Green With Envy

Chapter One

 Ellie Jenson fidgeted nervously in the passenger seat of her dad's Subaru as he pulled into the parking lot of the ever so intimidating Briarwood Academy. Briarwood was one of the most prestigious schools in the nation, a school where only the most privileged kids belonged. So how did Ellie, a girl who's parents were both accountants, get here? The answer was scholarship. Scholarship, scholarship, scholarship. The only reason Ellie was there was because she had studied her ass off for a scholarship for the past two years. And it finally payed off, because here she was, finally, at Briarwood.

 As soon as Ellie stepped out of her fathers dirty, old Subaru, she noticed how much it stood out amongst the many expensive-looking Porsche's and Bentley's. Great. Just what Ellie needed, another reminder of how much she didn't belong at Briarwood.

Jeff, Ellie's scruffy dad, huffed at the sight of all the expensive cars and mumbled to himself. "Spoiled rich kids," he grumbled as he tossed Ellie her two light blue duffel bags. He was a short, skinny man, with messy brown hair and an stubbly chin and an always-present hard look on his face. Jeff was proud, very proud, of Ellie for being able to obtain a scholarship to one of the best schools in the country, but he didn't like the idea of Ellie hanging out with "those ungrateful, rich bastards", as he put it.

 As Ellie and her father made their way to the main building of Briarwood, Ellie started to wonder if she should've dressed up more. There was nothing special about her wavy, light brown hair, and she was wearing minimal make up. Her nervousness was probably reflected in her pale blue eyes. She was wearing a plain light green cashmere sweater that she had gotten for sale at Marshall's, ripped skinny jeans that had not been ripped when she bought them at Lucky Brand Jeans, and dilapidated black Converse. It was all so... not Briarwood.

Ellie suddenly had a sinking feeling in her gut. A feeling that told her she was way in over her head here at Briarwood Academy. Back in Virginia, Ellie was never really a popular girl to begin with. She was rarely invited to any of the cool parties, and she certainly didn't hook up with any of the hottest guys. What made her think it was going to be any different here, where she was at an even bigger disadvantage, being so middle class.

No, Ellie told herself fiercely. This year was going to be different. She was at a new school, so why not be a new person? Who cares if she isn't as wealthy as everyone else here? She was intelligent. That's how she got into Briarwood. And that's how she was going to stay in Briarwood. This year she was going to use her intelligence to find herself a way to the top of Briarwood Academy's social ladder. And stay there, Ellie thought confidently as she walked up the steps to Briarwood Academy's main building.

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After a not-so-tear-jerking goodbye to her father (for they would be seeing each other in a mere two weeks time for Parent's Night) and a not-so-thrilling meeting with the school's headmaster about the conditions of her scholarship, Ellie found herself completely lost on the grounds of Briarwood Academy.

 Surrounding Ellie, students were bustling about, none of them looking lost like she was.  Ellie clutched her duffels and tried to walk around as if she knew exactly what she was doing, however, she was frantically trying to figure out which one of the many buildings was her dorm.

"They really should label these things more clearly," she mumbled to herself, frustrated.

Many students passed by her, usually in groups, chatting amongst themselves, never even glancing at Ellie. Ellie was looking through her packet for a map of some sort when she bumped right into someone. Startled, she looked up to see a pair of misty gray eyes, unlike any other eyes she had seen before. The eyes belonged to a tall, handsome boy that had dark, scruffy hair and an unreadable expression. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt and dark jeans, which modeled his frame perfectly. He was towering over her, almost a head taller.