Julia was dead bored.
Sighing in frustration, she glared at the Mathematics Matters textbook on her desk, which was flipped open to Chapter 10: Trigonometry. Oh, the joys of Mathematics. She bit her lips as she twisted a stray strand of her two-toned brown hair around her fingers. The Maths teacher, Doctor B, was droning on and on about how to prove that two triangles were congruent, and her brain jammed as she struggled to comprehend it. She could slowly feel herself falling into a stupor.
Julia was a highflier- she was superior at everything she did, easily acing all her subjects with little to no effort put into them. She shone at Language Arts, she breezed through Chemistry and Biology, and she was a natural talent at sports. Maths was her only obstacle. It was this cursed subject which confounded her. She could never understand the logic behind all those complicated formulas, and was forever getting mixed up between those confusing large numbers and blasted decimal points. It was definitely not one of her most favourite subjects.
Getting restless, Julia started repetitively drumming her fingers against the fine mahogany table, making soft tapping noises. Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.It became a steady rhythm. Two tables diagonally down, Emily whipped her head around, an annoyed expression on her face.
"Would you cut it out? I'm trying to concentrate here!" the bespectacled girl hissed.
Julia rolled her eyes. Who the hell actually bothered paying attention to such mundane Math lessons? back in her chair, she proceeded to examine her nails. They were French-manicured- in two shades of vibrant and baby blue- and she smiled complacently at them.
"Class, I have a piece of very, very good news for you!" Doctor B hopped up and down excitedly, a maniacal gleam in his eye. Upon hearing those words, the class let out a collective groan. Julia ripped her eyes off her perfectly manicured nails and sighed heavily. This scenario had been played out in class countless times before, and without doubt, the so-called 'good news' would either turn out to be an upcoming pop quiz, a graded assignment, or yet more homework. Drum roll, please.
"Guess what, people…" Doctor B paused for dramatic effect, clearly relishing every moment of the class' agony. "You will be having a pop quiz next lesson. And not just a pop quiz, but a graded pop quiz!" he finished, apparently satisfied with this announcement.
Oh God. Someone shoot me. Julia wrinkled her nose. Everyone moaned wearily. Yet one more test which would require hours of revision- another toll to their already stressed-out systems.
"What the hell! He's pulling my leg! We already have an upcoming Shakespeare Rhetorical Analysis Test coming up, and he already gave us a 20-page algebra revision worksheet to boot!" At the opposite end of the classroom, Tyson was clutching big chunks of his messy dark blue hair (probably a result from napping during lessons) and ranting loudly to no one in particular.
It was at this moment that the sound of the school bell resonated through the air, signifying freedom. It was music to her ears, and Julia could not have loved that sweet, sweet sound more. There was a flurry of movement as everyone scrambled to gather their belongings. Julia slammed her textbook close and stuffed it into her brand new, limited edition Prada bag. Gracefully slinging it over her shoulders, she bounced out of her seat and sashayed out of the classroom, her long, glossy hair rippling down her back.
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Next period's History and Geography, huh. Boooring. Hmm, but there's a free period before that… guess I'll stop by my locker and unload my math books. I swear they weigh a bomb. Julia pursed her lips thoughtfully as she strutted down the lavishly decorated hallway.
The magnificent hallway was furnished with ornate lamps, with intricately-patterned fabric draped along the walls. The velvet, deep blue curtains were half-drawn such that they partially obscured the incoming light, casting the corridor into a dim, warm orange glow. It also boasted a 30-inch plasma television, which displayed upcoming events. She could vaguely make out the words "Basketball Match against Kuroshiroi High at 3pm, in the Indoor Sports Hall" and "Indulge yourself in our new, sinful creation- the irresistible Chocolate Brownie Fondue" flashing across the screen. The entire mansion-styled school exuded a feeling of grandeur. This was, of course, expected, judging from the fact that Beypierre Academy was the most prestigious school in the country. A place in this school was highly coveted and sought after, with many talented individuals and all those from families of high status fighting for a spot among the limited few available. It was indeed a school for the elite. Julia herself was no exception. She hailed from the noble and influential Fernandez family, and was undoubtedly gifted.
Reaching the end of the hallway, she turned a corner and sauntered into the Emerald Corridor, where her locker was situated. The Emerald Corridor was lined with seemingly infinite rows of oak-made lockers. Hers was located at the far end of the corridor, which could be such a drag to get to. It was pretty crowded, with many people milling around. Some were shuffling along to their next class, whereas the majority were lounging near the locker areas in their own separate cliques. Three lockers down from Julia, a group of really pretty girls decked out in the latest trends of the season were clustered together. Ooh, the Drama Club. Go Figure.
"Hey, Julia! Love your skirt." The girl in the centre- the one with creamy skin the colour of coffee and caramel- flashed Julia a winning smile.
"Yeah. It's cute." A girl with hair in a vibrant shade of red whom Julia vaguely recognized as Salima nodded in agreement.
"Hi, Julia!"
"You and the rest of the cheerleaders were fantastic during last Monday's game!"
"Are those boots the latest limited-edition Vivienne Westwood boots? I heard that they are near impossible to get!"
However, Julia merely brushed off their compliments, indifferent to the mass attention that she was receiving. After all, she was used to it. Julia was gorgeous, with flowing chestnut hair, dark cocoa eyelashes and startling green eyes. She was head of the cheerleading team and one of the most popular girls at Beypierre. She was the centre of admiration- the object of envy- of all the girls. The guys, on the other hand, could hardly tear their eyes off her.
I love my life. Everything's picture perfect. A confident smile formed on her lips as a warm feeling engulfed her. With a cool flick of her hair, she strode up to her locker, swiftly dropped off her Math books, and made her way out of the corridor.
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Another typical day at school. Nothing out of the ordinary. School's okay, I guess,with subjects ranging from mildly interesting to those that I actually like and enjoy. Hilary let out a sigh of relief as she scurried out of the Science classroom amongst the flow of eagerly exiting students. With the school year entering its 3rd term, the Physics courses were slowly entering more advanced levels, becoming increasing challenging and difficult. Luckily, she had gotten a head start from diligently reading up on extra info during her free time. That had really been a great help in enabling her to keep on top of things. Physics could probably be categorized under 'mildly interesting' then. It was a pretty tedious and dry subject, but still, the diagrams and its relation and application to real life kind of fascinated her.
"Hey Hilary. Today's lesson on Vector addition wasn't that bad, was it? I could understand most of the stuff that was going on." The warm, friendly voice of Ray Kon sounded from behind her.
"Yeah, it was alright." Hilary replied as Ray caught up with her.
"It was funny when Gary had trouble drawing straight lines with his ruler. A ruler! It kept turning out all squiggly. Did you see his face? He ended up snapping it in half in frustration. That big brute!" he laughed good-naturedly, a smile tugging at his lips at the thought of his lovable yet hopelessly clumsy friend.
Hilary laughed. That was something that she would expect out of Gary.
"By the way, later after last period do you wanna meet up with the rest of the gang? We're gonna head over to the Café to get a bite." she asked cheerfully.
"Nah, I have something on. Maybe next time."
A mischievous grin crept on Hilary's face.
"Meeting Mariah again, I presume. You two love birds don't seem to get enough of each other!" The brunette smiled slyly at Ray.
Mariah was the President of the Drama Club and also Ray's childhood sweetheart, the two of them having just officially gotten together recently. The news had spread through the school like wildfire, and now, it was common knowledge that the two of them were an item. Ray brushed off Hilary's teasing, keeping his composure, but nevertheless looked slightly flustered.
"Not this time. We're having our first basketball match of the season. And our very first match with Kai as our newly selected captain." Ray stated solemnly.
"Uh huh…" Hilary's heart skipped a beat at the sound of the name that she revered. Ray, however, was completely oblivious to her reaction. He had spotted a familiar blonde head amongst the sea of people milling by the lockers.
"Max! Over here!"
Max Tate was walking aimlessly down the corridor, completely absorbed in the music blasting from his MP3 headphones. Vaguely hearing someone calling him, he turned around distractedly. His face lit up at the sight of his friends. "Hey guys!" he called out, elbowing his way over to them. Max peered at the two of them. Someone was missing, and it was unusually quiet without that someone's frequent loud outbursts.
"Where's Tyson?"
"Now that I come to think of it, Tyson messaged me earlier saying that he's stuck in Maths class and won't be joining us. Something about getting a three for his recent Maths quiz, and Doctor B insisting that he stay back for remedial lessons." Ray shrugged, shaking his head hopelessly.
"A three? He got a three? But that quiz was over two hundred!" Hilary shrieked in disbelief. She knew that Tyson was dumb, but surely not that dumb.
"Well, that's Tyson for you!" Max laughed. Ray joined in the laughter, clearly amused by the aghast look on Hilary's face.
Just then, there was a ripple through in the flow of the hallway movement, and the three of them turned their heads around. The cheerful smile on Ray's face evaporated instantaneously. "Kai" he muttered distastefully. Sure enough, the dark-haired bluenette and his group were strutting down the hallway. Hilary's heart gave a lurch as she caught a glimpse of the smooth, arrogant face of Kai Hiwatari. Hilary had a crush on Kai. Half the female population at Beypierre did. With deep, crimson eyes and flawless pristine skin, it wasn't hard to imagine why all the girls worshipped the ground that he walked on. Unfortunately, she knew that underneath it all, he was a conceited and self-absorbed jerk.
Kai coolly swept a glance across the room. His pale, dark eyes narrowed as they landed on Ray, Max and Hilary. The atmosphere tensed as Kai and Ray glared daggers at each other.
"Still moping over me beating you for captaincy of the basketball team, Ray?" Kai sneered, a smirk twisting his handsome features. Ray scowled.
"I play just as well as you do. You only got made captain 'cause your grandfather Voltaire is part of the school's board of governors and you pulled some strings."
"Don't be such a sore loser, Ray. You just can't accept the fact that you got thrashed. Tell me, how does it feel being second best?" Tala interjected tauntingly. After Kai, Tala held the most power and authority within the group, which he wielded and abused without any qualms. He took pleasure in insulting and tormenting those whom he deemed were inferior to him. That meant to say almost everyone. Tala had flaming red hair and porcelain skin and, like Kai, had no shortage of female admirers. The other two members that completed the group were Bryan and Mariam, who stood by Kai haughtily, flanking his sides.
Bryan was the coldness member of the group, with an aura surrounding him that made one feel uneasy in his presence. He was cold and aloof, preferring to watch on wordlessly from the sidelines. But when he did join in, he could be ruthless and was not afraid to resort to violence, often beating up his victims into a bloody pulp. One did not, repeat, DID NOT, want to provoke him. Unless, of course, they had a death wish.
Mariam was the sole female member of Kai's gang. She was stunning, with ocean blue hair tied up in a high, sleek ponytail. Mariam was lethal and vicious by nature, with a great tendency to use sarcasm. Right now, she was eying Ray and company like a cat eying its prey, waiting for a moment of weakness in which she would pounce. Max noticed that she had beautiful, emerald eyes. They were mesmerizing. The type that one could easily get lost in… Unforgettable.
"Hark who's talking." Ray replied drily. Tala made a threatening move forward, his icy blue eyes glittering dangerously. Kai cast him a warning look, which immediately quelled him.
By then, many onlookers had gathered, curious to see what the commotion was about, and were all following the exchange intently.
"Say what you want, but it's time that you three got a reality check. We're superior to you. Period." Kai stated, a note of cold triumph in his voice, as he took a few step in their direction.
Hilary's stomach swooped. Kai was in such close proximity! He's so cute, and he's right in front of me… She could feel her heart pulsating rapidly. With a jolt, she snapped out of her daze a second too late to find that she had been staring at Kai for way too long. However, realization had come too slow, and Kai, sensing someone's gaze on him, had already turned to face her.
"Got a problem?" he asked coldly. Hilary's cheeks singed.
"I…I… erm… no, actually…" she stuttered as she nervously scuffed her sneakers (boring, white Mary Janes) on the floor. What am I gonna do… I can feel his eyes boring into me…
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'Oh crap, I left some History & Geog stuff behind. Totally slipped my mind.' Julia cursed mentally, stopping in her tracks. "Whatever, I'll just have to go back get it" She hastily pivoted around and quickened her pace.
As soon as she passed though the two towering marble columns marking the entrance of the corridor, she paused in confusion. The air felt different- more tense and unnerving. The usual buzz which filled the hallway had been replaced with a still silence. Scanning the room calmly, her vision traveled to the source. Kai Hiwatari and his group of friends were smirking jeeringly at what appeared to be some of Tyson's friends- the blonde-haired one whose mom was the boss of the highly successful phone company TelefonoNero- Max, was it? A girl with boring brown hair whom she did not recognize, and the nerdy, four-eyed kid that always tagged along with them. And then Ray Kon, the only so-called 'popular' guy in their group and Kai's evenly-matched rival. There was clearly some conflict going on between the two parties, who were glaring at each other with immense dislike.
Oh God. Don't they understand the meaning of 'peace'?
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Sensing the arrival of someone, Kai looked up distractedly. His expression slowly changed when he caught sight of the person at the entrance.
Relief whooshed over Hilary as she felt Kai turning his attention away from her. She was spared from the relentless insults. However, deep inside, she felt a tinge of disappointment. Heaving a sigh, she turned around. A frown crossed her face as her eyes landed on a confident, drop-dead gorgeous girl with flowing deep brown hair.
Julia.
AN: Yayy that was my first ever fanfic . pls pls comment yeah? ur opinions and any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated! ^^ after all, they are what motivates a writer and helps them grow :D Haha i really wanna start writing the exciting parts of the story- I've got some ideas in my head!- but i can't yet... T.T anyway this chapter hasn't really entered the main plot yet... it's kind of shaping up the basic settings and introducing some of the characters. xD Hope you enjoyed this chappie :3
Special thanks to Nirianne, whose AWESONE fics were the inspriration to me penning my first fic