He would have been fine going to the public school, but for some weird reason his aunt insisted on him going to this school.
It doesn't matter what high school you're going to or where it is. There are always the same cliques, was the conclusion Bradin had come to.
It was his first day at Playa Linda Prep and he was sitting in the cafeteria. All the cliques were sitting at different tables.
There was the Upper Crust (the popular people) sit at the long tables by the windows, the best spot in the cafeteria. They're surrounded on all sides by the hangers-on, the popular juniors who will sit at the Upper Crust table when they rule the school as seniors.
Jocks sit front and center, flanked by Groupies, mostly the jocks girlfriends or their wannabe girlfriends.
Dregs are way in the back by the emergency exit, so they can sneak out and get high.
IQ's sit up front and close to the doors so they can make it to their next class on time.
The foreign students sit in the corner near the wending machines.
There are a few other groups that aren't important enough to even mention.
People would do anything to be a part of the Upper Crust.
Bradin was observing them from a quiet place in the corner, somewhere between the hangers-on and the IQ's, not a bad place for a new student.
There were three girls and two guys that seemed to be the main Upper Crust group and then there were a few other people near them.
There were two girls, one with blond hair and the other with brown that he recognized from his English class. He could still remember their slightly ditsy conversation, which consisted mostly of their plans for the weekend.
He knew that their names were Brooke and Natalie, but he wasn't sure which one was which.
One of the guys sitting with them was in his math class. He had curly hair that was dirty blond.
The bell rang and Bradin quickly stood up, hoping to beat the rush out of the cafeteria.
He wandered down the hall and finally found his locker.
Right 13...Left 47...Right 20... and thankfully it opened on the first try.
He was pleased with himself for finding his French class before the second bell went and made him late.
The second he entered the class he was painfully aware that the third girl from the Upper Crust was sitting in one of the desk in the second row.
She was truly beautiful. Her long blond hair lightly caressed her bare shoulders. Her turquoise shirt was tight in all the right places, excentuating her curves and her piercing green eyes. She was wearing a pleated white skirt that showed off her tanned and toned thighs.
Bradin tried to keep his cool as he walked past her, just as he had almost made it he lost his hold on his binder and his pencil case fell out. His pencils and pens made a clattering noise as they all hit the floor and scattered everywhere.
"Damn it!" he cursed.
"Uh...that sucks" the girl said "Let me help you," she added as she climbed out of her seat and helped him to collect everything.
"Thanks" Bradin said.
"No problem" she replied "I'm Cassie, by the way" she added.
"Bradin"
"Bonjour" an eccentric women exclaimed as she came into the room. The French teacher.
"Je m'appele Madame Provencal" she said.
She didn't get a reply, only a bunch of confused faces to which she translated.
"My name is Mrs. Provencal," she said.
The rest of the class when by quickly for Bradin, he wasn't paying any attention at all to what the teacher was saying. He was way too distracted by Cassie who was siting in front of him.
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That night Bradin was walking along the beach in front of his house.
"Fuck!" he heard someone cried from behind him and he turned around to see a girl wearing a fancy party gown.
She was bent over trying to take off her shoe because the heel just broke off it. When she stood up again Bradin realized that it was Cassie from school.
At that moment it started to pour down rain.
"Just my luck" she sighed.
"Can I help you?" Bradin asked as he squinted to keep the rain out of his eyes.
Cassie was startled to see him at first, but then she relaxed when she realized who it was.
"You're...Bradin from my French class" she said.
"Yea" Bradin replied.
"What are you doing out here? In that dress?" Bradin asked.
"I was at one of these charity events and I thought it was nice enough to walk home, but then my heel broke and..." she lifted her arms indicating the rain "Well I think you know the rest" she said.
They were both dripping wet by then. Bradin wasn't surprised that Cassie even looked amazing when she was soaking wet.
"Do you want to come in and dry off?" Bradin suggested.
"That would be great" Cassie replied.
Bradin lead Cassie up to the house and into his room.
"Here" Bradin said as he handed her one of his t-shirts and a pair of sweat pants.
"It might not be the most fashionable..." he started to say, but Cassie cut him off.
"It's perfect," she said as she took the clothes from him.
"You can change in the bathroom in the next room on your right" Bradin said, "They're towels in there too," he added.
"Thanks" Cassie said as she headed to the bathroom.
Bradin closed the door behind her and quickly got changed out of his wet clothes while she was gone.
Cassie came back a few minutes later. She had pulled the string of the sweat pants as tight as she could to keep them from falling off her slender hips.
The t-shirt didn't quite meet the sweat pants and there was a small gap of skin showing. Her hair was tossed into a messy ponytail with a few strands falling out.
"I bet you look good in nothing" Bradin slapped his hand over his mouth when he realized what he had said.
"I-I mean I bet you look good in everything" he corrected.
Cassie blushed and mumbled something incoherent.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make things weird," Bradin said.
"Don't worry about it" Cassie replied.
"So, what do you want to do until the rain stops?" Bradin asked.
"We could just talk" Cassie suggested.
"Okay" Bradin replied.
"So where are you from originally?" Cassie asked.
"Kansas"
"Really? That's cool," Cassie said.
"Have you always lived here?" Bradin asked.
"Yea" Cassie replied.
"Do you miss your friends back in Kansas?" Cassie asked.
"Some of them. Others I can live without" Bradin replied.
"I know what you mean. There are a few of my friends that I couldn't live without and others that I probably wouldn't even notice it they weren't there" Cassie said.
Bradin nodded in agreement.
"Do you keep in touch?" Cassie asked.
"No, not really. I'm not much of a writer" Bradin replied.
"Guys suck at keeping in touch. Do you not have a girlfriend that's calling you and emailing you?" Cassie asked.
"No" Bradin replied.
"Is that no you don't have a girlfriend or no she's just not calling you?" Cassie questioned.
"No, I don't have a girlfriend" Bradin replied.
"Interesting" Cassie said and then changed the subject before he could answer.
"Was Madame Provencal not a total nut case" Cassie laughed.
" Yea, I couldn't believe it when she pulled out her guitar and made us sing that French song" Bradin agreed.
"It'll definitely going to be an interesting class," Cassie said.
"Definitely" Bradin agreed.
"Hey look, it stopped raining" Cassie said as she when over to the window.
"I should probably be going then," Cassie said.
"Okay"
"Can I give you these clothes back alter?" Cassie questioned.
"Yea, that's fine" Bradin replied.
"Thanks" Cassie said as she grabbed her still wet dress and left.
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PLEASE REVIEW!
Do you think that Bradin should become a member of the Upper Crust? Or should Cassie be forced to chose between Bradin and her popular friends?
Summerlander