Long one brace yourself...
Dahlia neared closer Descamps quickly ordered his friends to go on. Leaving him and an anxious Dahlia a moment in the courtyard, alone. "Do you like it, my new look? Why don't you come closer and give it a good look?" He says sniggering thinking about her close to him, her breasts touching his chest. He was disgusting of course, filled with the callous thoughts. She clears her throat, "what happened to your eye?" She inquired which was foolish of her as the answer was obvious, plain on his face. He sighs looking down at her legs and back up, "what happened to your embroidered socks?" He states dryly an attempt to taunt her.
Enraged she turns to walk off but he gets up to briskly stand in front of her stopping her in her tracks. "Stay away from me, you and your boyfriend Jean-Pierre." He said in threatening tone looking down at the girl whose head titled up to meet his glowering eye. Jean-Pierre had been moved to a different classroom due to their fight and had the threat of expulsion hanging over his head, her sympathies was with him. "Envious are we? Jean-Pierre isn't my boyfriend I spoken to him like twice and if you really want me to leave you alone why don't you start with stop pestering me." She spat back at the boy , braver than ever. Michèle had really influenced her through her heroic acts, to never fear a man.
He scoffed in her face, "What are you going to do little girl?" He taunted, an attempt to belittle her further. She shrugs, "you'll have to wait and see. I would be careful you don't want to be totally blind at such a young age." She gives a sarcastic smile to him which only makes his face fall, stone cold. "I got my eyes on you Dahlia Beaufort." He threatened her trying to assert his dominance, his towering figure leaning forward closer to her. "Eye, you got an eye on me." She smiled correcting his grammar as she taps the side of his face that has the remaining eye with the palm of her hand. With utter elegance she makes her way inside the building past Descamps and the watchful eyes. Joseph fists bawled as his bulging veins felt as if they would burst with the anger she had conjured.
She thought her confrontation with the wounded boy went well and was quite proud of her self unable to contain her smile on the way to her seat. She sat down making her self comfortable by pulling all sorts of items from her bag. Class had shortly begun and Joseph Descamps and his fellow posse of friends lurked in sitting behind her. Dahlia being unable to see what Descamps was doing made her feel nervous. At any moment of time he could pull one of his vile jokes and she could very well be a victim.
The girl looked at her curiously, the evident desperation to know what had gone on between the two on the court yard. Unfortunately, class had begun and Dahlia didn't have the opportunity to bring up their conversation, to her dismay. She had the plan to tell them about everything this very break.
"You told him just like that?" Michèle looked at Dahlia not being able to believe the words that came out of the girls mouth. She nodded proud of her self, "good, good on you. I've taught you well." She laughs patting her back, prideful of her new prodigy. Simone hesitated and then decided to blurt out her words all at once, "why would he think Jean-Pierre was your boyfriend?" She asked trying to pass her curiosity as humour but she had failed. Michèle looked at Simone knowingly of her feelings, well she hasn't been really modest about them. Dahlia quickly shrugged, "he's just angry about his eye." She says for her peace of mind. At the time she hadn't thought of anything about of his remark, it's simply an effort to get under her skin. Maybe it was jealousy, but something would have to happen between the two for Joseph Descamps to envy. They returned to class putting the matter at rest.
Dahlia swore she felt something catch on her hair but being halfway through scribbling down notes she decided to ignore it. When the second tug was pulled her head whipped round having a feeling who was being a nuisance. "What." She whispered back at Joseph who leans forward. "Hey I heard something about you saint." A wicked smile plastered on to his face. Intrigued, her face becomes serious seeing the visible shift in focus,
"That your family is bankrupt, is that true?" Her heart dropped into the pool of her stomach. It was embarrassing for her, the whole topic. She wanted to crawl across the table and strangle him to death.
"My family is bankrupt but they still have more money than the lot of you." She says her face the epitome of disgust. He scoffed looking at Dupin and then back at Dahlia,
"So your practically welfare." He said all smug at his new revelation. Her hand goes to her pencil and holds it above her threateningly like a dagger. Dupin jumps his eyes switching between the two of us. His face grows pale and he slowly puts his hands up as sign of surrender. She puts it down and turns back around. That ought to shut the boy up she, surely he knew better.
He leaned in his breath warmed her neck, "Violent delight... how precious." He whispered into her ear before falling back into his chair. The hairs on her arm pricked up like soldiers, she held her breath halting the sound of her gasp and her stomach churned.
She didn't understand how her families financial situation was anyone's business but people loved to pry. From a first glance you couldn't tell that the family were bankrupt but if you dug deeper there were cracks in the honour of Beaufort house.
The class had come to an end with a warning for the teacher of an upcoming test in a few weeks time. Pressure building up in Dahlias stomach already anxious. She gathers her things into her satchel waving goodbye to the girl before heading home trying to get out of school as quickly as possible. She walked in the street trying to plan out her studies in her head.
When someone walks beside her she turns to see the devils son pretending to be oblivious to her presence. He turns his head towards her trying to make it appear as coincidental, "ah Dahlia Beaufort, can't possibly leave me alone today." He says smirking at her. She pushed her hair behind her ear trying to ignore him as he tried to provoke her. "Your secret is safe with us, me and Dupin are great at keeping them." He winked wickedly shrugging towards his friend behind them. He then looked both ways and crossed the busy street. Dahlia watched him get smaller until he could no longer see him go down the street. She had a worried feeling that Descamps was bluffing and by next week the whole town would know of their shame.
When she got home she laid back on her bed exhausted. She must of laid there for hours for when she got up the sun had gone down. Her telephone rang and she decided to ignore it opening up her books at her desk. The third time it rang she wanted to throw out the window. She reluctantly picked it up, it was Simone. "There's a party we should go say you'll come." She said her giddy tone. She sighed disappointed knowing the answer was no. Her mother would die if she heard what they were consulting. There were no parties in this house, Mrs Beaufort would not let her child mingle with thirsty boys. "I can't Simone, I would love to but I can't." She says in a sad tone. "Oh okay but if you change your mind ring me before 7 I'll be too busy after that to give you the address." Simone out the telephone down first letting Dahlia listen to the wirey sound echo in her ear. She felt as if she was missing out a right of passage in her teenage years.
The party was full of smoking adolescence and loud music. Moved a little to the side and you would completely brush shoulders with somebody else. Descamps eye scanned the crowds for something his eyes darting from one brunette girl to the other. There she was standing in front of the pillar. Without a second thought Joseph made his way across the room with his friend Dupin on his tail. He tapped the girls shoulders without a shadow of hesitancy. The girl turns around and disappointment swelled with in him. He tried to cover it up with a slight smile, "and what's your name?" He began the girl already pink with infatuation.
They spoke she was nice and all rather plain . The only thing interesting about her was her yellow headband and the way she smiled when laughing at his jokes. She slapped his chest flirtatiously. She was pretty, prettier than the brunette girls in his class he said to himself as if he was trying to convince himself. She was smiling up at the boy with a cigarette in his lip and a small glass of alcohol. Every little sentence bringing their face closer. He knew any minute now they would kiss and then finally he could get something out of her.
Something slams into his shoulder his body snapped around to see who dared to do such thing. Jean-Pierre who looked back at him with a visibly disgusted look as if he couldn't believe he had bumped into that. He doesn't stop the boy quickly gets away before Joseph can do anything. His hands clench, infuriated ready to leap at anything that spoke even in the wrong tone. He walks away from the girl without a word, leaving her confused with his abrupt departure. Jean-Pierre's presence had put him in a lousy mood, no longer intrigued by flirtatious girls.
He takes a bottle of alcohol and enters some hall where a few of his friends stood with a lighted cigarette on their lips. He took a small sip feeling the burning sensation in his throat. They spoke of trivial things and laughed about how all the girls at the party were either boring or too annoying to hold a conversation with. "I mean she's got the prettiest legs and her boobs, let's talk about them but she just stares at you the whole time as you speak." A boy confesses to the group about some girl who mingled about in the party not long ago. He took another big swig listening, half here in the moment and the other half somewhere distant. " I swear she never blinked once." The boy exclaims before bellowing out a laughter. He scratches underneath his eyepatch, unamused. It was hard getting used to it always being stuck to your face, "You look tough, girls love that." One of his friends says drawing eyes to the boy who smiles and nods agreeing. "Grew out my hair too heard the girls love it." He winked looking towards a boy with slightly shorter hair. "My mother won't let me she hates it." He complains making the others call him names, mummy's boy being one of them.
A group of other boys from different classes join them. A boy with blue eyes and straw coloured hair spoke about the girls and what a blessing it was to have them at school now. As a coed school was all the rage in conversation between all ages in the city and in France. "That Annick she's something alright." Dupin adds getting approval from the rest of the group. "That Beaufort's daughter is in your class right?" The blue eyed, blonde mop of hair brought her up which made Joseph stand up straight with a new found interest. "Yeh she doesn't say much though, shame she didn't come tonight." Another adds sighing at his missed chance at getting to talk to her. Descamps couldn't imagine her here, she was rather refined and too polished for a place like this. Full of drunk boys looking for trouble and girls with nothing but sin on their mind. "Might have to pay her a visit tonight, wonder what she's wears to bed or what she won't be after I'm done with her." The blonde boy rubbed his hands together as he let out a belly full of laughter. He laughed like a plumped up pig for Christmas, his face going deep pink.
Before the other boy knew it he had been punched in the face by a one eyed boy who was ready to leap in and throw the other. A sudden brawl broke out as Descamps got pushed into the wall his empty bottle of alcohol shattered onto the floor. The boy had one hand on Joseph's neck and the other soaring across aiming to crash in his face. A few punches here and there until the group of boys are able to peal of a angry Descamps off the other, who was no longer pink but red from the dripping cut on his forehead from when Descamps slammed his head into the wall. Dupin took ahold of his shoulders trying to get the boys absent mind here with him, "what was that about?"
He shakes him to get his lasting bit of serious attention that the alcohol hadn't eaten away at. Dupin didn't understand why the boy spontaneously had lunged at another just like that. He knew that his question would be left unanswered, unspoken of like some family secret.