Love Games

"I don't understand why I can't just go to Kirkland or Ridgewood," Stella sighed from the kitchen counter. "Southwood is already outside of the city and on top of that godforsaken hill."

"Honey, we've already discussed this," her mother, a tall woman with blonde hair pulled into a neat bun, was finishing up the cleaning. "Your father and I believe that you'll have more opportunities at Southwood. Everyone speaks very highly of the Academy and you were lucky enough to be offered a scholarship. So why don't you just give it a chance?"

"Mom, I'm fine with it, really, but it still seems a little fishy to me," the young girl brushed her short hair out of her face. "Southwood just appears out of nowhere, out of the blue, and all of a sudden it's rivaling Patton, St. O's, and San Clem. Tell me that doesn't seem strange to you."

"Stellove, you're thinking too much," her mother chuckled, dismissing it with a shake of her head. "Just be grateful that they're letting you study there. That school is going to attract all sorts of other kids from all over the place. It will be good for you, trust me."

"I'm onto you, Mom," Stella muttered, pointing her spoon at her accusingly. "You and Dad are hoping to marry me off to some rich guy. If I'd known that it would come to this, I wouldn't have done so well in school."

Stella's mother laughed loudly, pulling on her coat and picking up her briefcase from the chair. "You're being ridiculous, honey," she teased. "Now you'd better get moving. You don't want to be late on your first da- Oh wait! Stop and let me get a picture in your uniform."

Stella stepped down from the stool, keeping a hand on her bag as she fixed her mother with a scathing stare. "Mom, seriously?" She asked, watching the woman scramble to get the camera out.

"Smile, sweetheart."

All of a sudden her father was beside her and Stella automatically pulled her face into a picturesque smile.

Flash.

And they were all moving again, this time in a mildly hurried pace as the element of time started to nip at their heels. Her parents would head off to work together while Stella would jump on her bicycle and start her journey to school. As she propped it up and deposited her book bag into the basket attached to the front, her mother and father were stepping into the car.

"Make some friends, honey," her mother urged gently. "Have a good day and tell us all about it tonight, alright?"

"Don't get into too much trouble now." Her father teased as the engine started.

Stella pursed her lips, not really finding it all that amusing, but she humored them anyway with a half salute. She had never been popular at school. While academics had always come easy to her with little to no effort, socializing with her peers was a whole other story. It was becoming normal for her mother to nag her about when she was going to start bringing friends home or start sneaking around with boys. Stella couldn't understand why. Wasn't she doing fine just the way she was? Wasn't she being a model daughter?

She sighed and shook her head, mounting the bike and pedaling off down the sidewalk. It was a lengthy ride to Southwood, but Stella didn't really mind until she started going uphill. Even though her legs were beginning to burn from the unusual amount of exertion, she pressed on stubbornly until she finally crested at the top. Stella adjusted her glasses, then fixed her hair as she got off the bike and secured it to one of the school's many bike racks. In time, the ride would be nothing to her at all.

The Academy was huge, now that she stopped to admire it in person. Stella wondered how they could have possibly built a large structure so quickly, but then she reasoned that it was a school for the richer kids. Everyone knew that money went a long way when it came to doing the impossible. Stella gathered her things from the wire basket and slung her bag over her shoulder, taking a moment to find a low key crowd of students to follow into the heart of campus.

She had yet to see any sort of familiar face here, but she doubted one would ever turn up. Stella was treading through unknown territory and she could feel the familiar tension of being surrounded by her peers beginning to press into her shoulders. People were already chatting with one another, becoming friends and making connections, but Stella could only keep her head down and continue walking.

* * *

As if it wasn't enough that she was just starting high school, Stella thought.

First period had yet to start, but she was already feeling desperately out of place. At least if she attended Kirkland or Ridgewood, she'd feel secure in knowing the faces and feeling familiar in her surroundings, but Southwood was turning out to be far more intimidating than she ever expected. Everything was rather lavish, high class… unreal.

And call her uncultured, but some of the students were downright bizarre.

Stella was watching one particular boy stare at some of their classmates with such intensity that it was beginning to come off as disturbing. But then again, it wasn't any of her business as long as she wasn't the object of such attention. She turned her focus to the blank notebook in front of her, automatically scratching the date into the top corner as the teacher made their entrance and began class.

She found a small comfort in the fact that other things remained the same and coming to understand the material was no different from what she was used to. Despite her feelings of uneasiness, Stella managed to make it to lunch period without any mishaps.

At first, she intended to seek refuge in the library, but Stella wasn't feeling up to committing to the search that would entail. Instead, she resigned herself to wandering with a purpose until she stumbled upon the cafeteria. She was thankful that there was an abundance of tables, which saved her the awkward task of asking someone to sit at theirs. Stella picked out an unoccupied table at the edge of the room and started into a butter sandwich while she took to studying the school map.

"Hey!"

Surely, they couldn't be talking to her. Stella remained focused until a girl's hand passed in front of her face, startling her to attention. Her eyes shifted over to a tall blonde girl standing at her table with a wide smile.

It was only a stranger. No one she had ever seen before, so why was the girl greeting her like an old friend?

"My name's Elle Hart," she offered when she realized that Stella wasn't going to be forthcoming. "You're a freshman, right?"

Stella was silent for a long moment before remembering the basic social etiquette that she knew. This was as good a time as any to practice them and Elle seemed innocent enough.

"I'm Stella," she returned with a nod, itching to ask how she could possibly know. But then she remembered the subtle marks displayed on their uniforms that gave it away. Immediately, Stella's eyes jumped to the school crest on Elle's blazer. "And you're a junior?"

"You're quick," Elle observed, her brown eyes crinkling in amusement. "The headmistress is encouraging us to reach out to new underclassmen. So… How do you like your first day? Have you made a lot of friends?"

Stella stared as the girl slid into the seat beside her, unsure how she felt about being bombarded with questions. She could already hear her mother's incessant nagging echoing in her head to make friends this time around.

"It's fine." She said, but didn't go into the matter any further.

"Oh, that's good!" Elle replied, seemingly genuine in her enthusiasm.

The dark haired girl shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling the conversation come to an abrupt end thanks to her inexperience. Stella agonized over the words that were crawling out of her mouth. "I'm trying to figure out where the library is though-"

"Say no more, Stella!" The junior girl burst in some form of excitement, startling Stella in her seat. "I can show you. We've got a while before lunch period ends. Just follow me."

"O-ok…"

Stella quickly packed up her things and let Elle lead her away from the table, out of the cafeteria, and through the labyrinth of hallways. Thankfully, the girl did all the talking, leaving Stella to wonder what sort of luck she was having in being picked out by a girl like Elle. She seemed normal enough and she pulsed with a steady, confident ease of manner. Elle was a fairly popular girl if Stella's observations were at all accurate readings into the junior's school life. Now that she looked, she could see other upperclassmen accompanying select freshman and sophomores through the hallways.

Feeling more at ease, Stella just hoped she wasn't making a mistake in opening herself up to some form of a friendship with Elle Hart.