DAY TWO IN PROGRESS
Waking up I felt the early autumn sun in my eyes and a sense of peace washed over me. Peace, as peace often is, isn't an emotion that lasts very long because not even 5 minutes after I awoke the memories caught up with me. Seeking Miss Kebi out, Talking to her, and crying my eyes out like a sniveling child, I am officially the most pathetic bastard around.
My costume for the day ( second day of school, Wednesday here I come ) consisted of a tweed piece and linen pants. Slipping into them with ease I scurried down to breakfast to add some relief to my psyche by spilling my guts to my new best friends. Breakfast, to my surprise, was held at some cute little outdoor table's at the back of the school, which meant privacy from the other students but not so much from each other. Being in the elite class in a building of our own also meant we were the only students at Berkshire who lived there in dorms, that was nice at least.
"Where is Afton?" Corin rushed past me to ask the Denali ladies
"You know he's getting an early morning quickie, Corin, you needn't ask," Aro said with a grin plastered across his face
Greeting Carmen and Eleazar briefly I began my storytelling.
"I fucked up yesterday" I whispered
"We know. Croissant?" Carmen said handing me the pastry
"No, like more than the Friday detention thing during third period"
"Oh really? Do tell," El acquired, suddenly interesting himself in our conversation
Dinner last night would have been quite awkward, so instead of attending it I settled for an apple and a cup of tea ( before beginning my self-depreciation of course ) Because of that I hadn't seen my friends since yesterday afternoon and I was in desperate need of updating them. That meant only them since I wasn't so keen on Aro or Caius getting their hands on this information.
"In a hungry, tired daze I may have sought Miss Kebi out and then cried into her lap for like an hour" I cringed
"Really? That's not so bad, I think it's sweet"
"Besides, it was your own fault that you were hungry, Carlisle"
Rolling my eyes at my companions I tried explaining why that wasn't the case. It's just self-preservation after all.
"No, El, I would have died if I had to meet Kebi at dinner-"
"Kebi doesn't eat dinner with us" He interrupted, talking as though it was a simple fact that anyone could have figured out
"Huh? Well, why didn't you tell me!"
"You didn't ask"
Sighing at the idiocy of some people another question popped into my mind, would third period be the same today? having the sweat pile on my forehead I felt dizzy just thinking about it.
"Will we be getting the same treatment third period today?"
"Oh no," Carmen answered, "we call it a Tuesday thrashing because it only happens on Tuesdays. I think we will be starting the group project today, right, mi amor?"
"Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that"
Looking to them I felt mortified once again, they will naturally want to be together, so who would I work with?
"Can I work with you guys?" I asked nervously
"We don't get to decide that ourselves sorry, Carlisle," She said, much to my dismay
With fresh feelings of hopelessness, I felt completely lost, not for long though, as Afton soon appeared as a welcome distraction. Sporting two new hickeys.
"Where the hell have you been?" Corin hissed, pissed he had left her alone
"Calm down, I was with Chelsea," He said reaching his hand out to accept the "handshake of male respect" from Aro
Poor girl, she should start caring less, much much less.
Upon contact, Aro yelped like he was just now realizing the extent of what Afton had done and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"What the hell was that about?"
"Don't worry about it" Eleazar answered promptly shutting down any further questioning
"You shouldn't worry so much, Corin, I do what I want to do. You should try it sometime" Afton spoke echoing my companion's sentiment
"Try being a mindless dick? Yeah I think I'm alright, thank you"
Feisty.
Despite the little Afton-Corin drama that took place at breakfast it wasn't nearly enough to forget my worries about no doubt having to do the project with someone I didn't know, or worse, alone. Probably not alone though since I proved to Kebi last night that I am the biggest baby that ever lived, she likely thinks I'm in need of a babysitter. Classes flew by and before I knew it I was sitting at my desk for third period. And as the hours passed my humiliation grew, it wasn't enough that I had to endure the waiting for the class projects but I also had to live with the occasional sympathetic glances I had been getting from my teacher.
"Alright, class. As I said earlier this week there will be a class project, and I believe this is as good of a time as any to start working together to rebuild morale" Kebi said, pulling out a piece of paper "The assignment is to present a time period along with an influential figure from that time. Now, I will announce the groups and time periods, I want no fuss and this is not up for discussion, Carlisle and Didyme,"
Shit.
"Aro and Carmen, Kate, Irina, and Tanya, Afton and Esme,"
Double shit.
"Eleazar and Sulpicia, Athenodora and Marcus, and finally Caius and Corin. Those are the groups, now for the part of history you'll be presenting, in order: The Roman Empire, Ancient Greece, The Stuart era, The Victorian era, The Gilded Age, The Renaissance, and at last Ancient Egypt"
The Roman Empire? I thought to myself, that might be fun I guess
Wasting absolutely no time, Didyme had arrived at my desk with a stack of books and a look of determination.
"Alright, Carlisle, here's the deal. We will be doing our project on the Roman Empire and the historical figure we will be presenting is Marcus Aurelius." She stated
"Um, this is a group project, Didyme, shouldn't we decide together?"
"I'm not bossy or anything I promise, it's just that I'm a natural-born leader and I believe that I will be able to lead us into success. So, therefore, I want Marcus Aurelius, Marcus Aurelius it's going to be" The natural-born leader said, her head held high
Bristling slightly at her monologue I decided to let it go, lord knows I'm nowhere close to being a leader.
"Okay, what do I need to do first?"
"Here," she directed, pushing several books in my direction "do some research and we will sum up what we have read once we're finished"
I wouldn't call myself a master of literature or anything but I was a quick and avid reader that enjoyed filling my spare time with as much knowledge as possible, that being said my partner had managed to find the single most text-heavy and dull books about the roman empire that had ever been written so I quickly decided lending my ear to the other groups couldn't hurt…
"Why?!" Carmen asked, shooting Aro a withering look
"Because, Carmen. It would make no sense to have Aristotle or Plato when both of their thoughts and ideas had their foundations laid out by Socrates, ipso facto we should do our project about Socrates," He countered, giving her a similar glare "You just don't want to relent because it was my idea"
"You're right, I'll compromise. What about Alexander the Great or Homeros?"
"Fine, let's do Homeros, but I'm still saying that we should have done Socrates, doing Plato would be like doing Cebes of Thebes or Aristippus, it would make no sense…"
Droning on and on they both continued what I assumed to be a bullheaded contest to see who could name the most Greek people. Ipso facto I had become as bored as I had previously been and gave another group a try.
The Victorian group looked much more peaceful, too peaceful in my opinion. Like many others, they were also looking for a historical figure to do but they seemed to disagree, and things were going rather slowly, not because of some fight but instead since both members were engaging in a polite squabble about how the other's suggestion was a much better choice.
"No, Queen Victoria was a great choice, Afton, really, I mean it's literally named after her so," Esme said pushing her silky hair into a ponytail
"Esme, yours was much better, we have made up our minds Oscar Wilde it will be"
Yeah, her's was better, I thought, throwing in a nice "dick" in there for good measure. Even though Afton's suggestion probably made more sense I just couldn't shake the feeling that he was making the moves on Esme, my girl! I know a metaphorical claim on someone means nothing but I still felt as though he was crossing the line.
"Really, you don't have to do it just to be polite, I insist, your choice is better" Her soft voice rang
Deciding this was also just making me bored, and a bit angry I decided to give Didyme the remainder of my attention.
"Marcus Aurelius was really more than I thought he was, not only was he considered the most peace-loving emperor of Rome, which must have honestly been difficult in the Roman Empire in which he lived since it was fundamentally a state built on bloodshed, but also the fact that he wrote the book Meditations that has inspired and cultured people for centuries… You're not listening are you?" She said, catching the sliver of attention I had decided to finally give her
"I'm sorry, my mind was just elsewhere" I sighed
"Look, you seem to really like Esme and if I can get you a few minutes to speak to her, will you wise up and focus?"
"Seriously? Didyme, I owe you one" I cheered watching her approach Afton for some help with footnotes
I wasn't one to waste the little chances I was given so with a newfound pep in my step I approached Esme.
"Hey, how's the project going?" I asked nervously
"Hi, it's going well," She said, awkward silence filling the space quickly "Uhm, how's yours going?"
"It's good."
"Was that the reason you came over here? To acquire about how the project's going?"
"No, I just wanted to see you."
A blush tinted her pale face and she looked down to avoid my eye.
"Would you save me a seat beside you at dinner?" I solicited, feeling braver than I was
"Okay, I will" She chuckled
After the distraction, Didyme and I progressed quite far with our project which ended up being an artsy poster board with a not-so-slight homage to Marcus Auralius. All in all my partner had ended up being quite cool and funny, not at all the impression I had gotten of her in the beginning. My father had since early on illustrated a picture of the fact that all women, especially young ones, were meek and submissive, not leaders or people who had any say whatsoever, and I had believed that to some degree until I had gotten to talking with Didyme. Not at all worried about public image she said what came to her in the moment, in a strategic way that showed intelligence rather than in a loud-mouthed fashion. I didn't dare fight her and when we were pitted against each other I was the meek one.
Simply, an unexpected friendship.
Classes swished past and sooner than I would have liked we were once again seated at the gigantic dinner table, and like I had asked Esme saved me a seat.
"You look nice," I said commenting on her effort to paint her nails "Your nails I mean"
"You noticed?" She said sounding speechless
"I noticed. The food looks good" I diverted the subject
God, she looks beautiful, stars must be jealous of her because they all pale in comparison. My Esme.
"I'm not really all that hungry, Carlisle"
"Neither am I"
"Does your dorm have a nice view?" She questioned, clearly fishing for something
She is adorable.
"I could show you if you would like?"
Since dinner wasn't as organized as lunch, couples often slipped away after a half hour or so and us doing the same didn't really ring any alarm bells. As a matter of fact, El had told me that when Carmen and he were in the beginning stages of their relationship they had missed so many dinners that some students began worrying about their health.
The evening cloaked us well and we walked leisurely to my dorm unnoticed.
"So was the view worth it?" I inquired
"It is… A very nice view" She whispered
Scooting a bit closer, our arms rested gently against one another's.
"You're cold, do you want my jacket?"
"I'm not, just stay with me, in the moment"
Leaning in even closer she let me taste heaven. The truth of the matter is that she was cold, ice cold in fact. I felt almost feverish in comparison as I dove into peck after peck, my hot skin just about steamed as we connected, and my heartbeat vibrated against her chilly skin. My heat didn't engulf her cold. Instead, they coexisted peacefully until we gave up. After hours in paradise, she let me know that this was the time for a sensible woman to return home.
"You seem to have gotten mail, by the way," She said before kissing me goodbye and leaving
Mail was the last thing on my mind but alas I picked up the scribbled paper and read its contents.
I need help, don't question it.
-Kate
