Enjoy!
You can be the prince and I can be your princess,
You can be the sweet tooth and I can be the dentist,
You can be the shoe and I can be the laces,
You can be the heart that I spill on the pages.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"You are under severe danger of expulsion, Reid Dame," Shira Brazille stated flatly as she stared at Reid behind her dark sunglasses in her office. Her hands were folded on her glossy Australia-shaped desk and she leaned forward while looking at Reid behind her dark sunglasses.
Reid swallowed nervously. She had never been in trouble with an authority figure in her entire life. She was always the good girl, the girl who stayed off the social radar and the girl who sat in the back of the class without drawing attention to herself. Now, sitting across from Shira Brazille, Reid felt completely out of her element.
"I – uh – just – uh – why?" Reid managed to finally get out. She could practically feel the heat waves searing into her forehead from Shira's glare. She almost smacked herself in her forehead. Why why why why did she have to sound so out of place right in from of the intimidating Aussie?
Shira merely looked at her for a minute before tapping in a command into the keyboard that was built into the desk. The glossy surface on the desk morphed into a flat screen and an image of Reid and Darwin kissing by the lake popped up on the surface.
Reid felt her mouth fall open and her cheeks heat up with shock, embarrassment, and most of all, guilt.
Shira had found out.
"An alpha girl saw you the both of you by the lake and reported the incident to me a few weeks ago," Shira regarded Reid impassively behind her sunglasses that covered most of her face. Reid couldn't make out Shira's gaze but anyone could feel the coldness emanating from Shira. Reid managed wrench her mouth shut and stared down at the desk in stunned disbelief. Who would do that? Reid was aware of Shira's flat stare at her and no words seemed to rise from her mouth. What could she say?
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Shira demanded, her mood getting impatient.
"I – I'm sorry," said Reid in slight defeat. There was nothing else to say, no other words that she could think of that would get her out of this mess. She would apologize, swear to never talk to Darwin again and hope that Shira would allow her to stay at Alpha Academy.
"What are you sorry for?" Shira fired off another question immediately. She wasn't letting Reid get away with a simple apology. She wanted an explanation.
Thoughts flew through Reid's mind as she tried desperately to come up with an answer that would make her seem like an alpha, not just another beta student.
"For breaking a rule that was meant to keep students on their Alpha Track," Reid answered, hoping that it was the right one. She wouldn't say that she was sorry for kissing Darwin, for meeting up with Darwin, or anything like that – because she wasn't. Darwin was one of the best things that had happened here to her at Alpha Academy.
"Reid Dame, you broke one of my biggest rules here at Alpha Academy," Shira said. Whether by pure chance or Shira's anger, the lights in the room flickered of a brief moment.
That wasn't a question.
"However, I instated that rule for one reason. Girls who develop….obsessions with boys tend to become distracted. Distracted and have no regard for their studies and talents. I knew that you have been seeing Darwin for over two weeks, yet Hazel has convinced me that you have excelled in her class," Shira stated looking at Reid.
Reid had no idea what to say. Was Shira telling Reid off? Or was she trying to convey a different message?
"Darwin is different than most of his brothers. Like Sydney, he does not notice a girl simply for their looks or accomplishments. He cares about their personality, and while so far you have not shown the confidence that many of the girls here possess, you have been able to catch the attention of one of my more sensitive sons as well as stay focused on your Alpha Track," Shira continued.
Reid was now confused. Was Shira letting her off the hook? She was complimenting Reid – in a way.
"I've decided not to expel you from Alpha Academy, but like your roommate, Vivian, you are now under probation. One toe out of line and you are out without question. I want your performance to improve in art and if I see the slightest hint of you slacking off in any way – you are out. No questions. Understand?"
"Yes," Reid opened her mouth and forced out the word. She was completely speechless. Shira was letting her stay?
"As for Darwin, you are allowed to spend time with as long as you follow one simple rule. Focus on your Alpha Track. If my son gets in the way of you and your alpha goal, your interactions and little sessions by the lake with cease," Shira stood up from her seat and headed out the door. "Don't flatter yourself too much, lolly. This is mainly for my son's benefit than your's."
"Remember, one small hint of you slacking off – you're expelled. G'day," Shira opened the door and swept out, leaving Reid sitting slightly stunned in the chair.
Wait what?
Reid got up from the chair and stood in the center of Shira's office. Was this how Vivian felt when she was questioned by Shira? A threat barely concealed with a slight lecture? Now she knew why Vivian trained so hard now, Shira had probably put Vivian on probation, too. Scratch that. She DID put Vivian on probation.
She swallowed hard. Right, she was at Alpha Academy, a school for alphas. There was no place for nervousness, for weaknesses, for any betaness here. She had to be an alpha and if she couldn't, she had to fake it – and fake it well. She had to stand up to Shira, stand up to others and prove to Shira that she was worth it. Prove that Shira hadn't given a spot to a mere beta. That Reid Dame belonged at Alpha Academy. She knew she was good at art, she knew that she had alpha potential. Now, all she had to do was prove it. It was time to start getting her act together and working her butt off. It was time to become an alpha.
Reid walked through the cool evening air as she headed back towards the Taylor Swift house. After the afternoon meeting in the Pavilion, she had been immediately summoned to Shira's office and received her lecture with a threat veiled in it. The sun had set and the sky was a dark violet color, with the cool sea breeze coming in and ruffling Reid's dirty-blonde locks gently. She had always dreamed of living in Hawaii when she in sixth grade. There was just something about the beaches, sea and island feel to it that seemed so alluring to Reid. And now, look. She was living at a boarding school for talented alpha females on a specially built high-tech island in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes Reid could hardly believe that she actually was at Alpha Academy. It all seemed like a dream to her.
She arrived at the porch of the Taylor Swift house and let herself in with her golden house key. She skipped up the winding staircase and slipped into the bedroom where the rest of the Taylor Swift girls were already sitting on their beds. The main lights were out and the warm glow of the homely lamps lit up the glitzly bedroom with its beds with gold bedspreads, rounded windows and sparkling galactic night sky ceiling.
"She's just so, annoying!" vented Alice as Reid walked through the doorway.
"Who's annoying?" asked Reid, jumping into her conversation and sitting down at the foot of Summer's bed. Summer had changed into her PJs and leaned back comfortably against her pillows as she nodded and "mhmed" along to Alice's rant.
"Sabrina Benson!" Alice exclaimed. "I ignored her for the entire month and she just doesn't go away and ugh!" Alice was sitting cross-legged on her bed while Ali lay on her stomach on her own bed with her ankles crossed up in the air.
"They're all like that," Vivian answered, "You're her competition and she's just a major bitch. Don't stress about it."
Reid glanced over at Vivian who was lying on the floor in a perfect middle split. Her legs were in a perfect line, parallel to the wooden floorboards and her torso was flat against the floor. She rested her chin in her hands as she talked with Alice. Reid immediately envied Vivian's flexibility.
"It's all part of the big competition of life," Ali chimed in. "Don't let her get to you,"
Ali and Vivian both suggested the same thing. Forget Sabrina because she wasn't worth it.
"Besides, we have something more interesting to talk about," Summer added, changing the subject. "Reid still hasn't spilled on her meeting with Shira!"
"Um, I wasn't expelled," Reid offered.
"No, really?," Vivian said sarcastically. "Details, girl. Details!"
Summer, Ali and Alice switched their attention from Alice and over to Reid as they waited for her to answer.
"She said that I was allowed to stay with Darwin as long as I stayed focused," Reid shrugged. "Oh, and I'm on probation so I can't mess anything up."
"Same old, same old," Vivian mock-yawned. "She said the same thing to me, too. Minus the boy part, though. Lucky you."
"Oooh, and speaking of the Brazille boys, Mel is just so gorgeous!" Alice gushed. A smile lit up her face as she leaned forward eagerly. Reid smiled slightly. From what Reid knew about Mel, he would get along with Alice perfectly. Both good-looking, both with a love for acting and Mel and Alice just sounded good together.
"Speak for yourself," Ali laughed. "I personally think Dingo is way cuter! And funnier!"
"Dingo's fun alright," answered Vivian with a playful smirk tugging on her lips. "But Taz is so much hotter!"
Out of the corner of her eye, Reid saw Summer frown slightly.
"He's having a date of sorts with Giselle Sanchez," Summer commented.
"What?" Vivian glanced up from her position on the floor with a hint of interest and a slight twinge of jealousy and anger.
"Tonight at the Azure Cove," Summer elaborated. "They were talking about it after our singing class."
Reid saw anger and jealousy flit over Vivian's face before it disappeared.
"Whatever," she shrugged. "It's not like I was obsessed with him, anyways. He was just fun to flirt with."
Four pairs of eyes looked at Vivian dubiously.
Ali raised her eyebrows at Vivian. "Liar."
"I'm just pissed that some Giselle girl beat me to ask him out," Vivian said. "Besides, no boys remember? Focus on skating or else I'm kicked out of here."
Reid looked at Vivian intently. "But you like him?"
Vivian returned her gaze to the wooden floorboards and considered her answer.
"Yes, but I'm not going to do something that stupid," Vivian answered after a while. At least not anymore, Vivian added quietly to herself in her mind.
The others let the subject drop and turned to Summer.
"What about you?" asked Alice with a slight smile. "Any one you're interested in?"
Reid's brown eyes analyzed Summer's reaction carefully. She saw something flash through Summer's eyes and she could practically see the wheels spinning in Summer's mind. She was warring with herself on the inside. Reid knew that feeling. When she knew that she hated to lie but just had to, because she didn't want to give herself way. Whether it was because she was shy to admit her feelings out in the open or for some other reason, Reid knew that Summer was hiding something.
"No, not anyone," Summer finally answered.
Yup, Summer was definitely hiding something. And if the frown Summer had when Vivian talked about Taz, Reid would bet that Summer had at least a small interest in Taz.
"Awh," pouted Ali.
"Hey, so how did Shira even find out about you and Darwin?" asked Alice wonderingly.
Reid bit her lip. "Someone saw us together and sent a photo to Shira. But I don't know who."
"Someone did what?" cried Vivian in outrage.
"That's so – mean!" exclaimed Ali.
"Who would do that?" wondered Summer.
"One of the Michelle Obamas," declared Vivian. "They hate me, because Rebecca and all other crap."
"Yeah, probably," Alice nodded. "But Sabrina hates me. Not that I really care."
"Which one?" asked Reid. "Sabrina? Gwen? Isabelle? Sara?"
"Maybe Isabelle," suggested Ali. "She's such a nosy gossiper."
"It could be anyone of them, or none of them," frowned Summer. "We don't know for sure. What if it's someone from a different house?" she asked logically.
"Well if we ever find out who that girl is….." trailed off Ali in a slightly threatening tone.
"Then they're dead," finished Vivian. "Ratting someone out, definitely not alpha. Why didn't Shira expel her?"
"No idea," Reid shook her head.
If someone did hate her, that wasn't something that Reid wanted to dwell on. She never really had anyone hate her before. Sure, she and Ally were pushed around by those popular cheerleaders at school but they never had considered her anything more than another "geeky, nerdy girl". Now, someone here considered her to be enough competition and disliked her enough to want to get her expelled. Her life really was going through some major changes and flipped all over the place like a hourglass.
X-X-X
"Breathe in, breathe out," the soothing calm voice of the ballet muse holograph intoned as Vivian balanced carefully on a single pointe shoe in the center of the small room in the Dionysus Theater. She held her arms outstretched and pointed her foot in a textbook perfect passé as she balanced on the tip of her left pointe shoe.
Her long dark hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and she had discarded her sweats earlier for her black dance shorts and copper cami. A small bead of sweat trickled down between her shoulder blades as she clenched her muscles to keep herself steady. Without the ballet barre, ballet was ten times harder. She had been logging solo sessions with the holograph machine every morning before her first skating class, taken Balletic Basics in the afternoon and finished her day with another session with the holograph at the end of the day. Vivian wasn't a dancer and had dropped Artistic Styles of Modern Dance earlier but ballet was a requirement for figure-skating. It improved her posture, her balance and her stamina. Hence the reason why her toes were red and raw and muscles screaming in protest every day.
"And relax," the holograph finally said as Vivian lowered leg slowly and gratefully.
"Now, let's go over that combo one more time," the holograph of the dance muse, Jenny, instructed.
Vivian drove all thoughts of Taz, Shira, and everything else out of her mind as she concentrated her entire mind on the combo. She had gone through the movements plenty of times and it was like it was seared into her memory for life. She sashayed again towards the back corner and into a perfect cabriole that she had spent several days – and nights – to perfect. She plied once, and prepped for a double pirouette before twirling twice.
"Decent," the holograph of Jenny said. "Improve your fifth position and work on your turnout before you start your fancy movements. Basic technique is crucial, you can add you head snaps later."
Sighing, Vivian turned back towards the barre and began working the arch of her feet, stretching it and feeling the slightly burning pain in her toes. Her mind wandered again to Taz. She had spent part of the night trying to convince herself that she didn't care whether he flirted with other girls or not. After all, she never stuck to one guy for longer than two weeks. Skating would eventually win out and she would leave behind said boy behind and never see him again. That was how it always worked back in Colorado. So why the hell did she feel the need to destroy and humiliate some Giselle girl the same way she had destroyed Rebecca? Maybe because she hated how a girl seemed better than her? She thought about it. She didn't even know Giselle, yet she already hated the girl who had snagged Taz's attention, even if it was just for a brief period of time.
Dammit. She immediately chastised herself. Vivian Dresden did not obsess over boys. They weren't worth it. No no no no no. Thinking about boys instead of skating was a total NO. She had learned that from her mother from an early age. After all, that was what happened to her mother. Danielle Dresden had been at the peak of her career until her boyfriend dumped her, causing her to become distracted during her long program at the Olympics. She fell and injured her leg, a severe injury that put her off the ice for at least two years. Needless to say, that was the end of her mother's skating career.
Skating was her main focus, it was her life and no boy was going to get in the way of that. So why the hell was Taz freaking Brazille popping up in almost every thought of hers?
She gave up on trying to focus and glanced over at the clock. Ten more minutes till her session was over. She threw an exasperated look towards the holograph machine and piquéd over to switch it off.
"Bye, Jenny," she muttered. After all, there was no way she was going to be able to focus right now. A part of her longed to run straight to the rink and turn her brain off as she worked mechanically on her triple flip but the other part of her was screaming for a break.
"Oh, what the hell," Vivian grumbled as she threw everything in her bag and left the Dionysus Theater with a feeling of failure and frustration coursing through her body.
A few minutes later, the early sunrise found Vivian sitting on a rock in the Azure Cove as the sea waves lapped at the rocks and she let her feet dangle in the cool water. The cool morning breeze from the ocean cooled her sweating body and blew her dark hair gently. She rubbed her forehead as she tried to push all thoughts of skating, Taz, Giselle and her mother out of her mind. It was giving her a headache.
She had gone to the rink this morning, trying to force the tangle of thoughts out of her head. It was unsuccessful. She had fallen on every triple she tried, her speed with her spins were barely half as good as her usual performance and somehow slipped and fell during a spread-eagle. Something that hadn't happened since she was seven. What was wrong with her?
The answer immediately popped into her mind. Taz. And Giselle.
"Ugh!" she cried in pure frustration. This was not supposed to be happening. She was letting a boy – a Brazille boy, but a boy nonetheless – get in the way of her skating. Her mother would have killed her. And so would have Nataylia, her old coach who seemed to share much of her mother's thoughts. She was hitting an all-time low. Her legs didn't obey her, she slammed into the ice every time she attempted a jump and she was bruised all over with a mind that wandered in a million different directions.
She leapt up her seat on the rocks and screamed out in a fit of pent-up anger.
"Well someone's frustrated," a voice came from the entrance of the cove.
Vivian inwardly cursed and spun around to face the boy who had been invading her thoughts for the past twenty-four hours.
"What are you doing here?" she snapped, her defensive mood jumping up and into place.
"Whoa, no need to get all feisty on me," he grinned.
Vivian refused to let herself be won over by just a simple smirk. Her crush alerts screaming with red alarms all over her but her rational side squashed it down with an eye-roll. If she was in a cartoon movie, she would have those two things on her shoulders. One devil and one angel. The devil would have been urging her jump Taz like any other Brazilly Boy fan while the angel would have been shaking her head and thinking about her mother, her skating and her dream of the Olympics.
"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Vivian raised an eyebrow at Taz.
"Aren't you?" he countered. He moved away from the entrance to sit down on a rock besides Vivian.
"No," Vivian replied flatly. "I took a mental health day."
"Hard to believe my mother encourages that,"
"She doesn't need to know," Vivian looked over at Taz, silently daring him to tell on her.
"So, we both ditched. How about we go have so fun?" he grinned at her. "Maybe go swimming or something."
Vivian stared at him, her cold façade dissolving into slight shock. "Are you crazy?"
"I am 100% serious, Miss Vivian Dresden," he deadpanned. "So, yes?"
"Should I be flattered that you even remembered my name?"
"Yeah," he grinned.
"Heard you had a hot date last night," Vivian said. She wasn't going anywhere with Taz until she knew all his motives.
"Are you stalking me?" Taz looked at Vivian with a wicked smirk.
"No, I'm not," she replied indignantly. "Gossip flys around fast."
"Nice to know I'm such an interesting topic of discussion," he laughed.
Vivian rolled her eyes while she suppressed a laugh.
"Not that I care but there are a bunch of other girls who would drop everything to talk to you," Vivian countered. "You're just wasting your time, here."
"Oh really? What if I'm interesting in a certain brunette with a thing for ice-skating?"
Vivian had to give it to him. He was just as smooth and charming like every girl claimed him to be.
"You mean Dannie?" Vivian answered. "I'm sure that could be arranged."
"So you like playing hard to get, huh?" Taz mulled over that thought before throwing another heart-melting grin at Vivian.
No no no no no no no no no no. Her rational side was chanting the word NO over and over, as if it would make Taz disppear. Her crush alerts were all out now, sirens wailing at top volume.
Vivian smirked and flipped her hair. "What if I'm sincerely not interested?"
"You still haven't answered my question," Taz said.
"And you haven't answered mine," Vivian countered.
"About your interested? I'd say you're lying to yourself," he said with a cocky smile. "So….back to my question."
"About going swimming?"
Taz grinned, "There's a place up in the mountain area, with loads of hot springs, want to check it out with me?"
Vivian considered that for a minute. There were so many things that could go wrong. One, it would break her probation rules. Two, it would require her ditching her solo session with the skating holograph machine. Three, she could get caught and busted. Four, her mother – and her rational side – would murder her.
"What about the rest of your admirers, do you usually take them swimming?" Vivian asked. She wondered what he had done with Giselle last night. Take her out on a boat ride in the ocean?
"Nope, just you," Taz grinned at Vivian. She could feel the hard walls built around her heart collapsing in as the part that wanted to go with Taz gradually begin to take over.
"What about Giselle?" Vivian still wanted to know where he stood with her.
"We met up, talked, I got bored, I left," Taz shrugged simply. "Less than ten minutes, tops."
Vivian flicked a glance at her aPod, they had talked for over twenty minutes. She had already missed ten crucial minutes of her skating session. And besides, if she turned down Taz – she'd be distracted the entire day with thoughts about him. Damn it. Boys really weren't healthy.
Screw this. Vivian thought. This whole thing was messed up. She always found time to insert fun between training but since Shira threatened her, she had worked herself to death and given up all forms of social life. This wasn't what she wanted. Vivian knew that skating was important, but to throw away her life? No. She had always been able to fit things together to make her life fun and exciting while working hard at the same time. That was the Vivian that got into Alpha Academy. She wasn't going to let a stupid rule change her lifestyle. No. It was time for some real fun.
"Sure," she finally replied, after making him wait for twenty-three seconds.
Taz grinned at her. "We're going to have a kick-ass time, you and me,"
He grabbed her hand and towed her out of the cove and towards bubble train. As they swung themselves up on the roof of the train compartments, Vivian laughed freely as the wind whipped their hair as Taz set the train to go on a special track, a special train track that led up to the mountains. She hadn't been this light-hearted since she arrived at the Colorado Springs Skating Center.
Taz tapped in a command in his aPod that he had somehow connected to the bubble train's control center. The train sped up and Vivian felt the full force of the wind whipping her hair as she grabbed onto the railing.
"You're crazy!" she screamed over the wind.
"So are you!" he yelled back.
It was sheer madness. Hacking into the bubble train for a wild getaway with a forbidden Brazille boy was extreme – even for Vivian. But wild and crazy things were Vivian's speciality. Just as long as she didn't get caught.
X-X-X
Ali pushed back a chunk of hair that had stuck to her forehead as she ran steadily on the treadmill of the Atlanta Gym. Vanessa, her jockey muse, had ordered each girl to log workout sessions in the Atlanta Gym to work on their physical condition. Glancing at the shiny screen, she saw that she had ran a little over two miles. Her charcoal gray sweats were rolled up mid-calf and she had put on a silver cami. Her chocolate brown hair was tied up in a ponytail and her bangs were pinned up and off her sweaty forehead.
She wondered if other alphas had to go through this physical torture every day, too. Yes, it would improve her body, her stamina and blah blah blah. But it didn't mean that she had to like it. She was just going to have to deal with it. She knew that Vivian worked herself to death like this every day just like Ali herself, but she envied Reid who didn't need to drown herself in sweat almost every morning.
"Almost done, Ali?" Andie called. Andrea Cameron – nicknamed Andie – was one of the three girls who also took a jockey track at Alpha Academy. Female jockeys were extremely rare, hence the reason why Ali, Andrea and Rachel Miller were the only girls in Vanessa's hardcore class. Other girls might have taken horse-back riding, dressage or other things for fun but Ali, Andie and Rachel were the only serious girls about riding.
"One. Second," Ali gasped out as she pushed her legs faster on the treadmill.
"Done!" she cried out as she stabbed the button and collapsed off the treadmill and onto the floor.
"Me too," said Rachel as she threw herself onto a mat besides Ali. Andie slid down slowly to sit besides Ali.
"Girls!" the commanding voice of Vanessa resonated through the gym. Ali immediately stood up as Vanessa approached, with the ferocity of a drill sergeant.
Oh god, no.
"Since you girls are already on the mats, I want one hundred crunchs. Nonstop," Vanessa ordered with her no-nonsense tone of voice.
"Now start,"
With her muscles screaming in protest, Ali laid down on a gold mat, place her hands behind her head and began to lift her head and shoulders off the mat.
"One, two, three, four, five, six," Vanessa kept count as the girl did their crunches. If one of them fell behind, they all had to stop and start over again. A rule that Ali hated with her whole heart. But becoming an alpha wasn't all happiness and sunshine. Ali was determined to succeed. And she would do a hundred million crunches if that was all it took. It was time to show the world and her moronic family what Ali Ryan was capable of. She was going to kick everyone's ass at the races and she'd be the top jockey in the world. No one was going to stop her. No one.
"Vanessa was strict today, wasn't she?" commented Rachel as the three girls left the Atlanta Gym with their gold gym bags slung over their shoulders.
"She's always strict," said Ali simply. That was a fact. Vanessa was one of the strictest and most demanding muse that Ali ever met. She doubted if Vivian's skating muse, Tori, was as strict as Vanessa. From what Ali saw, Vivian pushed herself to be the best, no matter who her coach was, and that was one of the things Ali admired about Vivian. The two of them had a lot more in common than the rest of the Taylor Swifts, a reason why they were closer. They knew the harsh lives of competition, knew what it felt like when their body felt like it was going to die, knew what they needed to sacrifice for their goals. And neither of them had eaten chocolate since they were two.
The morning had passed in a blur. The sun was slowly shifting over to the west, letting the afternoon begin. The three girls were all headed towards their afternoon classes and Ali was headed towards Fashion Style.
"Hi Summer," Ali greeted the blonde singer alpha as she slid into a seat besides her housemate.
A few seconds later, Vivian blew in the door with her hair rumpled into a style dissimilar to Suzanne Walter's full blonde beachy waves. A bright smile lingered on the brunette's lips as she entered the room. Well someone had a good day. Vivian slid into the seat besides Ali as she flicked out her aPod and synced it with her touchscreen computer in front of her. Each girl was situated in a chair behind a touchscreen computer. With flat, sleek screens that allowed girls to design their own wardrobe, the class was a popular one.
"Alright, girls," the muse, Valerie, called out. "Today is an easy day, just continue working on your latest outfit and…."
Ali pressed on the image of a closet to find her latest pieces ordered neatly by the date. To her right, Vivian had already opened her file on her newest skating dress and was adding intricate designs to her dress. She traced a slim finger over the surface of the screen, letting a string of beads appear on the screen where her finger had left. She was currently creating a delicate beaded chiffon dress.
"Pretty," commented Ali.
"It's my Olympic dress," Vivian said quietly. "The one I'm going to wear to my first Olympics, I've been designing this in my mind since I was five."
"Oh," Ali was slightly surprised. "It's really pretty, though."
Ali looked at Vivian's creation. It looked simple to the eye but it was an intricate work of art. While Vivian claimed that she was horrible at drawing and painting, Ali had to admit that the girl had an eye for fashion. She turned away from Vivian's work and focused her attention on her own.
Flicking an icon at the corner of the screen, Ali pulled open her newest design – a emerald-green dress. She had tired of designing riding outfits and had decided to create something more….fancy. With shimmery green fabric that sparkled like emeralds, Ali cut the skirt of the dress by tracing precise lines on the sensitive touchscreen and adjusted the neckline and sleeves. The faint hum of the computers was overlapped by the quiet chatter of the girls as the designed their outfits and traded gossip.
Ali felt a slight buzzing in her pocket. She glanced around surreptiously for the muse, Valerie, before hurriedly whipping out her aPod.
Dingo: Yellow. Wanna hang with us near the lake tonight? Bring your roomies and I'll bring my bros ;)
Ali: Sure we're not going to get caught?
Dingo: Hell, no. 'Sides, mom's away on some secret business trip.
Ali: I guess…..
Dingo: It's a date then!
Ali: See you at nine!
"Ohmygosh, you will not believe what just happened!" Ali hissed in a side note to Vivian while Summer leaned in to listen.
"What's up?" Vivian muttered back, while adding sparkles to her dress.
"Dingo asked us to hang with him and the rest of Brazille boys tonight!" Ali whispered in excitement.
"No way!" exclaimed Summer, her navy blue eyes lit up in excitement.
"Shhhh!" Vivian straightened up from their huddled and sent a charming smile at Ashley Bell who was walking by, on her way to ask Valerie a question.
"Dingo texted you?" asked Summer.
"Yes!" Ali was barely able to contain her squeal of excitement. "At the lake," she whispered back.
"Are we going?" wondered Summer, a flicker of doubt crossed her eyes and her eyebrows wrinkled together in concern.
"Yes!" Ali said.
Vivian didn't reply. She traced patterns absently on her touchscreen while seemingly lost in thought. A secret smile danced over her lips for a second before she looked up at Ali.
"We're going," she smirked. "I don't you if you are Summer, but we definitely are. And I doubt Reid would pass up a chance to mack on her boy toy."
Summer nodded before turning back to her screen.
"Everything good, girls?" Valerie appeared at Ali's elbow and peered at her work.
"Of course," Vivian smiled sweetly at Valerie before distracting her with other questions about fabric, chiffon and silk while Valerie was oblivious to the gold text bubbles filling up the screen of Ali's phone that innocently sat on her desk.
Ali quickly slid her aPod shut and slipped it back in her pocket and turned back to her emerald green dress.
She was going to hang out with Dingo tonight! Her first meeting that would be over a two-minute bubble train ride.
X-X-X
Vivian: Heard Giselle had an interesting date with Mr. Taz Brazille himself last night…
Dannie: Oh really? Dang! You mad at her?
Vivian: Why should I? We're not competing for the guy.
Dannie: You keep telling yourself that, girl. That guy's got a hot body and lips that can kiss like no other…..you're crazy if your going to let Giselle have him.
Vivian: Who says I actually like him.
Dannie: Girl, please. It's obvious.
Darwin: You're coming tonight right?
Reid: I'll be there (:
Darwin: Can't wait to see you in person :)
Reid: Miss you already…
Darwin: Three more hours :D
Reid: See you!
Giselle: OhmyGOD you would not believe it!
Summer: Believe what?
Giselle: Taz showed up last night! And we talked for hours and ohmygod I think he likes me!
Summer: Really? That's great
Giselle: We talked and talked and it was just like, way cool!
Summer: So…..you just talked?
Giselle: Yeah, he left after a while though. But it was because Shira was calling him
Summer: Oh
Giselle: Mmmm, I think he really likes me!
Summer: That's great
Alice: Want to practice our monologues together later?
Marin: Sure! That'll be wicked! At least Sabrina's not around….
Alice: Oh yeah, she's really a…..
Marin: Witch with a b? I get 'cha.
Alice: Ready for Rosaline's first test?
Marin: Oooh, yes. Can't wait to see the look on Sabrina's face when you finally kick her ass!
Alice: LOL
Ali: Spill! You ditched this morning for TAZ BRAZILLE!
Vivian: Oh just yell it out, won't you?
Ali: It's a text, honey. No one can hear it.
Vivian: It was meant to be sarcastic.
Ali: Stop changing the subject! Where, when, what, how and WHY?
Vivian: We went swimming…..
Ali: In a BIKINI! Ooh girl! Someone's adventurous!
Vivian: It was the hot springs
Ali: Day-UM! You + Bikini + Taz = OHMYGOSH!
Vivian: Be jealous ;)
Ali: Oh I am, girl. Don't worry
Vivian: It's not like we're official
Ali: Only a matter of time before you find out that boys are just as important than skating, honey.
All my life I've been good, but now,
I'm thinking what the hell,
All I want is to mess around,
And I don't really care about,
If you love me, if you hate me,
You can't save me,
Baby, baby,
All my life I've been good, but now,
Whoooa what the hell.
So! Review! Review! Review! REVIEW! They make my day!
Oh! And if you haven't, check out my new spin-off, it's called Let's Get Dancey and it features Annie Giordano, Corona White and one new character! There's only a plot summary right now...but it'll be updated!
So...I just noticed that I never really had a section where Vivian actually talked to Taz...so it's in here! :) Hope you liked it! Next chapter, Summer, Ali, Alice, Reid and Vivian meet up with the Brazille Boys! :O Wonder what happens...
Songs: Perfect Two by Auburn (It's the most adorable song ever!) and What the Hell by Avril Lavigne (inspired Vivian's newfound reckless attitude when she ditched skating for Taz)
One more thing! I'd like to thank ALL THE PEOPLE who have been with this story ever since it started and especially to LuvLife113 for sticking with this story ever since the very beginning and reviewing every single chapter! And to alicemaybrandonjones who has also reviewed every single chapter with tons of advice and edits for me! Thanks! Let's hope this chapter will be a little more typo-free, yes? :)
One more thing! Here is a list of characters in here so it's easier to keep with names and houses when I mention them...not all 100 girls, but the ones that I mentioned. Even briefly.
Taylor Swift:
Summer Williams – singer/songwriter
Vivian Dresden – figure-skater
Ali Ryan – jockey
Alice White – actress
Reid Dame – artist/painter
Michelle Obama:
Gwen Sparks - writing
Rebecca Pomerleau – dancing
Sabrina Benson – actress
Isabelle Martin– artist
Sara Wilkes - model
Beyonce:
Delphi Rivera – actress
Suzanne Walters – skater
Rachel Miller – jockey
Simone Channings – model
J.K Rowling:
Dannie Fletcher– skater
Ashley Bell– painter
Marin Perez– actress
Tammy Duong– inventor
Andrea Cameron (Andie) – jockey
Hillary Clinton:
Giselle Sanchez – singer
Mariella Devian - writer
Lily Patterson - figure-skater
Victoria Beckham:
Taylor Mitchell - singer
Amy Morgan – drummer (punk rockstar chick)
Siena George - figure-skater
Other characters:
Meggie Chang: Vivian's BFF
Jamie Sanders: Vivian's BFF
Andromeda "Andie" Winston: Vivian's BFF
Karolyn Dresden: Vivian's older sister
Cecilia Marlow: Summer's ex-BFF
Greg Williams: Summer's younger brother
Annie Giordano: Cecilia's BFF (a main character in my other story!)
Ally Lane: Reid's BFF
Corona White: Alice's sister (a main character in my other story!)
Christian Ryan: Ali's brother
Ivory Diamente: Taylor Swift house muse
Hazel: Art muse
Tori: Skating muse
Vanessa: Jockey muse
Jenny: Dance muse
Lucille: Singing muse
Rosaline: Acting muse
Brianna: Model muse (teaches Spotlight Training)
*Note: This list will be updated as the story continues...any suggestions of new characters are encouraged as well as plot ideas...
I don't have a beta, so all the mistakes are mine!
-The Lovely Psyche