Astoria was a bit nervous about starting at a new school, especially one with such high expectations. All her life she had gone to public school because her father believed that it would build character. Now, she was 15 years old, about to enter high school and her mother thought it would be best if she learned how to carry herself accordingly as the heiress to Spellbound Couture.
"Now, remember Tori, I want to meet any kind of boyfriend you have, alright? I wanna make sure that any boy that comes near is worthy of my little girl!" Julian said with a chuckle as he glanced at Astoria.
"Dad!", she whined as blood rushed to her cheeks. "Regardless, I won't be having a boyfriend anytime soon. I want to focus on my career and my future. Boys are a waste of time. All they do is pretend to love you and then break your heart once they get bored with you."
"Aww, that's no way to think now. After all, your mother and I met in high school, too. Who knows? Maybe you'll find love here too."
Astoria scoffed. "Not if I can help it."
They pulled up to the school parking lot and Julian kissed his daughter on the cheek.
"Don't worry, okay? You'll do fine, sweetheart. Now, go show 'em what you got. Love you." Julian had a hand on her cheek; a common form of affection between the two of them.
"Thanks, Dad. Love you, too." The blond stepped out of the car and started walking towards the school. Blue Rivers Academy. Her home for the next four years. Astoria had made an agreement with her mother that she would stay in the dorms throughout the weekdays and come home for the weekends. She reached the main office and went inside.
"Hi. Astoria Anderson. Transfer student." She stuck her hand out in greeting to the lady sitting behind the desk. She had a perm done in her brunette locks and was dressed in a gray pin-striped suit. Quite beautiful for someone who seemed to be in her late forties. The lady stood up and clasped Astoria's hand in a warm and welcoming handshake.
"I was expecting you! Nola Munz, head of administration here at Blue Rivers. Pleased to meet you!" She clicked on a file on her computer and the printer behind her prints out a couple of sheets of paper. She grabs them, staples them together, and then hands them to Astoria.
"The first two pages are a brief history of the school, and after that is your schedule and dorm room number." She frowned as she glanced down at her watch. "She should've been here by now," she murmured.
Just then the door opened and a girl about the same age as Astoria entered the office. She had silky straight black hair and emerald green eyes. She wore a pine green cable-knit sweater dress with black knee-high heeled boots. The dress was from the Fall Collection of this year; it was released only a couple of weeks ago.
"Sorry I'm late, ma'am. There was a coffee spill on the third floor so I had to go back to the dorms to change." She bowed her head a little in respect.
"It's alright, darling. Anyways, Selena, meet Astoria Anderson. Astoria, this is Selena Rodriguez. She is your dorm mate and guide around the school for the first couple of days," said Ms. Munz.
Selena's eyes widened. She looked at the other girl in awe and admiration. "Anderson, as in daughter of Emma and Julian Anderson?" Astoria nodded. "I'm a huge fan of their work. Your parents are such role models here at Blue Rivers! They accomplished so much, at such young ages and the designs for Spellbound are beyond amazing. I'm actually wearing a piece from the fall collection right now."
"Thank you. I'm sure mother will be happy to hear that," Astoria said. She hadn't been expecting that kind of welcome from the petite girl in front of her. Most people envied her parents for their success at such a young age or they saw it as useless because it was in the fashion industry. "I hope I can be as good as they are once I inherit the business."
"Okay, girls," Ms. Munz interrupted. "I'm sure this is all very interesting, but you should both get to class. You don't want to be late to the first class of the day. I hope you think Blue Rivers is a good fit for you, Astoria. Good luck!"
Selena and Astoria left the office with a quick goodbye. As it turns out they had the same classes for the first half of the day. They would talk in between classes while Selena led them to their next class. Once they arrived, she would introduce Astoria to the teacher and they would sit down together and talk whenever they could. It's weird how two people who just met could have so much in common. By the time lunch had rolled around they were just about best friends.
Selena led the blonde to a table in the corner where a pretty red haired girl with a black beanie sat. She wore a black oversized sweater with white ripped jeans and a pair of black lace-up booties. She waved to Selena.
"That's Jacqueline, the one I told you about. She's my best friend and one of the most badass people you'll ever meet. She's awesome," Selena whispered into Astoria's ear as they walked over to her. "Hey, Jackie!", she said as they both sat down. Jacqueline gave Astoria a curious glance.
"Hi. I assume you're Astoria Anderson, the new girl that's got everyone talking?" the redhead said with a wry grin on her face. "Jacqueline Scott, at your service, princess." She gave the other girl a slight bow. Selena smacked the back of her head jokingly.
"Hey! Don't be so mean, Jackie. And besides, I'm your princess, aren't I ?" Selena leaned back into Jacqueline with a mocking smirk on her face. A look of complete adoration came over the latter's face. Her mouth opened to say something, assumedly a sarcastic comeback but suddenly, the girl's eyes hardened.
"As if," Jacqueline scoffed as she shoved the other girl off of her. She glanced at Astoria, almost like she just remembered she was there. Behind her square Burberry glasses, a wave of panic crashed into her eyes while her expression stayed mocking. This girl was hiding something. Her molten silver eyes told the story her facial expressions refused to accept. Astoria could see it clearly now. Her father always spoke of the importance of one's eyes. If you ever want to intimidate or even just connect with someone, make eye contact. The eyes are the windows to one's soul, darling.
"So, Astoria. Where were you in the beginning of the school year? We're already about a month and a half into the semester." She seemed to want the focus off of her; like she was avoiding something. Great. Now I'm being interrogated. Of course. Astoria rolled her eyes.
"My family and I were in Paris. That's actually where our main company is, or at least the one Mother likes best. We moved around a lot and we had been staying in Paris for about 6 months before Dad got me enrolled here. It was a bit of a surprise so it took a while to get our possessions to Anderson Villa. We also had to get it renovated for daily use instead of just every couple of years." The blue-eyed girl seemed bored as she inspected her perfectly manicured nails. She glanced back up at the two girls sitting across from her. "What about you two? Have you always been here at Blue Rivers?"
"Well, I've actually been here since I was born. My great grandparents were the founders of the school so we live in the family wing. It's really annoying because I seriously have like no privacy at all. Mother barges in all the time. Always thinks I'm doing something wrong," Jacqueline said bitterly. Most would be happy to have so much power over her peers. She obviously was not. There was something about her that made her so much different from everyone else. It was intriguing . She broke out of her bitter thoughts and smiled warmly at the girls around her.
"Lena, what about you? Have you given newbie here a briefing on your life already?" Selena looked around sheepishly. "Of course you haven't. You hate talking about yourself. Well how 'bout I do it for you? Anyways, Selena here," she threw a pointed look at the former, "started here last year. She got in via art scholarship though she's already extremely rich. Her parents wanted her at public school at first for character development or something like that. Long story short, she entered an art competition and as it happened there were scouts at the competition, so when she won, she got a full scholarship to come here. Her parents thought it'd be a good idea especially since she had earned her right to be here and it hadn't just been handed to her. Did I miss anything? Oh yeah. Her parents are Cora and Matthew Rodriguez. Lawyers. They're known for their ruthlessness in court. Super strict."
"I understand," Astoria nodded her head sympathetically. "Mother's very harsh. Everything has to meet her expectations, her level. Anything that doesn't, doesn't exist in her eyes. It has no value to her. But, I guess that's what dads are for, right?" She stared down at her hands as she played with the ring on her left middle. It was an elegant twist ring with her birthstone, a single amethyst sitting in the center. Her father got her it while he was on a business trip in Dubai. He said that whenever she missed him, she should look at that ring and remember that he would come back to her.
"Aww, it's okay, Tori. I think you're perfect just the way you are. Come here." Selena wrapped the other girl in a tight hug. Astoria tucked her slightly trembling chin into her shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment, accepting the comfort. She opened her eyes and looked around to push back the burning she felt in the back of her mind. She saw a glimpse of Jacqueline's face and for a split second she thought she caught jealousy behind the redhead's eyes.
It seems she had a bit of a puzzle on her hands. Wonderful.