𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘴 ೃ⁀➷ 𝘴. 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴

𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑬𝑺 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑱𝑬𝑨𝑳𝑶𝑼𝑺𝒀

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, there is a rapture on the lonely shore, there is society, where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more."

Slowly but surely, Iris arose from the surprisingly hospitable beds. Slivers of golden sunlight illuminated the once-dark room, creating a somewhat ethereal aura. The brunet rubbed her eyes, trying to adjust them to the newfound brightness. A warm feeling rushed over her bare legs, which were partially covered by her best friend (and ex-boyfriend)'s old football jersey. Sure, it was a bit odd for Iris to be wearing her ex's clothes, but Jeremy didn't mind, so neither did she. After all, it was one of the last things she had that reminded her of home.

It took the girl 20 minutes to pick out an outfit, and another 10 to apply light make up and jewelry. Iris's light brown hair was held in a ponytail by a simple black ribbon while a set of gold rings adorned her fingers; the new dress code only permitted her to be creative with small details of her ensemble. Welton had come up with a uniform specifically for the young Westworth girl: a button up top, black tie, skirt, and oxford shoes. Iris looked in the mirror, slowly analyzing her clothes. The button up was tucked into a knee length, blue-and-white plaid skirt; Iris was pleasantly surprised that she realized she still looked good. After brushing some mascara into her eyelashes and making an attempt to tie her tie, she grabbed her books and headed to breakfast.

Iris Westport sat next to Steven today, the boys had made sure of that. Not that she minded, of course. She found the ginger quite attractive. The brunet poured herself a cup of coffee before bashfully turning to Steven and tapping his shoulder. "Hey, Steve? Could you maybe do my tie for me? If you can't tell, I'm not very good at it," A shy smile traced her lips as she looked over his face, trying to scan every last detail.

Steven chuckled lightly as he began to fix her tie. "Steve, huh? I like that. Don't worry though, about the tie. Charlie and Pitts here couldn't do theirs until second year," Iris giggled softly while looking into the boy's eyes, a soft blush tracing her cheeks. Noticing how unruly his red hair was, Iris gently reached up and ran her fingers though it. Steven's eyes fluttered shut in a state of pure bliss, he loved how delicate her hands were as they massaged his scalp.

Todd, noticing the interaction between the two, tapped Neil's shoulder and gestured towards them. The brown-haired boy stifled a laugh, and instead cleared his throat obnoxiously loud. Iris and Steven quickly broke away; both beginning to flush a bright red. Gerald Pitts and Knox Overstreet sent a look to the rest of their friends that said: 'We have to get these two together'. And as of that breakfast, that became the boy's goal. Operation get Iris and Steven together had just began.

School started all too quickly for the groups liking. Todd and Iris drained another mug of coffee before trudging out the door and down the hall, desperately trying to catch up to their friends. As the school bell tolled, a earthquake of footsteps clattered down the singular staircase that led down to Welton's classes. Iris was trying as hard as she could to not be trampled, but seeing as she was not terribly tall, it was quite the task. Steven tried the best he could to keep the girl in his line of vision, but it was proving difficult as rowdy boys pushed a larger gap between the two.

"Slow down, boys! Slow down, you horrible phalanx of pubescence!" Mr. McAllister, the school's Latin teacher, pushed his way against the crowd. The tweed-clad man resembled a fish desperately trying to swim upstream. Iris giggled at his command and continued the descending trek to her World Studies class.