"So I heard you and Jacky made up," Eli grinned as I sat next to him in our class the next day. "How cute."
"We didn't make up," I practically growled, my hands balling into fists as I glared at him. "I'm still mad at him. And I'm mad at you and the rest of your stupid friends, too."
"Ow," he teased, placing a hand over his heart as he continued to grin at me. One of these days I was going to smack that sarcastic grin right off his face... Was that all he could do? All he did was smirk or grin at me, and then give me a sarcastic remark. "You don't know how much you hurt me, Ivy. It's like you're taking a sword and just lancing it right through my heart."
I really wished that I could have hurt him physically.
But of course I couldn't, because then he would have won and I would be kicked out of Neverland Academy and sent off to military school. And there was no way I was going to let that happen anytime soon... Or ever, for that matter. Someone had to show Eli that he didn't get everything he wanted.
"I'm trying to learn," I informed him flatly, as if it wasn't completely obvious. I couldn't believe everyone just let him talk like it wasn't bothering them at all! It was absolutely ridiculous how everyone feared The Lost Boys! They were just four punks that thought they could have gotten anything they wanted just because they had money...
But was Jack really different? He seemed to be. Though he was a player... But he said that I was different from all those other girls. And he seemed to be different from his friends, too.
"Like you need to learn," Eli sighed, rolling his eyes at me and looking back to the front of the classroom. "You're a scholarship student. I'm sure you already know this stuff."
Even though he was right, I wasn't about to tell him that. I did already know what the teacher was telling us, but I just wanted to get out of this dumb conversation with him. But as long as I sat next to him, I knew that there was no way I'd be able to get out of it...
"I need to keep my grades up," I excused, leaning to the left a little to look around the kid that was in front of me. I didn't think it was possible for someone to have a head as big as that... "If I don't, I can't attend here anymore. So I'm not going to let my grades drop and let you win."
Eli grinned at me once again now, leaning closer to me as well. I leaned back, not caring about seeing anymore, so I wouldn't have to be anywhere near him. I swear, this guy was going to get what was coming to him one of these days...
"That's another way to get you out of here, huh?" he asked with a smirk, and all I could do was glare at him. I knew I shouldn't have told him that... Now he knew another way to get me kicked out of the school. What if he forced a teacher to fail me? I'd get kicked out for sure! Wow, for a smart girl I really was stupid sometimes... "I'll make sure to remember that..."
I didn't say another word to him, because I was afraid I was going to say something else that could have possibly kicked me out of the school. Even though I didn't want to attend the school at all, I was going to have to stay there. Because I had to prove it to those stupid Lost Boys that they couldn't win every battle they fought. And I would love to see their faces when they get beaten by a girl.
I couldn't wait until that day would come. No matter how long it took, it was going to come no matter what had to come with it.
"Buzz off," was all I could say, my eyes glued to the back of our teacher's head.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Eli smirk at me once again before his gaze dropped to my neck. I was afraid to ask what he was looking at until he said, "You always wear that necklace."
I stayed silent, pretending as if I hadn't even heard him. The only person at this school who knew why I always wore the necklace was Jack... If Eli knew, I knew he was going to do something to damage or steal it so I would be angry and fight him. But that bad part was, if he did do anything to it, I would have fought him. Because I wouldn't have cared anymore.
So that necklace was my weakness, and I couldn't let anyone know that.
"Do I really?" I asked, trying to sound uncaring and sly as I continued to copy down notes from the board. "I guess I've never noticed it before."
Eli rolled his eyes at me now, obviously knowing that I was lying to him. But as long as he didn't know why the necklace was so special to me, everything was good. That was all that mattered...
The rest of the day went by smoothly, and I couldn't wait to go back to my dorm so I could do my homework and relax for the rest of the day. Boy, did that idea sound nice...
As I walked down the hall to my dorm, I stopped a few feet away when something caught my eye. Right there in front of the door was a vase full of roses, a stuffed teddy bear leaning gently against it. I had the strong urge to kick the vase down the hallway, but chose against it as I leaned down and plucked the card from the flowers.
Ivy,
This is Jack. Really. If you don't think it is, then you can ask me tomorrow in biology. I know I screwed up and I was to apologize for it. Since we didn't really make up when we were dissecting the frog and everything... But I'd understand if you're still angry with me.
Jack
I smiled down at the card, not believing what I was reading. Jack was apologizing by giving me roses! And a stuffed animal! I couldn't help but smile even more as I scooped up the flowers and the bear after unlocking the door and opening it just a little.
"Oh, man," Chloe sighed from the bottom bunk once I placed the items down on the coffee tables. She flipped through another page of the book she was reading, not looking very amused by the gifts I was bringing in. "Is someone trying to apologize?"
"Yeah."
"Are you sure they're from him?"
I shrugged, looking down at the card that had come with the flowers. He said that I could ask him the next day if he had given them to me... So it had to be him.
"I'm sure it's him," I nodded now, placing the card down next to the vase carefully. I now looked over to see what Chloe was doing. "What are you reading?"
"I'm studying every Disney movie that's ever been created," she told me, as if that was a completely normal thing to do. Obviously sensing my confusion, she finally looked up from the book and smiled at me. "The school's play's coming up. All they told us was that it was going to be something from Disney. But they didn't really have to surprise us because it's always from Disney... So I have to study to make sure I get a part..."
"Do you want to main role?" I asked, throwing my backpack onto my bed on the top bunk, where I would be doing my homework later. "I bet you'd get it."
"Nah, I like getting the main role's sidekick," she told me with a grin, still flipping through the book that I now saw contained Disney songs. "I don't really like being the center of attention when it comes to plays. Everything else is fine, but not on stage..."
"Maybe I'll try out," I thought out loud with a shrug, wondering how that would be. It sounded like a really good idea... And something fun to do, too. "When do we find out what it is?"
"In a week or two," she answered as she flipped another page. "I can't remember when..."
"Maybe I'll get the lead," I shrugged, almost smiling at the thought of it. It would have been really awesome if I had gotten the lead in the play... Maybe people would stop thinking of me as the smart and poor new girl that was fighting with The Lost Boys...
Chloe snorted. "There's no way that's happening."
I blinked for a second, not understanding what she was saying. Well, I understood, but I didn't get why Chloe would say something mean like that... She hadn't ever said anything like that to me the entire time I had been at the school! She wasn't like everyone else, was she?
Noticing my uncertain silence, Chloe looked up at me. As if reading my mind, her mouth gaped open for a second before she said, "Wait, no! That came out wrong!"
I blinked at her once again. "Then... what did you mean?"
"I mean, even if you were the most fantastic singer and actress ever, there's no way you could get the main role because Courtney always gets it," she explained quickly, obviously no wanting to hurt my feelings anymore.
"Oh," was all I said, not knowing what else I could have said. I shouldn't have been surprised that Courtney got the main role. She was probably an amazing actress...
"She's not even that good," Chloe now informed me with a wave of her hand, as if she had read my mind somehow. "Her mom is the director, so she always casts her Courtney as the lead and her friends in important parts, too. If Eli tried out for the play, he would definitely get the main part for the guy all because of Courtney and her mom, but he doesn't like those types of things..."
"Oh," I repeated, still having nothing in response to that.
"Jack always gets the lead role because his mom works with Courtney's, too," Chloe now added, her face scrunching up a little bit more now. "But he's actually pretty good, so it's not that bad with him. Luckily I've been able to get pretty decent parts because I actually have talent."
"So pretty much Courtney and Jack are going to get the main parts?" I asked flatly, plopping down in my desk chair now. That was unfair! I had gotten the main part when I was in a play at my old school while Cassidy got a background character. Not only did Claudia blow a fuse, but she screamed at me like it was my fault or something. Then she pretty much screamed at the school until Cassidy got a bigger part...
So I guessed that I was kind of used to people getting things unfairly.
"Maybe," Chloe shrugged, flipping another page in the book now. "I heard that this year Jack's mom won't be helping out and it'll be someone else. So he might not get the main part. And whoever's filling in for her might want someone who can actually act and sing to play the main girl role..."
I felt a little better after learning this. So I did have a slim chance...
"I love this song," I smiled now, sticking out my hand and stopping her from turning the page once again. Once Upon a Dream from Sleeping Beauty filled the page, and I couldn't help but start humming it as I read through the lyrics.
"I have it on a CD right here," Chloe informed me with a laugh, reaching over her head and grabbing her CD player and the stack of CDs that sat next to them. "I always keep my Disney CDs handy for the school play."
"Why's it always Disney?" I couldn't help but asked as she flipped through her CDs. "Is it because the school's named Neverland Academy?"
"Yep," she answered with a curt nod before finding the CD she was looking for a crying out, "Ah!"
She placed it into the CD player and skipped to number fourteen. When the familiar instrumental began to play, I couldn't help but smile as I remembered my childhood. Sleeping Beauty was my mother's favorite Disney movie, so we watched it a lot...
I picked up the teddy bear Jack had given me and started spinning in circles, moving the music absentmindedly. Chloe watched me for a moment before turning back toward the book of Disney songs and flipping through it some more, not even trying to stop me from what I was doing.
"I know you; I walked with you once upon a dream..." I sang happily, dancing around the room with the stuffed bear, and I was sure I looked pretty crazy. "I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar agleam... Yet I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem..."
"You're crazy," Chloe muttered, rolling her eyes at me as she continued to look through her books. But this didn't stop me; all I did was continue even louder.
"But if I know you, I know what you'll do! You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream..."
Chloe continued to watch as I danced around during the tiny instrumental, but now she looked amused instead of annoyed. This caused me to smile as I spun the stuffed bear around.
"But if I know you, I know what you'll do! You'll love me at once--"
"The way you did once upon a dream," a new accented voice now sang, causing me to shut right up and turn around to see who had interrupted me. My eyes went wide and I almost dropped the bear when I saw that I was that it was Jack that was standing in the doorway, watching me with an amused look in his eyes.
I looked down at the bear and then back at me before scratching the back of my head and chuckling nervously. "Sorry, I... aha, like to sing..."
Jack grinned at me. "So do I."
"Um, thanks for the flowers," I blurted, placing the bear next to the vase of roses now. "I really like them. They're beautiful."
"I'm glad you like them," Jack informed me with a nod, stepping inside of the room now with a half-smirk plastered onto his face. "I was afraid that you weren't going to accept after what happened the last time you got flowers that said they were from me..."
Jack and I just stood there for a few moments, staring at each other without looking away. My green eyes locked with his brown ones, and I thought that we were never going to look away from each other.
We both had totally forgotten that Chloe was in the room, and I could tell that she knew that as well when she stood up beside me. "Jack," she said, glaring at him as she crossed her arms over her chest. "What a pleasure it is seeing you here."
"You too, Calvert," he grinned at her, leaning against the doorframe as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He then glanced down at the book she had put down on her bed. "I see you're looking into a few Disney films. So I suppose you've already noticed the pattern of it being Disney?"
She continued to glare at him as she answered with, "Yep."
"Are you going to try out for the play, Ivy?" Jack now asked, pushing himself from the doorframe before making his way toward me. "You have a really nice voice."
I smiled up at him bashfully, biting my tongue as I tried to think of something to say. "Um... Th--thank you."
Jack smiled right back at me. "You're welcome."
"Alright, Ivy has homework to do," Chloe shooed, her eyebrows furrowed as she almost pushed Jack toward the door. "I don't think she wants you bothering her while she tries to do her work."
Before I could say that I didn't mind, Jack started laughing. I smiled at him, not knowing what was funny. Was it something Chloe or I did...?
"I'm surprised you're not scared, Calvert," Jack now said, turning toward Chloe as he smirked mischievously. "I could always send Chris up here to help Ivy do her homework..."
My eyes widened at the thought of this, as did Chloe's. I hadn't really spoken to Chris since what had happened in the cafeteria on my first day, and I was still made at him for it. I didn't want him coming in here! Jack had to be joking, right?
When I looked over to see Chloe's reaction, she didn't look how I thought she would. She looked terrified of the thought of Chris coming up to our dorm, which I knew was what Jack wanted from her. He was a Lost Boy, and all of the Lost Boys wanted fear...
So maybe Jack wasn't completely different from the rest of them. But he was still different enough.
"G--get out of here," Chloe now ordered, taking a step closer to him now. "Get out of here or I'll scream rape!"
Jack rolled his eyes at her, but all I did was watch the two of them. They didn't seem like enemies in the least. They seemed more like brother and sister bickering more than enemies. It was different with them than it was with Eli and me.
"I'm leaving, I'm leaving," Jack sighed, raising his hands up in front of him in defeat. "I don't one anyone to think that I'm raping my cousin..."
My eyes widened after he had spoken. Cousin? They were cousins? Why didn't Chloe ever tell me? Why didn't Jack tell me? They didn't even look Alike at all! And Jack had an accent and Chloe didn't...
"I'll explain it to you later," Chloe told me, as if reading my mind. Jack smirked at this, but all I could do was continue to watch them. "But Jack needs to leave now. Without telling Chris to come up here."
Jack rolled his eyes at his cousin once again before looking back at me.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow," I assured him with a smile. "Okay?"
He smiled right back at me. "Okay."
After he had left, Chloe and I stood there in awkward silence for a few minutes. I could tell that she didn't know how she was supposed to start telling me this.
"Why didn't you tell me Jack was your cousin?" I asked, starting the conversation for her.
"I didn't want anyone to know that I'm related to that jackass," she answered simply, turning around and heading back toward her bed so she could go through her Disney books once again. "The only other person on this campus besides the staff that knows I'm related to him is Stephanie. And that's it."
"He's not that bad of a guy," I tried defending, but I knew nothing I could have said was going to change her mind. "He's really nice."
Chloe glared at the book as she flipped through it a little more roughly now. "You didn't have to grow up with him."
"But you don't have an accent," I countered, as if that was what I needed to prove that they weren't really related. "He has an English accent and you don't."
"He grew up in England until he was twelve," she informed me with a shrug. "But we visited each other all the time. Then he moved here and we saw each other every freaking day."
"So, Jack's mom that helps direct the play is...?"
"My dad's sister," Chloe sighed in defeat. "So she's my aunt."
I blinked. "Oh..."
"So that's why I always get good parts in the plays," she now confessed, dropping her face into her hands so everything else she had to say sounded muffled. "I say it's because I have talent, but it's really just because I'm related to one of the directors!"
"You probably are talented," I told her quickly, not wanting her to start crying or anything. "So you shouldn't worry. Courtney's the one that sucks!"
Chloe looked up at me now and smiled, no tears in sight. "You're right. I've been an important role in plenty of plays without my aunt before! It's not just her!"
I grinned, happy that she wasn't upset anymore. But I definitely didn't expect for her to be Jack's cousin... She seemed to hate him way too much for a cousin... I wonder how Jack was when he was little.
"And what about what he said about Chris?" I couldn't help but ask her now.
Chloe's eyes widened. "Nothing! That was nothing!"
I didn't believe her, but I didn't press on. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it, so I wasn't going to go on and on about it. I was the type of person that kept her secrets to herself, and I was starting to wonder if Chloe was that way, too.
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I'm sick. I'm tired. It was incredibly difficult to write this.
I also have to rest for Disneyland next week. Knowing me, I probably won't be one hundred percent healthy by the time it's time for the trip. :|
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