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Wonderment-Chapter 17

Forced Conversations

As I placed the bacon and eggs from the trays filled with morning delights on to my plate, my thoughts went back to my cloaked stranger. I couldn't help but wonder what he was doing now.

Was he, too, eating breakfast at this very moment? Or was he still sleeping in? I bet with riches like his, he must live in a tall, luxurious mansion deep in the hillside, hidden by the forest, I imagined. He seems to be a man that likes to keep not only his identity clandestine, but his whole life as well. He must like living in secret, a man of mystery.

He intrigued me in every way. The way he said my name, my real name, Arabella - his tone was so compelling, so… seductive. His keen awareness of my feelings, his protectiveness, and his interest in my own interests. It would cause any woman to fall in…

Whoa, wait! What was I THINKING?!

I had never loved, nor even knew what falling in love felt like. This couldn't be…love. It was just an infatuation - an unhealthy one at that! After all, I had no idea who he was. I didn't even know what he really looked like!

"It's just a silly crush," I said out loud to myself.

"What did you say?" asked the girl standing in front of me. I wanted to smack myself upside the head. I couldn't believe my tongue's betrayal of my secret private thoughts!

"Oh nothing- it's just this, uh, undercooked hash- the potatoes look a little undercooked," I stammered, making an effort to cover my original words.

She smiled in agreement, following my gaze to the hash browns.

"You're Belle, right?" she asked inquisitively.

I looked up, and had to struggle not to gape wide-eyed at her. It was the stunningly beautiful blonde who had been on Adam's arm at the Welcome Dance.

"Yes," I confirmed, nodding.

She smiled, nodding back. "I recognize you from my Ancient History class. What's a freshman like you doing in a class with upperclassmen?" she asked. Her tone was not necessarily rude or unfriendly, but it came off a bit disingenuous, as if she were disparaging my intelligence for actually being placed in a more advanced class than other freshmen.

"I've studied all the freshmen and sophomore classes previously in grade school," I replied.

"Wow. Quite the overachiever now, aren't we?" she said in a syrupy-sweet tone as she placed a slice of toast on her plate with the tongs. "You must have had a very strict school!"

"No, not really. I just…had a lot of free time on my hands," I tried to explain as we went down the buffet line. I felt as if I had been thrown into the conversation unwillingly.

"Well, it's quite impressive how much you've managed to achieve in a shorter period than everyone else." Her compliment was laced with a hint of taunt.

"Thanks," I replied shortly, hoping she'd get the hint that I wanted out of this conversation. I knew she was probably jealous because of what Adam had said earlier on in the school year, but I had no desire to be her source of entertainment.

"Why don't you sit with us?" she offered as we reached the end of the buffet line.

I was dismayed by the offer. I had hoped to get away from her, but now I didn't know what to do. It would be rude for me not to accept her invitation, but I could tell it wasn't a genuine offer of friendship. Therefore rejecting it wouldn't be SO bad - would it?

My eyes darted to my school bag. "Oh, well...I was going to sit to the side there and read this book while I ate," I replied.

She followed my gaze. "Books can wait," she said dismissively. "You need to make your mark at this university, Belle. After all, you're s one of the smartest students here. Why not join a sorority, such as mine?"

"Sorority?"

"Yes. Come now, meet some of my friends and eat with us! It'll just be a little conversation," she pressed, noting my hesitation.

I followed her into the sitting side of the canteen. Each table was decked with beautiful silverware and adorned with a vase of tea roses at the center.

As we turned the corner, I begrudgingly followed behind her, holding my tray. Maybe it will be okay, I tried to convince myself. Maybe I DO need to make more of an effort to be more social and less introverted.

Around the corner, I found a table with four girls sitting. Two seats were vacant.

"Aurora! Where have you been?" exclaimed a short-haired girl. Aurora – that's right! I thought. That was what Adam had called the blonde.

I observed the girl who had called Aurora's name. Her hair was as black as a raven's feathers. Her skin seemed to be as fair as snow, but her lips were so red it made the vision of blood look pale in comparison.

There were three other girls sitting beside the black-haired girl. One had shoulder-length blonde hair a bit darker that Aurora's. The second was a beautifully exotic young lady who looked like she was perhaps from the East. Her skin glowed copper-gold, and her hair was the longest out of all the girls. Her long black tresses complemented the sparkle in her almond shaped eyes. She sipped her tea with a dignified demeanor.

The fourth girl was the most friendly and animated. Her facial expression reminded me of Ariel's. She had a smile that I felt was permanently plastered on her face at all times. I bet even when she was sad, she still smiled. She wore her hair in an intricate low bun, her lashes were long and beautiful, and her skin was a warm brown. She was the first to introduce herself.

"Well, Aurora, who do we have here? I'm Tiana," she said with a friendly wave.

"Belle," I answered with a smile, and waved back. It seemed that Aurora was not going to introduce me, even though she was the one who had pushed me to tag along.

"Hello, Belle. I'm Jasmine," said the girl with the gorgeous long black hair as she placed her cup and saucer down.

"She's a princess from the Middle East," Aurora added. "Then there's Snow White, she's from Germany, royal like me as well. Cinderella and Tiana are only commoners. But, you know, nice personalities." The last bit was added dismissively, like an afterthought, as she sat down. "Come sit!" she ordered, looking at me.

I quickly plopped down, but was offended by the dismissive way Aurora had introduced Cinderella and Tiana. What on earth did she mean by "only commoners"?

I turned to Tiana, since she had seemed the friendliest. "Where are you from, Tiana?"

"America, originally. New Orleans. I came here with my mother years ago, after my father passed away years ago. My mother is one of the best seamstresses in all of Europe," she replied with pride.

"Wow, that must come in so handy, with all the balls and dances at university," I commented as I began eating my breakfast.

"It does," she agreed. "I get some benefits, being the daughter of one of the most sought-after seamstresses in the world. She has mostly royal clients. Some of the royal ladies at this very table have worn her creations."

"You're so lucky, Tiana," Aurora chimed in. "You get to dress like royalty without paying for it! I'll bet many of the men who see you at the balls in those dresses have no idea you're a commoner!" She leaned forward and added confidingly, "But one word of advice in that situation: try not to speak. One word out of your mouth, and they'll know the truth."

I was shocked at Aurora's rudeness. But Tiana laughed, seemingly unoffended. "No worries – I'm comfortable with who I am," she replied. "Besides, any guy who's turned off by the fact that I'm not royalty is someone I wouldn't want to be with anyway."

I smiled, approving of her answer. Tiana was definitely someone I could get along with.

"You are lucky, Tiana – not because your mother's a seamstress, but because she's so loving," Cinderella said. Turning to me, she explained, "My mother died when I was a baby, and my father remarried. My stepmother is awful. Then my father died, and I was stuck with her! She treated me like a servant – she made me cook and clean and wait on her and my stepsisters hand and foot, while they did nothing all day."

Aurora mused, "Still, it was good training for you, wasn't it? Now, if you ever get a job as a servant, you'll know how to do a good job."

Cinderella shook her head. "No, thanks! That's why I'm here at university. My father left me a trust fund in his will – my stepmother couldn't get her hands on it. I got the money when I turned 18, and the first thing I did was apply to university. I want to make something of myself so I won't have to clean other people's houses ever again."

"Very commendable! But just know, Cinderella: if you ever do need a servant job, I'll always be happy to hire you," Aurora said with syrupy sweetness. "Truly, it would be my pleasure. Good help is so hard to find these days!"

"I'll keep that in mind," Cinderella said, rolling her eyes. She smiled at me. "Belle, I think you're in my sonnet class, aren't you?"

"Yes, it's one of my favorite classes," I told her.

"Wow, that's one of the advanced classes, is it not?" asked Jasmine thoughtfully.

"Yes – apparently Belle had no social life, so she always spent all her time studying instead," Aurora purred. "I find that kind of dedication SO admirable! With me, I just can never seem to find time to study, with all the balls and parties and dates and invitations keeping me busy!" She glanced at me to see if I would react, but I made a point of ignoring her as I ate my breakfast.

Cinderella said teasingly, "You know, Belle, the whole class is curious about that little romance you have budding there with the duke's son."

I stared at her wide-eyed. Romance...with Adam? We had gone from enemies to sort-of friends, but we certainly hadn't progressed to romance.

"You're partners with him on that assignment, right? How's that going?" Cinderella went on.

"Oh!" cried Aurora suddenly, interrupting our conversation. "You were the one at the Welcome Dance that caught my Adam's attention, weren't you?"

My Adam? When was Adam hers? He had made it clear to me that he was done with her the night of the dance, when he retreated back to the dormitory. Not that it mattered to me - did it? No, no. I was just making an observation.

"Oh, yes, I remember now," Aurora continued. "You were about to leave, and he saw you were all alone with no date, so he kindly bid you goodnight as you made your way up the Tuscan staircase. He's such a sweetheart, always tries to be kind to the socially awkward. I remember it because it was just before he asked me to dance with him." Aurora nonchalantly spread some butter and jam on her toast. She was very good at lying. I had no doubt in my mind she knew exactly who I was when she cunningly started up a conversation with me back at the buffet line.

"Yes, Adam spoke to me at the dance. Cinderella, to answer your question: our assignment is going very well. Furthermore, I hate to disappoint all the rumors, but there is NO romance going on," I stated dismissively, so they could see I didn't care.

"Oh, come now - Cinderella has told me how he always sits next to you in class whenever he can. That must mean something, right?" Snow pointed out.

Aurora's face was fuming, and I could tell she was trying hard to smile through her grimace. "As I said, my Adam is always kind to the unfortunate," she said snippily. "Besides, he was assigned to be her partner – he HAS to talk to her, whether he wants to or not!"

"You keep saying 'my Adam.' That's funny - I didn't realize you two were together," I challenged. Why did I just say it like that? I didn't care about Adam that way, did I? Of course not! I was intrigued by another stranger altogether. But still, Aurora's comment was untrue. I couldn't let her get away with it!

"Well, technically speaking we're not together," Aurora said, glancing at the other girls. "But we're really, really close. We've been through a lot together."

"Oh, really?" I asked, pretending not to care. Was it bad that she was irking me so much? Why was I letting her get under my skin? Tiana and Cinderella looked as if what Aurora said didn't bother them. I needed to really try harder and have the self-confidence they modeled.

"I don't know, Aurora, sounds like you have some competition," Snow chuckled.

"Oh, hush!" Aurora ordered. Snow quickly looked taken aback and timidly slumped in reaction.

Jasmine, noting the tension, reassuringly patted Snow on the lap and diplomatically changed the subject. "Where are you from, Belle?"?

Great, my background was again being questioned! I knew I was going to have to deal with these questions for the next four years, but seeing the way Aurora treated Tiana and Cinderella made me apprehensive about divulging any truth.

"I'm from the south of France," I replied vaguely.

"Oh, not too far then! You're lucky," Jasmine said. "My homeland is so far away, I can't return often, and I miss my family a great deal. You must be planning to visit your family quite often while at university."

"No, not that often - I do have studies after all," I said.

"Ah," sighed Jasmine. "If only visiting home for me was just a magic carpet ride away! It takes me so long to go back and forth from France to my homeland. But what can I do? My father is the Sultan, and he insists that I be educated here, because this university is of a far higher standard than those in my homeland."

Tiana gave Jasmine an empathetic look, which seemed much appreciated by Jasmine.

Aurora tried to seize control of the conversation. "So, Belle, what aristocratic house do you hail from?" she asked sweetly.

I hesitated, not wanting to talk about my personal life. If only I had the self-confidence of Tiana and Cinderella, who were comfortable with who they were and didn't care what anyone said.

Luckily Cinderella saw my hesitation and came to my rescue. "Aurora, back off. She just met us all and we're interrogating the poor girl!"

"Yet I wasn't the one who brought up romantic rumors, though, was I?" Aurora snapped pointedly.

Cinderella jumped in her seat at that and quickly looked at me remorsefully. "That's a fair point," she admitted. "Sorry about that, Belle. I was just trying to start a conversation – not trying to stir up gossip or anything."

I waved my hand, dismissing her apology. "No, no. Don't worry about it I didn't take it like that. But yes, truthfully, I am not the kind of person who likes to divulge too much about my personal life to others until I know them well enough."

Aurora rolled her eyes, looking at Snow as she did so. I could tell in just minutes of this conversation that it seemed Aurora was their large-and-in-charge boisterous leader, and Snow was possibly the most naïve one, gullible enough to follow her.

I began eating my food in smaller bites. Although I was famished and had the urge to inhale the food in big gulps, I felt like I was being watched from different angles in a judgmental way. I really wanted to get out of this right now!

Tiana said, "You know Belle, our sorority is having a meeting this coming Thursday to welcome prospective new members. You should come."

"Thank you," I replied, "but I'm not really the kind of girl that hangs in sororities and stuff."

"What kind of girl are you then?" asked Snow.

"What I mean is, I am not worthy to be with such elegant ladies who wish to partake in a sorority," I said diplomatically. "I'm a very by-the-book sort of girl, literally and figuratively."

"So, you're a bit of a bore, huh?" Snow giggled and looked to Aurora for approval, seeming happy when she saw Aurora laughing along with her. But then Snow looked back at me and, seeing my displeasure, immediately stopped laughing.

Did this girl have any spine? She seemed so eager to be liked that she was a complete follower, acting however she thought anyone else wanted her to, and changing her behavior based on others' reactions. At least Aurora was consistent in her rudeness and Cinderella, Tiana, and Jasmine seemed to hold their own, confident in themselves.

"Belle, we know you're taking more advanced classes than freshmen usually do," Tiana said. "To be honest, having a sorority sister who with such an academic reputation would improve our image. Everyone thinks sorority girls are just bubble-headed party girls. We'd be lucky to have you."

"How about I think about it," I offered as dabbed my mouth with my napkin. I was pleased with Tiana's honesty. Even if she just wanted me to fill an academic quota, at least she was upfront about it.

"I guess that will have to do," Tiana agreed with a big smile. "Till then, I'd love to get more acquainted with you. What dormitory are you in?"

We continued chatting. Cinderella and Tiana talked to me the most. They really made an effort to get to know me. I told them about my love for books, and we told each other of our favorite novels. It was nice to meet girls in my school who were kind and friendly; aside from Ariel, I hadn't ever socialized much with girls my age. Jasmine would chime in every once in a while, but Aurora didn't care to take part, and Snow followed her lead. Every now and then I would catch the two exchanging judgmental looks to one another. I scoffed in my mind each time they did so.

"Well, Belle, since we're all done here, were you thinking of doing some studying today?" asked Cinderella.

"Cinder and I were thinking of heading to the library to study a bit," explained Tiana.

"Sure. I didn't bring anything with me except for my book of sonnets, though. But besides the project, I know the sonnet professor had assigned some other work. Maybe I can complete it and get that out of the way," I thought out loud.

"Great. Let's go!" Tiana stood up with her tray in her hands.

"I'm completely tired, I only got up to eat this morning," Aurora yawned. "I need to go back to bed and get some rest!"

"Well, I need to go to my dormitory and catch up on my reading there. I don't have my books with me," Jasmine said.

"I'll go with you, roomie," said Snow.

Jasmine and Snow White were roommates? That surprised me. I had assumed that Aurora and Snow were roommates, seeing how Snow followed Aurora like a puppy.

"It must be hard to have share a room," Aurora said arrogantly as she stood, brushing her hair back with her fingers. "I'm so glad I have a single."

"Actually, it's nice to have someone around," Tiana responded with a hint of annoyance.

"Tiana and I have been roommates since freshman year," Cinderella told me.

"Oh!" I said. "Well, I hope my current roomie and I stay together for the next year as well."

"Who is your roommate?" asked Snow White.

"Ariel, "I replied.

"Ariel! King Triton's daughter? Princess of Cyprus?" Aurora exclaimed. "She's probably one of the wealthiest royals in the world! Why on earth would she share her suite?"

Again, I was shocked. Was it really necessary for her to point out Ariel's fortune in front of everyone? You would think a royal could afford manners. Perhaps she forgot to make THAT purchase, I thought.

I gave the same answer I had given to Adam a while back. "Some people enjoy experiencing university life to its fullest."

Aurora scoffed, "Oh, please! When I saw her at the Welcome Dance, she looked like a million bucks! I thought for sure she had her own suite, if not her own floor!"

"How silly of her to be sharing a suite!" chimed in Snow, following Aurora's lead?

Jasmine glared at her. "Are you unhappy that you're sharing a suite?"

Snow looked panicked at Jasmine's challenge, and looked down at the floor. "No, of course not! I was just saying…" She hesitated, not knowing what to say.

"Let's go, Belle," said Tiana.

"Okay," I replied.

As Cinderella, Tiana, and I headed over to the trash area, I saw that Aurora was still standing at the table talking to Snow and Jasmine. I was a little curious what they were talking about, but not enough to stay and listen. I was glad to be away from Aurora.

"Don't mind her, Belle," said Cinderella as she placed her empty tray on a stack of others.

"What do you mean?" I said as subtly as possible so it would look like I didn't care. Although deep inside me, I knew Aurora bothered me.

"Aurora, of course. She's a bit jealous," Cinderella said. "It's my fault - I brought up the whole you and Adam thing. I shouldn't have done that. She's completely distraught over their breakup, you know. She's just acting as if everything is fine."

"Yeah. She can be a bit pompous, but she's part of the sorority, and we never leave a sister behind. No matter how bad they can be!" chimed in Tiana as we all walked back outside.

"Trust me! If you think she's bad you should see my stepsisters. Aurora is an angel compared to them," Cinderella added.

I couldn't help but feel a bit bothered that Tiana and Cinderella were defending her. As we pushed through the double doors into the chilly air, I took my scarf out of my school bag and placed it around my neck.

"I'm sorry, but I just need to ask…" I started.

Tiana and Cinderella halted in their steps, prompting me to continue.

"It's just...she called you commoners! Doesn't that bother you?" I demanded.

Tiana chuckled. "Belle, if we cared about every petty thing she says, we'd be exhausted with arguing with her. We'd have no energy left for studying! Besides, we'd just be giving in to her."

"What do you mean?" I said, perplexed.

"Look." Cinderella came closer hooking her arm around mine. "At first Aurora's commentary about our statuses did bother us. She doesn't know it, but Tiana was in tears almost every day the first month of university."

Tiana nodded in agreement. "She was constantly bringing up the fact that I came from a poor background, and making snide comments. But my roomie here gave me a lot of backbone and encouragement. I started acting like what Aurora said didn't faze me, and soon she lost the rise she would get out of putting me down. Later on, as soon as she found out who my mother was, I was all of a sudden accepted fully in her eyes. It was so shallow! I felt like she was only friendly to me in hopes of possibly getting a free gown through me from my mother. But she's never actually asked. At least that's something, right? She could have, but she's never asked me. Learning to let the things she would say not bother me and let it go turned out to be a useful skill. It's helped me out through many other different tribulations at university."

"As for me, as I told you, my home life wasn't the best. My father died, and I was left in the care of a stepmother and stepsisters who loathed me. University is an escape for me. So what do I care what Aurora says? In the grand scheme of things, it's nowhere near as bad as what I've been through at home. The upside is, I leave it all behind when I come to Uni."

"I'm sorry your life was so hard," I said sympathetically. "Losing a loved one is just horrible. I couldn't imagine losing my own father. He's all I have left."

"We all carry pain," Tiana said.

I nodded.

"The point is, don't let her bother you, and you'll see how much you come on top," Cinderella said.

"Thanks." I smiled at my two new friends.

As we made our way to the library, I saw Gaston heading in our direction. My second time crossing paths with him that day and it was still morning. His shorter friend was next to him. I think his name was Lefou, if I remembered correctly.

"Well, hello again," Gaston said with a smile.

"Morning, Gaston," I replied.

"Heading for the library?" he asked knowingly.

I nodded. "You know me too well," I admitted.

"Well, have fun studying." He bowed slightly in respect to the other girls and went on his way.

"You….you know Gaston?" asked Cinderella.

"Yes. Why? Do you?" I asked.

"No, no. I mean, everyone knows him by right. Every girl at Uni would love to be on his arm," she sighed.

"Yeah, especially Cinder here!" Tiana teased.

"Ti!" Cinderella said, exasperated.

I looked at Cinderella kindly. "Crush?"

"A little one," she admitted.

"She's been crushing on Gaston since the first day of her freshman year," said Tiana.

"Enough, Tiana!" Cinderella exclaimed in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Cinderella, I won't mention anything," I promised.

Cinderella smiled. "I'm not in love or anything. It's just a crush. I've just always been intrigued by him. But I've heard he's a bit of a womanizer. Makes me a little apprehensive."

"Oh, he's not that bad," I told her.

"Well, anyway, it's just a crush," she insisted.

"We all have those," I softly replied as I thought about my cloaked stranger. I wished Thursday was already here.