"So, you're still not going to talk to me?" Anna observed from her desk which is on the left side of the dorm. The blonde, already cleaned and dressed in her night gown, simply ignored her.
For a long day, it's normal that one who is inarguably exhausted and is still in the process of registering all that had happened in one day is well...occupied. So it's no shock that Elsa kept her mouth closed, and focused on the task at hand— a script in need of memorization. That and her sister's, and another friend's, secrecy towards her is still a disappointment in her part.
Ever since the younger Princess studied at the most exquisite boarding school in the North, the sisters have completely fallen apart, relationship-wise. Siblings who used to chat about Arendelle and Princes from different kingdoms, equally shared duties to their people, ate all the chocolate in the kitchen that rendered their parents mad, and who used to quiz one another about Geography, became merely strangers living in the same quarters.
Neither of them would blame each other, though it's obvious that it's both their fault. Elsa, being too busy with Princess life and training to be a young ruler, lost sight of the outside world and everything just became oblivious to her. And Anna, being a thousand miles away, doesn't even call home unless it's urgent.
By now, they should understand and get used with the silence that will frequently hover over them when they're alone. But something about the mood and eeriness of the silence is hard to break and is quite...daunting.
No, Anna shouldn't be intimidated by her own sister! Like her, she is a Princess. They both have royal blood and all the perks that came with that; all the riches they can possibly dream of, uncertain career in the future, but they definitely have one tasked upon them even before birth. Princes around the globe asking for their hand in holy matrimony, all the food served in silver, if not gold, platter and a good reputation in society; the most important thing to royals.
The red head can feel her older sister's bad vibes and how infuriated? Annoyed? Downed? she is after the Mojo thing. Anna would probably understand her if Elsa started talking and eventually tell Anna about her little encounter with Olivia earlier...that is if she doesn't know about it yet. Maybe Punzie already told both Anna and Merida, they are pretty close after all. Elsa became adamant about giving them the silent treatment until they actually have the guts to apologize, just like Punzie. On the other note, Elsa did feel like she's overreacting...a little.
Nonetheless, Elsa decided to forget her problems and just focus on the script the bubbly Belle gave her earlier. She came here to study, not to be famous, get close with the most popular clique, make enemies, or even to be tempted into thinking that her dream guy is none other than Mr. Popular, or Ladies Man—whatever the official nickname for him is—himself; the guy who is the main reason behind her Mojo problem. But she can't fight the strong urge anymore.
She can't believe that after all they had gone through, she actually felt this way about him. A spark of tenderness, kindness and...attractiveness, the latter being something Elsa knew from the very beginning but just can't seem to admit it before, caused her to almost fall head over heels for him during lunch. Yep, Romeo is definitely shaping up to— "be but sworn my love and I'll no longer be a Capulet" Elsa recited, lowly, to herself.
She sighed and remembered how close they were a while ago. His face merely inches away from hers and their lips almost brushed against each other as they spoke their lines. Practicing this thing is definitely more fun with your partner, or in this case—Jack. Instead of memorizing even a line or two so she can have ample time to do the rest of her home works...or dorm works afterwards, she closed her eyes and her brain wandered off into dreamland; a place where she freely imagined the night that, supposedly, never happened with Jack, and not Jackson.
Everything else was a linear blur, it's only her and Jack on the platform, underneath the spotlight. His silver hair glistened and his soft blue eyes met hers like how Jackson's eyes did that night. And yes, she did look paler than usual. Was it the light? Or how both nervous and overly pumped she is? Both. Definitely. She was blushing too. Elsa's still wearing the same outfit, but this time, she was unmasked. Where did my mask go? Jack, as if reading her mind, pulled it out from under his tux and took the liberty of placing it back on her. Like he stole it from Jackson just so he can give it to her himself. The thought made Elsa blush even more.
She smiled up at him appreciatively and they started waltzing all around the hard floor. Jack's grip on her was tight but not the hurting kind, it was the secure kind. He smiled charmingly and kept his gaze locked on her and, with every step, inched closer to her. They danced in perfect rhythm that blended well with the music. The costumed and masked people around them applauded at their gracefully awing chemistry. The noise was oblivious to them, all they can hear were the sounds of music and each other's loud heartbeat. They kept staring at each other, careless if they fall or not. Soon enough, they did fell; shooting Elsa back into reality.
She gasped and sat up in her chair erectly. She blinked thrice and shook her head indignantly. Disappointment clouded her face again. Sometimes, it's really hard to tell which is which. Was it real or was it just a dream? What Elsa was certain of was that dreams are so much better if they become real. Was she developing feelings for Jack? There's no denying the inevitable now.
"Who wouldn't..." Elsa muttered to herself and sighed hopelessly before she hit the books.
[ Elsa ]
"Peace? Peace? I hate the word..." Eric read off the lines on his script, pulling out an impressive English accent.
Time does fly fast when you're in deep thought. First, I was in my bed, feeling the warmth and softness it brings to me then the next thing I know, History was over and I'm in English Lit. Ms. Oceania let us take the time to be able to practice. In fact, she offered to give the rest of her class hours this week as our practice time, as long as we remained silent.
At first, everyone yelled in excitement but immediately hushed themselves while forming a circle with their group mates. We all huddled closely and I mentally noted how the other group was just talking with their buddies. The Mojos, in particular, looked like they didn't care at all, which is pretty strange since one of them is the leader. They just chatted with one another while painting their nails with precision. If that's how careless they are with every single one of their classes, I wonder how they stayed at the Academy for a long time when everyone kept saying 'Getting in is easy, but staying is hard.'
Punzie started directing the first scene. Belle, being the bookworm she is—from what I heard the Jocks say—is Punzie's assistant and helped her give out instructions to our peers. Aurora grabbed me all of a sudden, I only gave her wide eyes and a slightly ajar mouth to cue her to tell me what's going on. She didn't answer, she only took out a tape measure from her backpack.
"Umm...what are you going to do?" I finally asked out loud,
"I need your body measurements for the costumes, duh" she wrapped the tape measure around my neck. She slightly furrowed her eyebrows as she read the numbers. She looked back and stated it to Ariel, who hurriedly jot it down on a notebook.
I looked up at the ceiling as she measured me. While Tybalt (Eric) and Benvolio (Roger) exchanged lines for the opening scene, quarreling using the Old English language is more like it, I heard Jack whisper: "Is it necessary that he pulls an accent off?"
I looked over and saw him right behind me, startling me a bit. He looked a bit unique today. Yes, he still wore perfectly unwrinkled uniform and he's still, dare I say it, handsome. Yet somehow, his hair got whiter and his way of talking was smoother and relaxed. His gaze on me wasn't as soft and luring in my dream, but it's close enough. "I don't know. It sort of suits him" I replied, hopefully it was something inaudible enough that Ariel won't hear.
Jack smiled and stepped beside me, watching Aurora work. "So...what will the dress look like?"
"Like what Juliet requested" she emphasized the name in both theatre talk and in a teasing way, "Very austere. I planned on giving her a light blue dress, to compliment her eyes. It goes to her knees and it'll be sleeveless. It'll be much easier than wearing a classic Elizabethan gown"
Jack squinted his eyes, probably picturing how the dress will look like. Hopefully, he wouldn't think if I'll good wearing it or not. I believe it would though, blue is a good color on my skin. I can wear it with ease.
"So, would you be needing to measure me too?" Jack asked, snapping me out of his trance.
Aurora observed his body shape, looking at him from head to toe. "No, pretty sure you have the same measurements as Philipp. I'll just copy it off from him."
"Fair enough, he plays for the team too"
"You play?" I suddenly asked the boy beside me.
He turned to me and nodded, Yeah. Basketball, you didn't know?"
Maybe I do, I just don't believe it. "No"
"Haven't been training since..." He trailed off and looked down at his foot. I gasped in shame and shut up. My actions must've prevented him from attending basketball practice. Now the large crowd of guys surrounding him that day made sense, that's the entire basketball team!
Jack smiled at me reassuringly, "Don't feel bad Elsa. It's just-
"Jack! You're up" Adam came over and patted his shoulder.
He sighed exasperatedly and sauntered near the platform, where Punzie is practicing the actors and encouraging them to memorize their respective lines. I looked all around me and saw most of my group mates, who has a role to play, holding a copy of the script in their hands and diligently reading the highlighted parts of their papers. The six other students in our cluster were busy with the other stuff which I can guess are the props and technical setup. Three people crowded around a laptop perched up on a desk. They all had headphones on and they constantly pointed at something on the screen, must be the background music we'll use and, if possible, the lighting. The rest of the group were at the back, outside the circle, working on a cardboard. They were only halfway but I can tell that their painting a foyer facing a ballroom.
I have to admit, Dad is right. This school really is prestigious and serious about making its students responsible adults for the future. I once overheard that students here care about their reputation more than their education, which is partly true considering the abundant social groups, the 'food chain' of popularity, and the bad case of bullying—something that the Principal is obviously unaware of. But that statement is redundant to what I'm seeing now; maybe not all of them, but some students actually care about their grades in order to have a bright future.
Even the royalties in this school are pretty responsible for someone who already has a sure, bright future ahead of them. Not a lot of people know who they are, of course, but I can pinpoint some of the group mates I have that are from royal blood. Let's see there's Punzie and I, Princess Aurora of Germany, Prince Philipp of Poland, Prince Adam of France and Prince Eric of the South Seas. It's no surprise that they know my name from the start. I know all of these people from meetings being held from time to time, mostly European gatherings since all of us came from neighboring countries except Eric.
The knowledge of us being Royals is a secret. I don't wanna speak for the others but I know that they feel the same way; we don't want to be a liability for other students to shine, or even receive any sort of royal treatment from the school administration—though they already know about us through our transcripts—because it will surely lead to favoritism and everyone else will have unfair treatment.
The kids don't recognize us being heirs and heiresses of some counties either, maybe they don't care at all or they're just clueless. So far, no one has blown our covers. Besides, we barely pose for photos being published on magazines or newspapers, we always keep a low profile on the streets of our kingdoms. Disguises if you know what I mean. That and we're rarely allowed to get out of the castle because of the impending large amount of attention. Only in the castle and in the company of another Royal family do we get treated like who we truly are.
Aurora cleared her throat, "So how's Arendelle?" she whispered.
"Sunny and...prosperous" I shrugged as she knelt down and measured my legs.
"Hmm, heard you guys have lots of crops ready to get harvested this time of year"
"Yeah, and Germany has more Gummi Bears than any country in all of Europe" I teased.
"Wish we had Nutella instead" the statement made me laugh softly. I wished that too.
"Okay, we're done" Aurora said as she slowly rose up, both of us equal in height. She rolled up the tape measure professionally, one of her three Aunts taught her a little about sewing. I'm not so surprised she's asking them to make the dresses for the play. "Are your parents okay with you being in a relationship with someone who isn't a Prince?" she whispered, raising her eyebrow and nodding her head towards the direction of the practicing actors.
I looked at her, puzzled, and reluctantly turned around. I saw Jack and Roger rehearsing a scene wherein Benvolio (Roger) comforts Romeo (Jack) about a certain Rosaline—which is played by no one since she's not important at all, that's what Belle said. I looked at Aurora again in sudden realization on who she's talking about. "No! We're totally not"
She giggled, "I saw the way you practiced at the garden!" she chirped silently.
I blushed madly, "You did?" I was pacing out, imagining what we might've looked like from another person's point of view but I immediately shook it off. "That's just acting, Ro. Nothing else" I should've just said nothing and left out else because it sure as heck made me look defensive. Too defensive. As expected, Aurora looked at me suspiciously.
"To tell you the truth: you guys look cute together" she looked back at Jack and then at me.
"Don't be ridiculous" I exclaimed silently. "You realize the predicament of our meeting?"
"True, true. But that doesn't mean you guys don't look good together" she snickered girlishly. "Hey, no relationship is perfect"
"Ro, we're not together! We don't even have a confession that we like each other or something"
"Oh?" she crossed her arms and smirked, "You like him?"
"No!" I could've sworn my cheeks burned and my ears turned pink. A sign that I was lying. Okay, so I really do like him huh? That's just perfect.
"Never mind if you like each other or not, I'm still shipping and rooting the two of you" she winked at me. "But, hey, a little reminder before you take any step further..." she gestured her fingers as if they skidded along an invisible pavement. "A Princess must only be with a Prince, literally or figuratively speaking. Either way, that's how it's supposed to be, remember?"
"Huh yeah, until Queen Elizabeth's mother allowed Prince William and Prince Harry that they can marry whoever they desire, royal or not. That changed a lot of things since then" Ro raised an eyebrow which made me giggle nervously. "I get it, Ro. But there's no way that that's going to happen." I sighed. "And don't worry, my parents allowed Anna and I" I added in silence.
"Oh goodie! No one will come in the way!" she exclaimed, "But I wasn't really pertaining to just Jack. I'm just reminding you 'cause you might also fall for a different guy, particularly that obnoxious Chris Greg or whatever his name is"
"What?...What now?" I asked, completely dazed and almost speechless.
Chris? Why is he suddenly getting involved in all this? It was really nice of him to show a semi-helpless girl around during her first day of classes around campus but that doesn't mean I'm into him! He's not even my type! There's something about his aura that makes me nervous within. I'm not certain if it's because of the fact that I'm just unaccustomed with him or how dark and drowned in thoughts he is most of the time.
If Ro is teasing me to him because he showed me around campus alone or because he's my Math partner—which, I regret by the way. I wanted Jack to be my partner instead but I never realized how fast and persuasive Chris was—then that's just shallow of her. Before she can even answer my question, someone called out for the two of us to come forth and rehearse.
I sighed. Aurora draped an arm on my shoulder and smiled at me reassuringly, "Come my dear" she said in a motherly tone. I forgot that she's going to play as my mother, Lady Capulet.
When we got there, I sat with my legs crossed on a chair in between Lady Capulet (Aurora) and Nurse (Jane). I stayed put innocently while Ro pretended to be busy brushing her hair.
"So, this scene comes after Romeo and Benvolio talk about getting in the Capulet ball. Remember that okay?" Belle reminded.
"Yeah, we're ready now' Jane fixed her bangs.
"Action!"
Aurora turned around and slowly neared towards me, "I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet, how stands your disposition to be married?"
"It is an honor that I dream not of" I said in a disagreeing yet calm tone.
"I was your mother much upon these years that you are now maid. Thus then in brief: the valiant Paris seeks you for his love" Ro bent down to my height and pinched my cheek.
As soon as she spoke the words out, my inner naïve, superfluous feminine side made me imagine a scene: I was sitting at that very spot, the wooden chair turned into a fancy cushion and I was wearing the dress Ro told me about. A single spotlight beamed on me and the entire surrounding was pitch black. Standing on either side of me are two young men that looked identical from behind. The one in tuxedo turned around, a mask on his face, and his brown hair shimmered in the light...Jackson. The other turned around as well, his charming smile can make your heart skip a beat and make your legs turn to jelly...Jack.
"A man, young lady! Lady, such a man as all the world—why, he's a man of wax" Jane exclaimed and bent down beside Ro while looking up at me as well.
"Speak briefly, can you like of Paris' love?" Ro cooed curiously.
I pictured Jack as Romeo and Jackson as Paris. Paris bent down in front of Juliet and held her hand while asking for her hand in marriage, she could only look at him in utter surprise. Not a second after he touched the fair maiden's hand, she got pulled away by a third force; Romeo took Juliet in his arms and embraced her possessively, his angry and envious glare fixed upon Paris. Paris had no choice...before he can take her back, Juliet was already embracing the young Montague while proclaiming her love for him. Romeo calmed and kissed Juliet on the-
There was multiple clearing of throats. I forced myself out of my fantasy and looked up at Punzie and Belle absentmindedly. Belle rolled her hands and tapped her feet alternatively on the floor, "Keep going..." she whispered.
I shook my head and took a deep breath, "I'll look to like, if looking liking move: but no more deep will I endart mine eye than your consent gives strength to make it fly"
"'Kay cut. That was great, girls" Punzie clapped her hands. She suddenly turned her head and looked at me, gesturing me to come over...immediately.
I stood up. While walking over to her, I glanced at Jack secretly. Coincidentally, he was eyeing me as well—a concerned look on his face. I abruptly averted my gaze and hurried over to my cousin. "What happened there?" she asked as I came over.
"Umm, sorry. I sort of got...bogged-down for a second there" I reasoned. I'll just make it look like I briefly forgot my line, even though I didn't, instead of confessing that I just daydreamed about two guys that are overtaking my dreams at the moment.
"Did you get enough sleep?" she asked worriedly.
Now that she mentioned it, I realized I didn't really sleep a full 8 hours last night. "Not really. I slept late, sorry if I ruined the scene." I said apologetically to both Punzie and Belle.
"Oh, don't be silly! It's okay!" Punzie placed assuring hands on my shoulders, "I'm going to make sure you sleep early tonight. I can't risk you getting sick or eye bags now can I?"
I smiled, "Thanks Punzie. But that's really unnecessary, I can take care of myself"
"Nonsense! Now, sit over there" she gestured to a chair by the window near the platform. "After this part, we're gonna need you and Jack to do the pre-balcony scene" she giggled.
"We'll cover the ballroom dance choreography tomorrow" Belle winked.
I knew an intense blush crept over my face because I immediately went over to that lonesome chair without even excusing myself. I sat down and watched as Jack, Roger and Lewis, who plays Mercutio, run lines together.
Halfway into the scene, Jack was the only one I was observing perform. His voice and speech delivery is so subtle, I guess he memorized the script well last night. I can already see how well his overall performance will be on the actual day of the presentation. He will take everyone's breath away just as he did to me...wait, what?! Okay, shake it off. Shake it off.
We are sure to win this thing because until now, the other group is still doing nothing. I know that all will be well judging by how motivated and hardworking everyone is right now whereas the other group looked like they haven't made any progress at all.
Every time I looked over my practicing group mates, I often caught Jack stealing glances at me...I hope I wasn't imagining or assuming it. Nope, I'm certain of it. I already counted seven. Whenever I noticed his gaze was currently on me, it made me blush more that I had to obscure my face by laying my head on top of the chair's desk while facing the mountain view outside.
I have a conclusion: I got it bad, really bad. What am I supposed to do now?