Beckington Academy

Pink Eraser

After everything was situated in her closet , she turned off the light and closed the closet door locking it. The door was thick and sturdy giving her the security that it would keep unwanted guests out. She looked to Richie who was engrossed in his writing, he seemed to not notice her presence. While eyeing him she took this as her opportunity to place the case file underneath her mattress. Before she announced she was done settling in, something had caught her eye. There was a mini display on his side of the room with different pictures and trophies on each level. She stood in front of it while taking a closer look. All the pictures were of him holding up awards and certificates of his early accomplishments. There was one collage that peeked her interest. She saw the young him holding up valedictorian certificate starting at the fifth grade. She saw him age with winning that same award every year, except one for this year. She smiled to herself because she would've hated going to school with him. He was smart like her which meant he would only be competition. 

Richie cleared his throat and she turned to face him, she was impressed with all his achievements. "You're one smart cookie, huh?"

His cheeks turned a deep red as he ran his fingers through his fluffy hair, "Maybe, I was always pushed to do my best. So, I did..."

She looked back at the pictures, "Looks like you didn't just do your best. You were the best."

He seemed embarrassed or uncomfortable by her statement. He quickly walked to the door opening it, "I'll show you around now. If you're still up for the grand tour."

She hadn't meant to make him uncomfortable but she nodded nonetheless. She followed him and was making mental notes of everywhere he took her. They went to classroom locations, student lounges, the cafeteria, the sports field, and now he's showing her to the library. It was one of their last stops on their list because curfew was drawing close. The academy was large and would make going to every location in one evening impossible. Richie had became quite talkative on their walk which was a pleasant surprise for her.  He spoke about the typical high school dramas and she listened intently. She graduated early and never really had the typical high school experience. She thoroughly enjoyed hearing about what this enclave of spoiled rich kids had to fight about. Their relationship dramas and petty fights. Richie seemed reserved when talking about himself, but bloomed when talking about his others. She could tell he was an observer, she also guessed he probably wasn't very popular or had many friends. 

 He had also informed her about the list of the most popular kids and showed her their social media accounts. 

Number 1: Arthur Kinsman, the typical sporty jock that people absolutely admired. Guys wanted to be him, girls wanted to be with them. The typical cliché. He was a dirty blonde with medium length hair messily brushed back. He had tan skin, hazel eyes, and a muscular build. She could understand why he was so popular, he was very pleasing to look at. 

Number 2: Mikel Petrov, Arthur's right-hand man and the brains of the group.  Loyal to a fault. A lot of his posts were written in Russian and of topics that seemed to interest him. No pictures of himself, she found that interesting. 

Number 3: Cassie Salte, the school's 'it' girl and head cheerleader.  She had an on and off again relationship with Arthur.  Yet another cliché. She was a platinum blonde with tan skin and striking blue eyes. Arthur and Cassie looked like the perfect Ken and Barbie. 

Number 3: Kimberly Clemmons, the other 'it' girl. Warren didn't know much about her but seemed to take a liking to her. She had long brown curly hair, mocha skin, and big brown eyes. She had freckles specked around her nose and cheeks. 

Catherine took a mental note of these four, she had a good feeling that at least one of  these popular kids did drugs or at least had knowledge of the drug dealers. Richie stopped in front of her before they entered the library, he had a serious look on his face. She arched her brow with concern and asked, "What's up Richie?"