Chapter One—Boy Meets Girl
"And what's your name again?" Principal O'Brien asks as he looks at me with his light green eyes and thinning red hair.
"An—Andrew, sir. Andrew Steele, but I prefer Andy," I tell him in the deepest voice I can muster.
Principal O'Brien looks up me for a moment and then down at the paperwork in his hands.
"Well, I must say this is very unusual, and Rieslings Academy doesn't usually accept students without their paperwork and a parent or guardian present." He pauses and looks at me. "But considering this peculiar situation and the fact that my assistant has seemed to irresponsibly misplace your application, I'll make this one exception."
I lean forward and release the breath I had been holding since I sat in front of his desk. I wait expectantly as leans back in his chair and his mouth slowly stretches into a smile.
"Welcome to Rieslings Academy, Mr. Steele," Principal O'Brien says, standing up and holding out his hand.
I stand too, taking his hand in mine and giving it what I hope is a firm shake. "Thank you, sir," I say.
He nods his head and takes his seat again. "Mrs. Kelly in Student Services will supply your schedule and room number. Classes start Monday. I expect great things from you, Mr. Steele."
I pick up my book bag and suitcase, throwing the strap of my book bag over my shoulder while the handle of my suitcase is gripped tightly in my hand. Giving him a sharp nod of my head, I say, "I won't let you down, sir."
He gives me a small smile, dismissing me and I leave his office in a rush, anxious to get away from him as if I stay in his presence too long he'll realize I'm a Miss instead of a Mister. In my haste to get away from the principal's office as if I'd done something wrong, I don't pay attention to where I'm walking and smash right into a hard body in front of me.
I fall back straight on my ass with a thud, and since my book bag wasn't zipped up all the way a few of my notebooks and folders splatter across the floor.
"Ow," I whine, my backside throbbing with my unexpected fall.
"Oh, are you okay?" A large hand comes into my line of sight. "That was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was walking."
I take the strangers hand, letting him assist me to my feet and when I look up at him to speak, my words die in my mouth. My eyes meet dark grayish-blue ones with dark eyelashes making his eyes glow brighter. My eyes roam the rest of his face and I can't help but admire his high cheekbones, full lips and reddish-brown floppy hair. Holy Batman and Robin. He's gorgeous, so gorgeous in fact that I realize I've been too busy staring at him instead of getting to Students Services.
"S-sorry," I stutter.
He looks at me with a frown, his eyes scrutinizing me. I almost face palm myself when I realize I'm supposed to be a guy. Duh, Ana. Jeez he's just a boy, get over yourself. It's not like he'll want your cross-dressing self!
Shaking myself out of my deranged thoughts, I clear my throat and attempt to deepen my voice and salvage the reputation I haven't even built up yet.
"I mean, uh, sorry, bro. I didn't see you, uh, coming, and you know. Yeah."
He looks at me like I'm crazy and I feel like a complete idiot. "Right," he mutters slowly. "So here's your stuff." He pushes my notebooks and folders into my arms. "Gotta go."
He stalks off in the direction he was headed without a second glance back. I hang my head and groan, feeling like I've just made a complete fool in front of the hottest guy I've ever seen. Shaking my head, I stand up straight, and with a heavy sigh make my way to Student Services to get my class and room info.
After leaving Student Services and the lovely Mrs. Kelly, I head over to the dormitory's and search for my room. Entering a long hallway, I look at the numbers beside each door painted a dark blue and look back down at my paper.
"129. 130. 131. 132. And 133."
I take a deep breath as I put my hand on the door handle and slip the key inside the lock. This room will basically be my home for the next nine and a half months and I'm a little nervous. I don't know if I'm more nervous about what to expect behind the thick wooden doors or who my roommate is going to be.
Closing my eyes and taking another deep breath, I pull out my key after hearing it unlock and slowly turn the handle. Pushing it open, I feel myself being lured into a lemon smelling dimly-lit room. When I open my eyes the first thing I see is the large window across from the door, the view showing nothing but the Washington wilderness.
A movement to the left of me catches my eye and my gaze shifts over, and for the second time today I feel like a complete idiot. There sitting on a full sized bed are three guys, one of those said guys the one I ran into earlier.
For a moment I just stare at them not knowing really what to do, and then I muster courage from somewhere deep, deep inside me and step further inside the room, closing the door behind me.
"Uh, hey," I say in my dude voice.
All of them stare at me for a moment, and then a blond hair guy with the darkest green eyes I've ever seen speaks up first.
"You must be Christian's new roommate," he says with a smile, and for some reason the way his lips are curling up put me on edge. "I'm Ethan Kavanagh. This is Colten Dawson." He points to the other boy with black hair and dark blue eyes. "And this," he says gesturing to Christian, I assume, "is your roommate, Christian Grey."
I nod at them. "Andrew Steele," I tell them, walking closer to the bed that seems to be unoccupied and dropping my bags onto them. "But I prefer Andy."
"So, Andy," Ethan begins, "Where ya from?"
"Uh, Nevada," I answer, turning towards them. I look at Ethan but my eyes seem to naturally draw toward Christian's.
I catch Colten looking at me up and down, an unpleased frown on his face. "You look kinda pale to be from Nevada," he rudely comments.
I try to keep down my urge to give him a dirty look. "Well it's not like it was always sunny or I spent all my time outside," I remark.
He rolls his eyes. "Whatever."
What an ass.
"Have you gotten your schedule already?" Ethan asks me.
I look at him and nod my head, holding the piece of paper in my hand. He leans over and pulls the white paper from my grasp and unfolds it. I watch as his eyes scan over it.
"Oh, you have first and fourth period with us." He glances over at Christian and Colten, a look I don't comprehend passing between them. He looks back down at my schedule. "Hmm, it looks like they made a mistake here. Mrs. Owen's class isn't in Jackson Hall anymore. Yeah, they changed it last minute. Health class will now be in Lincoln Hall, room 212. Right, guys?"
He looks over at his friends and both of them nod their heads in agreement. Ethan hands me back my schedule and I look down at my fourth period class where it says in black in white Health and Wellness Jackson Hall Room 102. I look back up at the boys staring expectantly at me as I decide whether or not to believe them. My eyes pass over all of theirs, and while I don't really trust Colten or the weird way Ethan keeps smiling at me, I can't really think of a logical reason as to why they'd be lying to me.
So shrugging my shoulders, I nod my head and mutter, "Okay." Taking out my pen from my book bag, I put a line through the previous class room number and building and write down the correct one. When I look back up at the guys, Ethan and Colten are grinning at me almost snidely while Christian is just passively staring at me.
Before I can say anything Ethan and Colten stand up and walk towards the door.
"Well, I think we should let you two settle in, dontcha think, Colten?" Ethan looks at Colten with expectant eyes. Colten nods his head enthusiastically. "We'll see you later, Christian. Nice meeting you, Andy."
And with that. Both Ethan and Colten leave the room, closing the door behind them and leaving me alone with Christian. Since I'm not sure what to really say to him at the moment, I turn my back on him and begin unpacking my things.
"That dresser over there is yours."
I turn around and look towards the dark wood dresser Christian is pointing to. I take a quick glance at him only to find him looking at me, then turning away quickly.
"Um, okay, thanks," I mutter.
"Yeah," he answers gruffly. "And that door leads to the bathroom."
I look towards the open door that leads to the dark small room. "Cool," I say.
"And just so we're clear, I don't like sharing things. So if you keep to your side, I'll keep to mine and we won't have any problems."
I turn around to look at him, only to find him half way through the door, closing it roughly behind him. I frown. What the hell is his problem?
Shaking my head and not even trying to bother contemplating why my roommate seems to have a disinterest in me when he doesn't know me, I finish unpacking my things and get my stuff organized. I'm glad that I have a night stand with deep drawers where I can hide my toiletries. I would keep them in the bathroom, but I'd rather not have my male roommate find them and ask me, a person who's supposed to be a guy, why I have tampons.
How awkward would that be?
After putting all my things away and getting my school supplies organized I fall on top the plush full bed and just take a moment to relax. The next time I open my eyes I look at the clock and see that it's already past five in the evening. I shoot up in bed. Did I really sleep for four hours? I just closed my eyes for one minute!
Rubbing my eyes I slide out of bed and walk to the bathroom, my body feeling languid from sleep. I put my hand on the door handle, and just as I'm turning the knob I feel the door being pulled open, and I surge forward with it, losing my footing with the unexpected movement.
I fall forward, landing on something hard, but not as hard as I would have expected the floor to be. When I open my eyes, I find myself staring straight into the most beautiful blue-gray eyes I've ever seen. I feel my mouth fall open as steam bellows around us and my short hair begins to stick to my forehead.
"Dude, what the fuck? Get off me!" Christian yells at me.
I look down and realize I'm straddling him, my thighs encasing his hips and my arms on either side of his well-toned chest.
"I—I—I'm so sorry!" I squeak, and then cringe when I realize it was too girly.
I inwardly groan and scramble to get away from him. When we're both standing I make an effort to explain that it wasn't my intention to purposely fall on top him.
"You—I—the door—then we—on top of you," I inarticulately blabber as my face burns hot with a fire engine red blush of embarrassment.
"Just stay away from me, okay?" he says, his voice low while he gives me a weird look.
I watch as he walks towards his dresser, a white towel around his waist. And in an effort to not embarrass myself anymore I rush into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. I push my back up against the door and slide down to the floor my head in my hands.
Taking a deep breath, my nostrils fill with his masculine body wash and the remnants of the steam from the hot water. With my eyes closed, I lean my head against the hard door and shake my head.
"Well I'm definitely getting off to a good start," I mutter sarcastically to myself.
With a loud sigh and an eye roll directed at myself, I stand and strip, hoping that a hot shower will wash away the embarrassment and stress of the day. I can't really afford to screw up and have the threat of being sent home hanging over my head. I will never go back to that place if I have anything to do with it.
This story is based off the movie She's the Man but with my own twist. I've had this story line going through my head distracting me for a couple weeks, so I'm finally deciding to post.
If you don't like the story, take advantage of your God-given right to think and stop reading it. It makes absolutely no sense to continue reading a story that you don't like.
Review if you want. I don't mind respectful criticism, but if you disrespect me I'll have no problem putting you in your place. This is a bully-free zone, so if all of you respect me then I'll respect you.
SS&G xoxo