0 8
First Day Blues
It's finally here. The dreaded first day at a new school. My first and last year at Arlin Preparatory High School.
In my opinion, the worst part was the preppy uniform we're forced to wear.
The face I pulled when Mom handed it to me last night had her hysterical for hours. Glad to know she enjoyed seeing how uncomfortable I felt in the short skirt and stupid sweater vest. The knee-high socks do little to make the too-short skirt feel any less scandalous, and my flats hurt my feet after barely ten minutes in them.
Now that I'm here, though, my uniform's the last thing on my mind. My heart's pounding so damn motherfucking loud I can barely hear anything else around me.
Not the lady at the office when she hands me my schedule and wishes me good luck, not Noah when he laughs at all my AP classes and ditches me, and not the students passing by, whispering about some new girl named London.
Oh shit... wait a minute... I'm London!
All of a sudden, my ears can function again. I speed walk to where the little piece of paper says my locker is, and quickly put in the assigned combination, making a mental note that I need to change it to something easier. 38-16-24 is way too hard to memorize.
"...Daniel's house with London," is the first words I clearly hear from two lockers down, making me wish so desperately I had heard the beginning.
People are talking about me being at Daniel's house for that party two days ago. Why? It's not like I did anything scandalous. If anything, people should be talking about that argument that took place when we were leaving. Why isn't that making any headlines?
"Are you kidding me... that's Malia's cousin? They look nothing alike."
A shot to my ego, thanks.
"What was London's last name, again? Prince? I don't recognize that family name. Must be some family that got rich off the lottery."
Ha, a shot at my dad. I'll allow it.
"Wanna make a bet on how long it'll take before London throws herself at The Boys?"
Oh no. A shot at my morals. Not happening. And who the hell are The Boys? Why was it said so... sacredly?
I slam my locker shut, turning toward where I heard the last voice coming from. Three girls look at me, then quickly scurry off. I smile to myself, thinking these girls are all just talk, and will at least shut up when I come at them.
That thought leaves my mind when I feel someone tap me from behind, realizing they left because they saw this person coming, not because they care at all about me.
"Daniel, hey," I say when I turn around, forcing some happiness into my voice even though I just want to go throw myself down some stairs.
"Hey, Lyndon!" He hugs me briefly, making more heads turn our way. "How's the first day going so far?"
"Well, it's only been five minutes, but it's been... eye opening to say the least." I laugh as I say the words, but I'm not finding any humor in this at all.
Is this what Arlin Preparatory is always like? Are the parties just as bad as the school itself? Will I spend the school year being talked about?
No, hell fucking no. I'm not gonna get caught up in this shit.
As my brother and I said two nights ago, high out of our minds, we are not stressing over any bullshit.
Daniel sends me a sympathetic look, and I quickly shut that down. "I'll be alright if you help me find my homeroom classroom, though."
His smile turns into a brighter one, making me actually form my own. God, I am so lucky he's my friend.
"Off we go," he says cheerily as he offers me his arm. I hesitate for a second, then say fuck it and loop my arm through his, allowing him to whisk me away.
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My arm is propped onto the desk, my head leaning onto it, making it easier for my eyes to flutter closed. My AP Literature class is dragging on, as the teacher talks about all of the books we're expected to read this year.
I honestly don't see the point in telling us all of this. It's not like we have any say and can change his mind on certain books, so why even waste time talking about it?
But it saves me from a boring lesson on the first day, so I guess I can't complain.
The bell rings and I enter my AP Calculus class. Again, my nerves kick up, because this brings me one period closer to lunch. Luckily, my lunch time isn't until seventh period. It's a little late in the day, but that gives me more time to make a game plan on where I'll sit.
I'm distracted from these thoughts when a girl waves me over. I look behind me to make sure it's me she's calling, and when I see no one else around, I hesitantly walk over.
"Hi," she says brightly. The closer I get, the more familiar she looks. "London, how are you?"
She talks as if we've met before, so I know I'm not tripping. "Um, I'm good. And my name's actually Lyndon."
Her mouth opens in shock and she reaches her hand out to lightly touch my arm. "Oh my gosh, I am so, so sorry I've been getting it wrong. Why didn't you correct me before?"
I squint my eyes, racking my brain for where the fuck we've seen each other.
"Daniel's party. On Tuesday," she quietly offers when she senses I'm lost as fuck.
I observe her for a few more seconds, before assuming she's the girl I saw when I first walked in. The first person to question if I was related to Malia and call me London.
She looks different. I guess the large sweater vest she has on engulfs her petite frame much more than the sundress she was wearing two days ago did. Plus, her long, frizzy hair is now pulled into a tight bun, making it easier to actually see her face.
"Oh, yeah, I remember that," I finally say, attempting to smile to ease some of the awkward tension caused by me really not remembering.
"You didn't. It's fine. I'm easy to forget," she says jokingly, and also, kind of pathetically.
"Mood," I comment, feeling what she said in my soul.
She giggles, then holds out her hand. "I'm Rachel. Nice to properly meet you."
I take it, smiling for real this time. "And I'm Lyndon, not London."
"Understood." She motions for me to take a seat next to her, so I do. We're closer to the board than I normally like to be, but it's worth it if I'm actually going to make a friend. "How are you liking Arlin so far?"
I cringe at her cutting out the preparatory part of the school's title, but don't say anything about it. "It's okay."
"Made any friends?"
"I guess I just made one right now," I say with a laugh.
Her smile grows ten times wider. "Oh yay. We're gonna be friends."
We quiet down when the teacher walks in and announces her name as Mrs. Peterson. She goes over what to expect for the course, and I feel a little nervous thinking of how much work this class is actually going to be. Math's never been my best subject, but I guess it's too late to switch the class now. Especially after meeting Rachel, it seems like maybe I'm meant to be in this class and finally find a friend not associated with Malia or Noah.
Hold on a minute... Why was she at Daniel's party then if she's not associated with them?
When the teacher hands out a worksheet, telling us to answer the questions with a partner as best as we can so she knows where we're at as a class, I turn to Rachel with other plans in mindânone involving math.
"So," I begin after moving my desk slightly closer to hers. "Why were you at Daniel's party?"
She looks up from the sheet, making me hope I didn't offend her by wondering what she was doing there. "Everyone gets invited to the pre-first-day party."
The way she says it makes it sound like it's such a natural thing. "Oh, right."
Her eyes go back to the sheet in front of her when she says her next words. "I figured you went because of Malia, but I heard you spent most of your time with Jalen."
"Um, that's a lie," I respond, because it technically is. I was with Jalen for all of ten minutes. Most of my time was spent with Daniel and Noah.
"Oh." She lifts her head and watches me for a moment. "I thought that rumor was true. Silly of me to believe it though. Not the first time that's happened."
Not the first time what's happened? She believed a stupid rumor, or a rumor like that spread about Jalen? If those are the kind of rumors Noah's heard and Daniel meant when he said they're mostly wrong, then that's nothing.
Still, my curiosity is eating away at me. "What do you know about Jalen Uccello?"
Rachel places her pencil onto the table and focuses all her attention on me after quickly surveying the room. "That is a loaded question."
"I've just gathered that some rumors go around about him." I shrug my shoulders, hoping I come across casual.
"First of all, it's not some rumors, it's a lot. Jalen Uccello is always the talk of Arlin. He's practically the king of this school."
My eyes widen, not expecting someone like Jalen to be regarded so highly. "Why?"
"Um, have you seen him? Jalen's the hottest guy to ever exist," she says in a duh tone.
Well, I can't argue with that logic. Jalen is the most attractive guy I've ever seen. Daniel may be seen as male perfection in my eyes because of his good looks and personality, but it still pales in comparison to just how beautiful Jalen Uccello is.
"And he's also kind of a bad boy," she adds conspiraciously.
"A... bad boy?" What the fuck did that even mean?
"Yeah, you know. Barely comes to school, always getting in fights, a total player," she gushes, looking off dreamily for a second before she realizes how she sounds and gathers herself.
Interesting. I didn't peg Jalen as a bad boy. He just seemed, I don't know... regular?
"Wait. How is he the king of this school if he barely even comes?" I ask, feeling like a moron after the words leave my mouth. Is this a real conversation we're having right now?
"He shows up a lot, he just cuts most of his classes," she explains. "He's seen as more of the king of his group, and since that group is practically royalty in Arlin, he's the King."
"Wow," I comment, trying to take it all in. "Who's in his group?"
Rachel lets out a giggle at my question. "Oh my gosh, Lyndon. You've been here for how many hours already and you don't even know this basic information?"
I give her a dry look, resulting in her laughing again.
"Okay. So basically, Jalen is the most popular guy in this school. David Williams is his right hand man, his best friend since they were kids." I nod my head, having already gathered that information on my own. "Daniel Williams, David's twin, is a part of their group. I really doubt they'd be friends with him if he wasn't related to David."
"Aw," I pout. Daniel's too good for that.
"Yeah, sad but true," she comments before moving on. "Malia Carrington, your cousin, is the queen."
I can't stop my eyes from rolling at both the use of just her stepfather's last name and at the fact that she is the queen of this school.
Rachel leans closer to me, motioning for me to do the same, and I do, ready for her to spill the tea. "It's never been confirmed, but everybody thinks Jalen and Malia have something going on, or that they did at some point."
I'm ashamed by how my stomach drops at that revelation. The thought of Malia and Jalen together makes me feel sick, and I have to shut my eyes for a moment to rid myself of the feeling.
"Needless to say those rumors really piss off his girlfriend," she adds on, succeeding in sending my heart crash landing into my flat ass.
"What?" I say way too loudly for someone who's pretending they don't care.
"His girlfriend, Cortney Rousso."
"Jalen's?" I question, needing the clarification.
Rachel quickly shushes me, as my voice had raised much higher than our entire conversation had been. She scans the classroom with wide eyes, nervous someone's heard us. I follow her actions and see a boy with light brown eyes sitting two desks away from me.
He looks over at me and sees my gaze in his direction. I panic for a second, thinking we're about to argue over my staring at him, but I'm instead met with a smile. A really beautiful smile.
Our eye contact doesn't last longer than those few seconds, but there was something about his smile that's left me feeling calmer than I've felt for the last ten minutes talking to Rachel.
I'm brought back to our daunting conversation when she taps my arm. "Girl, you cannot talk that loudly about The Boys. Everyone will start talking about you if they hear. It's enough that you're the only new girl this year."
"The Boys?" I question lowly, remembering hearing about that before. "Who are The Boys?"
"Jalen, David, Daniel, and Elijah," she whispers so lowly I almost don't hear her.
"Who's Elijah?" I whisper just as low.
Rachel's smile brightens at that question. "Elijah Valencia is only the smartest hot guy to ever exist. Look, that's him over there on his phone because he's already done with the work."
I follow to where she subtly motions, feeling my stomach drop when I realize it's the guy that just smiled at me. This time, his focus is on his phone, allowing me to thoroughly look him over.
His white-button up sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, and I don't have to be any closerâor even fucking feel themâto know his muscles are bigger than the average guy's. It's clear he works out, because absolutely no one can be blessed with muscles like that through their genes. His light brown hair is unruly, but looks as if it was styled that way on purpose. He pulls it off effortlessly, with the pieces that curl at the ends and rest on his forehead complimenting his tan skin perfectly.
Elijah Valencia may the one guy who can compete on the attractive scale with Jalen.
"What smart guy has muscles like that?" I say jokingly when I turn back to Rachel, but I really mean it. Seriously, who has the time?
"He's on the football team, so he kind of has to work out to keep his spot. He's a wide receiver. He's gotta be able to catch the ball and run with it," she explains to me, but I'm not even listening anymore. Too busy trying not to drool.
Ugh, this is what happens when Liam ignores me and makes me feel like he wants someone else. I look to guys I'd probably only regard as average looking and put them on a pedestal.
"Why are they called The Boys?" I ask Rachel, hoping to get my thoughts away from how good looking I'd probably find these guys even if Liam and I were on good terms.
"Because they're the four most attractive boys in this school." I mentally breathe a sigh of relief at that, glad to know I've already seen the best Arlin Preparatory has to offer. "Plus they're all friends, so they're always together. It's easier to just call them The Boys."
They're all friends? I don't remember seeing Elijah at any of the two parties I went too. And I'd definitely remember seeing someone like him, that's for sure.
We're quiet after that, both realizing the bells about to ring and we've done none of the worksheet. Luckily, this is all stuff we've each learned in previous classes. Rachel knows more than me, and I want to attribute that to the fact that she's had a better education, not because she's naturally smarter. Brains is all I got, so I refuse to lose it this quickly into the school year.
When the bell rings, Rachel offers to hand in the paper. She walks off as I gather my things, and as I see people gathering into different groups in the hallway, presumably heading to lunch, my hands start to feel sweaty. I'm nervous for where I'll go and who I'll sit with. Rachel seems nice and like she does want to be friends, but I don't know what other friends she has and if they'll accept me. This school seems pretty cliquey.
Someone rushes past me, knocking roughly into my side as they run out the door. My notebook and the papers stuffed inside go flying all over the floor. I quickly crouch down, trying to get them, and the asshole that caused the entire thing has the nerve to step on my schedule as he continues passing.
"Hey," I call out roughly, wanting to get the jackass' attention.
"Are you okay?" I hear someone say from the other side of me.
"Do I look fuâ" I'm cut off from the rude reply when I look up and see Elijah standing over me, light brown eyes shining from the overhead light. "Um, yeah, I'm okay."
He bends down, quickly gathering my papers before anyone else can step on them. Once the students see he's on the ground, they make sure they completely step around us, avoiding knocking into us or stepping on my papers.
He holds the papers with one hand and grabs my notebook with the other, opening the cover and placing them neatly into it before closing the book again, holding it out for me to take. "Tim can be inconsiderate sometimes, but I'm sure he didn't do this on purpose."
I stare at him stupidly, in awe that he actually helped me. This is who Rachel and everyone else in this school deemed as royalty, yet here he is, on the dirty ground gathering my papers when he doesn't even know me.
I snap out of my trance when I see his face become confused at my silence. I gently take the notebook back, slipping my schedule into it as well. "Thanks."
"No problem," he says with a smile, rising from his crouched position and extending his hand out to me. I hesitantly place mine in his, and he hauls me up easily from the ground, with nothing rough about the way he does it. "My name's Elijah, by the way."
"Lyndon," I say while sliding my sweaty hand out of his, hoping he didn't feel just how clammy it is.
He tilts his head to the side like a puppy, and looks directly into my eyes for a moment. "Lyndon? Malia's cousin?"
I internally groan at the association, not wanting to spend the next nine months hearing that. "Mhm."
He nods his head and looks away for a moment. Crap, I know he's in this power group with Malia, so I hope she hasn't done some shit he's associating me with.
"It's true what they're saying about you."
My throat closes, stomach practically doing somersaults. I can barely get my next words out. "What are they saying about me?"
"Your eyes," he says with a smile. "I heard they were almost the color white, but the descriptions really didn't do them justice."
I feel like I can breathe again. I got myself worked up for nothing, thinking something far more worse was being said about me.
Strangely enough, I don't mind the comments about my eyes. Certainly not right now with Elijah saying them.
"Um, thanks," I respond, not sure what else to say.
"Ready to head to lunch?" I hear Rachel ask before coming closer. "Oh my gosh. Um, h-hi, Elijah."
Elijah turns to her and smiles politely. "Hey, Rachel."
Huh, so she's known around the school. Has she done something that's made her name known? Or does everyone just know everyone's business in this school?
I look toward Rachel and nod. "Ready for lunch," I say, glad she offered to spend the period with me and offered me an escape from Elijah. He's too good looking to talk too. I've made a fool out of myself in front of him enough today.
I send Elijah a smile that he reciprocates as I reach for Rachel and gently nudge her toward the door, seeing as I can't just take charge and lead us since I have no idea where the cafeteria is.
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"Holy crap, I cannot believe you just had a conversation with Elijah Valencia!"
Rachel's squeals are loud as hell, especially compared to the whispering she had been doing early. But I guess that's why she chose to have lunch on the bleachers outside, giving us more of an opportunity to talk loud as not many people are aroundâwell, it's less people compared to the amount crowding the cafeteria and outside seats in the yard, at least.
"For the last time, we did not have a conversation." She looks to me with disbelief. "It was a quick chat."
She takes a drink from her Snapple bottle. "Doesn't matter. Elijah said more than two words to you. That's amazing. The only other people harder to talk to are Jalen and Malia. They literally never associate with anyone outside their circle."
Malia sticking to her circle is something I can believe. But Jalen? We've had full conversations.
I don't tell this to Rachel though. She might faint if she found out.
"Oh my gosh, speaking of the ever elusive hottie, he's here!" Rachel whispers into my ear giddily. Before I can even look up from my food and see where he is, she's gasping and then coughing, choking on her drink. "Crap, crap, crap! He's coming this way!"
I look up in time to see Jalen is walking over to the bleachers. I doubt the three guys sitting at the top smoking weed is who he intends to speak too, but still, I take a sip from my own drink and don't look at him for too long, just in case I'm wrong.
Also, I'm salty about the Cortney thing. I know I shouldn't be, but I am, because I asked if he had a girlfriend and he told me no. He lied. He's a liar.
"Lyndon," he calls out once he gets closer.
I look over at him, glad he's at least alone. Still, I pretend to look uninterested in why he's here. "Oh. Jalen. Hey."
He squints his eyes at my dry tone, but keeps walking closer. "How are you liking Arlin so far?"
I shrug my shoulders. "It's alright."
"Would probably be better if you weren't in all the smart classes." He steps over one of the seats to get closer to the row we're sitting on. He stands on the bleacher two rows down from us, allowing him to have a little bit of height on me. "I'm kind of disappointed we don't seem to have any classes together."
His cheeky smile and comment only makes me more annoyed at what I found out today.
"I'm not."
Jalen's eyes look me up and down quickly, assessing by my now crossed arms and short replies I'm clearly annoyed with him. "Okay. You wanna tell me what I did, or you're just gonna stay pissed off until I guess?"
I shrug my shoulders, again, but drop my crossed arms. I don't want to come across angry or petty, but damn it, that's how I feel.
My eyes peer over at Rachel next to me, reminding myself we have an audience. It gives me a second to also remember that I have no right to be mad.
Ah fuck it, he lied!
Seeing Rachel's starstruck face helps fuel more annoyance toward Jalen. She clearly thinks he's some sort of god, and I want to knock that image out of her head.
"No need to guess," I finally respond, thinking over every word before I say it. "I'm not pissed off. Just a little confused. I heard about Cortney."
I watch his face for any reaction, any care that I know he lied, any care that he's shamelessly flirted with me while having a girlfriend. But nothing in his face changes. In fact, he smirks at me. And I want nothing more than to smack it off his face.
"Lyndon," he tsks. "Are you forgetting that you have a boyfriend? Or did that end after that tense phonecall a week ago?"
His smirk widens while my anger rises. How dare he tease me about a private call that has basically torn my relationship to shreds?
"Actually, no, we're all good. Thanks for worrying, though," I say with a sharp smile.
"No problem. That's just who I am." He walks onto the bleacher right in front of mine, completely towering over me. "A guy concerned for a long distance relationship that will end in no less than a month."
I roll my eyes, both at his words and at the strain my neck is feeling as I reel my head back to look up at him. "You are so caring. Cortney must love that about you."
Jalen's smirk turns into a smile, making me look away before the dimple pops out. I feel him hop off the bench and take a seat in the spot next to me. "Mm," he hums out, making me turn toward him.
"What?" I ask sharply, annoyed at his eyes scanning my body from head to toe, becoming extremely self-conscious of the short length my skirt is at from sitting.
His eyes leave my legs at the sound of my voice. "Green really is your color."
I look down at the black skirt I'm wearing, seeing there's no green at all on this bland uniform. It takes another second before I realize what he means.
"Oh please, Jalen," I start, pausing to practically growl in annoyance at the teasing smile and glint in his eyes at the sound of me saying please and Jalen in the same sentence. I roll my eyes and continue, lifting my finger and pointing to him. "As if I'd be jealous of someone who's boyfriend is a lying sleazebag."
The bark of laughter that comes from Jalen at my words has my cheeks reddening in both anger and embarrassment.
Fuck, did that really sound as lame and pathetic as he's making it seem?
"Now I'm a lying sleazebag? Who told you that one? Your new friend?" He motions with his head to Rachel, who's still sitting silently at my side.
"No. No, I did not," she mumbles to him in her defense.
"I don't need anyone to tell me. It's a conclusion I was able to come to all on my own," I clarify, rolling my eyes and looking away from him, choosing to focus on the field in front of me.
I see three people making their way from the school doors onto the field, and I quickly recognize them as Daniel, David, and Elijah.
Part of me wants them to come this way so Daniel can save me, and another part wants them to stay far away before David embarrasses me more than Jalen just has.
Both parts don't mind seeing Elijah again, though.
"Jalen, what are youâ" David cuts short when he sees who Jalen's sitting next toâme.
I lift my hand and wave with a teasing smile. Jalen may be on my last nerve right now, but clearly seeing me with him upsets David for some unknown reason, so I'll flaunt being with him whenever I get the chance.
"Come on, Jay. Let's go watch these losers practice," David tells Jalen, motioning with his head for him to follow.
"Hey, Lyndon," Daniel waves with his free hand, the other one clutching a football to his chest.
"Hi," I reply happily, wanting to anger David more with the fact that even his twin likes me.
I look to where Elijah's standing next to him, changed out of his uniform and into sweats that have the school logo. He smiles at me, and I smile back with a real one, this time not caring about how it'll make David feel.
Elijah's eyes flash from me to Jalen, who's still seated next to me. His brows furrow in confusion for a moment, before he nods his head in understanding and turns to Daniel.
"We're gonna head to the field," Daniel announces to no one in particular.
David sends Jalen another pointed look, causing Jalen to stand and groan in annoyance. Before he takes off down the stairs, he turns to me with a smile. "To be continued."
"Can't wait," I say sarcastically.
"Me either," he says back in the same tone.
My eyes roll on their own accord, making Jalen smirk and me wish I was keeping count of how many times I've done that action while he's in my presence. It's gotta be at double digits by now.
"Stop making googly eyes at your new girlfriend and hurry the fuck up, Jalen," David shouts, gaining the attention of numerous people scattered around the bleachers and field with that statement.
Jalen jumps from our bench to the end of the row, and half of me is thankful he safely made it while the other half kind of wishes he hadn't. Once he sticks his landing, he reaches out an arm to smack David in the back of the head.
"Dickhead," David shouts toward him, before turning back around to me. "You're on my shitlist, Boulevard."
I make a confused face, raising my hands in the air as I shout back, "I didn't even do anything!"
David doesn't care about my reply or my innocence as he continues walking off with Jalen.
Once they're gone, I turn toward Rachel. "Can you believe this shit?" She looks at me with wide eyes and her jaw practically on the floor. "What the fuck is up with you?"
"Do you know what just happened?" She practically screams at me.
"Um, no?" I reply unsurely.
"David just outed you!"
"Um, Rachel, I don't think you're using that term right..."
She shakes her head and grabs both my arms, angling my body towards her, wanting my full attention. "Lyndon, listen to me. What David just did is going to change everything."
I'm confused and uncomfortable with our position. "I don't get it. What'd David do besides be an ass?"
"He made it seem like you and Jalen have something going on. Jalen sitting here talking to you, David making that comment, and then declaring that he doesn't like you all add up to one thing!"
"Which is...?"
She groans at my apparent stupidity. "Lyndon, you're Jalen's new girl."
I laugh hysterically in her face. "Rachel, come on. He has a girlfriend and I have a boyfriend, and even though he seems to not care about either of those facts, I still can't stand the guy."
Am I lying? Maybe, maybe not. She doesn't need to know that, though. What she's saying is still completely bonkers.
"You think these people care?" she asks, motioning with her head to everyone still outside. "They get one hint about a possible new romance for The Boys and they run wild with it."
I'm ready to tell her that's absolutely insane and she's wrong, but one look around the field, at all the people staring wide eyed at me, holding up their phones and whispering to their friends with their eyes still locked over here, shows me I'm wrong.
I turn back to Rachel with wide eyes of my own and shout, "Oh shit!"