♟️TiO by Zayn
❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎
I skipped a week of school, it was the first time in my life I had done it, but it was either that, or looking haunted in school right after Christian "died by driving off a cliff after he left the De Vere Beauclerk's villa". It was that or seeing his twins.
To my siblings, I faked having a horrible stomach ache, which got them and everyone who didn't know the truth, scared and worried for me, or at least most pretended to, given how a big line of people in dad's family died of stomach cancer like he did. I was puking daily, but it wasn't because my stomach was sick given my genetic predisposition, but because of the memories of Christian's body being crushed.
Even after taking countless baths, I could still feel the blood being splattered on me, the remains attaching to my skin, the sound of the bones crushing.
But I swallowed my shit, because I don't have the luxury to worry my baby siblings with my newfound trauma, or to stop my entire life because of it. So, when October 14 rang its bells, I decided to act like nothing had happened, and as it's Monday and I have class at Stryker Prep Elite, I was up by 5 am, taking another long shower, and by 7 am I was putting on the uniform. It was an annoying change, the whole uniform thing.
Back in Cali, when my dad died and I had to moved with the twins to England, I was attending the first semester of my sophomore year at Riverside Stem Academy, one of the best highschools there, a public one. It wasn't in Los Angeles, it was in Riverside, so I had to take a bus at 5:50 am to be there at 7:30 am, and before that, I would always prepare my siblings breakfast, program their clock for them to wake up at 7 to take the bus at 8 that would come in front of the house, leave their lunch ready, and I would also iron their clothes of the day. But I could use whatever the hell I wanted.
I had to be an early bird, and now, even on weekends or when I could sleep on, my body automatically wakes up at 5:00 am, not a minute past or earlier than that.
But the thing is, I always hated the idea of uniforms, that's why I never wanted to go to a private school, through a scholarship or anything, I never wanted it. It wasn't about what I wanted though, which is why my oh-so-(un)gracious mother put me in this damned private academy that Tristan attends since he was 5 or something. An academy that's optionally boarding if you are a foreigner with a scholarship or just a foreigner, and it has kids from all over the world, all elite.
From the children of the president of the United States, to the kids of the high ups of the European Union, kids with royalty ties to England and China and Spain and African countries, to the heirs of the biggest millionaires and billionaires in the world. Spawns of the rawest privileges one could imagine, a real elite nest. One that gives you a ticket straight to Oxford, all Ivy Leagues, MIT, and all the goat universities globally.
Last I looked, counting me, there was a total of 5135 students enrolled in it, from 5 to 20 years old, because as an Elite Preparatory academy, they take students a bit further, with an even more advanced knowledge, which makes sure that you will get into a worldwide renowned university, and bring the name of the academy to an even higher height. For that, you either need to be a generational genius or have money to get into it, and mostly the students are in it thanks to the latter.
If you are a legacy, as in, the child of a graduate student, you get an even better opportunity to get in it, even if you're not from Old or New Money.
And you shouldn't make enemies with the most popular kids, because they are the kids of families that hold more power than Kings and Queens and Presidents. Unless you got a backbone or a death wish. Especially if the ones you're a messing with have ties with the founding families of Stryker Prep Elite, seven families.
»» The De Vere Beauclerk.
»» The Villin.
»» The Hawthorne.
»» The Clemonte.
»» The Lexington.
»» The Morgan.
»» The Beaufort.
It was initially eight, but then the Aldridge and the Morgan sole heirs got married, and the family of the male heir prevailed, then their two children got the Morgan last name. Which apparently happened two generations ago, but in the history of the academy they talk about eight and then seven. I couldn't care less, I hate them all.
Tristan is the true sole heir of his family, and he's best friends with Killian Villin, Yohan Hawthorne, and Pietro Volkov-Clemonte, while Yohan dates Keira Lexington, and Pietro is Isidora Volkov-Morgan's cousin, who is also Keira's best friend and Killian's on-and-off ex. Hence why they are a closed-off group, with Tristan as their leader. The Beaufort are the least powerful of the seven families, and consisted on the triplets Callum, Cedric, and Christian, plus their little half brother Colin.
I won't count their step sister, who's Colin's half older sister, Madison, who's the second most problematic girl in Stryker Prep Elite, after me. Which could be a sign that step daughters of the founding families are both messed up and chaotic. She hates me tho.
Well, they all hate me.
The only people who don't hate me in that hell are Atlas and Athena, Gemma Russo, Sasaki Ashihara, Mrs. Maya Bowens from advanced Physics, and Mr. Dai-Rhydian Owsley from advanced Psychology. I wouldn't go as far as to say that the four aside from my siblings adore me though. Well, there's also my baby siblings' friends and the ones who crush them, who think they like me, but it don't count.
Gemma and Sasaki are older than me, but in my class, just like Tristan and his group, because I may be turning 18 next month, and technically be supposed to be two grades under mine, but I'm an accelerated student, I did a test as soon as I was forced to attend mid-term, and I fell on their year. So, they will finish all at 20 and I'll finish at 18, take that hit in your ego, Tristan. That certainly felt satisfying as fuck, I confess.
The school colors are dark green and black, it looks amazing on me because I'm a redhead, but it's not my color of choice, I prefer blue over green, but I dont mind green, it's a beautiful color when it's about its darkest shades, like the one in the uniform. So, I put on the high waist skorts, the ironed fitting social black shirt, the school's black and green leather jacket, and my knee-high velvet black chunky heeled boots, that I managed to get permission to use after I won't gold in the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics that took place in the first trimester of the year.
I had died my nails indigo blue last night, after I cut them all short like I haven't used in years, because my mind kept seeing blood in them no matter how many times I washed my hands.
Leaving my hip-length red hair loose, I added my silver spider earrings with my snowflake silver ear-piercings, my dad's silver necklace long enough to disappear between my breasts and that he left for me in the will, my dark blue eyeliner with a bit of mascara and a dark red lipstick on, my silver snake corrective eyeglasses, and lastly I added my silver rings and my waist silver chain.