Beaufort Academy | EDITING

Chapter Fifteen: Playing Pretend

"What is she doing with him?"

"I thought Alvin and her were together?"

"She has a new guy already? That was fast!"

These were the things the other students were whispering as Marco and Elizabeth passed through the hallways of Beaufort to their classroom. Elizabeth ignored them and smiled instead. When they entered the classroom, everybody stopped talking and looked at them. Chandria was already there, but Alexis was still absent. So was Wolf. John and Alvin weren't in the classroom yet.

Elizabeth sat on her seat. Marco made the girl sitting beside Elizabeth change seats so he could sit beside her.

"You can't do that!" Chandria said, offended at what Marco did. "You can't just rudely take someone else's chair!"

"I asked nicely," Marco said. "Besides, Lizzie here wants me to sit next to her, right?"

They both looked at Elizabeth who smiled at them and said, "Yes."

Chandria looked surprised at Elizabeth's reaction. In the first place, she was already wondering why they arrived together. To think that out of the three of them, it was Elizabeth who was very open towards her feelings of not wanting to be near or even see Marco.

"Liz, can I talk to you for a moment?" Chandria asked.

"Uhm, maybe later, Ria. I still have to teach Marco how our system works," Elizabeth said.

Every table inside their classroom had a MacBook Pro and Beaufort had a system made specifically for their students. Every PowerPoint presentation, movie viewing and other lectures they had was readily available on their laptops.

"You can join us, if you want, Ands," Marco said.

"What did you just call me?" Chandria exclaimed. "And no thanks."

"Some other time then. And I called you Ands. That's what I'll call you from now on. Since Elizabeth is Lizzie and Alexis is... hmmm... I haven't really thought about what I'll call her. Alex is too common so maybe I'll just call her-"

"Wait, are you giving us nicknames?" Chandria said, her face obviously horrified.

"Of course! Shouldn't I? You three are my girls after all," Marco said smugly. "You girls can call me babe, or whatever."

"Liz! You're really letting him do this?!"

"Of course she is," Marco took Elizabeth's hand on his.

"What's going on?" John asked from behind Chandria.

Chandria turned around and she saw John with Alvin beside him.

"So you're finally here," John said.

"Of course, can't really leave my girls alone, right?" Marco said. "By the way, did you like the painting I sent you yesterday, Ands?"

"That crappy painting? She didn't want it so we sold it yesterday," John answered for Chandria. "And donated the money to the orphanage."

That was what happened yesterday between John and Chandria when John dragged her out and made her get in his car. They went to an art collector John was acquainted with. Chandria liked the painting, but she didn't want to be indebted to Marco so she consented to what John was doing.

It was Chandria's idea that they donate the money to the orphanage instead. They put the donation under Marco's name so that they were not included in the transaction. Then they had dinner and that's when a student from Beaufort saw them and the rumor started.

"You should've been an obedient girl and accepted it instead," Marco said. "Look, Lizzie is wearing the earrings I gave her."

Chandria looked at Elizabeth but Elizabeth looked away.