All that high school junior Ellie Morris-Whittaker wants is to play division one soccer in college. Good thing she has a full ride to a super-prestige prep school, right? But her history grades are tanking, and losing her scholarship means bye bye p...
"So...is it your first time at a boarding school?" he asked, as he held open another door across the dining hall.
"Yeah. Are they all this nice?" I asked, pausing when I emerged into a high-ceilinged room filled with leather sofas and armchairs. A common room, complete with a flat screen TV in one corner and long, communal tables with study lamps and charging outlets in the other. Windows lined the southern wall, flanking a door that stood open to admit a steady flow of students and parents, all carrying boxes and suitcases towards two separate sets of carpeted wooden stairs.
"I hope you're not asking me if my school is better than any other? Because I'm duty-bound to tell you that yes, it absolutely is." William grinned when he handed the box back to me. "And alas, this is where I leave you. Those stairs go to the girls' dorms, and it'd be considered a major violation of our lovely code of conduct if I helped you any further."
"Thanks." I smiled at him over the lid of the box.
"Any time, Ellie." He rested a hand on my shoulder in parting until he was hailed from across the common room by an arriving parent.
I couldn't help but watch him saunter across the room. It wasn't to admire his butt in his jeans. Nope, not at all. But when a leggy blonde dropped her bags to throw her arms around him, I wrestled the box of uniforms onto one of the common room tables and dug out my buzzing phone.
I rolled my eyes at Jake's text, biting my cheek against my sheepish grin. His brotherly spidey-senses had always been keen.
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1/180?????? I replied, ignoring the rest.
180 school days = 180 brotherly reminders.
And just to make sure you got the point, 1/180 part 2: Remember that time I dated that guy on the golf team?
🤮🤮🤮, I sent back.
Exactly. Now get off your phone and go make friends!]]
With a sigh, I cast my eyes around the common room, wondering how easy or impossible that was about to be. I wasn't getting as many looks now—probably because the massive box was hiding my too-short romper—but to say I wasn't intimidated would be a lie. I'd never seen so many well put-together people in one place in my entire life. Half my old classmates would dress up for the first day of school, while the other half would roll in with their favorite ratty old sweats and worn-in t-shirts. Those were my people. Not these ones, who seemed to think that wearing a dress shirt on the first day of school was the rule and not the exception.
Now I was clearly the exception. Where my old classmates had worn Hollister and American Eagle, these ones wore Ralph Lauren polos and Rag & Bone jeans—the same pants and skirts and shirts, just 10 times more expensive. It honestly felt as if my mother had dressed the lot of them, with their tasteful hemlines and neatly styled hair. Not a torn piece of denim or crop top in sight. Even their jewelry screamed privilege, with more than one girl sporting the iconic Van Cleef & Arpels alhambra clover on a bracelet or necklace. They'd probably pick out my cheap Etsy knockoff a mile away, especially when it had cost 30 bucks and theirs had likely cost 3000.
I shook myself when I caught the thought. I had nothing to prove to these people. I was here to play my sport and pass my classes, not compete for Instagram followers or the title of best dressed in the yearbook. Even though I already hated the idea of wearing the same thing every day, it was probably a good thing that Kingsbridge mandated uniforms. Otherwise, my usual 5 outfit rotation would get very noticeable, very fast. Especially with the sheer amount of luggage per person that seemed to be getting moved into the dorms.
And besides, even if I didn't manage to befriend anyone, there was at least one person who didn't seem like a total jerk. William was still standing across the common room, chatting with some parents. The leggy blonde had twined her arm around his, though, and I didn't like the twinge that bloomed in my stomach. Ripping my eyes away, I hefted my box of uniforms and headed for the stairs to the girls' dorm.
I wasn't here to ogle boys. And guys like William were pretty much guaranteed not to be single. It was mathematically impossible for someone that desirable not to be taken. His charm alone practically promised a trail of broken, pining hearts, and I knew better than to line myself up next. There was no point to dwelling on him if I wanted to keep my scholarship. Because just like my brother had warned, if there was one thing that I quite literally couldn't afford to get distracted by this year, it was boys.
A/N: Texting is going to feature pretty heavily in this story, so I'd love to get your input, readers. What did you think of the image in this chapter - fun or annoying? Would you prefer I just keep the texting as italics in text, or continue with the images like this one? I was hoping to format it in the text with left and right alignment to keep it clear, but any suggestions are welcome!
As always, if you enjoyed it, please take a moment to vote and comment!**
