"So don't worry 'bout tomorrow,
Take it today.
Forget about the cheque,
We'll get hell to pay.
Have a drink on me!"
MY EYES NEARLY fell out of my sockets as I took in the magnificent sight before me. Four sleek, expensive cars idled at the front of the school entrance, surrounded by a small herd of excited students. Asher was leaning against the side of the third car, a beautiful jet-black Porsche Spyder, looking as impatient as ever. It was like an invisible rain cloud constantly hovered over him. He waved us over, and shot me a glare that I was starting to become worryingly used to.
Well hello to you too, dickwad.
"Emily's riding with me. Go pick one of the cars, we'll meet you guys at the mall," he stated bluntly before walking over to the passenger side of his car, opening the door for Emily like a gentleman. If glares could kill, Emily would probably be six foot under by now, murdered by the jealous Royals-crazed girls surrounding us. Emily seemed to notice this, and quickly slipped into the passenger seat with a face as red as a tomato.
My eyes twinkled brightly with excitement as I eyed the other three cars, all of which had tinted windows. My jaws nearly dropped as I spotted a navy blue Bugatti, the very first car in the line. As my eyes traveled past the beauties, a classy grey Aston Martin and a flashy matte green Ferrari.
Squealing internally, I practically skipped towards the sparkling Bugatti, opening the door carefully and sliding in.
"Oh-my-gosh-this-is-so-awesome!" I whispered to myself excitedly the moment I closed the car door. Gingerly, I let my curious fingers run down the smooth leather of the seat, almost shitting bricks at how soft it was. It even has that new car smell!
I glanced to the side, and after realising the driver was none than Robin Oswald Clair, my excitement deflated almost immediately and a small frown replaced my grin. Cocking an eyebrow, Robin wordlessly started his car and the engine purred to life.
Even though Robin's a jerk, I can't deny that he has amazing taste in cars, I thought, looking around the interior of the car in amazement and wonder.
"You're quiet," he commented softly, his eyes never straying from the road.
I shrugged, glancing at him. "I thought you and your friends prefer it when I don't talk."
I tried my hardest to sound indifferent and not let the underlying tone of irritation slip into my words. After all, I was in the same car as the guy that had ditched me without having the decency to let me know in advance. No big deal.
"Hmm," he hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing to what I had said. My eye involuntarily twitched. Was that all he had to say? I am going to murder him in his sleep!
"Do you have any music?" I asked after the silence in the small car was too much for me to bear. Robin nodded, leaning over to open the glove compartment in front of my seat. Inside was a neat pile of CDs and from the look of the familiar titles, it seemed like he had good taste in music too.
"Take your pick," he said in a bored tone. I grabbed a couple of CDs out of the glove compartment, flipping through them.
"AC/DC, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin," I murmured under my breath. "Huh. Didn't take you for someone that listens to rock music."
"Oh," he replied, although he sounded as if he was merely trying to be polite. There was an awkward silence, and then he sighed and asked, "What kind of music do I look like I listen to?"
"Screaming children, probably. Or maybe whale mating-calls," I replied cheekily, only for him to scowl at me.
"Just pick a disc," he grumbled, and I picked an old classic and popped it into the CD player.
The two of us fell back into silence when unexpectedly, Robin cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "I, uh, apologise for not showing up last night."
"It's nothing," I murmured quietly, though I wasn't going to forgive him entirely for bailing on me. At least he apologized, that was a start.
"I had an emergency meeting," he elaborated hesitantly, which surprised me. Robin didn't seem like the kind of guy to apologise and explain himself to anyone. I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover. "But I should've told you in advance."
"So?" I urged, turning to face him.
"So what?" he asked, looking slight confused.
"Earn my forgiveness," I said, tilting my head to one side. Robin's eyebrows furrowed and he shot me a quick glance.
"You know," he began. "Your forgiveness isn't exactly very valuable to me."
Shooting him a glare, I rolled my eyes and fell back against the passenger seat. I should've known he was only going to be an asshole about it.
"Whatever."
Out of my peripheral vision, I caught him steal a glance and tap his steering wheel impatiently before he sighed loudly.
"Fine," Robin said curtly, looking less than thrilled. "What do you want?"
"Lunch," I decided, after pondering my choices for a few seconds. Robin glanced at me, a sliver of surprise in his eyes.
"I don't waste my time on dates, Alexandra," Robin stated, and shivers went down my spine when he said my name.
"It isn't a date," I replied harshly, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms in defiance.
"So what is the point of lunch?" Robin sighed.
"Free food," I snorted, as if he was stupid. "Duh."
"Seriously?" Robin deadpanned.
"Hey, not every girl in Meilleur wants to date you, okay?" I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "Some of us are interested in more important things."
"Like what? Food?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and shooting me an unimpressed look.
"Yes!" I said, clapping my hands together and shooting him a sweet smile. "See? You're starting to understand. Food always comes first."
"You really shouldn't be insulting the person you're trying to make a deal with," he sighed, shaking his head.
"I'm not exactly trying to be a savvy businesswoman right now," I retorted, causing him to roll his eyes.
"This is starting to feel like blackmail," he muttered, looking almost miserable. "If I had known you'd give me so much trouble, I should've showed up to the ball."
"Will you or will you not buy me lunch?" I demanded, starting to get impatient with his dilly-dally.
"Fine. I'll buy you lunch. But I will decide when and where," Robin grumbled, frowning slightly as he gave in to me. A slow grin appeared on my face.
"You promise?" I asked, eyes widening as I peered at him.
"Seriously?" he sighed. I gave him a hard look and pressed again.
"Promise?"
"Yeah, yeah. Just get out of my damn car," Robin muttered in an annoyed tone and I realised we had arrived at the mall. Judging by the way the valet was waiting impatiently by the car, I assumed that we probably arrived a while ago.
"Fine." I rolled my eyes, getting out the car and looking around the strangely empty shopping mall.
"Won't we get in trouble for skipping class?" I asked nervously, suddenly realising that we were out during school hours in school uniform.
"As if our teachers would dare to report us," he scoffed, smirking slightly.
"Wait. This isn't the first time you skipped class?" I exclaimed.
"I'm not a complete loser, you know," he said, narrowing his eyes.
Shrugging my shoulders, I pursed my lips and said, "Could've fooled me."
Robin shot me a glare, then took his phone out to read his emails.
"Where's Em, anyway?" I asked. As if on cue, the roar of an engine broke the peace and quiet, and Asher's Porsche rolled into the entrance followed by the other cars.
I watched as Logan stepped out of his Ferrari, and Yuko out of his Aston Martin. I let out a low whistle. Lucky guys...
"I take that you like cars?" Robin asked quietly and I nodded with a grin.
"Love 'em," I replied with a dreamy sigh as I admired their cars.
"I'm going to the music store," Logan announced immediately when they finally reached the entrance of the mall, before turning and entering the building.
"I'll be in the bookshop," Yuko murmured, trailing after Logan. Despite the fact that it was Friday, the shopping mall was strangely deserted.
"There's no one here," I commented, frowning at the unusual sight before me.
"Get used to it when you're out with us. We always rent the entire mall when we go shopping," Asher said, almost smugly.
"The entire mall?" I blurted out.
"Of course," Asher replied, almost dismissively, "how do you expect us to shop if everyone's gawking at us and taking pictures?"
I rolled my eyes. What a diva.
Without another word, Asher beckoned Emily to follow him. Robin and I trailed behind them quietly, both of us equally reluctant. Asher turned to Emily and looked at her up-and-down, in which she began to blush like a baboon's butt.
"My father says you need to dress more...sophisticatedly," Asher sighed, running a hand down his face.
"Sophisticatedly?" Emily repeated, staring down at herself and her uniform. Asher nodded silently, an unreadable emotion plastered across his face as he looked at her.
"Do you think I'm too plain?" Emily asked quietly, refusing to meet his eyes.
"Well—," he began, perhaps trying to find the words to say. She fiddled with her fingers restlessly as she waited for his answer that never came. When it was clear that he couldn't come up with anything to say, she let out a small sigh.
"Sorry," Emily mumbled quietly, so quietly I almost didn't hear her.
"Emily—," he began to say, but Emily quickly brushed him off, walking ahead of him and into the nearest boutique. Robin and I watched as Asher curse loudly before he hurried to catch up with her, leaving the two of us behind.
"It's rude to eavesdrop," Robin muttered beside me. I glanced at him and frowned. I'm pretty sure he heard everything they said, so why was it a crime if I heard them too?
"I can't help it if they're being loud," I defended, crossing my arms. As we entered the boutique Asher and Emily went into, we were immediately greeted by the grinning sales assistant.
"Hello! Welcome to Hilda's, I'm Jen—"
"Just get her a new wardrobe," Asher interrupted rudely, pointing at Emily. The two of them refused to even look at each other, and it was clear that Emily was upset. The sales assistant's smile faltered, but she quickly recovered, "Of course!"
After she bowed at the two boys, she gestured for Emily to follow her. Emily cast me a nervous glance and without hesitating, I followed them.
"Lexi!" Emily sighed in relief, rushing over to me. "Thank god you're here! I hate shopping."
"This is Jenna, she's going to help me today. Jenna, this is Lexi," Emily quickly introduced. The sales assistant gave me a hesitant smile, looking less stiff and uptight without the boys around.
"Nice to meet you," I said, returning her smile. "Alright, now let's get started!"
We spent the entire afternoon in the shop, helping Emily find outfits that screamed Sophisticated! but nothing that made her look like she wasn't herself. Asher stood by, offering some comments here and there while Robin sat beside his friend quietly, typing on his phone.
Four hours and three dozen shopping bags later, I collapsed into Robin's car, wiping a thin sheen of sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.
"That was a workout," I huffed, almost rejoicing in happiness when Robin turned on the engine and the air conditioning blasted on, engulfing me with cold air. We rushed around the shopping mall like ants in a hot pot, buying anything and everything that Asher liked. I ended up carrying a dozen shopping bags, all filled with various clothes, shoes, bags and makeup for Emily. Thank god Asher was finally done.
"You alright there?" Robin mocked, glancing at me in slight amusement. I narrowed my eyes.
"Yes," I replied, crossing my arms. Turns out Asher had asked his three friends for a favour, which was to allow him to use the space in the trunks of their cars to put all of the shopping bags. Why couldn't he just hire a driver to deliver it all back to the academy? Does he enjoy making his friends watch as he tortures people?
"Can you please just take me back?" I muttered, picking at the skin on my thumb, a bad habit I had developed ever since I was little.
Without a word, Robin turned on the engine and began the drive back to Meilleur. Suddenly, his phone began to ring, and Robin quickly answered it.
"Speaking?" he said into the receiver, keeping his eyes focused on the road. There was a faint chatter that emitted through his phone, causing Robin to furrow his eyebrows. "Senator Evans? Okay. Tomorrow morning will be fine. Thanks, Mira."
With that, he hung up and slipped his phone into his pocket with one hand. Then, he checked his watch and let out a small sigh before taking a sharp turn.
"This isn't the way back to the Academy," I pointed out, frowning slightly. "You better not be trying anything funny, Mister. I know my rights and I will sue you if you do anything weird."
"Get over yourself," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "My dinner appointment just got shifted to tomorrow morning. I'm free now."
"So?" I asked, signaling him to elaborate.
"You said you wanted lunch, right? I hope dinner will be fine," he said.
"Dinner feels too personal," I stated bluntly, wrinkling my nose. Just the thought of going on a date with Robin Clair of all people was extremely strange, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to eat dinner with a statue.
"Take it or leave it, Alexandra. The next time I have some free time on my hands, you'll probably be seventy."
I bit my lip, contemplating whether or not I should accept his offer. It was free food, after all. Then, my stomach grumbled lowly, and I made up my mind.
❁❁❁
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please be informed that Meilleur Academy's location has been switched, and it is no longer in France. Mainly because I do not want to anger readers when I get the currency wrong, or when my characters don't speak French, or when I do not respect the culture because I know nothing about it. The location of the Academy will be kept secret so as to not offend anyone or confuse anyone. Thank you!
#QOTC: Would you have taken up the offer of free food? I know I would, hehe.
Song of the Chapter: Have a Drink on Me by AC/DC.