Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Chapter 13 60%量 When Fiona got to school, Alexa was already there waiting, with her buddy Clare by her side, Clare, who was pretty plain Jane and solidly built, looked like a total nobody next to Alexa, who was stunning-like she just walked out of a fashion magazine. Alexa was basically school royalty, when folks dropped off their kids and saw her, they’d chat with her. But then, Alexa spotted Fiona and dashed over, all, “Hey, Sist “Sis?” Fiona shot back with a sly smile. “That eager to air our dirty laundry to everyone?”

Alexa’s grin totally froze.

Clare jumped in, “Chill, Fiona, Alexa’s just being sweet. Don’t be a brat-thank her or something… Oh my gosh, what’s with the kiddie backpack? That’s gold, Fiona!”

Fiona’s pack, with some cartoon space cat on it, caught Alexa’s eye. “Yeah, that backpack’s sooo Fiona.”

Fiona, catching the dig, swung her backpack off and held it up with a “Check this out grin. “This old thing? It’s a gift from some awesome man.”

“Talk about country chic,” Clare sharked.

But Fiona just ignored her and kept her gaze on Alexa.

Alexa, putting two and two together, her brain doing somersaults, could only stammer.

“It’s him.” Grinning from ear to ear, Fiona slid her backpack on again and bounced past Alexa, who was practically seething with envy.

“Come on,” Alexa huffed after a bit, “I’ll walk you to the office to get you signed up.” All the way there, Alexa couldn’t take her eyes off that backpack, looking like she was chewing on a lemon while Fiona felt stoked, basked in the knowledge that her connection with Sebastian had p s e d her off.

Done with the paperwork, Fiona looked around-no Alexa No biggie. She asked around and found her way to her first class, late but better than never.

as already in session, Fiona caught the teacher-who was basically a catwalk pro-giving this talk on fashion and looking good. Fiona eyed the Leacher, then her own thrift shop getup. She bet she’d be pulled on stage as a ‘Don’t ever do this’ example if she walked in now. Just as she was about to duck out, the teacher locked eyes on Fiona, “Hey there, you-”

Fiona stopped dead in the doorway, and right away, way, the room buzzed with laughter.

“Who’s the new girl?”

*Looks like she got lost on her way from the farm show to school!

“And what’s up with that backpack? It’s a total preschool move!”

But Fiona wasn’t bothered by the gossip. She smiled and said, “Hey, I’m Fiona Harrell. Guess I’m part of the gang now. Let’s make it work.” Even though she was being chill, there was a vibe about her that said she was not to be messed with.

Some of the kids snickered at her. Fiona strutted up to the chalkboard, grabbed a stick of chalk, and with a bit of swagger, wrote down her name. She made each letter bold, as if saying, “Herelam.”

Alexa watched, puzzled. She thought Fiona had never been to a real school before, so how come she looked so confident?

The teacher zeroed in on Fiona with a look that was all judgy. “Fiona Harrell, eh? You must be new. I’ll let it slide just this once. But don’t you ever come to my class looking like that again, or that cartoon bag of yours is history, the teacher, Lillian Barron, warned, and then turned to the rest of the class.

“Take a good look, everyone. This is not how you dress if you want to be taken seriously. You’re all from big-money families-you’ve got an image to keep up. Think about your future husbandi No top-notch family would want a daughter-in-law who can’t dress the part.”

1/3 18:19 Mon, 3 Jun M Chapter 13 Inside, Fiona was like, “What even is this?” Out loud, she hit back, “I wear what makes me happy, what feels good, I’m not here to impress some dude. Who cares if they like it? It’s not my problems. A teacher should know better. This is not what a top school should be teaching.”

That set the class oft. The kids who’d had enough of Lillian’s old-fashioned ways tried not to laugh out loud.

Lillian turned beet red and pointed at Fiona. “You’re messing up the whole bunch. Don’t come back to my class again!” If she wasn’t worried about who Fiona might be connected to, she’d have booted her out right then and there. The bell rang, cutting her off Facing Lillian’s angry glare, Fiona shot back, “Someone who thinks like you has no business being a teacher of mine.” Taking over Blueden Girl’s School and shaking out all the bad vibes, that was what Fiona was here for.

Lillian stormed out, pride bruised.

when someone sidled up to her. She figured it was Alexa, so she didn’t even look.

Fiona sauntered over to a desk at the back and had just parked her bag whe “We’ve met before, haven’t we?” But the voice wasn’t Alexa’s. Fiona glanced up and saw this girl with a kind face and a shy sort of charm. She then heard the girl add. “I thought we’ve met before.”

Fiona leaned against the doorway, lost in thought, her hand casually propping her chin. As she mulled things over, Clare burst into the room, “Diana, you’ve got it all wrong,” she declared, Clare was a regular around here, so nobody batted an eye at her entrance. But there were plenty of smirks she was kinda the class clown without even trying.

Clare pranced up to Fiona with a smirk and looped her arm through Diana’s, “Diana, you hang in fancy circles, with spots like Paellan and high-stakes talent shows. How could you possibly mix with someone like her?”

Diana eyed Clare, “Wait, you know her?”

With a glance at Fiona and a voice loud enough for gossip, Clare announced, “She’s the stray nobody wanted, some orphan from the sticks. Suddenly shows up in town, can barely read, and has zero cool skills. My aunt and cousin Alexa nearly talked their faces off to sneak her into Blueden Girl’s School.”

The classroom buzzed with whispers as soon as Clare finished.

ught she had guts standing up to Lillian, but she’s just a fake.”

“How’d she even sneak into our class? She’ll ruin us all.”.

“Bet she doesn’t have a clue about what “old money” even is.””

Alexa, catching the rumors flying, almost couldn’t contain her smirk. Getting Clare into the same school with her was turning out to be a genius move, *Chill out, guys. Fiona’s alright. Don’t be harsh-or you’ll upset her.”

“You’re just too sweet, Alexa,” they chimed.

Meanwhile, Fiona, eyes on Diana, finally remembered her. It was back at the Peach Blossom Cup, a mega contest with a million bucks to win every three years. Huge deal. Fiona had taken Evelina, who was sick because of the scandal of Bueden Girl’s School, out for some air and they’d stumbled into the competition. Seeing the prize, Fiona dove in without a second thought. She placed the name-Diana, who must have been the third-place winner. Fiona had acedit, with scouts waving contracts, and Evelina couldn’t have boon happier, Fiona wore a veil, though, kept it mysterious. She didn’t spill the beans but shot Alexa a knowing look as she tried to vouch for her.

Alexa dodged Fiona’s gaze and steered Diana away. “it’s all true; don’t rack your brain, Diana. You two meeting? No way. We’ve got school and rehearsal soon. Let’s bounce.”

Clare, cating up ing up the attention, boasted, “Alexa and Diana pot a gig hosting this big event.”

Fiona sneered, “And what’s your gig? Cheering from the sidelines?” With a devilish grin, she laid into Clare, “Oh, I see the deal-you’re the sidekick, the one kissing up. Keep out of my way!”