The fair girl sat with her hands folded neatly in her lap, a light blue dress adorned her petite figure.
"Octavia, do tell us of your month at school." A man with gelled light brown hair commanded in a low voice.
"Yes, Father. I've been doing well in violin class. I've also learned new conjunctions in my French lesson." The girls parents nodded, eating their food in silence.
"Might I be excused? I'm quite tired." Octavia asked. The girl would be leaving early for school the next morning.
Octavia set off to her room to change into a white nightgown with embroidered flowers. The girl tied up her long hair into a ponytail with a blue ribbon. She let a few caramel locks fall from the ribbon and around her face.
~
It had been three days since the girl left her house. Octavia sat in her dorm looking out the window at the courtyard where kids hung out in the warm sun.
"Let's go for a walk." She spoke up to her best friend Valencia.
"It's reading time." Valencia stated coldly, eyes never straying from her book.
"Okay I'm just going to go read by the fountain." Octavia got no response from her friend so she set off to sit outside.
As soon as she stepped into the sun a small smile rested on her face. The girl stared straight at where she was headed and did not look anywhere else until she arrived there. She sat on the stone bench near the fountain and opened her copy of Beauty and the Beast.
While reading in her peaceful state she could not help but notice the growing amount of noise around her. When the girl finally looked up, she noticed Miles Fairchild, a well respected boy who she'd known for years, playing soccer with his friends.
"Hold on guys! Water break." Miles yelled to his friends who all scattered to grab their drinks. However, instead of getting water, Miles began to walk over to Octavia.
"Make a wish." He told her, handing over a shiny silver coin.
"No thank you." Octavia politely declined, catching Miles off guard.
"I wasn't asking. Come on, make a wish. For me?" He pleaded, noticing the eyes of his friends as he talked to a girl.
"Like what? What would you wish for?"
"For you to just make a wish already." Miles chuckled. Octavia couldn't help but stare into his warm eyes.
"Okay... I wish for.." she was cut off by Miles telling her that wishes were to be kept secret.
"Dude! Hurry up!" The scrawny boy beside her got called over by his friends.
"Um.. later, Octavia!" He cracked a smile and began to run backwards before turning back to his friends.
"What a peculiar individual." The petite girl mumbled, shaking her head slightly before returning to her book.
During dinner, Octavia sat with Valencia. Valencia was a slender girl with short raven hair and skin so pale that blue and purple veins could be seen branching out on her cheeks and forehead.
The two said nothing. Octavia ate quietly and delicately, taking small nibbles as she was taught to. The wooden bench that the students sat at stretched far, every group had their own section.
"Hello again." A figure greeted from beside Octavia, blocking the light from the ceiling. The girl looked up and was met with Miles.
"Hello Miles. Feel free to take a seat." She offered although she assumed he'd say no. Miles had a section with all of his friends.
"Thanks." He cracked a smile and sat down with her, grabbing a bun for his plate.
The girl glanced at him, slightly caught off guard by his actions but continued to nibble at her food nonetheless.
"Octavia Fidelis." Miles said to himself, although the girl turned to look at him.
"Sorry, I just like your name. You seem cool, Octavia." At his words, Octavia had to try to keep her posture. She was stunned. Why was Miles Fairchild calling her cool?
"Thank you, Miles. I think you're quite unique yourself." Her words made the boy smile wider.
"Do you think we could hang out? I'd love to get to know you. We could go for a walk in the forest."
"That's a good idea. We'd have to follow the forest path though, it's dangerous if you don't know your way around." Octavia told him. She didn't talk very much but something about Miles made her want to.
"Okay, awesome! We could go tomorrow during lunch." Miles told her, glancing over at his friends who had their eyes on the two. Miles was a lady's man to them.
"I'll see you then." Octavia told him, beginning to get up from her seat.
"Oh, and Octavia," Miles grabbed her wrist.
"Yes, Miles?"
"I like your eyes. They're the most beautiful light green. I wish I had your eyes." Miles didn't speak like this often, she wondered if he was feeling well.
"I think your eyes look good on you. They're warm, welcoming almost." She complimented him before smiling and setting off to her dorm.
Violin, english, and history flew by for Octavia. She couldn't help but feel something she'd never felt before. The girl was excited to be doing something different.
Her schedule stared at her on the flowered dorm room wall, guilt began to creep into the girls mind. She stopped herself; all that was on the schedule was to study her music sheets which she could do at any time.
Miles awaited Octavia at the courtyard doors. He tightened his usually sloppy tie and fixed his usually messy jacket. The boy combed his hands through his hair before his eyes met hers.
"It's beautiful this time of day. I love the look of the sun coming through the leaves." Octavia softly told him, holding a hand up to create a shadow on the ground.
"Tell me about yourself." Miles changed the subject. He needed to know who she really was. There was no way that her perfection was real.
"Well, I have a wonderful family. I like them, but I'm afraid I might not love them like a daughter should." She immediately opened up, trusting Miles with things she was afraid to write down.
"I love my parents, but they are gone a lot. I wish I could be with my sister. I really love her." Octavia smiled softly at his words. She wanted to feel that.
"Miles, can you tell?" The girl stopped to look at him.
"Can I tell what?" He asked, stopping too.
"That how I act is fake. I'm not so perfect. I wish I could be more adventurous and creative, but it feels wrong." She told him, a sad look crossed her porcelain face for a second.
"Hey," he put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes.
"It'll be okay. You know, you don't have to act like that around me. Say what you want to say, do what you want to do, shit, wear what you want to wear."
"Oh, I rather like my dresses. Do you?" Miles' face lit up.
"Yes. They're beautiful. My sister wear ones just like them." He told her softly.
"How about we be friends? You can tell me anything you want and I'll do the same. When we're together we can be our true selves. What do you think?" Miles moved his hand to hover in front of her. The girl took it and gave it a shake.
"That sounds wonderful. Race you to the big oak tree!" She giggled, turning and running with all her might.
The boy followed, trying to grab her to slow her down.
"You are so slow!" She yelled, laughing a true laugh.