Briarwood-Octavian Country Day School
The Cafe, Table One
Wednesday, September 9th
12:11 PM
"As you all know, our beautiful institution has been a little crowded lately . . ." Principal Burns' nasally squawk began over the loudspeakers above. "Which is why I'm pleased to announce that we have created a charming little overflow facility for some very lucky students."
She glanced calculating around the cafeteria as she shifted herself on Cam's lap, his hand on her hip steadying her as her neck craned from where she was sat. He was completely ignoring the announcement, as was most of their table, instead deigning to chat with Josh about a dribbling move he'd seen online that he wanted to try out. The cafe, while quieter than usual thanks to the announcement, was still filled with soft mutterings and quiet murmurs that filled the eco-friendly cafeteria with a buzzing drone.
The warm amber lights above were soft enough that it didn't reflect off of anything, a fact she greatly appreciated due to the amount of glittery jewelry and sequined clothing that frequented the halls of BOCD. It was obvious that the girls here were desperate to snatch a boyfriend since they'd never truly had the opportunity to do so before. The seats were filled with young ladies sporting the finest designer clothing with hair perfectly curled, makeup perfectly done, and rehearsed giggles to show off whenever a boy said anything (whether it was funny or not). She felt thankful she didn't ever have to stoop that low as she noticed a girl eagerly give a boy her entire lunch with a batting of her eyes that the oblivious boy didn't notice in the slightest.
Her eyes continued roaming, finally landing on Table Eighteen, smack dab in the front of the cafe where they surveyed everyone else as if they were judges and them mere criminals. Massie Block sat at the head, Alicia and Dylan on either side of her as she finger-combed her hair, laughing suddenly at something the long-haired redhead said before flipping the glossy tresses over her shoulder. However, she couldn't stop the smirk from forming on her face as she noticed the thigh-high socks that she was sure were worn to cover her badly scraped knees.
Her eyes quickly slid over to Alicia, who sat a bit too stiffly in her seat for it to be natural. Obviously, she was expecting her to do something with the information she'd given her yesterday. When her eyes darted to her own she gave the girl a sly smile and Alicia's eyes widened before she quickly turned away again, her back to her as she engaged Massie in a talk, most likely gossiping about something nonsensical.
Claire looked quite defeated; her outfit wasn't nearly as cute as it was yesterday, eyes turned down to the table, and back hunched into a question mark that reminded her of Kori's abominable posture. At least the blonde seemed to understand that Cam wouldn't be returning to her. At the thought of such a thing even happening she frowned, lacing her fingers with the ones that still held onto her hip and squeezing softly, a gentle smile growing on her face as he immediately squeezed back and pressed a fleeting kiss to the side of her neck without hesitance. The act seemed so natural to him, for despite the affectionate move he continued talking to Josh without pause, not that she minded.
Kristen and Dylan, the two she had dismissed quite easily yesterday, were giggling to each other over something in a magazine that Kristen had only just pulled from her backpack. No, they weren't a threat - it was the other three she needed to keep her eyes on.
Principal Burns' unpleasant voice continued, "So will everyone seated at tables one through five, please gather your stuff and follow Ms. Dunkel and Mr. Hermann to your new home. Be sure to bring your lunches with you." She got up, as did the rest of the people she had carefully handpicked, and glided her way out of the Cafe with Cam at her back.
From across the Cafe, Massie was giving her a smug look, lips tilted upward in a smirk as her amber irises shined with amusement. The girl crossed her legs and sent her a mocking wave, a flutter of the fingers that mimicked the one she had given Claire yesterday. She smirked at the girl, making her proud look falter as she chuckled under her breath, steadfastly turning away from her and practically feeling the girl's heated glare burn holes into her back. Allie-Rose and her best friend, Becca Wilder, who she'd become well acquainted to after the movie and subsequent ice cream pig-out last night, flanked her on either side as they finally swept past the open doorways and onto a cement pathway.
"This doesn't seem worth it, Adrieux," Derrick muttered as they stood in front of the so-called Mobile Learning Vehicles. There were three of them, for they were most certainly expecting a mix of sixth, seventh and eighth graders, not an entire cluster of the most popular eighth graders in school.
"It will be," Cassia said lightly, already imagining the multiple changes she'd be making to the exterior of the dingy-looking trailers. Derrick huffed, stuffing his hands into the front pocket of his skinny jeans and looking entirely unamused. She frowned at him and snapped her fingers in his face, making him jolt in surprise. "Trust me, will you? By tomorrow everything will be perfect."
Derrick sighed and shook his shaggy hair from out of his eyes. "If you say so."
"When have I ever disappointed you?" Cassia asked, pulling a tube of gloss from her tote bag's inner pocket and swiping the lavender-scented, shimmery gloss against her lips, rubbing them together so that the fine glitter particles dispersed.
Cam frowned at her words, but she nudged him, wrapping her hand around his forearm and squeezing gently as she pressed into his side. He was taller than her by a few inches, even in her low heels, so when she turned her head to the side her lips were right by his chin. "You know you don't have anything to worry about," she murmured reassuringly.
She and Derrick had gotten close over the few weeks that he'd been away at summer camp. They had originally met through Cam, but began a friendship of their own without the need for his inclusion when he'd been gone the last month of summer to go to camp. They'd spent quite a bit of time together lounging around Westchester and she was well aware of the fact that Cam often felt threatened when they were together, leading to his rather possessive hold on her whenever the trio was together. She knew he didn't totally trust Derrick with her from how buddy-buddy they had become in his absence; bonding over their similar taste in music, and the dislike of the diva-like Westchester girls (he had often ranted about his hatred of his ex, but had always kept her unnamed until she had figured it out for herself yesterday) and their love of all things junk food. Her feelings toward the brown-eyed boy, however, were completely platonic, brotherly at the most, what with their similar sense of humor and leadership tendencies, but she supposed that Claire had given him major trust issues - trust issues that she hoped to rectify with her own loyalty.
She nuzzled into the crook of his neck and his arm, near immediately, as if it were meant to be there, wrapped around her waist and she smiled into his neck, placing a tiny kiss to his jaw that left a shiny imprint in the shape of her heart-shaped lips. He relaxed, and looked down at her with a small smile. It wasn't the usual adoring grin that he reserved for her, but it was better than the frown that had turned down his lips before. He pressed a kiss to her temple, his thumb soothingly stroking the small exposed space between her pants and top as his arm swept underneath her crushed velvet jacket.
"We're okay?" She asked softly.
Cam nodded, "Yeah, we're okay."
"C'mon," this she said louder, so that the whole group around them could hear as she jerked her head towards the trailer. "Let's check it out." Cam practically stayed glued to her side, acting as a barrier between her and Derrick, as she began sashaying to the door, making her way carefully up the creaky, wooden steps. I swear, if this trailer breaks my heel, I'm suing, she thought with a wince as the board under her creaked dangerously. Plovert, the dear, was holding her lunch tray with his own as she pushed open the squeaking metal door.
"Isn't it quaint?" Ms. Dunkel asked, blinking nervously as she stuffed her wrinkled, chapped hands in the pockets of her ill-fitting poly-blend, vomit-colored blazer. Her short, wiry curls covered her head unattractively, something she should've dealt with when seeing herself in the mirror with her too-large glasses.
Her bracelet clanged against the metal of her sunglasses as she pushed it up to settle in her hair, looking at the large, but rather empty space, with critical eyes.
She completely ignored the woman talking at the front of the room as she surveyed the trailer, her heels muted against the carpeted floor underneath her as Allie-Rose, already a dutiful beta, and a complaining Olivia, followed after her.
"So, I'm thinking black velvet carpeting with a red carpet down the middle aisle and shaggy white walls so they are effortlessly soft. Padded, white recliner, massage chairs with pearly white desks that, when lifted, become a vanity - hollywood lights and everything. Becca, are you taking this down?" She said pointing at each area as she spoke with a quickness that the poor Becca could only just decipher. When Becca nodded she quickly began again and the quickly typing blonde heard someone mutter, "Your girlfriend's scary." Becca agreed wholeheartedly.
"So, inside the desks will have cell phone chargers, a refrigerated side for snacks and makeup caddies for girls with enough space for books and stuff. I'm also thinking, like, Emirates business class, but without the barriers. The vanity mirror should have a television in the top right corner, and google chrome in the top left - for easy access to everything. There should be a bag hook on the side of each chair, too. Hmm, a SmartScreen instead of that, ugh, chalkboard. That would kill my ears. I think matching, black, monogrammed, Louis Vuitton suitcases turned lockers in the back would be super cuh-ute. A room deodorizer most definitely. coffee bar between the windows, new windows, for sure, to let in natural light, state-of-the-art computers on the other side. Tablets for each desk too, and one for the teacher, obviously. In the back, right before the lockers, a little lounge area with super-soft faux-fur chairs. A flat-screen television that can be brought out of the desk with a button and a headphone hook on the side. Any other suggestions?" She finished, turning to the group of boys and girls that had followed her into the trailer and stood in awe as she rambled off her thoughts. They shook themselves out of their stupor and suddenly the trailer was ringing with noise as they quickly shouted their demands.
"3D Printer!"
"Gawd, we don't even have a bathroom."
"That is, most definitely, top priority!"
"Ooh, surround-sound speakers!"
"Vending machine?"
"Yoga mats."
"For what?"
"For zen, duh."
"Clothing racks!"
"Ehmagawd, yes!"
"Could we get a soccer goal."
"And a huge flatscreen—like, floor-to-ceiling flatscreen."
"Do they even make any that big?"
The suggestions went on and on, and Becca was typing furiously on her phone in order to get them all down. As the group of students finally quieted, she turned to the girl who quickly gave her a thumbs up just before she heard the ding that notified the message reaching her phone.
"Perfect," she purred, quickly sending it off to the designer who had been waiting in the wings for this message specifically. "By tomorrow, these trailers will be the envy of the school."
"You sure they'll get everything done in time?" Derrick asked, sitting down atop one of the desks up front as he gazed at her curiously.
She tsked, "You really need to stop doubting me, Harrington. My team is top-notch."
His lips quirked up into an amused smirk. "Since when did we go back to a last name basis?"
She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the amused smile from falling onto her own lips as she sat down primly in the seat beside Cam, tugging her thin jacket tighter around her from the chilly air of the trailer. "Since you started doubting my abilities."
Derrick moved to sit down heavily in the seat on the other side of her and she gave Plovert a pleased smile as he placed her lunch tray down before her. "Thank you, darling," she purred, making him flush red as he gave her a shy smile before scurrying off to where Josh had secured the rest of the main soccer guys seats in the row behind them. Her own crew of Allie-Rose, Becca, Olivia, Kori and Coral (the latter three she planned to switch out with some of the girls that had followed them into the Overflow Facilities) sat in the row just before them.
Cam frowned, his lips pursing in clear distaste as he watched a blushing Plovert rush to his seat. He wasn't afraid to admit that he was rather jealous of anyone who showed even an inkling of interest in his girlfriend. It was a toxic trait to have, he knew, especially when Cassia hid her own jealous tendencies from him so well, but it was also something that was becoming increasingly hard to stop doing, and being back in school didn't help. He knew boys were horndogs -- that was essentially all they were known for -- but hearing other guys (even his friends sometimes, which is why he was glaring so fiercely at Plovert) leering over his girlfriend didn't help. Locker rooms were rife with talk about girls, and whenever they thought he was out of earshot the conversation inevitably turned to his model/actress girlfriend. He knew they sent each other pictures of her modeling campaigns, and could see quite clearly whenever someone stared at her exposed cleavage, or uncovered midriff that was so smooth and creamy that he could understand why, but didn't have to mean he liked it. And no matter how many times he would tell them off, they would look scared for only a few minutes before disregarding his words completely, and Cassia calling people 'darling', no matter how inocuos it may be, certainly wasn't helping the situation. He can already hear Plovert excitedly crowing in his head, as he most certainly will be after school during soccer practice.
He leaned forward toward her, and she looked at him curiously, eyebrows furrowing as she noticed his less-than-stellar expression. "Darling?" he asked tightly.
Her lips turned down into a frown at the tenseness in her boyfriend's body, and the clear frustration that seemed to radiate from him like a wave. "I call everyone 'darling', you know that," She said placatingly, resting a hand on his knee and squeezing it comfortingly.
Cam's expression still remained guarded and she leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his and feeling the air against her cheek as he huffed. She reached forward, sliding her arm around his neck and into the hair at the back of his neck, playing with the strands there. "Don't be jealous, Cam, please," she begged. Of course, if he truly wanted her to stop with her signature pet name, she would, but she hoped to be able to convince her boyfriend that she meant nothing of it and it was simply her catchphrase.
"I just," he sighed, "I don't like you calling other guys that." He deflated, the anger in his eyes dimming as he relaxed in her hold, looking resigned.
"That's my thing, my catch, you know it doesn't mean anything." His hand was on her thigh to steady himself and he squeezed it gently in acceptance as he let out a small sigh. "But I'll stop calling guys that if it really bothers you so much," she said in acquiescence. She could understand why Cam wouldn't be fond of her referring to guys in such an endearing way, and while it had always been a rather innocent phrase for her to use, as she grew older and her peers did as well, it was clearly becoming more romantic than it had been initially intended when she first decided to start using it at- gosh, it was so long ago she couldn't even remember the exact age. It was the catchphrase of a precocious child, but now that she wasn't a child anymore . . . She could understand the tightness in his shoulders and in the thin line of his lips, and quickly decided that it was a small thing to give up for her boyfriend who she was so fond of. It was something she'd probably have had to stop soon anyway before people (especially tabloids) started getting the wrong impression.
His expression loosened, two-toned eyes brightening as he gave her his signature boyish smile, the tenseness in his body quickly fading in relief. His hand found hers, grasping it and squeezing it in appreciation as he leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to her bronzed cheek. "Thank you," he whispered, almost reverently, against her skin, making her shiver with delight as he pulled back, looking at her with those adoring eyes that she so loved.
She was well aware of the fact that they weren't the typical eighth-grade couple. They were too serious, as her mother said, acting as if they were high school sweethearts rather than a middle school fling, but she'd never thought of her relationship with Cam as anything but completely serious. She was sure that she loved him, no matter how much her mother said otherwise, and similarly, she was sure that he was The One. She just hoped that Cam felt the same about her, but often felt that he did whenever he looked at her with that look in his eyes; that special look that made her feel all fluttery inside, as if she were flying on Cloud Nine.
"Oh my god, you two are so cute." Becca's coo interrupted the almost-entracing stupor they had fallen into and they both turned away from each other to look at her, making her flush deeply.
Cassia chuckled at Becca's embarrassed expression, leaning back in the plastic and metal chair and hearing it squeak dangerously. Cam's hand was still held in her own, their joined hands resting on her thighs as she laced their fingers together.
"I don't know about cute," Derrick said, wrinkling his nose in exaggerated disgust, "'cause this lovey-dovey stuff you guys are always doing really makes me wanna barf sometimes," Derrick continued with a playful smirk.
Cassia smacked his arm and his boisterous laughter rang loudly around the trailer.