F.A.I.T.H.

MOVIE >scene2> - A Dorm. A Delinquent. A Girl.

New significant characters in this chapter: Jessie Leone, Headmistress Ms. Natalie Dormer (yes, she is named after the GoT cast member, but I love her so much that I wanted to somehow include her 'name' in my book.)

 ❤︎♥️✖︎♣️❤︎♦️✖︎

"Mom! I told you, I can't do all of those at once."

Jessie's mother, the headmistress of the Academy, sighed and walked around the desk toward her son. "Its finalized, you will have to either way."

"I'm seventeen."

"You're old enough to realize that you need this position for a long time!"

He grabbed the other files from his mother's hand and looked up at her, surrendering to her requests. "What do I have to do?" He asked with a sigh.

"Well, for these files, you can do them later. As for now, focus on this one."

She handed him a blue file. His eyebrows pulled together when he realized that blue folders are specifically used for newly enrolled students. However, the Academy has a strict rule on the due date for registrations. That had passed nearly a month ago, and they definitely wouldn't be mending it any time soon.

He looked through the folder, and to his surprise, indeed a newly enrolled student was appointed to Dawn Academy.

"Rihanna Gessner, fifteen years old. Previously homeschooled."

Jessie looked at the headmistress. "You're saying a student enrolled in this late without reflections?"

The headmistress sighed and walked to her seat. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if a decent sugarcoating connection was involved."

Jessie looked back at the file. The picture in front of him showed a girl that very much said anything but rich, however, he didn't argue and nodded. "Riches newly arising?"

The headmistress shrugged and entwined her fingers on top of her desk. "I'm not quite sure, but you see, there is something about who she is that makes me edgy. The puzzle doesn't fit. And I'm afraid Mr. Ellis wouldn't be keen about enrolling her in without having a full background on her."

Jessie looked up at his mother with surprise. "Are you saying you weren't able to obtain a full background?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Technically, we let the money speak. Enrollment is open for anyone who pays well or with bold connections."

"Which one was she?"

The headmistress shrugged. "The board doesn't let us know. That goes to them and only them."

"You know the Academy won't leave her alone until they figure it out. Especially a new arrival. A Cinderella entrance is definitely not good for their taste buds. They'll push all her wrong buttons until she breaks."

The headmistress only sighed.

"And if she doesn't meet the Academy's renown status, or if she is a threat to their prestigious Academy's image, they'll find creative ways to get rid of her."

This, the headmistress had already thought about. "If she was able to get in here this late then she'll be able to take care of herself on her own. All she needs is arrogance and she should know that."

Jessie looked down at the picture again. "She doesn't look like the arrogant type." He mumbled.

His mother raised an eyebrow. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you've taken a liking to her already."

He snorted. "I've got more things to worry about than women mom, you'd know."

"Anyway," The headmistress stood up and walked around the desk toward him again. "I want you to do me a favor. Watch over her. Her every move. If you find anything suspicious, let me know. More than the students, I don't want the media to take down the image of this Academy because of a late enrolled mystery student. Charity can only be offered to an extent here, and we have already passed that limit by letting Joshua Lenz attend."

He nodded. Jessie understood why his mother was on edge. It's important to her that she knows everything about everyone, so he could only imagine what a brainteaser Rihanna Gessner will be for her.

"Get as close as you can to her. Be nice, make it your mission to crack her open with that smile of yours."

Jessie looked up at the headmistress. "Did you just compliment yourself, since I'm your spitting image?"

She laughed. It was always a nice thing to see her laugh. Sometimes, she becomes so engrossed in school matters that it becomes so hard for Jessie to see a smile on his mother's face.

He looked at the picture one more time and bit his lip in wonder. Just exactly who is Rihanna Gessner and what is it that brought her into Dawn Academy this late?

"By the way, you do know about the dorm situation. She's the reason I had the curtain prepared."

He sighed. "I figured."

"And I'm sure I don't have to warn you about your manners." She looked at him pointedly. He knew what she was talking about so he didn't comment.

"Anything else?"

The headmistress shook her head and went back to her seat. "You can go now. Don't forget the files tonight."

Jessie nodded and made his way to the door.

"Oh, actually, there is one more thing." The headmistress quickly pointed out.

He paused and turned to look at his mother.

"Lexis Ellis, you know how he is with new arrivals and his unsettling relationship with the Academy. Make sure you don't let him and Rihanna meet. We don't know how heavy her background might be, and if in the end it turns out to be that she has something unexpected or has a bolder connection behind her than what we presumed, we don't want it to crush the Academy because of that boy's heedless actions."

Jessie nodded, he never liked the way his mother talked about his best friend, Lexis Ellis, but he couldn't do anything about it either. "Because of F.A.I.T.H. I don't think Rihanna and Lexis will be meeting anytime soon. He tends to ignore others more than you think ma. He's not all that bad."

She sighed, knowing her son would defend that troublemaker Lexis whether he did good or bad. "If he wasn't John's son, I wouldn't let him last a day here."

Jessie nodded respectfully and quickly left the room, knowing his mother wouldn't stop complaining when it came to Lexis.