Beneath Perfection
1640 etc.
The night was dark. Pitch black. The streets were empty and the pieces of rotten food, withering trees and fallen leaves rustled in the gentle wind. All was peaceful. A lone figure moved about the steel bins; almost as if he were a homeless, scourging the bins for left over scraps carelessly thrown out by the rich and the not so rich. His dim shadow, lit by only one flickering street light moved rapidly with him; each movement swift and fast but could not be described as brash running. Instead, each movement was graceful, causing the black coat trailing behind to dance in the air; never touching the ground. The figure continued to move, a breath taking action as his movement danced from one side to another. If you had not been paying attention, it would seem that he had not moved at all. He approached a deep cave constructed of concrete; the smell of the sewer did not bother him. As the gate swung open, his shadow grew stronger; even without turning he knew. The dark street became luminous, practically glowing from the fire lit sticks behind him. He let a yowl of neither horror nor anger and fled, faster than a bat. Yelping in Latin, the creature danced just as gracefully down the streets, leaving the yells and cries of more than two dozen men behind him. The wind grew stronger; the whistling sound wrapped around him and the hunger took over. The sound of dozens of pounding feet grew softer and finally faded. The silence of the street interrupted only by one pair of feet moving much faster than the others. As the figure swiftly turned, his coat swung from one side to another, wisping around his face before falling slowly to his side and revelling his face. Thin and pale yet dark from lack of food and sleep; astonishingly beautiful. His eyes burned charcoal black and wild with emotions; he paused for a fraction of a second, then leapt forward, falling on the leader. His teeth sank in and the sound of pounding feet caught up to him. Without a thought, he grabbed onto whoever he could while they did the same. Within seconds, he was free. The ones who had been spared ran off with their lives as fast as they could, leaving the unlucky ones, bleeding in the street; their bodies left to rot. He hesitated, picked up one for dinner and rushed with the wind into the darkness of the night.
Back in the dark alley where the silence was restored; a man crawled slowly into a small space, a cellar and hid. Biting his lip to keep from screaming as the pain washed over him. The night light flickered on and off before eventually giving way, the street was once again eloped in darkness. In turn, darkness gave into light and the sunrise signalled a new beginning.
DIAMONDS ARE A GIRLS BEST FRIEND
It was definitely not just me. Not me. Not me. Not me. NOT ME!
Shit, yeah I wasn't supposed to say that out loud. Great… now everyone was looking at me. Most were smirking earnestly, hoping that they would get a chance to see one of us fall from grace. Then they were the others ones; us. Those of us were staring at me.
"Uh, Chey, you ok?" Kiki sung cheerfully, pushing a perfect strand of glossy hair behind her hair.
"Sure, I'm ok," I replied, my voice went up about an octave with each word and the on looking tables snickered a little too loud. Kale shot them one single look through narrowed eyes and they immediately turned away quietly. I coughed loudly.
"I'm fine." I tried to keep my voice even and I guess it kind of worked because most of us turned back to their conversations. Only Kale, Cruz, Pearl and André were still staring at me. I stared back as innocently as I could. Then my gaze fell on Karm who was staring back intently. I quickly looked away and forced myself to concentrate on anything that would get rid of the pure horror on my face. Well that was one task I failed miserably at. Kale came and touched my arm lightly; automatically I got up with her, she took one arm and Pearl hooked her arm through the other; together we walked to class together. The classroom was empty when we walked in and I took my seat along side Kale and Pearl; both who swerved around in their chairs so they were all facing inwards; facing me. I gulped, knowing that I couldn't avoid them any longer.
"All right Chey," began Kale, always the straight forward one. "What's going on? You looked as white as a ghost."
"Yeah, and what was with the whole 'not me' thing?" Pearl asked, making small quotation marks in the air with her perfectly manicured nails.
"Ok, look it's just this strange feeling I got." I started but stopped suddenly as three girls walked in. All three were clad in what you may call 'casual' but the fact that they had spent hours putting together the outfit and primping was obvious. The Three cities. London, Paris and Chicago walked straight towards us with smirks on their not so pretty faces, foundation cracking around their lips and foreheads. I looked up coolly.
"May we help you?"
Paris stared back just as coolly but just as she was about to say something Chicago raised one hand swiftly to stop her.
"Just wanted to stop by and tell you how much I enjoyed your little performance; you are quite the attention seeker, Chey."
"Glad you enjoyed it, Chicago. Better than the slutty act you usually put on." I smiled innocently.
"Why you little…"
Chicago stepped forward, her eyes blazing with furry. I clenched, not sure what I was preparing for. It's not like she would hit me or anything.
"Problem ladies?"
A voice filled with more ice than an ice dispenser came from behind the Three Cities. I sighed and immediately unclenched, as did Pearl and Kale. Chicago, Paris and London turned around to reluctantly face Karm.
"Oh, hey Karm." Chicago's face turned up in a very huge, very fake smile; her voice bitter sweet.
"Didn't see you there. Wow, is that a new sweater, it looks great."
"Aw, thanks Chicago," replied Karm in the exact same tone and Chicago beamed shamelessly. "Is that a new hat? It's great; it hides your hideous hairline perfectly." Chicago's face fell dramatically before narrowing her eyes into small slits.
"Well you know what they say," London said, stepping forward. "Karma's a bitch."
At this stage, most of the class had drifted in and were watching the exchange with interest. Karm rolled her eyes.
"Mhmm… so original. Tell mummy to buy in a dictionary instead of last season's Prada three sizes too small."
The Three Cities sulked off angrily and Karm sat down in front of me, turning her chair to face me.
"God Karm, bitch much?" Pearl glanced swiftly in the general direction of Chicago and her posse.
"Whatever, she had it coming." Karm replied boredly as Cruz sauntered in casually and slung an arm around Kale.
"Nice fighting. Yeah ain't it all about 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend'?"
I looked around quietly at Karma, Pearl and Kale as class started. It was true, they were the Diamonds; we were the Diamonds and Diamonds are a girl's best friend.
Ok, well there weren't only four diamonds. There were others, a lot. Well maybe not that many, in fact it was quite exclusive. Yeah, I know, it sounds like a group of rich and beautiful girls forming their little cliché and an all exclusive club but that's not what the Diamonds are. Despite the name, we're not that rich and we're not that kind of group. Basically we're just a group of girls who go to the same school and sure it's pretty posh but whatever, anyways, they decided that the school needed some order; social order that is. The job has been passed down generation after generation and now it's our job. Diamonds are exactly what the name suggests, we're special and glamorous. You don't have to be rich or beautiful (although it helps…), you just have to have something special that will make people listen to you and follow your orders. I guess with morals like these to follow, it's hard not to sometimes accidently let your bitchy side take over. The truth is that bitchiness makes people afraid of you, it's the essence of power and it's what makes you a leader. Ironic isn't it? This quality is probably the reason why Karm is our leader, she's not afraid to be a bitch. I've only known her for two years and I definitely know why people are afraid of her. The less said the better; just stay on her good side and you'll be fine, more than fine. Karm's real name is Karma. How weird is that? Kind of suits her though, some say that the saying that Chicago used earlier, 'Karma's a bitch' was devised for Karm herself. I don't believe in that because those who know her know that she's not all bitch, just half. Ok maybe more than half.
The other Diamonds all have their special aspects which makes them a Diamond. Kale, whose real name is Kalinin is not rich but she sings like an angel, she's also very straight forward and isn't afraid of saying exactly what she wants. She's kind of the level head of the group. Very calm and hippy like. Pearl is very rich, very glamorous and she has all the right connections but that's not why she's a Diamond. The thing about Pearl is that she's kind of the mini Karm. Like if Karm was sick or something, Pearl would take over for her. Seriously, when Karm and Pearl first met I could literally hear Karm thinking 'should I kill her or befriend her?' I'm glad she went with friendship. And me? Well, I'm rich and I have the connections but the reason I'm a Diamond is (or so they keep telling me) because I'm so nice and smart. Honestly, I'm not that nice, just nicer than the others and I'm only 'smart' because I actually try. The others are all important too; they all have talents or qualities that are very helpful. The most important thing to me though, is that despite our reputation, we stick together. The past Diamonds are still all very close friends and that was the only thing that persuaded me to become a Diamond. Because truth is, Diamonds last forever.
MEET THE BOYS
I was on my way home when Pearl, Karm, Kiki and Kale came from all sides.
"Hey gorgeous, what's going on?" Kiki greeted me cheerfully and carefully at the same time. She was a new Diamond and was very hesitant when talking to us, the rest of the Diamonds somewhat used this to their advantage but I knew what it felt like.
"Hey Kiki, I'm good, how are you?" I replied while mentally planning my get away.
"I'm great!" She replied chirpily, flashing me a mega watt smile.
"So Chey, where are you heading?" Kale asked even though she knew perfectly I was going home.
"Just going home." There was no way I could escape now because from behind Karm I could see Cruz, André, James and two new guys behind them, nearing us fast. I sighed inwardly. Meet the boys. There was no, like, social ladder or something at our school; basically if you were a guy, hot, played sport… wait no, scratch that. It didn't matter if you didn't play sport (but it helped; it also helped if you were rich… duh) you just had to have a good bod which I guess goes under the heading of 'hot'. Also, if you were going out with a Diamond, you were golden. However, like the Diamonds there was a guy 'frat' as they liked to call it; and you thought guys didn't care about social aspects as much as girls… tut tut. They don't have a name like Diamonds because that would be gay but there is a group of guys who are pretty much the alpha males. Mentally, I like to refer to them as the A.M. Yeah I know, it's weird but it just happens. Cruz is probably the beta; he's going out with Kale which works because they're both so mellow. The other more quiet leader (the alpha alpha) is James, he's not that big on sports but is a great actor and even models (yeah you can imagine the shit he gets from guys but all the girls love him so they have to accept him. Besides, he's a nice guy). James is gorgeous and probably one of the few guys around here who is perfect. However, he's untouchable because ever since his face first graced the big screen, Karm has claimed him as hers and you don't want to mess with that. They fight constantly but always end up back together; personally, I have no idea how he does it. Still, weird as it is, that is one relationship I don't wanna see crumble. James is the only thing keeping Karm reigned in. André on the other hand is one of the smartest guys you'll ever meet, he's nice for the most part but lately he's been the most depressed guy you'll ever meet. This is on account of the fact that Ivy, not a diamond but I guess a 'precious stone' recently dumped him. She did it because he proposed. Uhm, yeah no jokes. At the age of 17, André thought that he had seen enough and was ready to throw everything away and settle down with his 16 year old girlfriend whom he had been going out with for a very short 3 months. Even worse, he still doesn't understand why she dumped him, he thinks it's because he didn't get a big enough ring. Hello… the bling on that ring was the size of an eye. Fine, so he's probably not the smartest guy you've ever met. In some aspects anyway. Since he's single, André has been hot meat. Girls swooped on him like vultures but as usual, the dude was too depressed to see anything.
Enough about those boys though, what I wanted to know was; who were those two new guys? It was pretty obvious every other girl was thinking the same thing, I could almost hear Kiki's mind screaming the question 'single??' Can't blame her, I was thinking the same thing. Karm was oblivious to the whole thing though since she had her back turned to them and her eyes burning my face with her questioning glare. Or so I thought she was oblivious. I really should know better.
"Hey boys, who's the newbies?" she called out just as they were right behind her. I rolled my eyes in spite of myself; typical Karm. Her eyes never left mine and yet somehow she had just known the boys were approaching. Ok, so they weren't as silent as mice but still! Cruz grabbed Kale from behind and spun her around, kissing her on her Snow White lips before letting her back down.
"Sup babe."
Karm threw a disgusted look at them just as James reached her side. He followed Kale's gaze and his face grew wary.
"Oh my god, OTT on the PDA!" She complained, watching Kale and Cruz play tongue hockey.
"I think you mean over the top with the msn language," James kissed her softly on the lips. I thought they were being a bit hypocritical considering their many displays of public affection when they first started going out. James straightened up and seemed to notice André and the two new guys standing there awkwardly. Well, André was going all teary again. I really felt like shaking him and telling him to get over it.
"Hey Kiki, hey Chey, hey Kale, hey Pearl; how's life?" James asked, yanking Cruz by the collar to disconnect him from Kale's face. I think it was a silent agreement amongst the guys to lay off the kissing in front of André.
"Fine…" we all echoed.
"Aw man, get a grip!" Cruz suddenly exploded, startling us all. He was glaring at André who was now… sniffling?
"What happened now?" Kale asked, exasperated. This was going no where. Pearl threw André and Cruz a murderous glance and turned brightly to the two strangers.
"Introduce us to your friends," she managed to make her suggestion sound like a threat. See? Exactly like Karm.
"This is Darcy and Edward," André muttered hopelessly, feebly lifting a hand and gesturing. This time even I groaned. What was with this guy? He made their names sound like the news report of a dead puppy. No, make that a puppy with no legs that had just lost it's mother. Plus, which one was which?
"I'm Darcy," one said laughing, "this is Edward."
There was a chorus of hellos, while Karm did the honours.
"I'm Karm, this is Kale, Kiki, Pearl" she gestured at each of us in turn then she paused significantly as she turned to me. "And this is the lovely Chey." I felt the red blush creep in. What was that for?
"Hi." I mumbled.
"So where are you from?" Karm asked cheerfully, ignoring my glare. The conversation swirled around me while I just stood there. I glanced at each of the boys in turn. Darcy was, from what I could tell, normal; athletic build, tan, light brown hair, deep chocolate eyes and a killer smile. I could see Kiki listening intently to his words. There was something about Edward though and I couldn't quite place it. His skin was very pale and his features very strong and sharp. He had hair that was almost black but the thing that caught me was his eyes. They were very light but somehow had flickers of what I could only describe as gold; they were piercing eyes and I felt that he could see through everyone. The black circles under his eyes seemed to indicate that he had not slept, well, ever, but we all know that's impossible; he was probably just tired. Needless to say, Edward was the most handsome thing I'd ever seen and I could see Pearl silently claiming him. Suddenly, he turned to me and I felt the full force of his eyes on me and I gasped. His gaze held mine for what seemed like forever; his face flickered with a dozen emotions, curiosity, wonder, amazement. If I hadn't have been under the effect of his paralysing eyes, I may have thought more of this rollercoaster ride of emotions that just happened. In the end he settled for curiosity and smiled cautiously at me.
"Hey, Chey right?"
I could only nod. His voice was like velvet; smooth and soft. The words seem to flow gracefully out of his mouth. How does that even happen?
"I saw you today, with a lot of other people like you… I mean new." I stuttered helplessly. Karm was staring at me, one perfectly shaped eyebrow raised. I took a deep breath like she'd taught me.
"I meant to say, I saw you today with a lot of other people who seemed to be new." I smiled uncertainly. Woo! A whole sentence. Edward smiled back.
"Yes, that was my family. We moved here together."
"Oh, is Darcy your brother?" I asked, puzzled; they looked nothing a like.
Edward laughed and it sounded like music.
"No, Darcy is just a friend," he replied. "A very close friend; our fathers were transferred together."
"Ah…" I nodded, that made sense.
"Besides," he said, the corners of his lip turning upwards, "we look nothing a like."
!!!!!!!!!!
See, that's what I said! We were so made for each other.
"So, uhm, where are you living?" I asked, grasping the words out of thin air.
"Oh just down George St, on the corner, the white one."
Wow.
"I know which one you mean, it's huge."
Edward laughed again.
"Well it was the only estate that was big enough to fit us all."
"There's one right next to my house that's smaller, well it's still big but you know."
"Oh I know. Darcy and his family snagged that one before we could."
Suddenly Darcy was next to Edward.
"Hey, guess we're neighbours!" he said enthusiastically though I'm not sure why.
"Yeah, I guess so." I replied, smiling as sincerely as I could. Then I had a light bulb.
"Hey, let's walk back together now." I said, glancing around to make sure no one heard me.
"Sure," replied Darcy. I turned to the rest of the group.
"Bye guys, Darcy and I are gonna walk home, see you tomorrow."
I turned to make a quick get away.
"No so fast, Chey," Karm called out.
DAMN!
I turned reluctantly.
"You have an appointment at my house at 7 tonight, be there." She said, narrowing her eyes. I pouted my lips; awww…
"But I have homework," I argued pathetically. Kiki scoffed.
"As if."
I sighed, realising I had no way out.
"Fine." I turned quickly on my heels and stalked off before I could promise anything else.
"Uhh Chey?" A voice called out from behind. I whirled around.
"What?" I shouted a little too loudly. The boys looked startled while the girls smirked knowingly.
"Aren't you gonna wait for Darcy?" James asked teasingly. I look around automatically; Darcy was deep in conversation with Edward. Both look utterly confused. Darcy looked at me in amusement then turned away from Edward.
"Sorry Chey. Just had to confirm something with Edward." He walked towards me.
"That's ok," I replied.
"Bye guys," I called out as Darcy and I headed home.
Over the chorus of goodbyes, I heard Karm's voice loud and clear.
"Be there at 7 Chey!"
That was a threat for sure.
