The Academy of the Elite

I woke up Monday morning around three in the morning due to the nerves for today’s show. My eyes popped opened and my body was humming with nervous energy. I wanted to go back to sleep, but i couldn't seem to stay in bed; I jumped up and threw on my jogging suit. I looked at the time, 3:30 am the perfect time for a jog. I pulled my hair into a sloppy bun on top of my head. I brushed my teeth, not sure if I would meet another soul but I didn’t want to scare them with my breath. I leave my room and run towards the track and field area. It was dark, since there wasn’t much lighting on campus besides a street light every twenty feet or so.

The air was cool and crisp, a slight chill nipping at my neck. I love this weather, it is so perfect. I would usually be anxious to be out at this hour but I felt safe within the high closed gates of the campus. All I could hear was my own breathing and my sneakers hit the pavement. I should have brought my iPod but I felt the urge to move so strongly I couldn’t be bothered with pausing to grab it. When I reached the track I saw a familiar beanie wearing boy propped up against the bleachers. I run towards him with a smile on my face, wondering what he was doing up so early when I spot someone with him. So out of curiosity I move closer as quietly as I could in some hopes that I could hear what’s up.

“I really like this girl, Vic.” I tried to pinpoint the voice but I was having a hard time doing so.

Vic shifted covering the face of the speaker, “I know you do just, wait it out dude. She will come around eventually.”

“Man, they aren’t all like Lizzy, what if Ally never notices how awesome we would be together?”

I had to help this guy see that my sister is well, special. She finally has her first real boyfriend and won’t be giving that up anytime soon. She may flirt with him but she pretty much flirts with everybody, so that’s nothing significant for her. I didn’t want him to get hurt because of Aaliyah’s nature.

“Maybe she likes you, Vic; I saw how she threw herself into your arms the other day. She was all over you; she is always all over you.”

I felt a stab of emotion in my chest, she did what now? I turned away not wanting to hear anymore. I wish I could say I was surprised with Ally but I am not. Of course it wouldn’t matter to her that this guy was my very first crush, she just couldn’t help but flirt. Why should I allow that to be an excuse for her though? So what if she may have thought it to be innocent fun, someone has to draw the line for my dear sister and I think it’s time I did. I was furious; my feet hit the pavement with echoes as if it was the soundtrack to my anger. I guess I should have been more discreet because I heard Vic yell my name. So I took a deep breath, hid my anger and smiled for him.

“Hey,” I turned around to face him, a big grin on my face; I am in first relationship bliss after all.

“Hey,” He grabbed my waist and started to pull me into a hug.

“Oh, don’t hug me! I am all gross and sweaty.” I protested and pulled away from him slightly.

“I don’t care.” He wrapped me in his embrace making my smile a genuine one. “What are you doing sneaking around campus at this hour?”

I looked into his soft brown eyes, “I couldn’t sleep, too nervous about the performance at the orientation later today.”

“You are going to be amazing,” he pulled away, “no need to worry about it.”

I didn’t know what else to say, I suddenly felt awkward with him. I hadn’t realized that most of the time I spent with him was in the company of our large group of friends, never really alone. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and stared at the ground, trying to think of what I should say next. I wanted to say something that reflected my gratitude or maybe something clever. Instead I kept drawing blanks, I felt the awkward tension building up, and so I cleared my throat.

“Uh, I better go. I don’t want to get caught and in trouble. Maybe you should head in too; I would hate it if you got a strike against you.”

“Let’s walk back together.” He grabbed my hand and started leading me back to the dorms through a wooded path so we wouldn’t get caught.

We walked in complete silence; this made me angrier at Ally. I was pissed at how easily she could make conversation with Vic and yet I couldn’t unglue my tounge from the roof of my month. My throat felt so dry and I would open my month to say something only to shut it without saying a word. I felt the irrational anger at this fact boil in my chest so I let go of Vic’s hand, which caused him to stop walking forward.

“What’s wrong Lizzy?” He gave me a concerned look.

“Don’t you feel how awkward this is? I don’t know how to act around you anymore, I just feel weird. Plus, I hear that Ally is always all over you so I am pissed. I just,” I shook my head and grit my teeth, I hated how I felt helpless to my emotions, “I don’t want to talk anymore. I will be fine by breakfast; I just need to meditate a bit.”

“Ally and I are just friends, baby.”

“I don’t trust her with you.” I covered my mouth after blurting that out. “I am sorry, that sounds really bad. It’s just-" I let out big sigh, "Ally has the tendency to convince guys that she is worth the world, even if they have previous commitments. I am tired of her using her flirty nature as an excuse to get what she wants, that’s all.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, I hate talking about Ally like this. I never want anyone to say an ill word about her, and here I am painting her in a completely negative light. I bite my lip and my anger gives way to guilt. I sigh and rub my right temple; I reach for Vic’s hand and lace our fingers together. None of this is his fault anyway, so I shouldn’t be taking this out on him. I just became his girlfriend and I am already messing things up.

“Its fine baby, I know you love Ally. I will draw the boundaries more clearly for her.” He pulled me into his embrace and kissed me.

I felt a small relief when he said that, since they will be having classes together. I felt so insecure it was disgusting me, but I was afraid that he would see how perfect he was and move on. I mean I am so very far from even being a decent match for him. I hated myself in that moment; I let the passion of the emotion reflect in my kiss. I started digging my nails into the nape of his neck, pulling him closer to me. He didn’t protest to my actions, instead he intensified the kiss by lightly tugging at my bottom lip with his teeth. Something in me surged, it was like the disgust mixed a need to have him closer, as if he could make me see myself in a better light. I pulled him closer, and then broke our kiss when we heard a twig snap. My heart started beat and he led us through the woods more quietly. We made it to the dorm quickly, he went to sprint to his room but I pulled him into mine.

“Wait until they pass.” I urged him.

“I would get more in trouble if I was caught in here then out there.” He tried to get away but I closed the door.

“You won’t get caught.” I put him in my bed and throw the sheet over him, so that it looked like a random pile of blankets instead of a human body.

I heard a knock on my door, as I slipped on my pajamas pants. When I look through the peep hole, I saw Pink standing on the other side. I mumbled to myself that this was a movie and I was the star who had to protect the hero from being caught by the evil villainess. That slowed my pounding heart and I opened the door calmly with a sleepy yawn.

“Sorry to wake you up Elizabeth but we just heard some students run in this direction so we had to check your room.” Pink eyed me curiously. “Have you heard anything?”

“No, I sleep with my headphones on, the music soothes me.” My headphone dangled from around my neck with All Time Low playing.

“Okay, we will scope out the woods again. Sorry for disturbing you, sleep well Lizzy.”

I wanted to ask about the cameras when I remembered the school naively left the dorms without any. This was to protect the student’s privacy. The only places monitored were class building and the libraries. I wondered how they enforced the rules without having them everywhere. I watched as she exited the dorm building and turned to find Vic standing right behind me.

“My hero, huh?” He gave me a sly smile, “You are so cool baby.” He kissed my forehead. “See you at breakfast.”

I watched as him as he ran until he turned the corner that led to his room. I sighed and leaned against my door with a smile on my face. I climbed back into bed pulling the blankets over my head, they smelled just like Vic. This fact was enough to calm me into deep sleep which I am then startled out of by my alarm. I groaned, at least I have to wear uniform so I don’t have to think about clothes. I hopped into the shower, washed my hair and put on my knee length black pelted skirt, with a white button down shirt and red sweater vest. I grabbed a black headband to push my wet hair out of my face. I put on my mid-calf high white socks and my black ballet flats. I walked to the cafeteria trying to focus on other things besides the showcase that starts in an hour and my sister’s constant flirting.

When I walk into the cafeteria, Ally is batting her lashes at Vic as she straightens his tie and the anger I felt earlier surges again. I walk over to Vic and wrap my arms around him from behind kissing his back through his shirt. Ally backs away and I feel like I won a small victory. He faces me and kisses me on the lips while smiling.

“Hey beautiful,” he stroked my face, “Ready for the showcase?”

“I think so.” I grabbed his hand possessively which made me feel so silly.

“I adore you Lizzy,” He kisses me, “remember that.”

I sat down next to Roxy, who put her arm around my shoulder and squeezes me into her. I eat my banana nut muffin, and drink my water while listening to the first day of school chatter. Roxy gushed excitedly about her showing off her skills to the school; she tiptoed around the fact that Zac is her partner. I knew she was aware that he was still a touchy subject for me. I looked in his direction and saw him laughing, my heart ached a bit. I rushed through my food and grabbed Ally so we could practice before the show. I put my anger to the side, right now we have a show to focus on.

I zoomed to the auditorium, with her in close behind me. We jumped on stage and practiced the two songs we were doing together and that was enough to calm me down, well a little anyway. That is until I watched 178 students and 25 staff members take their seats. We ran backstage and waited as Mister Headmaster, Justin, welcome the new freshman to the student body. He reminded everyone of the school rules, and then introduced Ally and I. He mentioned that we would be the first freshmen in the school’s twenty five years to receive the honor of performing at the Freshman Orientation. The audience screamed and whelped as Ally and I walked onto the stage.

My guitar hung around my neck and I walked up to the microphone, “Hello everyone, my name is Elizabeth.”

“And I am Aaliyah. We are pumped to perform for you guys today.”

“We just want to say these past nine days have been truly amazing and we have met some wonderful people. So this performance is especially for you guys, thanks for taking us in so quickly.” I plugged my guitar into my amp and started playing ‘According to you’.

“According to you, I’m stupid, I’m useless. . .” Ally starting singing and playing her bass; I close my eyes and let the music transport me to my room where I am safe and no one can see me.

I start singing the chorus with her, harmonizing perfectly with my sister. I was already used to singing with her, so it was a really simple process to get into a nice flow with her. When my guitar solo came I focused on the feel of my fingers against the strings, so that all the eyes wouldn’t make me nervous. I imagined Vic’s arms around my waist and him smiling as I played, which of course made me smile foolishly. Then Ally and I went back to singing, the song ended and the applause erupted. The curtain dropped behind us and we were focused forward. Ally gave me a confused look but I shrugged since I knew what was going on.

“We are going to sing this next song acoustically.” Ally grabbed the acoustic guitar and smiled. “We will also display our beat boxing skills.”

She started playing the opening notes to Frank ocean’s thinking about you while beat boxing, which left me to sing the opening verse. I think I sang better for this song than the first, I knew I wanted to feel good so I put extra effort into the words. I was saving my best performance for last though. I started to beat box and Ally picked up flawlessly on the second verse, belting out each word. She stopped the guitar and we both sang the bridge acapella. Our voices echoed off the walls and we finished the song that way. I didn’t think it was possible but the people reacted more to this song than the first, I could barely hear over the roar of their voices. Ally was eating it up bowing and blowing kissing to the audience. I rolled my eyes at her and waited for the noise to die down.

I walked up to the mic, “Thank you, Aaliyah. This next song I will being singing without my sister, but I needed the help of some of my friends.” The curtain went up to reveal Mike behind drums, Tony with an acoustic guitar, Jaime with his bass and mic. “These are my friends who make up most of Pierce the Veil. This last song is for Vic, who I guess I should have asked first before doing this.” There was some laughter. “He wrote this so I don’t want any credit guys, it’s called Wonderless.”

I started playing my acoustic guitar and singing Vic’s words. The guys chimed in just like we had practiced and I was happy with how good we sounded together. I made eye contact with Vic who was smiling from ear to ear. I was happy that he liked my gift to him, it was my way of saying thank you for everything he has done for me and Ally so far. If it wasn’t for him we would never have known how to get around the school so easily. We wouldn’t have all the friends that we do and I wouldn’t be so close to getting out of my shell. I just wanted him to know how much his actions have meant to me.

Jaime’s backup vocals were perfection, we blended smoothly, and all the while my eyes never left Vic’s. I couldn’t help but stare at that beautiful smile of his. I did that, I made him smile like that, that made me feel really good. When the song was over there was more cheering and Vic climbed onto the stage and hugged me tight, picking me up off the floor.

“This is the greatest thing anyone has ever done for me.” He said while putting me down.

“I am glad you liked it. It’s my thank you gift to you, for everything.” He gave me a huge grin and kissed me on stage for everyone to see.

I was so shocked by his kiss that I just stood there staring at him. I was so happy that he was happy. I had been so nervous that me deciding to sing his song would upset him but it seemed that he didn’t mind one bit. I watched him as he went over and hugged each of the guys before helping them carry their stuff off stage.

“Well I hope you guys enjoyed that,” I said while they cleared things off. “I look forward to my school year here and can’t wait for the adventures to come. So after the boys clear the stage our beloved headmaster will make a few announcements and then some brilliant kids from the drama department will be acting a skit out for us.”

JT got back on stage, “Thank you for that lovely performance, girls. I look forward to seeing what you two accomplish throughout the school year. I do have some announcements to make; we have some new couples here at the academy. One clearly just displayed their relationship for all to see,” he cleared his throat while glancing at Vic, “First couple to be announced for today is Max and Aaliyah, and then we have Victor and Elizabeth. So I guess both of our performers are taken, sorry gentlemen,” he chuckled before continuing, “and then Roxy and Jonny are back together, no shock there. Kellin and Tally are officially an item, Mike and Emily are finally a pair, Crystal and Derek are together again and last but not least Tina and Jorge. In breakup news Zac and long time girlfriend Michelle called it quits two months ago and Terri and Chris are no longer our model couple.” The crowd gasped. “Okay, well I hope you are all ready to be back in the classroom and to work your very hardest. So to close this little meeting of ours, we will have Zac and Roxanne present the skit, ‘Too much of Nothing’ written by none other than Roxanne herself.”

I got a seat in between Kellin and Vic who both grabbed my hands at the same time. I laughed at their silly behavior before turning my attention to Roxy. I kept smiling up at her as she pranced around on stage. She was brilliant and I couldn’t be more thrilled that she was not only my friend but a good challenge for me. I tried not to look at Zac too much, but my eyes kept wandering to him. He was just so cute dressed up in that costume, Vic stiffened when he noticed so I kissed him and went back to focusing on Roxy. This happened at least three times, I wondered how he felt about the fact that Zac would be my classmate for long school days. I squeezed his hand nervous about the fact myself; I had no idea how this was going to go over. I kept my hand in Vic’s until the assembly was over and I had to leave him. I wouldn’t get to see him again until dinner.

“I already miss you.” I admitted as he walked away from me.

“I miss you too,” he blew me a kiss before Ally latched arms with him.

I was about to say something to her when Roxy grabbed me, “Class is this way, dolcezza.” She must have picked up my mood because she followed up with, “don’t worry,the day will go by fast, then you can be with your boy again. Besides sweetie, you are a first year so your Monday afternoon session will be with Vic and your sister will be with us. So it won’t be that long at all. “

“That makes me happy Roxy dear but I am upset with my sister at the moment-“

“Hey Liza,” Zac smiled at me while walking into the classroom, my thoughts became muddled.

“This is going to be a long day.” Roxy smiled sympathetically at me.

I loved the first half of classes; I was so thrilled to be learning about something I loved so much. Plus I got to sit next to Roxy which made it that much better. She spent the whole time passing me silly notes while we did ice breaking exercises despite the fact that I was the only new kid. Then we did basic acting drills before we were dismissed for lunch. I was determined to finally say something to Ally about her constant flirting with Vic before we switch over to each other’s class. I spotted her at the usual table with her head on Vic’s shoulder while she laughed at whatever was being said. I stormed in her direction and fought the urge to yank her out of the seat. Vic spotted me first.

“Hey baby.”

“Ally, we need to talk, now.” I glared at her as she got up with a worried look on her face. We walked to the empty corner two seat table and she sat down before I continued. “What is that all about?”

I pointed towards the direction of the Vic. She stared at me confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean why can’t you keep your hands off of my boyfriend?” She stared at me shocked.

“Paranoid much?” She rolled her eyes, “Vic and I are just friends.”

“Look Ally, I love you to death and I put up with things you will never know about for you, but I draw the line here. You can give him a nice hug, of an appropriate length, but that’s it. No more fixing his tie, grabbing his hand, jumping into his arms, you have your own boyfriend to do that to.”

“You are pathetic Ellz, it’s not like that at all.”

“Oh yeah,” I spot Max and call him over.

“Hey Liz, I am glad we can-“

He must have stopped out of confusion because I was hugging him. I lingered for too long like Ally does then I smile at him while fixing his tie. Ally started to get pissed.

“What the heck man?”

“Good. Now that you have the visual to my point, cut it out. I am not playing Ally, I am tired of letting you push me over all the time.”

I left it at that, walking away to rejoin the table. I sat next to Vic and gave him a stiff smile, upset at him too for not saying a thing to her. I ate in complete silence, with Kellin nudging me every two second trying to get a smile out of me. When I walked into the music class after lunch I found out her seat was next to Vic and I saw that she wrote their names together on her desk with a smiley face. I kept looking back at it after every other word the teacher said. Kellin seemed to notice and started to write notes to me about how Vic wants to be with me, not my sister. By the time dinner came my anger had not ebbed one bit. Vic and I had not spoken since the showcase; he kept glancing at me with a sad look until Ally made everything clear with her presence.

“So guys, I had a horrid second half of a day because my sister basically told me to stop talking to Vic since he is her boyfriend now.” I hated to cause a scene but I would not back down from my sister’s challenge.

“I never said that, I simply told Aaliyah to get a grip on her wandering hands before she regrets it.” The table was silent by now.

“Are you implying that I can’t keep my hands to myself?” She half got up from the table.

“Are you pretending you can?”

“I am the only reason you're even with Vic right now.”

“Really? I was unaware that you somehow made me have feeling for him. Tell me how does one accomplish such things? Did you somehow use the force? Or perhaps you used inception? Please reveal to me your secrets.”

She was flustered, “I told him how to get to you, I even told him to chill because you are mentally ill so you needed extra time.”

“You what?” I could tell she regretted what she just said.

“I said. . . uh. . .” She stammered.

“Go to hell, Aaliyah. “ I started to walk away but then thought otherwise. “You know what? No. You don’t have to go to hell but you need to stop talking to me. How dare you go and tell people a secret that wasn’t yours to share in the first place?!” I started to shake all over. “You have no idea half the stuff I have done to protect you, I ask you for one thing and you can’t even do that much.” I could feel the awkward tension of the others. “What did you tell him Ally? How much did you say? I don’t care if the others know at this point, just spill.”

“I told him that you are bipolar, that’s all, I swear.”

I gave a look of disgust, “I don’t trust you Ally. If mami and papi never made me tell you I would have kept it to myself. This is why I am not open with you Ally; you just don’t know how to draw lines. You want to know how many secrets I have spilled about you ever? Zero, even when I thought it would be best to let you get in trouble I kept my mouth shut. Ally, the beloved, the protected, the one everyone adores. Then there is me Ally, the messed up kid, the mistake, the one mami and papi whisper about and cry about late at night. I am the one that makes them wonder what they are doing wrong. I was forced to be left back because I needed to make extra money to care for you because even though you knew we didn’t have much you wanted a sweet 15. Of course you would get what you wanted, because you would be a brat about it until you did.” I couldn’t stop the bitter words from seeping out. “I didn’t even say a word when you locked yourself in the room for hours to be on a chat room with a 32 year old man. The one I begged you to stay away from but you wouldn’t listen. For weeks he followed you around and you were none the wiser, but I noticed him. What did I do to keep Ally safe, the beloved? I take my mentally ill self and met up with him to tell him to stay away from you and do you know what happened to me Ally? He beat and raped me until I blacked out and when I woke up all I did was beg him to leave you alone Ally, you.” I was crying, “Because the world revolves around you while I got pushed to the side. I didn’t go to my senior prom so you could get your sweet 15. I didn’t get to fall in love and lose my virginity like a normal girl because of you. I spent six months in a ward because I couldn’t stop cutting into my skin in hopes to bleed out the bad memories because of you. And all I ask from you is to leave the one thing that could keep me from hating myself alone and you want to whine like a five year old girl. Well I am sorry your life is so damn hard Ally, forgive me for imposing.”

I knew I had told the whole world my secret but I could care less. I was tired of keeping it in anyway, I felt everyone at the table looking at me. I was trembling and crying, Ally stared at me with a mixture of hurt and horror. I did what I least expect: I buried my head into Kellin’s shoulder and mumbled for him to help me to my room. I didn’t think I could walk with all these feelings coursing through me. I felt like three years of emotions had crashed against my wall and finally broke it. I was too weak to do anything but lean on Kellin, as he, Vic and Roxy walked me to my room in somber silence.