It had been a bad month for Frankie Franklin. Sure, he was thrilled for his best friend to finally date his dream girl, and, yes, Frankie had been the one who started the rumor that they'd been dating for a year and nudged Henderson about them in hopes of bringing them together for real, but with the new relationship came dates and one-on-one study sessions and new friends. This left Frankie alone. Again.
There Frankie was internally bemoaning his loneliness as he walked up the steps to the lecture hall on Monday morning when a girl took his arm.
"Mi querido! How are you doing this morning? Are you ready for the lecture?" she asked.
He took a good look at her. She had dark skin and dark shiny curls and warm golden-brown eyes. She wore a very small amount of makeup, enough not to look as tired as she felt but not so much as to draw attention to herself. He had never seen this girl in his life. He stared at her in shock.
"Poor thing, did your legs give out when you saw how pretty I look today? You don't have to say a thing to be charming." She used his shock to her advantage to lead him to a secluded corner of the lecture hall. "All right, this is good for now. Hi, Frankie. I'm your new girlfriend Ludmila."
"What?"
She smiled simultaneously sweetly and condescendingly. "I transferred in today."
"How did you transfer without me knowing? I know everything about this school and everyone in it."
"Not anymore, mi querido. Look, don't fight me on this. You're a lonely loser no one cares about, and I'm a new girl who needs to fly under the radar. You get a girlfriend and a slight boost in social status, and I get access to the Elegant Love Society. It's a win win."
"Why the Elegant Love Society?"
"I did my homework. ELS is where all the interesting things happen at this school. I've been following the progress between Loid Forger and Yor Briar for some time, and I'm dying to see how it ends. Plus the scandal with Camilla Bronson. I have to get into that society."
"And if I say no?"
She laughed. "You're so cute when you have no idea what's going on. It's much too late to say no. I planted the seeds of our relationship before I left my old school. By now, everyone here and there know about it. They're not talking much about it, of course. Neither of us have the star power of Forger and Briar. But knowing about it is enough. And don't try to tell me you're not intrigued. I know you've been unable to get a date for years and complaining bitterly about it to anyone who will listen."
She was right of course. He hated that she was right. That would become a common theme of their relationship. Besides she was pretty, not in the same way Camilla or Yor was pretty, but in a way that many wouldn't appreciate, and Frankie wasn't immune to her charm, caustic as it may be. "You messed up."
She smiled demurely. "Oh?"
"If no one is talking about us, we won't be able to join the society."
"That won't be an issue. I anticipate an announcement calling us to Henderson's office in three, two," she said, counting down on her fingers, "one."
She pointed up to the speaker on the ceiling as the announcement rang out, "Would Ludmila Castillo and Frankie Franklin report to Housemaster Henderson's office? Ludmila Castillo and Frankie Franklin to Housemaster Henderson's office."
Frankie was outmatched. He smiled to himself. Ludmila was exactly the challenge he had been missing at this school. Besides he had her last name now, and he could do some damage with that. He extended an arm out in the direction of the office. "After you, mi novia."
"I received your inquiry, Mr. Franklin, and I would be delighted to have you and Ms. Castillo join our society," Henderson said while stirring his cup of tea.
Ludmila stole a glance at Frankie who seemed to be having an out-of-body experience. This wouldn't do at all. She took his hand and smiled at Frankie. "Did you hear that, mi querido? How wonderful." She turned to Henderson. "Thank you, sir. I was so worried that transferring mid-term would cause me to be isolated, but you and my Frankikikito have that taken care of."
Henderson smiled. His grasp of Ms. Castillo's native language was limited, but he knew a term of endearment when he heard one. "Delightful. We will see you both on Friday morning then." He thanked them both for coming before showing them out.
"So, mi querido. Are you ready to concede that I am the new queen of this school yet?"
His expression hardened. "I won't go down that easily."
"I have all the time in the world to wait. And when you fall hard, which you will, I will be there to take you in with open arms as my lackey."
"Guess you'll be waiting forever, mi novia."
"We'll see. Walk me to class, mi querido."
He offered her his arm grudgingly.
She smiled. 'Mi querido, or my wanted one.' And she did want him. He didn't see that yet, but it was true. Yes, she did pick him because he didn't stand out, and she also picked him because of his reputation as the puppeteer of Eden. And because his mother spoke Ludmila's language at home with him, meaning that he knew that Frankikikito meant that he was cute and precious. And she picked him because he had those poofy curls and big glasses and that sweet side that almost no one knew about. Okay, so Ludmila mostly picked him because she had a crush on him, and she knew he would hate her anyways for taking over his turf. At least this way, she got to hear him call her 'mi novia,' my girlfriend. It was a tame endearment, but there was still time.
AN: Hi, everyone. I wanted to clarify a few things about Ludmila. Yes, she is an OC, but no she is not an author insert. I am not Latinx, but I wanted to add a romantic interest for Frankie because he seems so sad about not having one and also more representation is good. That said, as someone who is not Latinx, I am doing my best to represent a Latina character, but I'm sure I'm going to make mistakes. Please gently let me know when I do make mistakes. Also Spanish is my second language, so I'm sure I'm going to mess up with it too. And I know that "querido" translates to "dear" in English, but I was taking inspiration from it coming from "querer." Ludmila and Frankie won't break down the Spanish for you every chapter, but I will try to put rough translations in the AN. xo Lolly