Pride and Prejudice is owned by Jane Austen, not me (otherwise I'd be filthy stinking rich right now). This isn't going to follow the events of P&P exactly, but it'll pretty much be the same idea. Please review; I'd really like to know how you like my first fic! Bon apetit!
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"Alright people, let's get this show on the road!" called Mr. Cicero, striding through the classroom door and tossing a scuffed attaché case on his desk. The myriad voices laughing, shouting, and chatting died down immediately while the owners took out notebooks, pens, and pencils for the lesson. Lizzie sat on the right side of Jen and Mina Lawrence, her next door neighbor and one of her best friends, and they all traded smirks before turning back to the front of the class. Mr. Cicero's creative writing class was by far the most interesting out of all three of their schedules, mostly due to his informal teaching method; he was more like a friend than a teacher. It also helped that the classroom was one of the most interesting in the school; it used to be a meeting room for the teachers, but the school viewed it as a luxury and used it as a classroom instead. The room was designed like an amphitheater, desks arranged on different levels in a semicircle around Ceciro's desk. "We have a lot to do today, so we need to get started. We've got to finish a freewrite, introduce some new students, and I need to get you guys started on your very first writing project, so make sure you pay close attention," he began, taking a whiteboard marker and scribbling on the board.
"Didn't Claire say something about new students at lunch?" asked Lizzie, one eyebrow quirked up.
"Yeah, right before you left," Jen answered.
"Who did what now?" Mina asked, looking up from her doodle-ridden notebook.
"Claire already told us about the fresh meat during lunch. Where were you, anyway?" asked Jenn.
"Finishing a painting for art class. So what about them? Are they at all interest-worthy?" she prodded, leaning over her desk and snagging a Dorito out of the bag on Lizzie's desk. Another great thing about Ceciro: they could eat or drink whenever they wanted, as long as they cleaned up afterwards.
"Only to Claire," Lizzie drawled, rolling her eyes, "apparently they're rich, which means that Claire has another opportunity to climb up the social food chain."
"Speaking of the social food chain…" began Jen, a smug grin plastered on her face and her eyes dancing with mischief.
"What?!" asked Lizzie, beginning to feel a little apprehensive. Whenever she got that grin on her face it never meant well for the person it was directed at, and at the moment it was directed at her.
"I saw you talking to Christian Stoddard, the most super-delicious guy in school," Jen continued, the grin slowly growing wider.
"Ooooh, you did?! What did you talk about?" squealed Mina, sitting bolt upright in her chair. A loud, obnoxious banging sound interrupted any further conversation, however, before she could get an answer out of her. Mr. Ceciro banged a yard stick against a sheet metal lectern a couple more times, and the girls finally noticed the large number of students turned around in their desks to talk to their neighbors. Apparently they weren't the only ones talking, if not about the same things. Gradually the multiple conversations quieted, and once again the room fell silent.
"Seeing as you're all so incredibly keen to meet these people and probably won't get much work done until you do, I'll just let them in now," Ceciro continued, chuckling. A small cheer came from a corner of the room, and someone a few rows back started an impromptu drum roll as Ceciro made his way over to the door and cracked it open. He stuck his head outside, said something, and then stepped back as two students walked in.
"Oooh, I want! I want!" breathed a girl in the desk behind Lizzie, with good reason. The first student was a tall, curly-haired blond boy with warm brown eyes and a friendly smile on his handsome face. He was obviously an athlete, proof being the muscled arms that were shown off by his bright blue tee shirt, and he walked to the front of the class with an air of confidence. He gave a little wave to the class, and the girl behind Lizzie squealed a little.
"Oh come on," Jen grumbled, crossing her arms over her tee shirt. "He's not that good-looking." Mina turned towards her in her seat, giving her a look. "Okay fine, so he is! Doesn't mean we all need to go into hysterics". Then the next student walked in, and it was Lizzie's turn to make a little squeak. He was almost the total opposite of the first one, with straight black hair and vibrant green eyes. His high cheekbones gave him a sharp, bad boy image and he didn't smile or wave when he walked in. He was about the same build as the first boy, but it was a little hard to discern through his dark grey sweater and leather jacket.
"Holy moly," she whispered under her breath. Mina and Jen looked over at her, eyebrows raised.
"Ladies, pay attention please," said Mr. Ceciro, appearing out of nowhere and tapping the yard stick on their desks. Lizzie blushed a little bit, and Mina just went back to doodling on her notebook. Jen was about to apologize but stopped before she could, blushing the same color as her hair when she noticed that the curly-haired boy was looking her way, grinning. Ceciro didn't notice, however, and walked back to the front of the classroom to stand next to the boys. "You guys want to introduce yourselves a little bit?" The curly-haired boy stepped forward.
"Um, hello everyone, my name is Charlie Bennings and I've just moved here from New York because my father is starting his own company. I'm beginning to like it here in California, especially with all the beaches. I was getting sick of all the snow in New York anyways," he said, smiling when someone in the back chuckled. "Anyway, that's about it for me." He then stepped back next to the black-haired boy, giving him a little nudge forward. He sighed, and then began his introduction.
"My name is Landon Danson, I'd rather not be here, and that's all you need to know," he said, glaring. Charlie's smile flickered a little and the room remained silent, not exactly sure what to make of Landon's speech.
"Well, ah, I guess that's about it. Why don't you guys take a seat, and we'll get started on today's lesson," said Ceciro, looking taken aback. Charlie headed for the aisle in-between the rows of desks, Landon trailing behind him, and finally came to Jen, Lizzie, and Mina's row. Two empty seats sat on either side of the row, one next to Jen and the other next to Lizzie.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" Charlie asked Jen, his smile returning to its usual 100-watt voltage. Jen nodded a yes and blushed again, moving her backpack under her desk, and Charlie slid into the seat with a casual grace. Landon walked to the other side and seated himself at the desk next to Lizzie, dumping his backpack on the floor and folding his arms across his chest. Mina raised an eyebrow at Lizzie, who just shrugged and opened up her notebook.
"Okay, now that we've finally got that settled, let's try to learn something today," announced Mr. Ceciro, turning to his desk and picking up a small kitchen timer. "I want a five minute free write in your journals please; this time, you're free to pick any subject you want." He turned the dial a little, set it down, and began the task of writing the night's homework on the whiteboard.
Lizzie began immediately, her pen flowing easily across her paper. It was never really hard for her to write; she filled tons of personal journals just about her thoughts and ideas, and she had always had a liking for writing. She glanced over at Landon, who was writing fast and furiously on a piece of binder paper with a mechanical pencil. He was even cuter once she was able to get a closer look, but his little introduction at the beginning of class made her doubt that he was a very genial person. He's probably having a crappy day, what with having just moved here and everything, she reasoned. No reason to hold a little grumpiness against him.
Lizzie glanced over to her left, seeing Mina deeply engrossed in whatever she was writing about and Charlie and Jen busy writing a note back and forth to each other. Jen still had a rosy tinge to her cheeks, but the 60-watt blush she had earlier seemed to have faded with her growing acquaintance with Charlie. That was quick, Lizzie thought with a smile. She'd definitely use this for teasing material later.
The little timer on Ceciro's desk went off, signaling the end of the freewrite, and before he could start the announcement about the new project the school bell rang.
"All right, since we're done for this period I'll let you off the hook. Don't forget to write down the homework or I'll be forced to lock you in the storage cabinet!" Ceciro shouted over the din of zipping backpacks, shuffling papers, and talking students.