Hey folks so I'm an awful updater, but this has some ships to make up for it (: (: (: (: (: (: (:
Tessa thought she knew the school, thought it would be easy. She'd already been there a week, right? Turns out there was far more to the school than a library and the outbuilding that held the office, infirmary, and private dining hall. Her Physics class was some place called the "De Quincey Building". The little map Charlotte had loaned was supposed to help her orient herself, but it seemed the office was right at the center of campus, and a road leading to a big metal gate in all cardinal directions. Surrounded by old stone buildings, she could have been anywhere. And she hated physics.
Student's passed in their black uniforms, the shiny silver trim glinting in the weak sunlight. She looked down at herself, at the polished leather ankle boots, the black knee socks, the black skirt trimmed in silver, white shirt, soft black wool sweater, the classic scholars v- neck and sleeves outlined in the same shiny trim. She felt horribly uncomfortable and out of place, with her knee socks slipping down her calves. Charlotte had supplied her with the uniform and basic school supplies, including textbooks, and, for now, tuition and board. But the Institute of Angels didn't offer full scholarships, and if Tessa wanted to stay, she would have to maintain top grades, and find someone to supplement her tuition. It all seemed impossible.
She saw a familiar figure with curly dark hair walking away from her, and ran to catch up. "I'm hardly uneducated, even if I am a foreigner," she said.
The boy turned to her, green eyes laughing, judging. "Good to know." His accent was definitely English, and now she was closer, his hair was a much lighter shade than Will's.
She blushed. "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."
"Now I get the foreigner bit. American."
"And a new student. Probably lost. And potentially uneducated, if one were to judge intellect on the ability to properly dress oneself." His eyes flicked to her ankles where her knee socks had fallen, then back, coldly amused, to her face.
She put on her best horribly fake English accent, the one acquired from Harry Potter, and simpered. "I'd tell you to shove it up your ass, but it seems your head's already there."
"She's got you there, Lightworm," drawled a voice behind her. Tessa turned to see Will just as he waved his hands in front of him. "Shoo."
The other boy scowled. Turning to Tessa, he said, "It's Gabriel. And don't believe a word he says," before he turned on his heel and walked away.
"I'm not an uneducated foreigner."
Will just shrugged. "But that was Gabriel Lightwood, better known as Lightworm, for obvious reasons. Class 'A' ass, a truly cocky rich bastard. It comes from all the old money. He still believes he's an aristocrat and far better than the rest of us, but his father's so defaced the family name that were it an earlier land, they'd have been stripped of their lands and titles."
"Thanks for the description. But your Welsh?"
"Yup."
"So what's Whales like? How's it different?"
"Slightly less grey. What do you have first?"
Tessa groaned. "Physics."
"In the De Quincy Building?"
"Yup." She popped her P.
"That's two to your left. You're actually very close."
"Thank you." She smiled gratefully. "I'd hate to be late for my first day."
"No problem. But I'd pull up your socks."
"Its my first day! I can't be expected to have memorised this ridiculous campus already."
He grinned. "I meant literally. Their supposed to be up to your knees. The professor might be offended if you came in showing that much leg, nice as it is."
Her eyes narrowed as she yanked up the black socks.
"Good luck!"
She turned left anxious and grumbling. "I hate uniforms."
By lunch time she had been beaten bruised and bloody—mentally, that is. Her brain felt like it was oozing out her ears, and she thought she might have to find some aloe vera to soothe her cheeks after the hours they'd been on fire.
She rain into Will in the hallway outside the cafeteria, and grabbed him by his sleeve. He turned to face her at the edge of the hall. "What?"
"What? What! The de Quincy building is not two left of Starkweather Square, it was two right, and don't pretend you didn't know that! Not that it matters, because there's no physics classes in the mornings, because Professor Branwell likes to sleep in!"
"Do call him Henry, Tess."
"Don't call me Tess!" She dropped her voice to a whisper as her words shouted. "I was late to my first class, which turned out to be classic novel study, which I loved, the little of it I could get to of course, due to your misinformation. Not to mention the professor hates me because I was late, which only acted as a confirmation of his belief that as an American, I can't possibly appreciate literature."
"Sounds like quite a morning."
"Then that Lightwood dick was in my math class—"
"We call it maths here."
"—and he kept telling me that I, as your new conquest, should get something out of it by asking you to tutor me! And I couldn't say anything because I need to be on my best behaviour if I'm to get a scholarship and math is hard enough as it is without rude falsities being thrown my way because of an obvious animosity between you and some stranger! And not one person who laughed at my upwardly challenged socks gave me any clue as to how to make them stay up. Not one! It was like the minute I spoke without stupid round vowels or a rise at the end of the sentence, I was labeled a real 'wanker' and those around 'took the piss' and felt like a complete and utter 'cock up'."
She was about ready to kill something, preferably Will, on whom she didn't really blame the morning, but who was a readily available target.
But he was laughing, a grin splitting his face, a twinkle in the eye.
"What's so funny?" She was pissed, but in the face of his laughter, she could hear the humor of her outrage, and a small smile fought for space on her lips. She smacked him, hard, on the arm. "Stop it! It's not funny."
He was still grinning. "It kind of is, you have to admit."
She flipped him off. "Lunch? I assume you'll show me the correct way to the cafeteria. But don't worry. If you get lost, I can find my own way. I've been here before."
He nodded in the direction of the opened double doors. "I am sorry about physics. I thought it would be a lark, but obviously not. And brilliant use of all the slang, by the way. Inspiring, truly, from an American."
She laughed sarcastically.
"No seriously. Don't ever do it again, but good effort. But what was it you told Gabriel this morning? That you'd tell him to…?"
"Shove it up his ass," she smiled, "but it seemed his head was already there."
"Nice one. It looks like we're having salad for lunch." He grimaced. "Yum."
And as a smile cracked her face, she couldn't help but be grateful to Will for having put it there.
First day of classes! Sorry this chapter didn't have a lot going on, but it's a much needed, much outdated update. I'm sorry for all the incorrect use of English slang, but I'm Canadian; no one says wanker, or cock up or anything I pulled off the internet, so…
And happy start of school to everyone, like me, his about to hit up week 3. I know I'm dying already, so good luck
Please please please review, follow or favourite or recommend, it means the world to me
xoxoxoxooxoxoxox
