A/N: Seriously? Seriously you guys? To say that I had expected such a strong response to the first chapter would be a laugh! But to say I'm not appreciative of it would be a laugh as well! I'm so glad so many of you took the time to review, you really know how to make a girl feel special!
I hadn't planned on posting the 2nd chapter just yet, because I want to keep my advance so that even if I slow down in my writing I can post a chapter every week anyway! But since I'm currently writing chp 7 and since you guys have been THIS amazing... well posting chp 2 can't hurt, can it? :)
I forgot to mention last A/N that this might be a bit of a slow burn. For realistic sake's it has to.
Last note: While Myrtle and I were discussing the title options of this story, she suggested "School of Hard Cocks" but then figured it might fit better if this was a porno! Seriously, if anyone wants to make a porno spin off of this story once it's done, you'll have to call it School of Hard Cocks.
I've rambled enough. Here's chapter 2!
.
.
Chapter 2:
.
.
By the time the dreaded Monday came along, Naomi believed she had been a complete and utter tit to even think for a second she could pull it off. As she stood on the sidewalk facing the familiar front entrance of Roundview, the blonde truly questioned her sanity. No, seriously, her mother had most likely drugged her when she'd convinced her she could do this assignment.
Over the weekend, Naomi had done everything to get ready. She had gone to see the College's Principal, the only one who would know about her real identity, to get everything she needed like her schedule and the number of her locker and had been surprised to see Doug. Fucking hell, he was still there? The man had been there when Naomi had first gone, but he hadn't been Principal. Back then he was already an exuberant man and Naomi could only fear what he had actually made of the school now that he was in charge of it. Anyhow, he had been delighted to see that the "secret journalist" that would be attending their school was an ex-Roundview student. After a painful meeting, Naomi had walked out of there feeling a bit shell shocked and needing a chat with her best mate, James Cook.
Naomi had met James Cook in Roundview College and if you'd have told her back then that he would be the closest friend she'd have in 10 years she would have laughed in your face. The thing was that James Cook, who preferred to be called Cook by anyone but her, was a very loud and outlandish person. With his untidy sandy blond hair and his crooked grin, Cook looked every inch of the trouble he really was. If Naomi was usually tidy and reserved, Cook was a bloody mess and loved to cause a scene.
It was almost comical that the two were friends really because they seemed to be complete opposites. But against all odds, they had developed a friendship that was every bit as true and sincere as all real friendships and that was that.
"Cook!" Naomi yelled as she entered the cheap tanning salon Cook worked at.
At the sound of her voice, the boy lifted his head from his desk and grinned wildly.
"Hey hey! Naomio" He greeted. "Ain't that a sight for sore eyes, babes! You look well mint today."
The blonde smirked despite herself, before rolling her eyes.
"Fuck off wanker."
"What brings you mate?" Cook asked, not bothering with the insult.
Instantly, Naomi lost her smile and her friend looked worried then.
"Here" he said motioning her over behind his reception desk.
Slowly, Naomi made her way beside her friend and leaned her arse on the wooden surface.
"So what's up Naomio man? You've got the mother lode of frowns."
"I got a special assignment at the Paper" she sighed.
"And that's bad because?"
"I'm going back to College Cook… Like actually going back to Roundview as a fake student" she explained.
The boy stared at her seriously for about 30 seconds before bursting out laughing.
"It's not fucking funny!" She snapped, but that did nothing to stop her friend's laughter.
As it was, Cook was so amused by this news that he was having a hard time breathing. He clutched at his chest with both his arms and swung himself in his chair letting the laughter ripple through his body.
"That's fookin' priceless that is!" He stated.
"It's not funny Cook! Jesus! What am I supposed to do?"
"Run for President maybe? Reckon I could give you a tip or two" the boy teased.
As it turned out, when they had both been in the last year of their A-Levels, Naomi had tried running for school President only to discover that School Politics was not her thing. Not only had she lost horribly, but she had lost to Cook who had entered just to prove to her that no one cared about Student Affairs. The whole ordeal was usually something Naomi tried to forget as she wasn't too keen on remembering the public humiliation she had suffered at the hands of her now friend.
"Go fuck yourself!" Naomi said, getting up from the desk, her face red with embarrassment.
Cook quickly grabbed her arm though and guided her back to her previous spot.
"Don't take it like that Blondie! I'm just messin' wiv ya."
"I don't need that" Naomi said still angry.
"Sorry mate. This upsettin' you a lot then?" Cook asked getting a bit more serious.
Naomi sighed heavily and closed her eyes running a hand through her hair.
"It's just… College wasn't like… a good time… you know?" she tried lamely to explain.
Cook nodded earnestly then. If there was one thing he couldn't deny it was the fact that College hadn't been Naomi Campbell's best years. And if her sudden lack of vocabulary was anything to go by, and, really, Cook knew it was, then the prospect of going back was worrying his friend more than he had first thought.
"That was 10 years ago Naoms, won't be the same, will it? Won't be the same kids" he tried to reassure her.
"I know, but… I haven't changed and if I have… well not that much. And now I have to go and make friends and write a stupid piece with lots of feelings or I'll lose my position at the paper and I just… I don't think I can do it James…" She said her voice heavy with emotion.
The man got up from his chair then and hugged his friend to his chest. The blonde didn't even try to fight him off and just clutched at his shirt, sniffling loudly. Even if he didn't mind it when she did, Naomi only rarely called him by his first name and when she did, Cook knew it meant that she needed him the most. So he kept her firmly in his arms and didn't say a word. He rocked her just a tiny bit. Not enough to make her feel like a child but just so she knew he was there and he cared.
"You know that's bollocks love. You can do anythin'" he muttered in her ear after kissing her temple.
Naomi sniffled one last time before pulling herself out of Cook's arms. When she did, she swiftly brushed off a tear from the corner of her eye and her friend pretended he hadn't noticed. That was just how things were between the two, they never put each other on the spot, always respected the other above anything else. Cook knew Naomi would be upset and embarrassed if he commented on her tears, so he didn't.
The blonde settled herself again on the edge of the desk while Cook sat back down in his chair.
"You'll help me though right? If like… If I'm not getting it… You could tell me what to do couldn't you? You were popular in College" Naomi said shyly.
"Sure I could. If ya want me to, I'll help ya" her friend confirmed.
"Thanks" she replied a small smile crawling back on her lips.
Cook just nodded and Naomi brought her attention to a stray piece of paper on his desk. It had a few things scribbled on it, but what caught her attention was the drawing of a girl in the top corner. Drawing was putting it lightly though. What she was seeing was actually a tiny piece of art. The sketch had been drawn with what seemed to be a regular lead pencil and what amazed Naomi more than anything was how vibrantly alive the woman looked. Somehow, Cook had been able to sketch the expression on her face, the seriousness of her brow, the light blush on her cheeks and the sincerity in her eyes. Her clothes were old and patched and her hair looked tangled and dirty, but there was a beauty to her, a candidness that was perfectly reflected on that dull piece of paper.
Naomi grabbed the drawing before Cook could take it out of her reach and she stared at it in awe. She heard her friend groan beside her.
"Jesus Cook!" she hissed. "This is bloody brilliant."
"This ol' piece of paper? Nann mate, it's nothin'" he brushed off.
"It's not nothing! It's beautiful is what it is, how do you even do that? It looks like a photograph" She argued waving the paper in her friend's face.
Cook grabbed the piece of paper before crumpling it and tossing it at the other side of the salon.
"It's just a doodle Blondie, no need to get your knickers all wet over it. Although if I had known you ate up that sort of shit, I would have defo used that to get into your pants in College" he finished with a laugh.
Naomi shook her head though. She wasn't fooled by her friend's antics. If there was one thing James Cook didn't like, it was to value himself.
"I just hope one day you'll realize you've actually got potential" she said.
"Ya ya, now, didn't you want some tips or somat?"
"Yeah"
"Well let's get on with it."
And with that any kind of serious conversation about Cook's talent for Arts had been shoved aside. Naomi had ended up staying with her friend for a while though and he had given her a few good bits of advice. Okay so maybe he hadn't told her anything that spectacular and had basically just told her to smile and not frown so much, but any piece of advice was welcomed. Anyhow, when she had left Cook's work that day she had felt positively better about her assignment.
Now that she was faced with the actual task of beginning it though, she didn't feel quite so confident. She probably stared at the entrance a tad bit too long because, by the time Naomi figured she had to get a move on if she didn't want to be late, the other students were looking at her strangely.
"Fucking fantastic" she thought bitterly.
She hadn't even had her first class and already people were looking at her like some kind of alien. Her article would surely write itself if things continued that way, she mentally noted.
At least she didn't have to find her way into the school and that did make Naomi feel a little less gloomy. Also, if she was honest, she was pretty sure she had done a pretty good job with making herself look like a seventeen year-old. During the weekend, she had also gone to her mother's house to fetch some old threads she knew she still owned. She had been a bit disappointed to see there wasn't much, but she still had managed to find an old pair of ripped blue jeans and the faithful pair of blood red converse she had worn almost every day when she had been seventeen. She was wearing both articles today with a green t-shirt that sported the phrase "green shirt" she had found at the back of her closet and a black cardigan.
Just as Kieran had suggested, she had given her hair a more "tossed up" look. Well actually she pretty much had done nothing but let it dry on its own and pinned back her fringe. When she had looked in the mirror at herself before leaving, Naomi had been satisfied. She really did look much closer to seventeen than her twenty seven.
With a bit more confidence, Naomi made her way to her first class of the morning. She remembered Cook's advice then and tried to smooth over her frowning expression. She could do this. She was a bright woman and a hell of a journalist at that. She could very well mingle and make friends and write that stupid article and then she'd be done with that and she'd get a promotion.
The blonde kept repeating encouraging words to herself all the way to her classroom and felt her confidence falter a little when she passed the threshold and noticed a few students looking up at her curiously. She felt her cheeks burn a bit and then actually felt her eyebrows furrow and her expression close itself off. Not half a second later, the students had already lost interest so Naomi took a big breath and turned her head to look at the person who would be her form and also her English teacher.
When her eyes caught impressively deep and delicate brown ones, the blonde felt her breath hitch a little. Naomi slowed her pace and took the time to take the rest of her teacher in. One thing was sure and it was that the girl had definitely not expected her teacher to be so young.
The woman that sat at the front of the class could not be older than she was. To match her chocolate eyes, she had long brown hair that had just a tint of red to it and looked ridiculously soft. She was wearing black work pants with a quarter sleeve white dressed shirt tucked into them. Her arms were nicely toned and her skin was fresh and smooth. There was no sign of wrinkles on her face and as the teacher spotted Naomi and gave her a warm and kind smile with beautifully full pink lips, the blonde realized with a jolt to her stomach that she felt exactly like the school girl she was pretending to be.
She walked the few paces left to the teacher's desk and stared. The other woman was still smiling at her, her expression of welcome changing into one of amusement when Naomi remained silent in front of her. Everything about this woman was supposed to be nice and welcoming, and it was, Naomi realised, but it also made her feel quite uncomfortable.
"You must be Naomi" The teacher said confidently, breaking the silence.
And by all means Naomi had not expected the woman's voice to be so deep and rich and silky. It's not like she had expected anything either, as far as she knew Naomi had never really tried to guess strangers' voices, but she still felt stunned by this particular one. There was something in the husky tones of the other woman that just seemed to render her a bit wordless.
"I hum… Yeah" the blonde stuttered.
The teacher gave her another dashing smile and the blonde shifted a bit in her spot.
"Hi Naomi, I'm Miss Fitch or rather Emily, most students tend to call me Miss Emily. It's a pleasure to welcome you in my class even if it's not the first week of term" She said politely.
"Thanks" Naomi said softly, but still not moving.
Both women remained silent for a few seconds until Miss Fitch broke the silence by chuckling. The sound flowed in the air and fitted there so naturally that it somehow reminded Naomi of the leaves in the summer that danced with each passing breeze. It seemed to the blonde that everything about this Miss Fitch seemed to be soft and effortless, from the casual way she moved her hands when she spoke to the lightness of her laugh.
"You can take a seat, I won't make you introduce yourself in front of the class. I'm not really that kind of teacher" the brunette teased.
Naomi gave her a grateful, shy smile and a ridiculous nervous chuckle before nodding and doing as she was told. She had probably made enough of a twat of herself by just standing there, she didn't need to make things worse by remaining there. As she plopped herself in a vacant seat about halfway into the classroom, Naomi caught herself hoping, not quite sure why though, that she had walked somewhat gracefully. She knew she most likely hadn't though and she couldn't quite figure out why it seemed to bother her.
She buried her head in her arms on the hard surface of her desk and groaned slightly. The thing was that the blonde wasn't even sure why she felt so unnerved in that instant, so pathetically intimidated by a woman she had only just met and that had shown nothing but kindness towards her. Perhaps it was that though for Naomi wasn't used to so much gentleness from strangers. Her mom had always said it was something about her frown that made people want to be rude to her, Naomi preferred to think it was because people, in general, were cocks.
She sat there on her own, not minding anything for a while. She just wanted the class to start and to get it over with. She felt uneasy and she didn't like it, she didn't like this class and this Miss Fitch with her unsettling brilliant eyes and warm smiles. The blonde knew she was full on frowning and that was precisely what everyone had told her not to do, but she couldn't help it. She just wanted to be left alone.
"Howdy doody!" a voice interrupted her thoughts at that precise moment. Just what she fucking needed, she thought grumpily.
She turned to glare at the owner of the voice only to be met with a really young looking girl with dirty blonde pigtails and the widest innocent grin she had ever seen. Not only that, but the teen was wearing such a bright coloured top that Naomi was nearly blinded for a second.
"You're new!" the girl exclaimed excitedly.
"Hum… yeah" Naomi replied quickly putting on the friendliest expression she could manage.
If the girl hadn't been scared away by her glare then she probably was the best bet Naomi had at making a sort of friend for her article.
"That's whacker! Where d'you come from then? Where did you transfer from? Or are you one of those home schooled people? That would be super, to be home schooled I mean, but I think I'd get tired of my mom if I were home schooled. I mean she's super smart and all, but I think she'd make me go ra-ra. You don't look too loony though so I bet if you're home schooled, your mom isn't too bad! I'm Pandora Moon by the way, but people just call me Panda!" The girl said very quickly.
Naomi full on stared after that. She didn't think she had ever met someone quite like this girl. To be honest she didn't think there could be more than one person like this.
"I'm Naomi" the journalist finally provided. "And people usually call me, well, Naomi. Oh and I wasn't home schooled. I was transferred from John Cabot" she finished with her well-rehearsed lie.
"Naomi, Hi! John Cabot aye? It's bonkers! Did you like it?"
"Hum… yeah yeah. It was fine."
"Why d'you transfer?" Pandora asked eagerly.
"Hum… I hum…" Naomi started but was relieved of answering when Miss Fitch got up from her desk and started the class.
The rest of the morning passed rather quickly. To Naomi's surprise, the lecture was actually interesting and for some unknown reason Panda kept muttering to her animatedly all class. It's not that Naomi had expected the Brunette teacher to be shite or anything it was more like she hadn't expected to learn anything of value in an A-Level English class when she had taken Uni English classes before. She had even sneered at Kieran when he had told her she'd be taking an English class.
"English? You've got to be shitting me Kieran! I did an English Major at Uni."
"And?"
"And what the fuck could I possibly do in an A-Level English class?"
"Jesus Naomi, will ya stop overrating yourself? You haven't even sat one class yet but you're already judging it to be beneath you? Christ Campbell you seriously need to step back down with us grubby mortals!"
"It's not that…" Naomi had uttered rolling her eyes.
"Listen will ya? I got you an English class because you're a journalist and writing is your job. Might as well do it as good as you can. And you can never take too much English no matter the level."
Naomi had agreed begrudgingly because it had to be said, her grumpy boss had a point.
"Okay, maybe you're right about English, but can you please explain to me what the fuck went through your mind when you gave me an Arts A-Level with a sculpture orientation?!" she had shot back.
"Oh that!" Kieran had replied with a laugh. "I just did that to piss you off!"
Fucking tosser. In any case, Naomi didn't have much choice, but to follow the timetable she had been given as irrelevant as it might seem. She guessed though, in some measure, it was a relief that she had enjoyed the English class because she was sure she wouldn't be that lucky with the arts one.
When the bell rang to signal the end of the lecture, Miss Fitch assigned them some homework and Naomi gathered her belongings. She walked passed her teacher's desk and felt an urge to look at the other woman. She pushed down the urge though and just continued walking. She was half surprised to notice, when she stepped out of the classroom, that Panda had waited for her.
"Do you want to meet my friends?" the girl asked eagerly.
"Sure" Naomi replied with a shrug.
"Bonkers!" Panda exclaimed before setting off, Naomi following.
As they walked to the Rec Room, Panda yammered away about around a dozen subjects, Naomi barely following the conversation at all, but nonetheless trying to nod and smile every now and then. When they walked into the room, the younger blonde girl bounced her way to two young guys playing table football. When both girls reached it, the boys turned around to great them warmly.
One looked really young with his round face, curly brown hair, blue eyes and bright braced smile. He had a bright yellow t-shirt on, a grey hooded jumper and slack jeans and waved at them both excitedly. The other guy looked a bit older, although Naomi doubted that he was. He was tall and had dark brown hair with a long fringe conveniently hiding away one of his piercing coffee coloured eyes, full lips and a naturally tanned skin tone. He was wearing a black t-shirt with beige loose trousers that hung just a bit on his arse. He gave them both a nod and a smile and Naomi had to admit he was rather handsome.
"Howdy doody guys!" Pandora exclaimed happily.
"Hey Panda, who's your friend?" the tall boy asked.
"That's Naomi! She's new! Isn't that whizzer?"
The boy nodded and turned to give Naomi a warm welcoming smile. He then extended his hand to her.
"I'm Freddie"
Naomi shook his hand.
"Hi" She replied.
"And I am JJ! Or rather Jonah Jeremiah Jones, but people call me JJ because it's much shorter. Although I would have to say that most people don't call me at all or don't know my name, which is somewhat sad, but understandable in a way. Considering there are about a thousand students currently attending Roundview, it is normal that most people don't know my name. And if we take into account that only about half have similar schedules then-" the other boy started before being cut off by Freddie.
"Alright there Jay, easy yeah?"
"Right, sorry! Just call me JJ" the boy finished, his cheeks red.
She nodded slowly, her eyebrows raised. Well, she'd be surprised if she hadn't just befriended the weirdest group in the entire College. Nevertheless, it was the first day and she couldn't exactly spit on any friendships. It wasn't like people were queuing up to be her friend was it? Weird or not, they'd have to do.
"JJ it is then" She said, putting on what she knew was probably a fake smile. "Very nice to meet you."
She extended her hand and shook his as he blushed furiously.
"I'm not used to touching such good looking girls" he admitted bluntly.
The blonde gave out a startled laugh and stared a little while Freddie laughed nervously again and put his arm around JJ's shoulders.
"Jay's a bit hum… direct" He explained. "But really, he means it as a compliment."
"It's fine" Naomi assured. "Compliment taken. Thank you JJ."
Both boys seemed to relax at her words and everything seemed to get back to normal afterwards as Panda launched into an elaborate tale about how she was sure she had spotted a leprechaun in her backyard.
They all ended up settling in some couches and Naomi listened to the story wondering with each passing word if her new friend was clinically insane. What surprised her most though was how both JJ and Freddie entertained the conversation without ever frowning at how ridiculous it was.
"And then he had to go, obviously, so he jumped back over the fence. It was wicked magical!" Panda concluded a few minutes later, looking reminiscent.
"Cool" Freddie said and Naomi couldn't help eyeing him curiously.
Of the three teens, he surely looked like the sanest of the group, yet he was just taking Panda's story as if it could actually be true. Naomi didn't really understand why he pretended to believe the rubbish coming out of Panda's mouth. She didn't understand why he was friends with both the two other teens for that matter. He just didn't seem to fit with them, but perhaps there was a lot more to this friendship than she knew. She had only just met the group and already she was judging. The blonde rolled her eyes at herself. She really was unbelievable sometimes.
;;
The rest of the morning had gone by really fast. She'd attended a sociology class and had then met Panda and the boys for lunch. She had been too busy fretting in the morning about her first day of infiltration to bother making a packed lunch. So now she was standing in the cafeteria line, looking at her options.
From one gooey mess to the other, Naomi scanned the food sceptically. There seemed to be a sort of stew, but it reeked so much she'd have rather starved than touch it. Besides, she could see the big chunks of meat floating about and that was enough to make her want to vomit. She walked to the salad bar, only to find it half empty and the few salad choices that were there seemed to be several days old. Again, Naomi didn't dare try it. Instead, she walked back to the main counter.
"Excuse me!" she said haughtily to a dinner lady.
"Problem?" the old woman replied.
"Yes! Where is the vegetarian menu?"
The lady eyed her for a second before cutting out a piece of quiche and putting it on a plate. She handed the plate to Naomi without a word.
"That's vegetarian, is it?" she asked full of doubts.
"Yes" the lady replied nonplussed.
"But the sign says it's Quiche Lorraine, which has bacon in it!" the blonde argued.
"I doubt it has any real meat in it regardless. We usually just use meat substitutes" the lady shot back with a shrug.
"What kind of substitute?" Naomi asked, but the second the dinner lady opened her mouth, she changed her mind. "On second thoughts, don't answer that. I'd really rather not know" she cut off with a disgusted look on her face.
She sighed annoyingly and gave the quiche another look. Apart from the fact that it looked way too liquid to be properly cooked, Naomi spotted brownish chunks of what just had to be bacon in the quiche.
"Oh my god it has got bacon in it! Just look!" The blonde said pointing at the piece of food.
Looking as unbothered as ever, the dinner lady inspected the spot Naomi had pointed and, to the blonde's horror, proceeded to gauge out the chunk of meat from it with her dirty nail. She turned the plate a few times in her hands and took out a few other pieces. Then, as if she hadn't just stuck her dirty fingers in the food, she offered the plate to Naomi again. The blonde stared at her for a good ten seconds before replying.
"You can't actually be serious, can you?"
"What d'you mean?" the lady asked clearly annoyed.
"You've just stuck your fingers- and God knows where they've been before- in the fucking quiche and you expect me to eat it now? Have you got no care for sanitary rules? And I'm not a complete numpty, if there was bacon on the sides, there's bound to be bacon inside as well."
When she finished her little speech, Naomi could tell the dinner lady had had enough of her. She lowered the plate back on her counter and scowled at the blonde.
"Listen Princess, if everything here isn't good enough for your standards, you can bloody well starve"
"You say that as if I'm being picky! Your menu is shit" Naomi spat.
"For your information, we're following Jamie Oliver's new food manifesto!" the lady said haughtily.
"Oh please! He's just a smart-arsed blond fucker" the blonde said before turning on her heels and leaving the dinner lady swearing in her wake.
She grabbed an apple and some crackers and went to join her new "friends" after paying.
"Is that all you're having?" Freddie asked her dubiously as the blonde sat down.
"There's no proper vegetarian menu so yes" she whined before taking a bite of her apple.
She saw JJ open his mouth as if to answer, but then something behind her caught his eye and he shut up instantly, ducking his head low. Next, Freddie was looking in the same direction JJ had and she saw his muscles tense, his jaw clench. She turned around intrigued and then felt her jaw drop a little.
There could have been literally anything that had made the boys tense, but as it was, Naomi was sure it was a person, a girl to be exact. But what a girl it was! She was tall and all made of thin limbs, her hair long and falling around her face in brown waves, in a sort of effortless beauty. She was wearing a very thin light grey dress that ended very close to her bum with a pair of fishnets and combat boots. Also, she was sporting an impressive array of golden necklaces and silver bangles.
But as cool and poised and attractive as her look was, what really captivated you about the girl was her face. It was beautiful and intriguing with its fair skin, its high cheekbones, its thin nose and its rosy lips. Of course, what really made the girl quite unforgettable was her large eyes made even more impressive by the layer of dark make-up applied around them and not only because they were of a vivid cerulean blue, but mostly because they seemed to hold an infinite amount of amusement and knowledge. That girl had a mesmerizing gaze that just seemed to draw everyone in.
Naomi turned around to look at her three new, suddenly very silent, friends.
"Who is she?" she nearly whispered.
"That…" Freddie started, his voice sounding much colder than it ever had. "Is Effy Stonem."
The blonde turned around again to see the girl she now knew to be called Effy -what kind of name was that anyway- stroll into the cafeteria looking utterly bored. As she walked through the place, the other kids would move out of her way and it didn't take much more for Naomi to figure she had to be the College's Queen Bee or something.
She was about to turn away again when Effy Stonem seemed to feel the blonde's stare and lifted her gaze. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second before Naomi turned around quickly. She tried to make herself smaller after that, but even before she noticed JJ's eyes widen in shock, she already knew what would happen next.
And sure enough a few seconds later, Effy Stonem was standing beside them in all her coolness.
"Oh, Hi Eff!" Panda said in an exaggerated happiness that rang of falseness.
The brunette nodded to acknowledge the other girl, but then set her eyes on Naomi. The blonde's heart rate accelerated and she felt like her skin was burning under Effy's stare.
"This is Naomi" Pandora quickly filled in. "She just transferred from John Cabot."
Effy nodded again.
"Sweet" she muttered, a smirk crawling on her lips.
Her voice seemed hoarse, a bit like she hadn't spoken at all today before that very moment. Naomi lifted her gaze to lock it with Effy's again and this time she held it. As intimidating as the teen could be, she was just that, a teen. And Naomi was a grown woman of 27 with a bit too much pride to let herself be subdued so easily. Her reaction seemed to please the brunette, though, because her smirk grew wider.
Then, she broke their staring contest and turned to look in turn at JJ and Freddie. If the curly haired boy kept his eyes to his lap, Freddie held his head high with his teeth still firmly clenched. He had the face of someone looking for an argument, but Effy only let her eyes trail on him fleetingly before she was turning on her heels and disappearing in the crowd.
It was only after that Naomi noticed how quiet it had gone in the cafeteria for, once she had left, everyone started chatting again. Her tongue was burning with questions about the girl, but when she looked at her friends, she noticed none of them seemed to be in a chatty mood so she let it go.
"I'm gonna go outside for… well see you later" Freddie mumbled before springing to his feet and leaving the room quickly. Panda looked at him go, her eyes filled with sadness. Naomi had a feeling that the so far ridiculously cheery girl wasn't just sad that Freddie was upset though, Panda really did look plain dejected. There was definitely a story there, but it was too soon for Naomi to go prying. She'd only known those kids for half a day after all.
When she saw Freddie again, Naomi couldn't help but notice how his eyes were red and glossy and completely empty. If anything it confirmed that there really was a story to get from all this.
As she left for home that evening, Naomi felt relieved. At least a lot more relieved than she ever imagined being after the first day of her assignment. She had successfully made contact with a group of people and more than that, they seemed to have a story to tell! As she walked confidently to where she had parked her car, Naomi felt her lips curve in a satisfied smile. In a few months' time she'd have her article published and she'd have a promotion and her life would be back to how it was supposed to be, under her control.
.
.
And that is the introduction to a lot of other people! More Emily in the next chapter! (Actually, I think she's pretty much in every chapter... I always find a way to work it out...). Oh and I got an Anon reviewer that asked if there were going to be any Emily POV chapter and I'm happy to say that the answer is Yes! So far there are only 2 planned (it'll probably be just the 2 chps) so it's really more like an Emily interlude, but still!
So what did you think of this chapter? Favourite bits? Biggest laugh? Shall I continue this story? :P You've been so lovely I can't wait to hear more from you!
MM