Chapter 8: Calm

Rosalie

The secretary at the front desk kept staring at me as I sat on a rather uncomfortable armchair seven feet away from her. Every time I turned around she’d give me the stink eye with the occasional scowl. I’ve gotten twenty-seven missed calls from Evan for the past thirty minutes, two from my sister, and five from Amani and Brandon (he must’ve gotten a new phone because I solely remember blocking him two days ago).

I sighed, knowing the headache I was going to get tomorrow due to ignoring the said calls but that was the least of my worries. I’m not sure why Levi’s started searching for his parents now but it’s better late than never. I’m sure his memory’s not completely back or else we wouldn’t exactly be here which means I still have time. Not a lot but enough.

I need a ciggy, I thought. The poster stuck almost everywhere around the room with ‘NO SMOKING, THIS IS AN ORPHANAGE DUMBASS’ was making that incredibly difficult. And so was that damn secretary.

“What?!” the secretary, Susan, (I’m not sure though, the name could’ve just been written on the desk plaque in front of her for decoration) yelled. “They wouldn’t have gotten it if you didn’t open your damn mouth!” On the verge of throwing the telephone across the room, she stood up and we met eyes. She looked around the room for someone (anyone) else because I’m pretty sure I’m the last person she would want to talk to. After judging my outfit for the 3oth time she walked over to me and said “the government found out we were giving the children here prison food, I have to deal with this so I need you to watch the desk for me. Can you do that?”

“No-”

“Great,” she turned around and went out into the corridor, “I’ll be right back. Don’t steal anything.”

Now that you’ve said that I’m going to steal something.

I headed over to the desk, turned the computer off, and shuffled through the documents and files. A couple of pens, a bible, telephone, computer, one of R. Miller’s books, and a serial killer magazine with a pregnancy test on top of it.

“What are you doing?”

I turned around and angled my head downwards to face the nine-year-old girl with two pigtails in front of me. I hate pigtails.

And kids.

And kids with pigtails.

“What are you doing?” I raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think you’re supposed to be here kid.” Fucking kids. Did I mention that I hate kids? They're on my list for things that I hate right under people who wear skirts over their jeans. Actually, no, I hate kids more than those people. They're in my top 3. I've said the words kids way too much.

“They’re serving ham and cheese sandwiches again so I ran away. They’re definitely putting something in there. They won’t notice I’m gone for another…” she glanced at the clock on the wall. “...thirty-six minutes.”

If I ignore her, maybe she’ll go away.

I went back to shuffling through the papers. She just stood there. Weirdo.

“How did you make your hair look like that?” she pointed at my hair. Ok, guess not.

“I brutally murdered an Antarctic octopus and used its blood to smear it over my hair.” How the fuck do you think?

“That’s disgusting,” she giggled. Her fucking pigtails bouncing off her shoulders.

“Uh-huh.” Can she fuck off?

“Do you think I’m gonna get out of here one day?” she frowned. Well, this very clearly unwanted conversation took a turn.

Why is she asking me this?

I shrugged. “You’re gonna have to turn eighteen at some point,” I thought about what I just said and grimaced. This is why people shouldn’t talk to me.

She laughed. “I guess you’re right. You’re kinda funny.” Literally how? Is she good?

-1 Hour Later-

She didn’t leave. For a good fucking hour. How long is Levi gonna stay in there?

Levi walked out the door. Finally.

All she did was talk my ear off about dolls or some Disney show (I wasn't paying attention) then randomly gave me a rose. Unprovoked. Just handed me a rose. I adjusted it on my head, scowling. I didn't do that because I like the rose or care about her feelings, I just felt like it. “You’re done?"

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Do you wanna know what happened?”

Yes. “Do you want me to know?” Remember Rosalie. Don’t invade.

“Not really,” he scratched his head. Why did he even ask then?

“Then you don’t have to tell me,” I glanced around. Where do you wanna go now?”

He paused for a bit. “Let’s figure that out on the way.” Now, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?

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Rosalie

-Next Morning-

“Well if it isn’t the devil herself,” a voice from behind me said.

Deciding against banging my head on my locker, I turned towards this monstrous voice and gave her a fake smile. I tried ignoring her but she either didn't take the hint or did but still chose to stay. The phrase ignore it until it goes away is a fucking lie.

“Believe me, I’m not here voluntarily,” she glared at me, Avery and Allison both by her side. Allison wasn’t really paying attention, she never does and Avery just shrugged at me if to say “I’m sorry, I don’t know why she’s doing this but I also don't care.” Alexis gave my outfit a once over and I did the same with hers.

She was dressed in a white long-sleeved chiffon blouse with a black bow-tie around her neck, a Coco Chanel belt over a black plaid mini skirt which was above see-through heart stockings. A red barret on her head, a red Chanel bag hanging off her arm, black lace buckle school pumps on her feet, and a red wool trench coat hanging off her shoulders. I'm all for freedom of expression but it's just school, not a fucking fashion show. Then again I should be the last person saying this.

“You’ve been ignoring me for the past two days, best two days of my life by the way,”- she rolled her eyes. “-So what do I have the honor of you gracing me with your presence?” I slammed my locker shut after getting my social studies textbooks.

She cleared her throat in embarrassment, I knew whatever she was going to say next was incredibly hard, even for her. “I was wondering-M-My mother wanted me to see if you...neededanyhelpwiththesocialgathering.” she mumbled the last part and looked at the floor.

I narrowed my eyes. “...What?”

She looked back up at me and scoffed. “I said my mother, was wondering whether you needed help with planning the social gathering since mine and Brandon's one was obviously, by far the best one, can’t even compare, to be honest-”

“-And you didn’t ask Evan instead because…”

“Well, I noticed your terrible choice of style first. I mean, really? You had to wear that jacket-

“-Finish the point you came here to say or I'll actually stab you,” Alexis and her minions cautiously backed away.

I wasn’t actually going to stab her. Well, a hand reached for mine before I could decide whether I wanted to or not. I traced the arm back to its owner and saw none other than Evan. “That’s enough Rosie,” he gave me a look. “You’ve scared her enough for one lifetime.”

“I was kidding,” I looked back at Alexis then muttered. “I’m not stupid.” Who would stab someone at school?

Alexis furrowed her eyebrows. “You really have changed.”

“Yeah, my boobs got bigger. Couldn’t you tell?”

“Lexi, can I steal her away for a moment?” Evan asked her before we could get into our usual ‘banter’.

“Like she stole you away from me?” her eyes turned cold as she folded her arms. Here we go. She'll never shut up about that.

“Not this again,” I groaned. “Will you ever stop being bitter about-”

“Guys you shouldn’t fight,” Allison interrupted me. “Mr. Whiskers’ number one rule is violence is never the answer. You should both try talking it ou-”

“-NO,” Alexis and I both glared at her which made her recoil in fear, and Avery gave her a sad pat on the back for trying.

Evan shook his head. “No, no, no one’s stealing anyone. And for that I rephrase my previous sentence to borrow. I would like to borrow Rosalie away for a few minutes.”

“Whatever, I’ve endured enough psychological torture being nice to you for five seconds,” she shot me one last look and walked away, her “squad” walking close behind her after Allison gave me a perky wave goodbye. I waved back because I felt like it.

I glanced back at Evan. “That was her being nice?”

He chuckled. “Cut her some slack, she hates you.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed. Wait… what do you want?”

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Levi

“I still can’t believe one of the coolest, most popular girls in school decided to go with you on an orphanage date,” Ansel told me as I relentlessly tried to shove my books inside my locker.

“Didn’t you go on a date with Laron?” that’s not really something I would like to always remember. “And what the hell is an orphanage date?”

He ignored both of my questions. “This is fate, my friend. It was bound-no, destined to happen. It’s like those cliche romance novels...wait…” his face scrunched up. “Does that mean I’m a supporting character?... But this is your life so I guess it makes sense right?”

“Yeah...no,” my back wasn’t doing its job and by its job, I mean pressing my books to fit inside my locker using extreme force. “How’s you’re mom been doing by the way? I’m craving her mandazis so bad right now.” Why did I buy so many books?

“Levi...stop, you’re embarrassing yourself,” Ansel sighed. He ignored my question again. Huh.

“They won’t...go..in!” I tried to push them further with each word. Eventually, they all just agreed to make room for each other on their own command. I sighed and looked at Ansel as I gave him a thumbs-up, panting at my hard efforts. Ansel looked disappointed but still gave me a thumbs-up back nevertheless.

I closed my locker and shrieked at what I saw behind it.

Rosalie raised an eyebrow. “It’s ok, take your time,” she told me and after a few seconds of getting my breathing in check, I nodded and tried my hardest to avoid her gaze.

Ansel just smirked at our interaction.

The scoundrel.

Rosalie stared at me for a few good seconds and decided to not question it any further. “Do you have any plans this weekend?”

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It was now lunch and Ansel and I were in the lunch line, grabbing our lunch (lunchx3) as I explained to him the events that occurred during the orphanage date two days ago. I still can’t seem to comprehend the fact that he thinks we make a good couple. Really? She always looks at me like she either wants to kill me or... something else.

We finally got out of the line and Ansel leads the way as we went to find a spot. The room wasn’t crowded so there were still many tables that were unoccupied. We found a spot close to the exit, so if there was a fire or something, we would be one of the first to leave. We were about to sit down when-

“Yo Scott! Abbot! Come over here!” someone called out and we turned around to see that that someone was none other than Evan Miller. He was beckoning us over with a huge smile on his face and I had no idea whether that was a good thing or not. I looked at Ansel who seemed to be just as confused as I was. And then he smiled. Shit.

“What are you waiting for, let’s go,” Ansel began to walk over but I grabbed his shirt, making him stop. “What is it?”

“What do you mean what is it- I’m not going over there! I don’t want to!” I whined but kept my level of sound to a minimum so only Ansel could hear.

“My guy, are you dumb, or are you dumb? You’re going to defy a request made by Evan Miller?”

“Ansel, I just want to eat,” I told him and he bonked me upside the head.

I touched my head in alarm so he wouldn’t hit me again and looked at him with wide eyes. “What the hell!”

He rolled his eyes. “C’mon, they’re gonna think we’re rude.”

“I have the right to be rude. I’m hungry.”

Ansel ignored this and started to walk towards the table of doom. Since I didn’t want to eat lunch by myself and attract more attention by refusing a request made by Evan Miller, I walked right behind him, avoiding the gazes of many and looking down at my tray that I was supposed to eat in peace. I hate giving in to peer pressure.

We reached their table and stopped. The upper-class or “Royales” as people like to call them, owned the school. Not literally owned the school (not all of them at least) but you get what I mean. They’re role models. They get the best grades, are involved with a lot of the schools’ big projects, movements, and are practically the kind of students everyone either wants to be or looks up to. They have it all, the looks, the money, the power, everything. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not the only people in school with these things, but society dictates them as they are. So yeah, to put it bluntly, they’re the most popular kids in school. They’re the definition of cliche. The Royales consist of:

Evan Miller- (Captain and Quarterback of the football team, President of the Student Body) how someone is all these things at once, I don’t understand.

Finn Tanaka- (Captain of the baseball team, Vice President of the Student Body)

Dylan Kostas- (Captain of the basketball team, Student Body Historian)

Alexis Morretti- (Captain of the cheer squad and lacrosse team, the Student Body Secretary)

Avery Sanchez- (Front girl (best singer) of the School’s Music team, Student Body Treasure)

Allison Killom- (Captain of the gymnastics team and co-captain of the cheer team)

Laron Asfour- (Head of the fencing and tennis team, Student Body Parliamentarian)

Brandon whatever-his-last-name-was- (idk, he shoots balls or something)

And last but certainly not least: Rosalie Davis-( Student Body Reporter, Head of the Creative Literature and self-defense unit)

That was a handful.

As I said, students either wanted to be them, be with them, feared them, or just looked up to them. I, on the other hand, want nothing to do with them. You know, because I have a life that doesn’t revolve around other people.

I’ve got parents to find and shit.

They all have these important positions, contributing to the school and...It’s kind of intimidating.

It is also kind of annoying.

They had their own lunch table/s as well (typical, you literally had to climb five stairs to actually be there) which were set out differently and anyone would notice this. Unlike the lunch tables underneath and actually on ground level which had round tables and like, five to six chairs around them, they were all marked in what sport or club you were in. You had the Royales table which was set in the middle and stood out and then the rest of the other tables around them like the football tables, baseball table, basketball table yada yada yada.

There were none-marked tables as well if you didn’t want to sit with your team/club or didn’t have any close friends on said team/club. Or just wanted to be/sit alone. It’s kind of like a weird thing the schools did to help people not feel secluded I think.

There were always four other seats on the Royale table that no one ever dared to sit on. Though I think the students made that up themselves because they’re too scared to actually go and sit there. Like they’re not allowed or something.

There are four seats left. And right now, one of those seats is on the left side next to Laron, the other seat at the end of the table, still on the left side, while the other two seats were on the right side next to, you guessed it, Rosalie. I was about to sit next to Laron when Ansel beat me to it. When he sat down and set his tray on the table, he smiled at him to which Laron gave him a wink and continued his conversation with Alexis. Evan saw this and frowned, he saw me looking at him and put the smile back on his face.

I didn’t wanna be a dick and go all the way to the end of the tables when there were two seats right in front of me. I also didn’t wanna be even more of a dick and sit at the last seat, one seat away from Rosalie, so I did what any other reasonable person would do and sat right next to her.

At least she decided to ignore me to make this easier for both of us. I looked down on my tray and began to eat my pizza. It was a good ass pizza.

Evan got up from his seat and came over and sat next to me. Rosalie gave him a look of disbelief but said nothing and stole some fries off of Fin’s plate when he wasn’t looking.

“Cute shirt,” Evan gave me a smile.

“Uh, thanks, I-I guess,” I took another bite of my pizza and made eye contact with Ansel.

“I’m gonna do it,” my eyes said.

“Don’t you dare,” his eyes demanded.

“Too bad, I’m gonna,” my eyes declared and that was the end of the conversation.

I put my pizza slice back on my plate and looked at Evan.

“Evan?”

“Yes, Levi?” Evan stopped his conversation with Finn, something about prom, and looked at me.

“Um, why did you call us over? Why exactly are we here?” I asked him and Ansel practically shot daggers at me.

Everyone on the table stopped short and stared at him.

“Why not?” he shrugged.

“That’s not a reasonable answer,” Rosalie and I said in unison.

Evan decided to ignore that and asked, “So I was wondering if you guys were going to the Social Gathering. I planned almost everything”- he gave Rosalie a look and she just shrugged. “-And would love it if you-” he looked at Ansel- “both -” he looked back at me. “-were to show up.”

“We’re invited?” Ansel and I asked at the same time Brandon asked, “They’re invited?”

Evan looked as if he was ready to slap Brandon into outer space. He looked at Brandon as if to say ‘choose your words wisely'. “Of course they’re invited, everyone’s invited, why wouldn’t they be invited?”

Brandon just shrugged (so much shrugging going on). “It’s just...no one really knows who they are so I don’t really think it’s necessary to invite them that’s all.” Dick.

Ansel looked down at his tray and avoided everyone’s gaze. I seriously dislike this guy. Brandon, that is, not Ansel.

“Leave them alone Brandon,” Dylan and Avery sighed. “Stop being such an ass.”

“What?” he looked confused. “Am I lying?”

Evan’s left eye twitched. “Well Brandon, it’s a social gathering. Everyone’s invited. There’s no list, it’s not a birthday party.” take a shot if he says invited one more time.

“But does it really matter if they come or no-”

“Brandon shut the fuck up,” Rosalie said calmly in a calm tone. Calmly.

Of course, he shut up.

“So... are you guys gonna show up or not?” Evan asked after the incredibly awkward silence. Damn this pizza was good.

“We actually have plans-”

“B-But we can cancel those if necessary,” Ansel cut me off and gave Evan a big smile. Dick.

Evan gave him a huge smile back. “Great. I’m counting on you being there.” He then turned to me and asked. “Are you available as well?”

I sure hope not.

“I-I’ll see what I can do-”

“-He’ll be there as well,” Ansel told him.

“But-”

Ansel kicked my shin and I glared at him only to see he was glaring at me back.

“Don’t blow this.” his eyes practically said and I internally rolled my eyes. I turned back to a patient Evan who was still waiting for my answer and immediately put a fake smile on my face.

“Sure,” I let out. If this was even possible, his smile turned brighter and his eyes...sparkled? What is up with this guy? “That’s great!” he turned to Rosalie who had been surprisingly quiet the majority of lunch.

“Did you hear that Rose? He’s gonna make it. He’s gonna make it to my party,” he took a sip of his lemonade, still making eye contact with her.

Rosalie glared at him then narrowed her eyes. “Wanna get slapped with a sausage?” she raised a fork hooked under a sausage and smiled at him though I’m sure it was forced.

“...what?”

“I do,” Allison raised her hand.

“Allie, you don’t say that out loud,” Avery scolded her. Rosalie gave Allison a questioning look and put the sausage back on her plate.

This is a very weird friend group.

“By the way Levi,” Allison turned to face me. “Is that your natural hair color?

I gave Ansel the side-eye. "Um...no…"

“You remind me of my cat, Mr. Whiskers,” she said with a dazed look on her face.

“Great…” I nodded, not knowing how to respond properly. I like cats, I guess. They’re cool or whatever.

“And Jack Frost,” Dylan added. “But like, with green eyes.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

If someone says that one more time-

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Thank you so much for reading!