamos." Everyone laughed and resumed eating their respective breakfasts.
Phoenix grabbed her blazer from the dry cleaning bags and went back to her room. From what she had seen yesterday, the administration wasn't too strict about adherence to the uniform policy. Since it was still rather warm, she paired the plaid skirt and hunter green blazer with some tall socks, biker boots, and her favorite faded Led Zeppelin tshirt. She kept her braid and added a large Fossil leather watch, three different rings and some peacock feather earrings.
In Phoenix's former life, looks were everything. It was simply force of habit to look totally put together.
Her father's town car dropped her off at the front of St. Joseph's. Phoenix plugged her headphones into her iPhone and braced herself for all the stares. Since she was wearing Led Zeppelin, she felt like it would be appropriate to listen to them. Look for Ryan, she told herself. A familiar face, even if she'd only met him once, was better than being totally stranded.
She finally saw him and waved rather largely. He waved back and motioned her over. She joined his group - him, a rather burly Italian boy, a bitchy looking pair of girls - one with a bob, the other with a cheaper version of Phoenix's former hairdo - and twin redheaded boys.
"Hey, Ryan. Good to see you again." Phoenix said with a sunny smile.
"Hi, Phoenix. This is Nick, they're Angi and Vivian, and the twins are Mike and Paul."
Phoenix pointed to each person and repeated their names. "I'm Phoenix Rutherford. It's nice to meet everyone." She turned to Ryan. "Ready to start our bargain?"
As Ryan was about to respond, Vivian butted in. "What bargain?" she asked with a saccharine smile.
Phoenix wasn't intimidated. If she could handle bitchy fellow models all but stabbing her with their stilettos, she could handle one little prep school wannabe. She smiled. "Well, if you needed to know, I'd tell you." Phoenix linked arms with Ryan. "Let's go somewhere a little bit...quieter." she said with just the right overtone to imply that Ryan was going to be a very lucky guy. She whispered in his ear, "I'll check your French homework." with a seductive smile on her face.
All of her flirtation was simply to piss Vivian and Angi off. Phoenix had no desire to be involved with anyone - the paparazzi would have a heyday with that information.
LATER THAT DAY...
The lunch bell finally rang. So far that morning, Phoenix had endured homeroom, Calculus, Government, Literature, and Geology. Her brain was sufficiently overloaded. It was very strange to be in a classroom with other people.
She weaved her way back to the common area. When the weather was nice, students were allowed to eat outside. Phoenix pulled her Wayfarers back out of her oversized bag and laid down on top of a table. She dug in her bag some more and pulled out her old school Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles lunchbox, matching thermos, and a battered copy of Agatha Christie's The Man in the Brown Suit. As she munched on a PB&J, she read her favorite book for about the fiftieth time.
...and then a shadow blocked her light. "What the hell? I just got comfy." She said as she sat up.
Vivian, of course, was in the way. "This is our table. Move." When Phoenix made no movement, Vivian was flanked by Angi and two other minions. "Let me make something clear, new girl. I rule this school. What I say goes. And I say that this is our table. Now move, unless you want to commit social suicide on your first day."
Phoenix was very tempted to put this girl in her place when she heard the familiar rumble of a motorcycle engine being shut off. She perked up and followed the sound with her eyes. Dismounting from a beautiful Harley was a Greek god in the flesh.
Phoenix scooped up her bag and ran full speed at him. "Xander!" she yelled, jumping on to him and kissing him on both cheeks.
"Prinkípissa!" he said, catching Phoenix and kissing both of her cheeks in return. "How are you? And what are you wearing?" he said in his adorable Greek accent.
Phoenix leaned back, her legs still wrapped around his waist. "A rather unfortunate uniform. It's required."
"Required for what?"
"School, darling. I'm retired." she stage whispered.
"That's what I had heard. Won't you please reconsider? I miss you so."
"Xander, don't be ridiculous. You know how I hate the business. And my manager."
Xander laughed and it sent silky ripples of pleasure through Phoenix's body. "Everyone hates your manager."
The bell rang as Phoenix was about to respond. She sighed. "Put me down, please. I have to go back to class. All these rules and people staring.....it's ridiculous."
Xander raised an eyebrow at her. "That's rather ironic, coming from you." he said as he put Phoenix down and she gathered up her books. At her shrug, he kissed her on the cheeks again and slapped her butt. "Go to class, my little troublemaker. Give them something to talk about."
Oh, they'd definitely be talking after that little display.