Pretense [Chapter One]

                                                                                                                                                          CHAPTER ONE





        Have you ever forgotten something so significant that you couldn't help staying up at night trying to figure out what it was?
         Ever since I can remember – which isn't very far back as it is– I could never actually remember my past. It was all just a cloudy haze, like when someone throws a bucketful of flour in the air and all you see are tiny little flecks of white.
         Beatrice – my caretaker and the woman who found me – hired more psychiatrists than an institutionalized crazy person has seen in their entire lifespan, just to help me remember, but for some reason nothing helped, nothing.
         Beatrice Sinclair found me in the woods behind her house one day when she was taking a hike. I was only a child then, ten or eleven maybe, and all I remember was feeling scared. I was sitting on a fallen tree trunk, my knees pressed to my chest, a river flowing next to me with a waterfall. The noise was what scared me the most. The water crashed down like boulders bashing together.
         She had taken me to her house and after that it all seemed a fast blur to me. I remember her naming me Elizabeth, after her mother she had said, and I remember her showing me around her house, my new house.
         It all had seemed so strange to me then, scary even. But that was to only be the beginning of my strange life.

         It was hard to tell if this was a dream or not at first. Everything looked so real. The room that I was in felt very familiar, but the thing that made me realize that it really was a dream was the fact that there was a glowing man standing in front of me. I stared at him, his dark skin glowing in a strange way; there was almost a white glow coming off.
         And another thing that made me realize that this was a dream was the fact that he kept calling me Gabriel.
         “For the last time, my name is not Gabriel. My name is Elizabeth, Elizabeth Sinclair.” I told him for what had to have been the hundredth time.
         “No, you are Gabriel. You need to remember who you are.” I groaned in frustration.
         “How do I do that? I can’t remember anything!” I told him. Then I realized he could be right. I could be ‘Gabriel’ for all I know. Suddenly the room started spinning and my stomach lurched. I closed my eyes, feeling dizzy and when I reopened them everything was still but the man was gone.

         I was awake before my body really knew it. But when it finally realized, my limbs felt as if they were made of bricks. I had the sudden urge to roll up into a ball and go back to sleep, but I knew I shouldn't. I laid flat on my back with my eyes closed and thought about the dream I had just had. My stomach still felt queasy from the room spinning, but the thing that was troubling me the most was the glowing man who kept calling me 'Gabriel'. I was frustrated not only because I didn't understand, but because I couldn't tell if it was real or not. Maybe not real per se, but true – like, could I actually be this 'Gabriel'?
         Suddenly, my alarm went off knocking me out of my thoughts and back into the real world. I groaned, when I realized that today was Monday, which meant that classes with Beatrice would start back up again today.

         I groaned again at the thought and opened my eyes, the high pitched alarm still ringing through the room. The bright light shining through my window made me squint as I turned off the alarm. I laid back and stared at my ceiling meekly, trying to urge myself out of bed. After a few minutes of pathetically procrastinating by trying to find shapes in the ceiling, I sighed and pushed myself out of bed. I grabbed my bathrobe and towel and trudged into the bathroom to take a shower.
         After cleaning myself, I turned off the water and got out. I dried off, wrapped my hair in the towel and slipped into my green bathrobe before wiping the mist off the mirror over the sink. I stared at my reflection for awhile, wondering what it would be like to remember being a kid – playing in the dirt, scraping my knees, kissing the new boy on the street.
         I rolled my eyes at my reflection.
         "Oh stop being stupid." I told it.
         I ambled out of my bathroom and back into my bedroom to get dressed, deciding on a clean black t-shirt and dark blue faded jeans. I threw on my black flats before walking to my door, stopping at my calendar to see what the date was – August 25.
I quickly crossed the day off before walking out of my room. As I descended the spiral staircase I smelled bacon, eggs, and toast which was odd.  Beatrice never let Victoria or Lenee make breakfast until after my first lesson.
I quickened my pace and bounded down the stairs quietly. I walked slowly through the parlor towards the double doors leading to the kitchen and dining room, the
aroma getting stronger as I went. I pushed the swinging doors open and stepped into the dining room looking around for Beatrice.
         "Beatrice?" I called, noticing that she wasn't in her normal place at the table surrounded by the day's lesson.
         I furrowed my eyebrows and walked through the second door to the kitchen.
         "Girls have you-?” I stopped. "Beatrice?" I asked staring at her in a blue and white apron. Beatrice turned and smiled at me.
         "Breakfast is almost done." She said happily.
         "What are you doing?" I asked, gesturing towards the stove where the bacon was hissing madly.
         "Making breakfast?" She asked innocently.
         "Where are Victoria and Lenee?" I asked.
         "I let them have the day off." I stared at her for a second, trying to understand what she was doing.
         "It's Monday." I reminded her.
         "I know." She said picking up the pieces of bacon and dropping them on a plate covered in a paper towel.
         "I have lessons."
         "Not today." I stared at her again.
         "Why not?" I asked. She sighed and wiped her hands on her apron.
         "We need to talk about something." I nodded, still completely lost. "But after breakfast." She added, scrambling the eggs before putting some on a plate and adding a few bacon strips. She handed me the plate and made herself a one before we walked into the dining room and sat at the table across from each other. Beatrice instantly dug into her eggs, but I ignored mine and instead stared intently at her. Finally she looked up and blushed a little.
         "It’s not polite to stare." She reminded me. I sighed and took a bite of my crispy bacon, but I still didn't take my eyes off of her. She resumed eating, but looked a little uncomfortable.
         "Beatrice, please just tell me what this is about." I begged her. She sighed and placed her fork down gently. Everything about her was soft and poised.
"I wanted to tell you sooner but I didn't know how." She began. My stomach tightened.
         "Beatrice?" My voice came out small. "What’s going on?" I asked fearing the worst.
         "The school board has decided that you need to go to a real school, to get a 'real' education." I stared at her for a second before laughing. I couldn't help it, it was just so humorous.
         "That’s really funny Beatrice, but really what’s going on?" I asked, but her face was set into a frown, lines curved across her forehead. My stomach gave a nasty squeeze and I felt nauseous and faint. I stopped laughing.
         "You're not kidding, are you?" I asked. She frowned and shook her head.
         "I'm really sorry. I tried to persuade them to let me finish teaching you, but they wanted you to experience the life of a teenager. You start next Tuesday at Blair Academy. It’s a boarding school in Longcroft, England." I slunk down in my chair, suddenly too sick to eat.
         "What if I refuse?" I asked.
         "You'll be charged as insubordinate and you'll get me in a lot of trouble." She said, laughing slightly. I knew I would never refuse, but the thought of going to a school like Blair Academy, not knowing anyone there, scared me. A lot.
         I pushed my plate away and crossed my arms over my stomach, afraid that I might throw up.
         "How are you feeling?" Beatrice asked, a look of concern flashing across her face.
         "Not good, to say the least. You should have told me sooner." I told her. She looked a little embarrassed.
         "I know I'm sorry." She apologized. "There’s another thing." She said. I stared at her.
"Oh no." I muttered not sure if I could handle more.
         "It’s not that bad. I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me to get everything you need." I sighed in relief.
         "Sure." I said, still feeling sick.
         "Good, we'll leave soon." I nodded and tried to eat my breakfast with little luck – everything tasted like cardboard.
         "I think I'll go finish getting ready." I said, standing up and clearing my dishes. I felt as though my entire body were made of lead as I walked up the stairs to my room.
         A few minutes later I was dressed and ready to  go, but I couldn’t make myself get up. After a few more minutes Beatrice knocked on my door. I let her in.
         “Ready?” She asked. I nodded and she dug a letter out of her purse and handed it to me.
         “Here, I forgot to give this to you earlier.” I opened the envelope and looked over the first letter. It was an acceptance note from Blair.


BLAIR ACADEMY
Headmistress: Laurence Bristow

Elizabeth Sinclair,
         You have been accepted at Blair Academy. Enclosed is a list of all necessary books and equipment juniors will need. Also enclosed are rules of the grounds, school, and surrounding area. Term will begin September 1.

Sincerely,
Laurence Bristow
Headmistress


Under it was the list of things I needed, my time table and a few pages of letters talking about what the school was like, dress code, etc.

         I looked over my time table as Beatrice drove the three and a half hours to Seattle. Most of the classes were AP because that’s what level Beatrice was teaching me, so I didn’t really have a problem with that. I pulled out the list of things I needed and looked over it.



UNIFORM

3 or more black pleated skirts for every day wear
         1 or more plaid scarlet pleated skirts
3 or more white button down dress shirts
1 or more scarlet and or black dress shirt
4 or more pairs of white stockings
         1 or more pairs of beige and or black slacks
1 or more pairs of shorts
1 or more plain black dress tie
1 or more scarlet dress tie
2 or more formal dresses (optional, students will be allowed off campus to get new things)
1 or more pairs of black or scarlet shorts for spring and summer PE
1 or more pairs of black or grey sweatpants for winter and fall PE
         
BOOKS

All juniors should have a copy of the following:
Literature through the ages by Landa Colton
Falling into Chemistry by Elnora Bagley
Law and how to use it to your advantage
by Liam Helen
Trigonometry; A wonder with numbers
by Jacob Vogel
Spanish by Miguel Llenimo
A guide to the night sky by Kasa von Wilmer

OTHER EQUPIMENT

1 telescope
1 set glass chemistry set (vials, beakers, etc.)

Students may also bring a small pet. No more than 25 pounds and it must be toilet trained.

I skimmed over the list of rules before folding them back up and stuffing them into the envelope.
Beatrice pulled into the parking lot of expensive looking store and parked.
“Ready?” She asked again. I nodded and climbed out.

Shopping for my new supplies and uniforms wasn’t too terrible at least. The uniforms weren’t all that bad either. Beatrice told me how the school has five different houses; Lorcaut – their colors were purple and silver, Affinity – green and white, Kismet – scarlet and black, Malacye – amber and grey, and Saffron – whose colors were blue and gold, and how I was put into the Kismet house, that was why my list had told me that some of my clothes could be scarlet.
         When we got back home I packed all my things which took up about two large suitcases and shoved them under my bed, feeling slightly sick just looking at them. The rest of the week went by in a sort of blur, after that.
Beatrice and I spent as much time together as we could since we wouldn’t be seeing each other for the next ten months except for holiday breaks.

Finally the day came that Beatrice and I had to leave. We left around seven in the morning on August 31 – Beatrice booked a nine o'clock flight, and we arrived in England around two in the morning on September 1. The drive from the airport to Longcroft was a fairly long one, but it was worth it. England was beautiful. After about a five hour drive, we got there. The school was huge, almost castle-like and extremely tall. It sat on a large flat piece of land and a great lake sat no more than twenty yards to the left with a massive cluster of trees on the far side.
Beatrice parked in the school’s small parking lot and helped me take my things to my new dorm room. There were two other beds in the room but they looked empty which probably meant I was the first one to arrive.
Beatrice took me to the headmistress’ office so that she could talk to her.

“Ah, so you’re the mysterious Elizabeth Sinclair everyone’s been looking forward to meeting.” Laurence Bristow said, shaking my hand. I raised an eyebrow at the woman but decided not to ask what she meant.
“Beatrice, it’s nice to see you again.” She acknowledged Beatrice, letting go of my hand. Beatrice smiled and clasped hands with her.
“Same here Laurence I assure you.” The two friends chatted for awhile before Professor Bristow's phone rang.
         “Ah, most of the students have arrived.” Bristow said, after hanging up the phone.
         “Well, then I should go. It was very nice seeing you again. Elizabeth, I’ll see you on Christmas. Email and write.” I nodded and hugged her tightly.
         “I will.” I told her. She smiled before briskly exiting the room, leaving me alone with the Headmistress. I looked around her room awkwardly. It was a spacey room, a handsome dark stained wood desk sat in front of a giant window, a computer in the corner and pieces of paper littering the top. An empty fireplace sat on the wall to the left of the desk. The room was cozy, but slightly empty.
Bristow cleared her throat and smiled at me.
         “So, shall we go and meet your roommates?” She asked. I nodded and she led the way back to my room.

         When we got to the room we could hear chatter coming from inside. Bristow opened the door and instantly the voices quieted. Inside there were two girls who stood up quickly when they saw the headmistress. The taller of the two girls had longish dark brown hair, very pale skin, and blue eyes covered slightly by red rimmed glasses. The other girl had long blond hair, pale skin, and the most brilliant blue eyes I had ever seen. They both smiled at me, which I returned.
         “Girls I’d like you to meet Elizabeth Sinclair. Elizabeth, I’d like you to meet Jade Beckett and Addison Calamari. Ladies she will be your roommate so I’d like you to show her around, alright?” Both of the girls nodded and smiled again. Bristow nodded her head at them and smiled at me before leaving, shutting the door behind her.
         Jade sighed and plopped back down on her bed.
         “Finally, she’s gone.” She groaned, her voice strong with a British accent. Addison laughed and sat down on her bed. I looked at the two strangely before sitting down on my own bed.
         “Bristow is Jade’s aunt.” Addison explained to me, her own voice hinting a more French accent, but not enough the mess with her words. Jade cringed.
         “Unfortunately.” She muttered before rolling over onto her stomach facing us.
         “So, you’re Elizabeth Sinclair? Everyone’s been waiting for you to arrive.” This time I decided to figure this out.
         “Okay, one; don’t call me Elizabeth, it’s Ellie. And two; what are you talking about? Bristow said the exact same thing.” I told her. Addison giggled and Jade rolled her eyes.
         “Figures.” She said. I stared at her, waiting for her to answer my question.
         “Blair hardly ever gets new students that aren’t kindergarteners. Most of the students here have been here since they were five or six.” She told me.
         “Oh.” I said awkwardly. “So, people are probably going to be staring at me, aren’t they?” I asked. Addison laughed again.
         “Yeah, probably.” She said. I groaned. I hate when people stare at me. As if to mock me, Jade started staring at me, making me squirm a bit.
         “What?” I asked, unable to hold her gaze. She smiled.
         “Nothing, I’m just trying to see if the rumors are true.” I looked at her, raising my eyebrow.
         “What?” I asked again.
         “People have been talking about you. They think that you’re some kind of hideous creature.” Addison explained giggling again.
         “Well they’re obviously wrong.” Jade added. I laughed lightly.
         “Well thank god for that.” Jade and Addison stared at me.
         “What?” I seemed to be asking that question a lot.
         “You said His name in vain.” I rolled my eyes. Please tell me that they aren’t those Christians.
         “Sorry?” I asked. Then they both started laughing.
         “Thank god!” They both said at the same time. I stared at them curiously.          
“Our last roommate was an uber Christian. “ Jade said.
         “Oh.” I laughed. Good, they weren’t those Christians.
         “So what classes do you have?” Addison asked. I pulled my time table out of one of my bags on my bed and handed it to her.
         “Wow, you have a lot of AP classes.” She said, staring down at it. I nodded.
         “Beatrice taught me at those levels when she home schooled me.” I told her.
         “Well, you have Language, Law, and Chemistry with me.” She told me before tossing my table to Jade who glanced over it.
         “We have language, Chemistry, and Astronomy together.” She said before tossing it back to me. I sighed in relief; at least I would have a couple classes with people I knew.
         Jade looked at her watch.
         “Oh, breakfast should be starting soon. We’ll show you around after we get something to eat.” She said. Addison nodded. I followed them out of the room and down the stairs to the Kismet common room. Each house had a common room and dorms. The entry to the Kismet common room was on the fourth floor next to a portrait of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It also took up the entirety of the fifth floor.
         It was a warm and cozy room with a high ceiling and decorated with scarlet and black. A fire place sat directly in front of the entrance door and two large ceiling-to-floor windows sat on either side between two short staircases that
led to the boys and girl’s dorm rooms. There were two to three beds to a room and around twenty rooms in each dorm.
         A cozy looking couch and pair of chairs sat in front of the fire place and there were studying tables and desks scattered around.          
On the walls were scarlet and black Kismet banners and large paintings of important looking people.
         Students clad in normal jeans and shirts were greeting each other happily and chatting loudly as Jade, Addison and I walked past.
         “Since today is the first day and we aren’t actually doing anything, students are aloud to wear normal clothes. We have to start wearing our uniforms tomorrow.” Addison whispered as we left the common room and headed down the four flights of stairs.
         We walked down the last staircase and into the entrance hall. The hall had extremely high ceilings, which explained why the school was so tall. The floor was gold tiled and had a large red strip of rug leading from the front double doors to the enormous double doors that led to the Great Hall.
         The girls led the way through the large open doors.
         This room had to have been the biggest one I’d seen so far. At the far side was a long table with two large floor-to-ceiling windows behind it. To the left and right of us were four long tables – two on both sides – and one in the middle, probably one for each house. Food covered most of the table tops.
         There were a few students scattered around the tables here and there. Some in uniform, but most were not.
         Jade led us to the table closest to us on the left side.
         “This is the Kismet table, where we eat every meal. There,” Addison said, pointing to a table across from ours “is
the Lorcaut table. That one over there,” she pointed at the one in the middle “is the Affinity house table, and the two over there,” She pointed at the last two on the far right “are the Saffron and Malacye tables.” She finished.
         “And the one up there is the Professor’s” Jade added. I nodded as we sat down.
         “So there really is an Elizabeth Sinclair, I thought you were just a rumor.” We all looked up at the speaker. A tall girl with long blond hair and bright blue eyes in a purple and silver skirt uniform was smirking at us. I looked at Addison and Jade who held identical looks of disgust on their faces. I looked back to the girl.
         “Nope, not a rumor.” I told her lifting my hand up slightly before dropping back down on the table.
         “I’m Jessica. Want to sit with me and my friends?” She asked gesturing to her gaggle of giggling girls sitting behind her at the Lorcaut table. I glanced at the girls again.
         “No thanks.” I told her, smiling. Jessica narrowed her eyes at me.
         “Are you sure? I’m pretty sure we could go and talk to the headmistress and get you switched into Lorcaut so that we could spend more time together and become real good friends.” She said in a sickly sweet voice. I almost gagged.
         “No, I think I’m good right here.” I said wiggling a bit and getting more comfortable in my seat. Jade and Addison snorted. Jessica turned her glare towards them.
         “Pity this scum got to you first. But, you’ll realize that its better in Lorcaut and you’ll come crawling.” She said sticking her pointed nose into the air. I rolled my eyes.
         “Pity your head is stuck so far up your butt or you’d realize that your nose is brown.” I told her smirking. Her eyes widened then narrowed into a glare, obviously she wasn’t expecting someone to have a comeback. My smirk became more pronounced as she stalked away.
         “Oh my god. You are my hero!” Jade said, high-fiving me as Addison grinned at me. We chatted aimlessly while we ate our breakfast. They told me all about Jessica Monroe – Miss-bitch-of-the-year, Miss-lets-make- everyone’s-life-miserable, Miss-well you get the picture.
         After we finished eating, they showed me around the school. I knew the school would be big from how it looked on the outside, but this was way more that I expected. Blair had to be the biggest building in this area of the world. There were ten floors which doesn't seem like a lot – but when there were no elevators it felt like a lot. Outside there were four green houses connected to the horticulture room, that doubled as the herbs and medicine class that I was going to be taking.
         I also learned that the Malacye common room was located underground by the green houses, Affinity was in the east tower, Saffron was in the Saffron tower, and Lorcaut was located in the dungeons under the school. Each common room had a key that each student had.
         After Jade and Addison showed me around we had lunch and then went back to our room to hang out.
         "So, you were home schooled by your foster mom in the states?" Jade asked throwing some popcorn into her mouth. We were all sitting on my bed, a small TV playing an old British sitcom in the corner, eating popcorn.
         I nodded. "Yeah, she taught me for about five or six years, since she found me really." I told her chewing on a few kernels.
         "Who were you with before you met Beatrice?" Addison asked. I bit my cheek hard on accident out of shock and I yelped.
        "You don't have to say." She said quickly. I waved her off.
"Nah, it's cool. I actually don't remember anything from before I met Beatrice. She found me in the woods when I was ten or eleven, and I couldn't remember anything about myself, not even my own name. Beatrice was the one who named me Elizabeth." I told them. They were quiet for a second.
         "Woah that is so wicked." Jade said quietly.
         "That's almost like that American show, uh, that show with the guy with no belly button." Addison said excitedly. I laughed and shook my head.
         "Nope, no Kyle XY and I'm pretty sure I wasn't born in a tube." I said pulling up my shirt. "And see, I have a belly button." I said before pulling down my shirt.
         "Well, it was worth a shot." She pouted. Jade and I laughed.
         "So, leave a boyfriend behind?" Jade asked. I tilted my head.
         "That wasn't random." Jade smiled in response and I shook my head.
         "No boyfriend, I didn't even know anyone in the town I grew up in." I told her. Her jaw dropped.
         "A beauty like you didn't have a boy toy?" She asked. I rolled my eyes.
         "Nope."
         "You have been deprived." She said. I threw a piece of popcorn at her which she caught in her mouth.
         "Well, there are plenty of hot guys here." Addison said dreamily. I stared at her.
         "Don't mind her; she's all gaga about one of the boys here." Jade said. Addison chucked a pillow at her but missed.
         "I am not." Jade rolled her eyes.
         "Oh Derek, I love you so much!" Jade said overly dramatic and spread her arms wide.
         "Oh shut up!" Addison said chucking another pillow at her and this time hitting her in the head.
         "You'll have to show me this said hot guy named Derek." I told her.
         "Well, how about now? Its about time for dinner anyway." Jade said glancing at the clock on the wall. Addison and I shrugged. I turned off the movie and followed the girls down to dinner.
Jade and Addison talked aimlessly about boys as we ate. Addison was eager to show me Derek. I smiled at the thought of her being happy. Even after only knowing the two for such a short time – no more than a day – I still felt the closeness between us and I knew that we would all be friends for a very long time. It was like we were being pulled toward each other, it was hard seeing a future that they weren’t apart of.
         And then a new pull appeared.
         I couldn’t tell where it was coming from but I knew it was there – hell I could feel it there, yanking and pulling me. I was no longer listening to the two girls sitting across from me, but instead I was staring around the large room trying to find where the pull was coming from. I could see Jessica and her minions sitting at the Lorcaut table. Jessica smirked at me and showed her teeth slightly. I rolled my eyes at her and continued to look around the room.
         And then the large double doors opened.
         They had to be the most beautiful creatures – I wasn’t even sure they were human – I had ever seen. Two teenage boys sauntered their way through the room. Even across the room I could see every detail of them perfectly as if my eyes were zoning in on them and only them. The one on my left was tan skinned and blond. He had eyes like liquid emeralds and they were shiny, his hair was styled up in a faux hawk but it didn’t look like he had used any type of hair product, on the contrary, it looked soft and perfect.
         The one of the right was where the invisible pull was coming from. He looked like a surfer, but only paler. His dark brown hair was slightly long and brushed against his forehead and he had the most breathtaking blue eyes I had ever seen. The first thing that came to mind was the ocean, as cliché as that may sound, but then I noticed it wasn’t only the ocean I saw in his eyes, I could see flecks of ice blue like ice burgs floating in a beautiful blue ocean. It was his eyes that made me stare.
         I suddenly felt an electric shock as those eyes met mine and I couldn’t look away until I felt a sharp stab in my arm.
         Jade had jabbed me with her fork.
         “Ouch.” I yelped as my eyes tore away from his to stare wildly at Jade. “What was that for?” I asked narrowing my eyes slightly.
         “You weren’t listening to me at all.” She said her voice edged with annoyance.
         “Sorry.” I muttered as I stared at the boys again, but this time being more aware of my surroundings. They were both dressed in the same black slacks and silver dress shirts, but they both looked completely different in them. They sat down at the Lorcaut tables and Jessica instantly draped herself over Blondie.
         I felt sick to my stomach.
         “So you’ve noticed Sebastian Smith and Zakarie Knight.” Jade said. I looked from her to the guys and back again.
         “They’re beautiful.” I told them honestly.
         “Yeah they are and completely untouchable, though you seem to have caught the attention of one Mr. Zakarie Knight.” Addison laughed. So that was his name.
         “No, I don’t think so. He probably just felt me staring.” I told her before taking a bite of my roll. Addison shrugged.
         “Jessica is always all over Sebastian. I can’t really tell if he’s into her or he just doesn’t know how to tell her to go away. He’s never really intimate with her; she’s usually the one touching him. He just kind of sits there. Though don’t get me wrong, he’s a really nice guy and funny as hell. He’s almost always smiling and telling jokes, but he seems a little distant from people sometimes. He’s kind of complicated.” Jade told me before taking a drink of her water. “I guess that’s what makes him so interesting.” She added. I nodded.
         “Mystery is always more intriguing.” I told them. Jessica caught my attention as she, Sebastian, and Zakarie stood up and walked towards our table. I set my fork down on my table and stared at them.
         “Guys, they’re coming over.” I whispered. All at once Jade and Addison set their various utensils down and wiped their mouths.
         “Hey Elizabeth.” Jessica’s sickly sweet voice crooned. I cringed slightly. Jade and Addison turned slightly to look at them.
         “So have you met Sebastian and Zakarie?” She asked after receiving no recognition from us. I caught eyes with the dark haired boy again. And I felt my cheek felt warm.
         “No, I don’t think I have.” I told her looking back at her. She smiled widely.
         “Well, this is Sebastian,” She motioned at the blond one who looked deep in thought, but who nonetheless smiled friendly at me. I couldn’t help but smile back.
         “And this is Zakarie.” He showed no emotion but kept his blue eyes locked on me. I smiled nervously at him.
         “And guys, this is Elizabeth Sinclair.” She told them.
         “It’s Ellie and these are my friends Jade and Addison.” I added, not sure whether they already knew each other personally or not. Sebastian smiled at me again and then at the girls. Zakarie still remained motionless and then he suddenly spoke.
         “Zak is fine.” He said his voice slightly accented. He seemed to snap out of his trance and even smiled slightly.
         “Well now that introductions are over, we should be leaving. Sebastian and I have things to do.” Jessica said. I mentally gagged and I saw Zak roll his eyes.
         “I think I’ll stay here for a bit. You guys can go ahead.” Zak told the other two before walking around the table and sitting down next to me. I felt my heart beat faster.
         Jessica looked stunned for a second before shrugging and dragging Sebastian out of the great hall.
         “So, you’re the new toy on Jessica’s wish list?” Zak asked as he took a bite of my half-eaten roll. I laughed. Jade and Addison went back to eating.
         “Yeah, I guess. Is she really that fake?” I asked grabbing my roll back and taking a bite. His lip curved up into a slight smirk, and right away I knew I would love that look on him.
         “She’s like an annoying song. Sometimes you can bear it and sometimes you just want to rip your arms off to beat her across the head.” I couldn’t help but giggle.
         “You have very pretty eyes.” I told him as I turned to look him in the eye. He smiled and tilted his head.
         “And so do you.” He replied. I blinked my grey eyes at him.
         “But yours are blue and amazing.” I said. He laughed.
         “And yours are grey, what’s your point?” He asked. Jade snickered – I ignored her.
         “Where are you from?” I asked.
         “Manchester.” He replied. “You?” I took a chunk of pineapple off of my plate and bit into it before replying.
         “Washington State.” He smirked again.
         “Ah, so you really are American.” He laughed slightly. Our conversation was interrupted for a minute by the Headmistress telling us it was time to leave.
         “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked as we walked together out of the great hall. I knew Addison and Jade were trailing behind us because of their constant giggling.
         “Nothing too bad. For one, you don’t have a European accent and for two, you slouch like an American.” I furrowed my eyebrows and looked around; he was right, everyone here had their backs straight and proper. I instantly tried to straighten out mine which made Zak laugh.
         “It’s cute, don’t worry.” He said smiling at me before reaching up and running a hand through my hair. I wrinkled my nose.
         “Slouching is not cute.” I told him. He laughed softly.
         “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said the smirk I loved playing on his lips before he walked through the doors towards the Lorcaut common room.
         “Oh holy crap.” I jumped slightly and nearly fell down the stairs was walking up as I heard Jade’s voice behind me. I turned and saw her and Addison racing up the stairs to reach me.
         “You guys were so cute.” I felt my cheeks warm up slightly.
         “What are you talking about?” I asked nonchalantly as I turned back around and walked up the rest of the first flight of stairs, the girls following behind.
         “You two were so flirting.” Addison informed me. I rolled my eyes.
         “No we weren’t. We were just having a conversation.” I argued.
         “So you really are American.” Addison said in a baby voice.
         “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jade asked in the same voice, batting her eyelashes. I rolled my eyes.
         “It’s cute, don’t worry.” Addison replied in a fake deep voice and they burst into giggles as we walked up to the fourth floor.
         “Shut up guys.” I laughed my cheeks feeling like they were on fire. I pulled my key out as we reached the common room and unlocked the door.
         “You should definitely feel special. I have seen Zakarie Knight flirt, but I have never seen him actually enjoy flirting. You could totally tell that he actually likes you Ellie.” Jade said as we walked through the common room and up the stairs to the dorms.
         Once we got into our room we all changed into our sleeping clothes. I stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes after settling into bed.
         “Do you really think he might like me?” I asked.
         “Definitely.” Both girls replied simultaneously. I smiled slightly before rolling over onto my side and closed my eyes.