Boarded up and Left for Dead

I stared at the two fencers as they pranced around the quad. It was so cool but I couldn’t help but focus on the boy standing next to me: Taylor. He had on a black t-shirt and a hat, tilted slightly backwards. But he was with a girl, slender with medium length brown hair.

“I don’t think we’ve met yet.” The girl turned to me, a smile on her face, “I’m Molly, Taylor’s girlfriend.”

“Oh, hi, I’m Ella.” I replied, throwing a smile on my face.

“Hey!” Emmit said, tossing his arm around my shoulder, “you busy?” He was such a dog, always looking at my boobs.

I shook my head, trying to keep eye contact with him.

“Good! You are coming to lunch with August and I. I want you to meet all of my people, the good people.” He said, letting his hand fall down my back, gently brushing my butt.

Following Emmit, we met up with a girl with super long wavy hair.

“I’m August.” She said in a very friendly tone. Her smile seemed so genuine, a first.

“Ella, nice to meet you.”

The three of us clipped along until we were standing on the school’s front drive. August threw her hand up into the sky, hailing a cab in seconds.

Climbing in, Emmit directed the driver to where we wanted to go.

“Where are we going?” I asked curiously.

“Downtown.” Emmit replied, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, “you smoke?”

I shook my head, “not those.” August look surprised but Emmit just smiled

“Do you have a lot of friends back home?” He asked suddenly.

“No, I surround myself with an elite group of people, the best of the best.” Then I laughed. I sounded like such a bitch.

“You’ll fit in here nicely.”

The cabbie dropped us off in front of a small chic looking café. As soon as we walked in, a girl from behind the podium smiled.

“Right this way, Mr. Lewis.” She said, pulling three menus from their designated spot. She sat us in an exclusive booth towards the back of the restaurant. “A waitress will be right with you.”

I gazed at the extensive menu, the prices ranging from expensive to outrageous. Who knew North Carolina had a wealthy class?

“Can I get ya’ll drinks?” A blonde waitress asked, approaching our table. We all ordered and she walked away,

“So tell us about yourself, Ella.” August suggested.

“My name is Ellison Hyatt. My father owns the Hyatt hotel chain. I lived in Miami my whole life, I’m used to having nice things because my parents are rich. I’m here because I was a pain in the ass. I skipped a lot of school and partied a lot.” I told them, “why are you guys here?”

“To get into a good college, I have to have a good education.” August replied, matter of factly.

“Same reason as you, I was out of control.” Emmit said.

Throughout lunch, we got to know each other better. It was safe to say, I was in with Emmit’s crowd. And from what I could see it was the crowd I wanted to be in.

Monday signaled our first day of classes. I woke up extra early, making sure I had everything perfect. I read over my schedule a million times, I had memorized where all my classes were on campus. But my mind wouldn’t relax.

“Holy shit, you’re up early.” Lara said, climbing out of bed.

“I’m nervous.” I admitted. Not a lot of people ever knew what I was feeling. And if somebody was going to know, it might as well have been my roommate.

“Don’t be. Half of the guys on campus want to rail you and the girls wish they were you. The two of us will have this place under our command in no time.” She replied, grabbing her toiletries to head to the bathroom.

I took a deep breath and looked into the full length mirror propped up against the wall. My blazer fit perfectly, my skirt rolled up just enough to show some leg but not enough to get me in trouble. My blonde hair was in loose waves.

Sitting down at my desk, I pulled out all my make-up. I laid out my brushes and colors in order of use. Then I flicked on the little light to my mirror and leaned in really close. No stray eyebrow hairs were going unnoticed today!

By the time Lara got back from the shower, I was leaned out the window, wishing I had a bowl to smoke. Without thinking, I sent Emmit a text asking if he had any connections. And of course he did. He invited me over after school to smoke with him.

“You wouldn’t miss me if I went to Emmit’s after school, right?” I asked.

Lara shook her head, “go for it.”

I sent him a text saying I would be there.

My first class of the day was math. Lara and I walked together, catching glances from people left and right. A good portion of them knew who we were at this point. As we walked, I noticed how many girls there were and it wasn’t many. But every single one of them was gorgeous.

The classes at Ashville were of average difficulty. Something I hadn’t expected. I’d been warned that prep school was grueling. But from what I could see, it wasn’t much different from public schools.

For most of the day, I kept to myself and observed how the people here acted. However, when I arrived in psych, my whole attitude changed. Taylor was sitting on a stool towards the middle of the room, next to him sat Molly.

“Everybody look here!” the mousy teacher called out, “we have a new student! Say your name.”

“I’m Ella.” I stated with confidence.

“Ella! Come sit with us.” Molly cooed with fake excitement. I went over, pulling a stool up to the round table. “I’m so happy we have a class together! I think we’ll be good friends.” She continued.

I smiled, I’d never been one to pretend, so I just kept my mouth closed. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be friends with Molly on account of the fact that I wanted to steal her boyfriend.

“Alright guys, today I have to announce your new project. It’s a partner project and it’s going to be a lot of work. You will be studying the way your partner acts around you, their other friends, strangers, and so on. At the end, you will write an analysis of the way your partner acted at first, how they changed over time, and why you think they act the way they do. We will draw names for partners.” She opened the drawer in her desk then looked up, “Taylor, you’ve been a role model psych student for years now, will you be so kind as to show Ella the ropes for this class. It’ll only be for this project.”

Taylor turned to me, scanned over me and then gave a half-hearted smile.

“Who am I going to work with?” Molly whined.

“I’m sorry baby.” He told her, “I’m sure Miss Kent will find someone suitable for you.”

I, on the other hand, could barely contain my excitement.