A/N) Written during a spurt of sudden inspiration when I suddenly got lots of ideas for Texi scenes and this seemed the most adorable. Hope you enjoy!
'Write about a character who has bleached blonde hair. Use the words syrup and Tahoe in the scene.'
"See that girl over there?"
Reluctantly Tom follows Quinn's gaze, alighting on a tall girl leaning against the wall, her eyes focusing down on the book resting in her hands. She's pretty, with blue eyes and long blond hair falling to just below her shoulders.
"See her?" Quinn demands.
"I see her. What about her?" Tom asks lazily. It's a hot day, and the bustling cafeteria is sweltering. Katie and Benny just went to get some ice lollies from the counter in order to cool down a little. Tom is looking forward to the cool moisture of an ice lolly dissolving on his tongue.
"She's new," Quinn says wisely, as if this information is key to some larger scheme that Tom is unaware of.
"Er... yes," Tom agrees. "She's new. So what?"
"So what!?" his friend asks incredulously, as if scorning his lack of knowledge in this obscure area. "So what!? That's Lexi Nekross! She's renound!"
"Renound for what?" Tom asks with a yawn.
"She just is," Quinn replies with a frown. "I think it's that family of hers."
"The Nekross family?" Tom asks.
"Yeah. That family's really messed up. For one, there's her dad, who you never see because he never comes out of the house. They're super rich as well, they're like royalty. They live in that mansion the other side of town."
"The one that's been empty for years?" Tom asks, raising an eyebrow. "I don't remember anyone ever having lived there."
"That's the one. They just moved here a few weeks ago, and they're rich enough to buy that mansion." Quinn whistles. "However they got their money, it's obviously got them in a good place in society."
"What was it you were saying about her family?" Tom enquires.
Quinn smiles, obviously happy to have found a keen audience for his favourite subject. "Well there's her dad, who's apparently really strict but you never see him. Then there's Varg Nekross, her older brother, and her younger cousin, Jathro Nekross. Apparently he lives there too." He pulls a face. "No one likes Jathro. He's so smarmy and posh, obviously thinks he's the bees knees because he lives in a rich mansion. He's in the year below us."
"Lexi doesn't seem like that, though," Tom says softly, looking at her subtly. She's intent in reading her book, brow furrowed in a look of concentration that actually looks quite cute. She doesn't look rich, or a show-off, or a heartbreaker. She just looks normal - and almost kind of lonely.
"That's what makes her so mysterious," Quinn tells him quietly. "No one knows what she's like. People say she's sweet as syrup, though. Innocent as a lamb. Even friendly. But I can make a pretty good guess at what she's really like."
"She is pretty, isn't she?" Tom says dreamily, only picking up on one word from the sentence and giving up on listening to Quinn's conspiracy theories about the family.
"You wouldn't be the first to think that," Quinn warns. "So many guys have fallen for her, but she's practically a wall of hidden emotions. Impossible to get through to. No guy ever succeeds in getting her heart. Apparently her brother's really protective of her too."
"Maybe that's why she doesn't date," Tom offered.
Quinn didn't look too sure. "Maybe. But I reckon she just enjoys breaking those hearts. She's such a tahoe." (This is the first time I've come across this word, so please tell me if I haven't got the meaning right!)
"It's not as if she's pretty, either. I don't see what anyone would really see in her. Plus that blonde hair is so obviously bleached," Quinn continues cuttingly.
"It doesn't look bleached to me," Tom argues, unsure why he's defending her. He doesn't even know her.
Quinn raises an eyebrow and sighs melodramatically. "Not you too. I'm warning you, don't fall for the Lexi Nekross charms. It won't end well."
"But I don't see why people don't like her!" Tom argues, forgetting to keep his voice down for a moment.
"She's just ... different. Mysterious. Scary."
"Didn't know you were so superstitious, Quinnster," Benny jokes, who has just come back to their table, loaded with ice lollies, which he hands out generously. "Who's so scary, now?"
"Lexi Nekross," Quinn says with ice in his voice.
Benny looks confused, and Katie shrugs at Tom. "She's the new girl, right?"
Before Quinn can launch off into his charade again, Tom feels a light tap on his shoulder, and a soft voice behind him. "Excuse me?"
Tom senses who it is at Quinn's intake of breath and turns around to see Lexi Nekross. She's smiling nervously. She doesn't look scary, or snobby, or unfriendly. She just looks a little alone. And her voice, when she speaks, is a little hesitant and almost apologetic. "Sorry, but can you tell me where you got those?" She gestures to the ice lolly in Tom's hand. "It's really hot, and I could just do with one of those."
"Yeah, of course. It's just over there," Tom directs her. "They're selling them up at the canteen counter."
"Thank you," she says genuinely. "I'm new, you see, and this seems a pretty big school."
"Not as big as your mansion, surely," Quinn hisses under his breath, and Katie elbows him sharply. "Quinn!"
Luckily Lexi doesn't seem to have heard. Tom quickly smiles at her. "I'm sure you'll get used to it soon enough. I can give you the grand tour, if you like?"
The girl nods hopefully. "That would be great, thanks. I'm Lexi, by the way."
"I'm Tom," Tom greets her. "Nice to meet you."
Lexi smiles shyly. "You too." Then she moves away, her light blue bag swinging from her shoulder as she heads towards the canteen counter.
Quinn shudders. "See what I mean? Sweet as syrup on the outside, but in there, somewhere..." He doesn't finish his sentence, but trails off mysteriously.
Tom's gaze is still resting on the girl walking away from their table. "I don't know. I kind of like her."
"She doesn't seem any different to any other new girl," Katie comments, with a dark look at Quinn. "You didn't have to be so mean to her."
"I've heard the rumours," Quinn protests, but even he doesn't sound so sure of himself any more.
Benny is just unwrapping his second ice lolly. "Tom obviously likes her," he comments casually.
Tom casts a glance over to where she's waiting in line at the counter, looking a little lost. "You know, maybe I do. I think I'll go help her out over there, make her feel welcome."
"Don't blame me if she turns out to be a scary snobby person!" Quinn calls, but the warning is lost on his friend, who is already halfway across the canteen, heading for the new girl with blond hair and warm blue eyes.
She doesn't seem so bad after all.