ELENA
"Oh my God! It's Elena Falls!"
Oh great. Here we go again.
"UGH! She thinks she's so hot!"
"Because she is!"
As I step into school, all eyes are on me. I'm used to the attention by now and I love being in the spotlight. There's nothing more that satisfies me more than blessing my classmates with my good looks.
"Looking good, Elena!" A boy catcalled me, blocking my locker with his friends behind him.
The only problem was the boys who only thought with their dicks.
"Get away from my locker, dickheads."
"So aggressive!" One of them purred.
"I'm giving you five seconds," I glared at them. Their faces went pale before they scurried off. Good riddance.
"I see you're busy shooing off the guys again," I turned to the voice of my childhood best friend, Carmen. She had a smirk on her face, watching the boys running off with their tail between their legs.
"You know how much I hate the boys in this school," I sighed. "They all give me the ick."
"It's all because of that stupid ex of yours," Carmen crossed her arms, dark green eyes glaring from under her black curly bangs. "I swear! Once I get my hands on him, it's over!"
Long story short, I found out at the beginning of summer that Alec had used me for a dare to sleep with me. He transferred schools after that nevertheless, the public humiliation that I was subjected to followed me into my Senior year.
Halfway through the school year now and the whole student body already has their impressions on me. I wanted to transfer schools too from how unbearable the rumors were but, ultimately decided not to in the end.
So now, I deal with thirsty ass boys thinking I owe them something and spiteful bitches calling me all kinds of names. High School Musical lied to me.
"Sorry," Carmen said with a sheepish smile. "I know you hate when people bring him up."
"It's fine." I shrugged. "Over it."
"Lena! Carmen!" My cousins, Kireah and Emma greeted us. Kireah pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. "Did you girls hear?!"
"Hear about what?" Carmen asked.
"There's a party tonight," Emma announced, making Kireah frown from stealing the chance to say the news.
My ears perked up. "I'm in!"
Carmen giggled. "You didn't even hear who was throwing it."
"Doesn't matter," I smirked. "A party is a party."
The bell rang making students rush to their classes. "See you girls at lunch?" Kireah asked. We all nodded as Carmen and Kireah started heading to their classes. Emma held back, staring at me suspiciously. "Are you coming to class today?"
"Nope! I have other plans today."
She sighed. "Are you skipping again?"
"You already know it!"
Emma raised a thin brow but, quickly shook her head. "You're so reckless."
"I know!"
***
The first period was Calculus and I hated Calculus. The teacher, Mr. Franklin taught my parents and always kept comparing me to them. Sure I wasn't as smart as them or my twin brother but, he didn't have to bring it up every time I answered wrong.
So to pass the time, I snuck into the girls' restroom.
Unfortunately, it was crowded with the school's obnoxious queen bee and her copycat fans. Willow Brynes, the principal's granddaughter and also the number one hater of mine. She's had it out for me ever since I dated her brother AKA my garbage ex.
Her cold blue eyes met mine and she scowled. "Oh, you're here..."
I flashed her a smile. "Aww... Willow! You missed me that much?"
She rolled her eyes, facing the mirror. One minion patted blush on her pale cheeks and another brushed her wavy black hair. The other two still glared at me. "Find another bathroom to skip class in, Falls. As you can tell, I'm busy."
I raised my eyebrow. "Busy? What could be so important for the principal's granddaughter?"
"None of your-"
One of her minions squealed, cutting her off. "A famous guy is coming to our school!" Willow shot her a glare but, that didn't stop the rest of the girls from giggling with glee.
"I bet he's going to be so fine!"
"I heard he's a model AND was an actor!"
"Ahh! I wonder who it'll be!"
Willow let out an exasperated sigh, seizing all the excitement. All their heads hung low to their flats.
I blinked. "Famous guy?"
"It was supposed to be a secret..." Willow placed her perfectly manicured fingers over the bridge of her nose. "Look, Falls. Don't utter a word about this to anyone."
I rolled my eyes. "Trust me, I don't care all that much. Just don't say a word about me skipping class to your grandfather and we're good."
The sound of keys jingling and heels echoing through the halls made us all freeze. We all shared a knowing look before sprinting into the stalls. Unfortunately, I ended up with Willow as we stood on top of the toilet seat.
"This is all your fault," She accused with a hushed whisper.
I scrunched up my nose. "Excuse me? How is this my fault?"
A dreading voice filled the restroom.
"Elena!" Ms. Greg called. "I know you're in here!"
Willow blinked at me and I shrugged. Okay, maybe she was right. Ms. Greg never failed at catching me cut class. I never know how the woman does it. I pick a new spot every day. She must have a tracker on me or something.
A brief moment of silence past through the air. It was deafening. My heart drummed in my chest and the way Willow's eyes were trained on the door told me she was scared of being caught too. I'm sure her grandfather wouldn't let her hear the end of it.
If there was anything worse than going to Calculus, it was sitting in Mr. James' office. I was forced to do my makeup work for my classes. He would then go on and on rambling about how I should be like my parents and brother. I've heard it all and I'd prefer not to hear it again.
Thankfully, the heels faded away. I jumped down from the toilet as Willow's legs wobbled from the heels she wore. I don't even know how she got away with that since it violated guidelines. But if it was me, the tables would be turned.
Stupid ass school.
"Thank God, that's over with!" I opened the door to the stall. My heart leaped in my throat as Ms.Greg stood there with her arms crossed.
Shit. I must've mistaken those heels for another teacher's shoes in the hall!
"M-Ms. Greg!" I smiled, giving her a small nudge. "Fancy seeing you here! New lace front? Gotta say 24-inch black Brazilian looks good on you!"
Her brown eyes narrowed. Guess she wasn't amused. "Skipping class again? This is the fifth time." Her eyes went behind me. "And Miss. Brynes? You're here too?"
Willow shuffled next to me with an innocent smile. "I was simply going to use the bathroom, Ms. Greg. Elena had forced me to open the door and let her in!"
I glared at her. "What?! She's lying! Her minions are literally in the other-"
Ms, Greg held his hand up. "Stop, Elena. Today isn't a day for your shenanigans! To Mr. James' office now!"
I rolled my eyes, storming out of the bathroom. Not without flipping Willow off.
***
"Hello, Elena." Mr. James welcomed me with a small smile. I huffed, slamming the door behind me. "So, what did you do to get caught doing now?"
"You make it sound like I always do something wrong," I plopped down in the plush armchair and kicked my feet on his desk.
He blinked. "You always do something wrong if you end up here." He pushed my feet off his desk. "Do I have to bring up that time you spray-painted the school halls?"
"Strawberry Nutella cupcakes are a must. I had to raise a petition!" I smiled.
He rolled his eyes. "Okay, what about the chickens you let loose in the halls last week?"
I shrugged. "Meh."
"And the time you smacked off Ms. Greg's wig?"
"Hey!" I sat up in my chair. "That was an accident! I love Ms. Greg!"
Mr. James only shook his head in disappointment. "Elena, it's your last school year. You should be trying to focus on graduating which is not looking promising for you."
I squirmed in my seat, playing with the ends of my straightened brown hair. "Yeah, yeah. You told me that already."
"And you'd think you'd listen to me." He sighed. "Years ago, your parents went here..."
I tuned him out, glaring outside the window. See? What did I tell you about the infamous lecture? I won't hear the end of it.
Why don't I just stop misbehaving and go to my class you ask? Because I'm not as smart as them! One wrong move and it's back to the same lecture. Sue me for not getting the nerd genetic, it all got handed to my twin.
Finally, Mr. James picked up on the fact that I wasn't listening. "Elena, if you need a tutor we can give you one."
"I don't want one," I crossed my arms.
He sighed but, a hard knock at his office door interrupted us. "Come in."
The door opened and my breathing hitched as I took in the guy who stood in the doorway.
Dark brown stopped at the nape of his neck and stray hairs dangled before his ocean-blue eyes holding no emotion. It was like watching the ocean be tossed from the calm before the storm. His olive skin was flawless despite the scar on his lip. The school uniform clung around his muscles. A strong dangerous aura and authority oozed off of him that sent a shiver down my spine.
Who was this hot guy?! Was this the famous guy coming to our school? How have I not seen him on TV?
His eyes met mine and it made my heart leap in my chest.
"Ah! A pleasure to finally meet you!" Mr. James got up from his desk. They shook hands and I looked at the tattoos and scars that were on his knuckles. Ouch. "And your name is..."
"Graham Salgado," his deep voice was laced with Italian. It was like music to my ears. The deepness of his voice reminded me a lot of Batman. It may even be better than Batman...
Mr. James circled back to his desk and picked up the slips of paper, skimming over them. "Ah, this is it. Your transcripts are indeed perfect. Straight A student from California." Mr. James looked up at me with an eyebrow raised. "You hear that, Elena. Someone who cares about their education."
I huffed. "I can be a straight-A student."
"Hm," Graham sounded like he was stifling a laugh.
I glared at the back of his head. "You got something to say?"
He turned to me, gazing down at me as if I was lower than him. Of course, the good-looking guys are just assholes. "Yeah, I just find that hard to believe."
"You know," I leaned forward in my chair. "This was an A and B conversation. So how about you 'C' yourself out of it, would ya'?"
He blinked. "'D' is for don't give a fuck."
"'E' is for exit the damn conversation."
"'F' is for finding my way back into it."
"'G' is for getting the fuck out."
"'H' is for hell no."
I only found myself glaring at him and his smirk tugged against his lips. I don't have a word for "I". I rolled my eyes, staring out the window. "Jackass..."
"That doesn't begin with an I," Graham stated the obvious. I merely flipped him the bird.
Mr. James chuckled. "I see you two are getting along."
"Please get some glasses, Mr. James," I said. "We aren't."
Mr. James and Graham ended up breaking off into a different conversation for his transfer. Why did the hot guys have to be such a dick? Then again, someone that scary-looking wasn't just a simple "nice guy". How did he get into showbiz with that rotten attitude?
The door opened again and Principal Brynes followed by his granddaughter entered the office which was starting to feel crowded. Principal Brynes' wrinkles on his forehead already gave away he was angry at seeing me. "Why am I not surprised to see you in here, Miss. Falls?"
"Falls?" Graham asked.
"My last name, jackass," I said. His ocean-blue eyes had a moment of surprise before they went back to being emotionless.
"Language please!" Principal Brynes hushed before giving Graham an apologetic smile. "Sorry about this, Mr. Salgado. Please don't let her influence you."
Graham didn't say a word as Principal Brynes shook his hand. "This is my granddaughter, Willow. She'll be helping you around school!"
Willow held out her hand and Graham simply looked at her hand. "I don't need help."
"Oh, uh, of course," Willow said shyly, quickly retracting her hand. Her cheeks burning red or maybe it was the excessive blush that her minion did.
Mr. James cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, it's a secret that you'll be attending here. Though, I don't promise that there won't be anyone around here that won't recognize you." Mr. James explained as Graham took the slip of paper.
"...right."
Mr. James smiled. "Please don't hesitate to ask questions."
With that, Graham stepped out the door but, not without sparing me a glance.
What was that about?
***
in case rereaders skipped over the notice, characters aren't going to be the same as they were before but, you'll be aware of who fills in for each of the roles!