Doing this fanfic over because the first time was horrible. Hopefully this time will be better, but please do leave your comments on it :) They're all apprceiated. This is also set in some fake time between the books; it's just one of those random "What if" thoughts you get and I just wrote mine into a story. Hope you like it xx
The whole ninth grade was in the gym St. Bartleby's. It had slightly scuffed wood flooring and some windows high above the padded walls. I was sitting on the top bleacher towards the corner to maintain a distance from the ruckus of the rest of the grade.
I did not know why my parents insisted on me coming back to St. Bartleby's. I asked Holly about it but she told me that my parents wanted to keep me busy and out of trouble. Perhaps that was the idea. Maybe they just wanted me to have some kind of normal teenage human communication.
"Settle down, everyone," said the headmaster. The chattering and talking of the teenagers on the bleachers slowly died down and ceased. "I have an announcement to make."
He was a different one from the one that headed the school a few years ago. He seemed more strict and bland, but was a bit looser with rule-breaking than he let on. He was wearing his usual suit, but with a green and blue (the school colors) striped tie which was unusually bright and school spirited for him. He cleared his throat and continued with his announcement.
"This year, for the Spring Festival, we are going to have a Victorian themed ball." A whoop of excitement went through the crowd of teenagers. This must be much better than what they had last year for them to be this excited for such an old-style ball.
"You are all going to learn the dances of that era, which will include the Waltz." Now, the crowd groaned. I hid a smirk. Perhaps not much better than last year.
The headmaster frowned slightly and continued, "There will also be etiquette classes." Whilst he said this, he looked pointedly at an especially raucous group of boys on the bottom bleachers. Despite St. Bartleby's being a very exclusive school, about 69.3% of the student body were very loud and disorderly, though the pranks they pulled off were very different from those performed at other schools.
I remember once, the last time I studied at this dreadful school, a callow boy made a sort of pigmenting concoction that he mixed into the teacher's coffee. It turned the teacher's skin dark blue and his hair turned a violent shade of pink. To say the least he was furious and quit the very next day they found an antidote.
The headmaster adjusted his tie and continued, "Another requirement is that you will all have to learn how to sew and make your own era costumes. Young ladies must make and wear dresses and young men must make a suit."
The reaction to this part of the announcement varied from many different emotions. Some people cheered and others moaned. Most were unusually quiet. One very colorful girl in the front row squeaked, "Yes!" and threw her hands in the air. Unfortunately for her (but rather entertaining for the rest of the student population) she had managed to knock off her glasses in her excitement. She dropped to the floor and groped around for her glasses before finding them and arranging the spectacles on her face. She plopped down on the bench and ostentatiously crossed her legs, as if to pretend the situation had not happened.
The headmaster, pinching the bridge of his nose, and a good number of the kids in the bleachers stared at this whole hullabaloo while it happened. The girl looked around the crowd, saw everyone was watching her, and plastered a huge smile on her face which was turning bright red.
A few of the kids started to laugh but a glare from the headmaster quieted them. He flipped through the papers he was holding and said, "I will now announce the partners. If you learn everything correctly and efficiently and, of course, behave, you might be able to pick new partners. If not, you're stuck with whomever you're assigned. After I finish, you and your partner will walk over to the ballroom to start your dancing lessons. Alek and Deyn. Siva and Nareesha. Artemis and Stellarina Louisa." He continued to name off the partners.
I made my way carefully down the bleachers and walked towards the door. There the flamboyant girl that had caused the commotion was waiting. Up close I could see just how gaudy she was. Her scarlet hair was extremely curly and her pale skin was freckled. Her eyes were bright emerald green. The rest of her uniform was accented in a wild mix of blue and green.
"Hi, I'm Louisa," she said with a slightly annoyed expression.
Taking in her irritated appearance, I assumed she was annoyed at the headmaster announcing her full first name instead of her nickname and voiced as much not without a bit of sarcasm.
She scowled at me and muttered to herself. "Why me? Of course I'm going to get the asshole as my partner." Then she marched outside to the ballroom without waiting for me.
"Well this going to be fun," I muttered as I followed her out to the ballroom.
Outside the air was fresh and clean. Louisa set out at a very fast pace, almost as if to get away from me. I almost had to run across one of the courtyards that separate the buildings to keep her within eyesight. The school had been renovated completely and I still have not learned my way around it. I almost stepped in more than a few mud puddles from the earlier rain following Louisa. She disappeared into a large stained-glass building I assumed was the ballroom.
The inside of the ballroom was as large and grand as the outside. The floor was made of shiny, patterned wood and seemed to stretch for miles on end though it was probably only a few hundred feet long. Sunlight streamed in through the stained-glass window leaving bright patches of gleaming colors on the glossy floor.
"Hurry up Artemis! They're about to start." Louis called impatiently from the middle of the hall close by the group of teenagers waiting and chattering
I frowned and kept walking at my normal pace. When I reached the spot where Louisa was waiting, she gave a sharp sigh and rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.
All the kids had arrived, so the instructor began to explain how to do our first dance: The Waltz. Lucy and I stood towards the back of the crowd, waiting for the instructor to finish. Finally, the instructor was done explaining how to do the Waltz and sent us off to try and dance.
Louisa silently walked over to a spot in the middle of the hall in the sunlight of one of the windows. The music started played and the wonderful instrumental music filled the hall.
Louisa clapped her hands together. "So… How 'bout I act as if you've stepped on my toes and go to the nurse for the rest of class. Then you can just sit here for the rest of class," she said brightly and with a huge fake smile.
I let myself smirk just a bit and said sarcastically, "Am I just that charming?"
Louisa's smile became more forced and she said through slightly clenched teeth, "Oh, you're hilarious." She punched my arm to what may seem to other people playfully, but was actually enough to cause a bruise that will probably be on my arm for weeks to come. I didn't let the pain show on my face, but Louisa smirked as if she knew how awful my arm was hurting.
"Hey, you two! Quit flirting and dance!" the dance instructor shouted from across the hall.
We started dancing as far apart as possible. I just barely heard Louisa grumble, "Mindless idiot," as we started to dance. If the insult was directed to the teacher or to me, I do not know.
We danced awkwardly and silently for a small amount of time before I said a bit angrily, "Do try to keep your feet off mine; I just had these shoes polished."
As I should have known she would do, Louisa purposely stepped on my foot so hard I winced. "Oh, these classes are going to be so fun."
So thoughts? It's a bit of an out there idea but I was never one to be normal. Bonus points if you got the Leviathan and The Wanted hints haha ;)
