Quicksand

“I can’t do this,” I whimpered.
“Yes, you can,” Demitri’s voice was muffled due to him being on the other side of the door.
“No, I really can’t,” I sat down, examining the school uniform I was wearing. A blue pleated skirt, with a white blouse and blue tie, topped off with knee-high socks and simple, black shoes.
“Beth, you’ll be fine. We have to go soon, so no pressure or anything,” Theo called.
Outside my room, Theo turned to Demitri, both of whom were dressed in the male equivalent of the uniform I was wearing. Grey trousers, a white blouse and a blue tie, included with a blue blazer. Theo turned to Demitri looking as if he wanted to say something.
“What?” Demitri asked, knowing the look on his face.
“It’s just…”
“What?”
“My sister?”
“What about her?” Demitri asked, confused.
“Please don’t sleep with her,” Theo begged and Demitri groaned.
“Theodore, this is your sister. I would sooner sleep with her than you would sleep with one of my sisters,” Demitri explained.
“Demitri-,” Theo sighed.
“No, don’t Demitri me, I know the rules, okay?” Demitri said, being sure to keep his voice down.
Theo sighed and turned around.
“If you want me to stop flirting with her, I will,” Demitri said quietly.
However at that moment, I emerged from my bedroom wearing the stupid uniform.
“I have never had to wear a school uniform before,” I said, shifting uncomfortably under the material.
Theo pulled me under his arm. “You look fine,” he said with a smile. “It’s called a uniform for a reason, because everyone will look the same,”
I exhaled. “I don’t want to do this,” I whimpered.
“Don’t worry, Beth, we went over everything that would happen yesterday,” Demitri said as the two boys walked me downstairs.
“Still doesn’t make me want to go,” I said with a grimace.
Walking to the foyer, I passed a mirror displaying my reflection. Already I could see how different I was becoming. My general appearance differed so as not show any flaws and, glancing at Demitri and Theo, I noticed there was not a wrinkle on their clothes or a hair out of place.
“Ready, Beth?” Theo said, opening the front door for me.
I inhaled deeply and followed the two boys out.

The school I entered seemed more like a classic place for excellence and fine dining, more than a place for knowledge and education.
The first thing that tipped me off was the large, extravagant fountain in the courtyard, surrounded by multiple students clad in the same uniform I was in. The second thing I noticed was the large building covered in vines and red brick behind it, with marble pillars to hold up a shelter over the courtyard.
I was, quite literally, stunned into silence. If it weren’t for Theo pulling my arm, I probably would be frozen quite solid.
“Breathe, Bethy,” Demitri whispered with a smirk.
I walked beside them, trying to avoid the stares and gawks sent in my direction. It was quite clear that Demitri and Theo were well known and quite popular, due to the amounts of waves they received as well as smiles and flirtatious looks from majority of the girls.
My phone buzzed in my bag, I retrieved it to discover a text message from Parker.
1st day of school. Try not to throw up,
that would disgrace the Trent name.
P x
I gave a smile, feeling closer to my best friend and grateful that he still kept in contact with me, despite how hectic life must be for him nowadays. Not to mention how lonely I felt at night when all I could think about was my mother in the vast, dark house.
I shook the thoughts from my head and focussed on the issue at hand.
Theo, Demitri and I walked through the crowd. Thankfully, I wasn’t receiving many strange looks, which confirmed my suspicions that this school was too large to keep track of newcomers. When a stunning girl with short black hair walked straight up to Theo and wrapped her arms around his neck.
I took a step back in shock; girls really were quite forward here.
“You didn’t call me all weekend,” the girl with amazing legs and a skirt short enough to be considered underwear said with a pout.
Theo wrapped his arms around her back. “I got a bit distracted,” he said with a smirk.
Demitri grabbed my arm and pulled me away, after giving Theo a look with raised eyebrows. I figured they had some kind of telepathy thing going on anyway.
“Who on earth was that?” I spluttered once out of hearing range.
“Theo’s girlfriend, Kathryn,” Demitri said with a roll of his eyes. “They’ve been dating for about two months and she must see you as a threat,”
“I’m his sister,” I said dubiously.
“Something you should know about Kathryn, she detests being left out of anything that could be considered potential gossip,”
“Ah,” I said as Demitri’s grip on my arm tightened. “Ow, why so grabby?”
“Kathryn is a bitch,” Demitri said bluntly. “But even she isn’t the worst person at this school, just wait until you meet-,”
“Well, well, well,” a voice that oozed ego and arrogance sneered from behind Demitri and I.
“Crash.” Demitri finished his sentence looking the boy up and down.
First thing I noticed was that he was huge. He had muscles that were the size of my neck and could easily snap it in half given the choice. He had a smirk on his face and towered over Demitri who was a head taller than me.
“Keeping this one to yourself, are you, York? Give us a chance, at least,” the muscular boy I assumed to be Crash, looked me up and down.
Demitri rolled his eyes for the second time that day and grabbed my arm again. “Not now, Crash,”
“Oh, come on, I’m just getting started,” Crash sidestepped so he was blocking Demitri’s path.
I got the impression that if anybody who wasn’t as bulk tried to do the very thing Crash was doing, Demitri would’ve already flipped. However, due to the advantage of Crash’s obvious muscle tone, Demitri remained calm.
“Haven’t read the papers, have you, Crash? I guess my suspicions of you not being able to actually read are true,” Demitri snapped. “This is Theo’s twin,”
I extended my hand, as Nicholas had taught me to do upon meeting new people, however Crash leant down and pressed a kiss to the back of my hand. I quickly yanked my hand back, quite startled by the upfront gesture.
“The gene pool was favourable to you, my dear,”
I couldn’t control myself at that point, I had only heard lines as corny as that in movies so I began to giggle causing a look of disgust to wash over Crash’s face. Obviously not the reaction he was expecting.
“Get out of the way,” Demitri pulled me to the side and continued to haul me towards the building.
“Please tell me he wasn’t being serious,” I giggled to Demitri who, for the first time today, cracked a genuine smile.
“Afraid so, Crash somehow wormed his way into our friend group, so you might have to put up with him for a while,”
“His name isn’t actually Crash, is it?”
“No, it’s Augustus. Crash is a self-assigned name, given to scare off freshmen and intimidate others,” Demitri said, a little distracted.
“You’d think those rippling biceps would do that for him,” I muttered as Demitri pulled me around the side of a building where it was, thankfully quite deserted.
Suddenly, Demitri stopped and inhaled deeply.
“This isn’t going to be easy, Beth,” Demitri said softly, hoping not to attract attention. “Majority of the student body are determined to please Daddy to get access to their trust fund, they will fight tooth and nail to achieve what they need, be that academic or not, and if you get in their way you will regret it,”
I shrugged, trying hard not to show just how scared I really was. “I’ll keep my mouth shut, keep my head down, nothing new,”
Demitri smiled as if that was the correct answer. “And with that, I welcome you to Gordonstone Prep,”

Thankfully, that day all of my classes had either Theo or Demitri in them. I was introduced to their friend circle that consisted of three other people whose names I had forgotten, but what I remembered was that Demitri was not exaggerating when he was explaining how determined and cunning the students acted.
Hardly anyone introduced themselves to me, only a few flashed me a welcoming smile, and nobody seemed willing to become friends with me. Not that I was complaining an extreme amount, keeping the friend count to a minimum would keep Parker happy and make the transition from nobody to somebody easier.
However, in Biology I was paired with a lab partner that was not Theo. The girl I was paired with did not seem too fond of me at all. She seemed less fond of me when I completely messed up the dissection of a lamb kidney and then requested her help, which I did not receive.
People in this place really were just looking out for themselves.
By the time the car had brought Demitri, Theo and I home, my faith in humanity was pretty well shot. Although Demitri’s warning had prepared me, I had not anticipated for what he said to be true.
Once home, I ignored Theo’s call for food and stalked past them, en route to my bedroom. I was unaware of how exhausted the day had made me and when tears began to brim the corners of my eyes, I brushed them away.
In my room, I leant against the door and pushed the button to lock it. Having been surrounded by people in this house twenty-four seven, I needed some time to recuperate and try not to cry in front of my new family. It didn’t surprise me when a knock came at the door, however I ignored it.
“Beth?” Theo’s voice came, soft and tentative. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I gurgled.
“You don’t sound fine,”
“Well, I am,”
“Can I come in?”
“Not at the moment,”
“It would make this conversation a lot easier if I could see your face,”
“Please Theo, can you just go away?” I said, my voice definitely giving away the fact that I was crying.
I heard a sigh on the other side of the door and then the sound of footsteps retreating.
I didn’t quite know why I was having this melodrama moment, probably because everything was piling up on me quite heavily. I missed Parker. I missed my mother. And although Demitri and Theo were providing a decent distraction, what happened at school today only made my homesickness grow.
People at my old school were nice. That may be due to the fact that majority of the student body were stoned, but it didn’t change the fact that when you smiled at someone, they would smile back. I was not ready for such an abrupt coldness while I was still in such a fragile state and it was, clearly, taking its toll on me.
After sniffling my way through three tissues, I gathered myself up, ready to apologise to Demitri and Theo for my meltdown. Once I opened my door, however, I saw a plate of chocolate-chip cookies with a steaming mug of hot cocoa beside it.
I bent down and felt yet another tear slide down my cheek at the simple act of kindness in such a hateful day. When I saw a pair of shoes in front of me I glanced up to find Theo was standing in front of me with an abashed expression on his face.
“I don’t really know the right protocol for this situation, but I figured you couldn’t really go wrong with cookies and chocolate,”
Ignoring the precariously balanced liquid, I leapt into Theo’s arms, hugging him tightly around the neck as two more tears streaked down my face. Theo’s arms hugged me back and didn’t let me go until he was sure I was all hugged out.
“I know today must’ve been pretty hectic for you,” Theo said. “I just want you to know that we all love you,”
I gave a smile and was about to speak when Theo interrupted me.
“Also, we got in contact with Parker and he is on Skype, ready to talk to you whenever you want,” Theo said with a smile.
I was speechless for a short while as I processed this information. “You’re the best brother ever, you know that?” I croaked.
“Well, I’m trying,” Theo said with a smile. “Come on, Parker’s dying to speak with you,”