"Hi again. Sorry for Valerie; did she annoy you too?" Maeve said and collapsed onto her large bed with blue blankets.
Jazmin shrugged. "She was quite welcoming...I guess," she replied, abruptly recalling Valerie's debatable advice, and shaking her head. "Maybe too welcoming."
Maeve chuckled. "That's how she is with every single newcomer—a wolf in sheep's clothing—but wait until you really understand how this school works. Valerie's basically the 'queen bee' in this dorm, and other parts of the school. There are other 'queen bees' though. That's what we call the lionesses who call out the shots around here; 'Queen Bees'," Maeve articulated, her hands clasped behind her head as her blue eyes watched the ceiling fan, exasperatedly.
"Interesting. So, are there 'king bees' too?" Jazmin asked curiously. She was intrigued by the inner workings of this elite academy which she had initially dismissed as a breeding ground.
Maeve smiled and stretched her legs with a low groan before sitting upright and looking at Jazmin with a waning look in her eye. "Yes, there are, but I would strongly advise against ruffling their feathers—well, not that I think you'll ever be unfortunate enough to," she said mysteriously and added, "There are three of them. Ezra, Kendric, and Rowan."
Maeve paused and glanced around the wide room, as though afraid someone was eavesdropping on their conversation. Then her round, blue eyes settled on Jazmin's intrigued gaze. "Ezra is from a long line of globally known business magnates. He's super-rich, technically, but is also as abusive as an infuriated gorilla. I hear he once fucked two girls at once, and neither of the girls could even attend classes afterwards," Maeve whispered seriously, looking at Jazmin as though she was Ezra's next victim. However, Jazmin was more repulsed than frightened.
"And then there's Kendric," Maeve continued and paused to sigh dreamily, her cheeks flushing as she gazed into thin air as though the young man she had mentioned was floating above their heads. "He's...he's just marvelous. He's a straight-A student, is exceptional at sports—no wonder he's the basketball team's ace and one of the top archers in the school's archery team—and is also incredibly wealthy. I dunno what his family does, but he once flew back home from school on a helicopter. A freaking helicopter; what is this, a novel?"
Jazmin rolled her eyes at Maeve's obvious infatuation. "And how many times has he appeared in your dreams?" Jazmin asked facetiously.
Maeve pursed her lips and uttered openly, "Enough times for me to write a completed fanfic about us. Uh, you just reminded me, Kendric and I had just been doing the Hula dance together in Hawaii...until Valerie came and woke me up. That damn jigger-infested maggot."
"And then...you said there were three of them, right? Er...Roland? Ronnie? Or was it Reynold?" Jazmin inquired, her brows lifting as she tried to remember the name.
Maeve sighed deeply, watching Jazmin's fruitless struggle with a pitiful grin. "Rowan. His name is Rowan Barlowe. He's the school council president but is rarely seen. It's been three months since I enrolled here, but I myself have only heard of Rowan. And there's not much to be heard about him, either. He's like...a crouching tiger that only reveals its claws when absolutely necessary, from what I've gathered. It's best you stay away from all of them though, if you still want your school life to be peaceful, that is," Maeve said and climbed into her blankets, covering herself up to her chin and glancing at her new roommate's thoughtful visage.
"Has anyone told you...to change your look?" she asked suddenly.
Jazmin glanced up to see Maeve was studying her oddly. "Well, Valerie did tell me to ditch my glasses," she replied.
"Hm. So that wolf is actually good for something. She's right. The glasses make you look like a nerd, and that's the last thing you'll want other girls thinking, supposing you have the intention of surviving here. Girls, you see, have a knack for spotting weakness, whether physical or emotional and using it as a weapon against you. I learnt this the hard way; R.I.P my Stephen King novels," Maeve said, her thoughts floating back to a painful memory.
'But I am a nerd, so what can I do about what I already am?' The other girl thought with amusement at all the shenanigans a mere pair of spectacles was causing her. Nonetheless, she made no plan to discard them. Why should she throw them away just because of some hedonistic girls with more hair extensions than brain cells and with grades smaller than their shoe sizes? Maybe if those self-indulgent 'queen bees' proved themselves useful to humanity, she would consider humoring their decadence. Jazmin settled on her bed and began unpacking her things and placing them onto her shelf as she spoke to Maeve. "Are they malicious enough to destroy an entire collection of novels?"
Maeve nodded with brows creased from the residues of pain left by her memory.
Jazmin wasn't frightened by bullies but instantly pitied Maeve who had to go through that without having done anything wrong. "Sorry," she said.
"Thanks, but I'm okay now. I mean, I have a roommate who must have brought some delicious novels I can devour. What's there to complain about?" Maeve asked. She was smiling cunningly, still draped in her blue blanket, her fingers curled over the edge and her head poking out.
She had guessed correctly.
Jazmin smiled quietly and picked up a novel with a yellow cover in her suitcase, then hurled it to Maeve. It landed on Maeve's bed with a plop sound, and the blonde picked it up with a starry gaze. "Stieg Larsson's 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'. You must be a sucker for mystery novels," she remarked studiously and opened the first page, instantly drowning in the world of fiction and make-believe.
Afterwards, Jazmin focused on arranging her things. It didn't take long before she had everything in place; her books lined the shelves and her clothes—mostly of dark shades—filled her wardrobe. It was 8.00 pm when she finished, and Maeve was still reading(she was at page 186).
"When does school start tomorrow, Maeve?"
"Breakfast is in the cafeteria, and starts at 7.00 am. Lessons start at 8.00 am. Did you get the map and your lesson timetable?" Maeve asked, tearing her eyes from the page and looking at Jazmin, whose feet dangled from her well-made bed.
"Yes, I did, and a guy called Jason gave me a tour earlier on my way here."
Maeve nodded and returned her blue eyes to the lines of text. "Then you'll be fine. Just don't get lost," she assured her.