Playing Perfect

01. Début

Instead, she'd be up until midnight, making small talk with greying men in suits for the seventh time this month. A pressure grew in her chest at the thought. She swallowed the lump in her throat and flashed a smile.

"My parents hold a fancy party at least twice a weekend. You can't blame me for forgetting this one."

"Not all of us attend fancy dinners each week like you," Emily said deliberately. She paused. "Or have a closet full of pretty dresses." Her smile sweetened and she batted her lashes. "I love being friends with you. Did I mention that?"

Alice laughed, turning to her friend with a grin. "I've got a gorgeous lacey Valentino dress you can borrow. Just come a little early in case we need to tailor it."

Emily's eyes lit up. She opened her mouth to say something when she cut herself off, her mouth snapping shut and eyes drifting past Alice's shoulder. Alice frowned, following her line of sight to see Finn Cauley exchanging some choice words with one of his underclassmen.

He towered over the younger student. His silvery blond waves were ruffled, much like the rest of his uniform, and he yelled a string of curse words at the kid. The subject of Cauley's anger was quivering, his lips pulled in a tight frown as he stuttered desperately, trying to avoid Cauley's wrath.

Alice scrunched her nose in distaste at his behaviour, along with the jumper that replaced his uniform blazer—something that was definitely against the rules.

"Jerk," she muttered to Emily before storming towards the slowly forming crowd.

"Next time, how about you say it to my face?" Finn shouted, his hands clutching at the boy's crimpled shirt. The boy whimpered, shrinking away from Finn.

"Cauley!" Alice shouted, her voice ripping down the hallway.

He paused, his head snapping to meet her eyes. There was a tense pause before he raised a brow and released the younger student, a smirk creeping onto his face. Beside him, the boy scrambled to collect his things and run down the hall.

Alice left him, focusing all of her attention on the simpering blond-haired boy in front of her.

"If it isn't Little Miss Prefect." Finn grinned. He'd found a new toy to play with.

Alice always seemed to be a much more entertaining target for his games, but she knew him. She wasn't going to make it easy for him. He stepped forward, but Alice stood her ground, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What do you think you're doing, cursing out the younger students like that?" she began firmly. "You're a senior. You're supposed to set a standard for how students behave around here. Be a role model."

His voice was dangerously quiet. Challenging. "What, like you?"

It was like he was making fun of her. She clenched her teeth, sending him her best look of disapproval. He noted her silence and took a step back, shaking his head and releasing a bitter laugh.

"The kid was spreading rumours about me. I simply suggested he say it to my face instead."

"It didn't look like a suggestion from where I was standing," she replied coolly. She scanned his body, noticing his missing tie and white sneakers, not to mention the jumper. "Your uniform, Cauley. That's the third time this week. You're going to be expelled if you keep this up."

She knew it wasn't true. Finn's parents were one of the biggest benefactors of the school—after her own, of course. He wouldn't be expelled unless the school board wanted to lose tens of thousands of dollars. Hundreds of thousands of dollars.