A New Beginning for Just Another New Girl [OPEN]

Not too much longer... This is it! A fresh new start, away from all the madness.

This was definitely a change from the Metro systems in Paris. An actual train that wasn't underground! It was different... But nice. More exposure to nature, which Fleur was fond of.

I still feel more comfortable riding the subway... For some reason, people actually make conversation with each other here. And staring... Lots of staring.

As she glanced out of the window, she realized how much greener everything was compared to the cold, dark cement floors of the Metro stations. Still, she preferred said Metro stations. Anyway, she did like how she was able to catch a few glimpses of native wildlife; such as a doe with her two frolicking fawns, plenty of horned owls nesting in the hollows of trees, and the occasional red fox scampering toward some obscure woodland-like area.
Between taking in the view and thinking about the events to come, Fleur did not realize that her stop had arrived. One of the creepy staring people, a teen, nudged her. She flinched, almost karate-chopping him. He stepped back, remarking on the fact that he believed that this might be her stop. (No, he wasn't creeping on her... He just happened to hear her muttering to herself when she boarded the train.) She quickly noticed that he was correct, thanked him and apologized for almost hurting him, and ran to the door to get off of the train. The thing is, it had already started moving, so she jumped - just barely making it onto the platform. That would have been quite an unfortunate event.

She still had a ways to go before she reached the Academy. No matter, as this trek was nothing like travelling from France to America illegally... She pulled out a piece of paper from the front pocket of her purple suitcase, to re-familiarize herself with the path she was to follow. Adeline, a friend she'd met in Middle School, had helped her with preparing for the Academy. Actually, Adeline is the very reason that she was even making her way over there! If it weren't for her, who knows where Fleur would have gone after literally escaping an unexpected nightmare?

She was a pretty brisk walker, being from the city and all; so it did not take her long to arrive. As she came up over a random steep hill, she saw it. She gasped, "The Academy!" She then ran the rest of the way, arriving at the Entrance. This is... simply breathtaking! If the outside looks this nice, I can only imagine how the inside will be like! She wouldn't have to merely imagine for long...
She turned around to check out the view of the surrounding area, gawking at how beautiful the scenery was, and taking in the new atmosphere.

She just so happened to spot Adeline walking in the general vicinity, and rushed over to meet her. "Adeline!"

Another trip and back from academy to Rosebury and back to the academy. Her job was starting to become tedious, and the sun was beating on her with waves of heat that wouldn't budge, making the seemingly simple stroll far more difficult. Beads of sweat had formed at her forehead, and the heat daze could only get worse from then on out. Lamia would be sure to thank the heavens when the temperatures dropped severely and the academy was blanketed with a layer of white flakes like hoarfrost.

Every breeze that came by nipped at her neck, and blew away the tiny droplets of sweat. She had two bags in her hands as she made the trek back - one that contained her café uniform and the other with an innocent batch of snacks that every teenager could afford with their frugal budget: instant styrofoam cups of noodles, some bags of tea and coffee, the normal. Lamia had debated on buying something not so naive, but honestly... She was a prefect now. What the hell would the faculty say when they saw her with bottles of alcohol in her room? Deprived of her anchor and source of confidence, she felt more vulnerable and lost.

It wasn't long until she had finally reached the iron gates of Beata, the stone-paved road in front of her becoming shorter and shorter until she was finally there. Small birds glided around, singing their gleeful melody that she could only assume was to mock her, as pleasant to the ears as it was. Taking a small short break at the fountain to get a deep breath, Lamia stopped to look up for a bit. Thank the lords it was a weekend and nobody would be around.

Or so she thought.

Once she had slid to her feet, something heavy had leapt onto her, almost knocking her balance off. Steadying herself and with a sharp intake of air, Lamia stood up a bit. Someone's arms were around her. Just my luck... Can't she get anywhere without someone sneaking up behind her? Was it some game to try and poke fun at her? Fate enjoyed messing with the strings of her life.

She froze.

Who knew her real name? Her entire body stiffened, and she tensed. Everything seemed to get hotter, and she only hoped it was the sun that started to wash its rays down quicker. But it wasn't. Maybe it was a trick, or illusion. Maybe she was out of it. Wasn't there that silly phenomenon where people would see mirages in the heat? Did it count towards hearing things too? No, you idiot. It doesn't. Hesitatingly, Lamia turned around, her golden, doe-like eyes widening and she opened her mouth as if to say something before closing it as though she thought about it real quick.

How? How could anyone from home have followed her here? There was no way... Kearn wouldn't sell her out and she made sure her father didn't have a trace of where she was... Goddammit. What the hell? It couldn't be possible. There was no way her past had come back to her. Calm down, it's just a classmate... But someone who knew what happened then.

Finally, she let a word out, scarcely louder than a whisper, "Fl-Fl-Fleur...?" Taking a deep breath, an awkward heat crawling up to her ears, Lamia really wished she wasn't blushing. It was just physical contact... But the distance. Too close. Too too close. "L-l-let g-go... Pl-please d-d-don't call me b-by th-that."

"M-m-my name is L-Lamia..." she muttered softly under her breath.

Not much had happened ever since he enrolled to Beata. If anything he was lonelier here then back at home, back in Arizona he had everything he wanted - a nice cozy house, good friends, even a girl-friend but here all he had was his dirty older brother that he hardly respected. Oliver didn't want too be here, he wanted too be back in Arizona sitting on his couch watching some sports and laughing with his friends, here he didn't even know anybody. All he had been doing was traveling back to Rosebury too go see his brother work since he had no one else too talk with. Oliver had been strolling throughout beata, just wandering and roaming and pretty much just killing time, he couldn't do much after all - he was still pretty new still didn't get sorted into one of the four houses.

Singing a slight tune as he walked the brown-haired boy paused when he noticed a girl not in a uniform but in regular clothing, he figured she must of just gotten dropped off a few moments ago. An eyebrow rose as he studied her, she looked normal but he knew that everyone at beata had their own problems either emotional or physical - it was a school filled with a bunch of freaks that were outcasted by everyone. Oliver sighed softly, he figured that it'd be the kind thing too show the newbie around, talk a little, be her friend. Sure why not she's in the same exact position that he was in, she was new hardly knew anyone and looked clueless just standing around. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Oliver had slowly started too approach only too blink in surprise when she ran too hug somebody.

Scoffing slightly he didn't walk away but he approached again pretending that he had just ran into them by accident so it didn't seem like he was following her. "You two sure are close aren't you? Maybe I should just leave you two be."

"Adeline?" The voice came from an older student who seemingly was just going for a walk, and ended up overhearing the name. Montare was looking in the direction of Lamia (or was it Adeline?) and the student that he didn't know. He walked over to the two with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, which were complimented by a pale grey hoodie. It seemed like the two knew each other, although the student Montare assumed to be a new arrival to the Academy called Lamia by a name other than that. Maybe it was Lamia's middle name or something? "Are you new here?" He couldn't think of anything else to ask or say, and he didn't want to just stand there staring.

Barry had been wondering around the campus, head in a book, when he nearly ran into someone. "Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there." he said to the black haired boy. He looked up from the book and noticed two other people he didn't know and Lamia standing near. He waved at the others and smiled nervously. "Hey Lamia." he said to her. He turned to the others had hadn't met before. "Hello. My name's Barry." he said smiling brightly.

Before Fleur was able to say anything to Adeline regarding her last statement, someone approached them, making a remark in relation to their short-lived hug. Ugh. Another wisecracker, isn't he? Trying to make it seem as though she hadn't picked up on his apparent attitude, Fleur nimbly posed a naïve sounding query. "Uhm... What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Waiting intently for an answer from the seemingly outspoken boy, Fleur did not realize another person walking up to them - until he asked her a question. She answered, "Uhhh... yes. Yes, I am. I'm Fl-"

She was interrupted by yet another boy, who greeted Adeline using the name that she had spoken of before, as he introduced himself to the group. This boy seemed fairly nice, so she didn't mind. Still, she wondered: What is this 'Lamia' talk all about? Fleur decided to disregard the fact for now, as she would get back to that later.

The 'smart' boy and the one who seemed slightly older than the latter hadn't given their names yet. "My name is Fleur. What are the rest of your names?"

The sound of footsteps broke her out of her daze, and Lamia looked over her shoulder to see first, another boy in the Winter house and then two... acquaintances? Is that what she should call them? Well, Barry maybe was a friend, but Monty? Well... Not yet. The rooftop trip with him wasn't that bad, though, and she didn't mind his company. Sort of. Those rumors from before still lingered in her head, and it wasn't exactly wrong of her to take some kind of precaution for now. Just in case he isn't as nice or anything as he seems. What was she even thinking? He was still on a higher level than she was, so shouldn't they be wary around her? Stupidstupidstupid.

Lamia almost flinched at the others' voices, forcing a tiny, queasy smile. U-Uhm... H-hi," she mumbled awkwardly, turning her face away. Slowly her eyes traveled to meet Fleur's, but it quickly dropped back to the bricks that made the road. Just maybe be polite for now? Goddammit, why was she a prefect? Now she had to actually socialize and be around other students who would probably mock or laugh at her... Especially the new ones. Didn't her former classmate - or was she now a current classmate again? - realize at all how much she's changed on the outside? I'm still the same as before, was the bitter thought that floated through her mind. Jealousy, self-centered, selfish, egocentric, monster... What else?

Fleur was always better than her in every way. Pretty, likable, intelligent, creative, and caring of others; she just hung out with the wrong crowd. A reminder of her past was here to haunt her, and somehow, she felt that it was going to be staying to keep her busy for awhile. Shifting uncomfortably beside the others, Lamia contemplated on reverting back to her old methods: slipping away and hoping nobody would notice. Her fingers tightened their grasp around her bags, and she held her breath, almost ready to break into a sprint. But she hesitated.

With Fleur here, I can't run from my past unless I avoid her.

Two others had joined the little chit-chat, it was annoying and a huge bother. Oliver didn't like talking with guys, talking with girls was much easier. Brown eyes squinted towards Fleur, the winter didn't care about the other dudes he needed too make friends not bros. The winter stuffed his thumbs into his pockets before shrugging at the new-girls question. "Whatever you think it means, I'm sure your brain is smart enough too think on it's own." Oliver had said with a slight smile, before turning too look at the guy who asked the stupidest question he had ever heard. "Of corse she's new, look at her - shes as clueless as ever." The winter was glad he was never in position as this girl was, whenever he came too a new school with his brother he always knew where too go unlike this lady.

Scratching at his hair the winter gave a curious glance towards Lamia, although he looked like he didn't really care for who she was. Although her name did ring a bell. 'this must be the chick that works with Jonathan.' Clearing his throat Oliver had glanced back towards Fleur, it was quite an interesting name but whatever. "Oliver Kent."

The autumn turned to "Oliver" and narrowed his eyes. "I was just trying to be polite. Unlike some people." he said edgily. He turned back to Fleur. "Nice to meet you. And Welcome to Beata."

Montare looked between Barry and Oliver, noticing how Barry didn't take too kindly to Oliver. Although, Olicer wasn't being especially polite, so it wasn't too surprising that Barry was taking kindly to it. Montare decided to let things stay between them, turning to look at Fleur. "My name's Montare," he answered. He opened his mouth to speak, slightly curious about Lamia/Adeline's names, but decided against it.

Noticing how uncomfortable Adeline seemed, Fleur thought she should refrain from calling her by the one name that she knew her "friend" to go by. Why 'Lamia', of all things? Did she have to choose a name carrying a meaning with such a negative connotation? Especially the very name that was given to her by the haters of their middle school... Come on! Couldn't she have chosen something more... Just, anything else! Why go through all the trouble to run away from something, to only retain one of (if not the most) prominent detail of said 'something'? UGH! Now I seem like an aloof and inconsiderate new girl looking for attention. Great - just great! "Lamia, are you okay?", she whispered to Adeline without thinking it through. Something she usually didn't do, Fleur regretted it immediately. Why in the world did I just say that?!? I'm already making a fool of myself. Adeline probably won't want anything else to do with me after this first encounter after more than just a few years. I hope nobody else notices how I'm feeling right now...
Hoping that the others hadn't picked up on her question to Adeline, Fleur went on to hopefully make some acquaintances right then and there, as she wanted to proceed to make new friends as soon as possible. She yearned to have the same kind of solid support system that she abandoned in France to pursue her first love. How come Augustine keeps creeping back into my mind?!? I don't care about him anymore. He means nothing, she actively tried to convince herself. "He is dead to me!" She was getting so into combatting her thoughts and obvious remaining feelings for the boy that she "used" to love, that it slipped out of her mouth.

Realizing what she had just said, Fleur desired to move the conversation along without having to explain anything regarding her sudden outburst.
"Sooo... Can any of you possibly point me in the direction of the front office? Is that what it's even called here?" She giggled slightly, to try and lessen the mood of tension that she had accidentally created for herself. I know that I look and sound so freaking stupid right now, too. Who knew that traveling and living without any other humans would lead me to lose so much of my apparent excess of charisma that everyone used to talk about? I never really understood what they meant by that anyway... "Also, are tours offered here? If so, I'd gladly appreciate one whenever possible. As you can probably tell, I don't really know my way around the place." She said this with a smile and a slight wink, for added effect and distraction from her random profession of the love that she still felt for Augustine, a boy whom she had met in France. Or did it emphasize it? She did it without thinking; again - it felt awkward to stray away from her usual behavior. But, the new atmosphere was taking a toll on her, and she wasn't sure if it would turn out to be for the better. Anyway, back to her 'love' life. They went from mere fellow animal admirers, to "best friends", and then to almost-officially-in-a-relationship. In retrospect, Fleur noticed that they had moved way too fast, feeling that it was necessary in their situation.
Being part of a wealthy family from Italy, the girl he was to marry and spend the rest of his life with had already been chosen; and not for anything but money and ideal connections. He was forced to meet her once, and she was nothing like Fleur. Actually, she was like a polar opposite of the only girl he'd ever loved! Fleur had actually met her as well, but on accident... She didn't like thinking about her all that much. It always left a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, not to mention the deepest parts of her heart.

After posing her quick questions regarding offices and tours of the Academy, Fleur again became lost in thought.
. . . If only . . .

"H-huh?" Lamia was taken aback from Fleur's question, and falling into a moment of uncomfortable silence, she dug the ball of her right foot nervously into the ground. Her eyes followed the pattern of the bricks on the ground, and she tried to distract herself, ignore the question, by giving a number and counting silently depending on the shade of color the specific stone that created the road was. You really are a goddamn idiot. As if that was the most childish thing she could've chosen to do. Nothing else was coming to mind though, so if she had to degrade into a child for just a few moments, then that was fine. Something so that the attention wasn't on her. Much to her dismay, that didn't seem to be happening until a jackpot. Luck was on her side, for once.

Fleur had spoken up about something again, and that was the last thing anyone else was probably expecting. Who was dead? Was she talking about that gang leader she had been hanging out with? Actually, no. Lamia doubted he was actually dead. Of course, maybe her classmate had gone insane from being around the Mafia for so long... Oh, please. Like you're any better? She wasn't, not even close. And she shouldn't really be talking when one of her closest friends was the leader of one of the most powerful, if not the strongest, gangs in Chicago. Wait, hold on. There was no way she should be trying to be bringing Magic down with here. Stupidstupidstupid.... Lamia regretted even thinking like that and hated herself for it.

Lamia hesitantly nodded a few seconds afterwards. "U-uhm, y-yeah... I-I-It's j-just that b-big building o-over there." Her golden, doe-like eyes had lifted themselves briefly up, turning towards the old Victorian structure not too far from where they were. Now's your chance. Did she really want to do her job as a prefect? No, not at all. But, it would be stupid to expect the others to say anything about it. She was the prefect - she had to actually lead Fleur, right? Nope, she really really didn't want to be around her. Not if it meant being constantly plagued in her head about her past.

Could she slip away now? She had a really weak presence, nobody would notice. Lamia knew she could probably get away with it. Nobody would really care if she left now... Mustering up as much of her dignity as possible, swallowing her anxiety, she spoke up, her voice scarcely more than a whisper as it wavered uncontrollably, "S-s-sorry, I-I... u-uhm..." Her voice faltered before she could finish. Lips thinning, Lamia cursed herself. Her voice was always so incredibly soft and unobtrusive that she had a tendency not to be heard by everyone else and could trail away without anyone actually knowing she spoke up. Not like anyone here had amazing hearing... Hopefully.

Oliver had ruffled up his hair, glancing at the sky with a soft sigh. Things were getting boring, every day he would just go back too his dorm too eat some ramen and watch TV while his brother would go mingle with some girls. Might as well change the fact that he had no friends instead of Jonathan who he rarely talks too, it sucked that they were put into the same house and in the same room. An eyebrow lifted as Fleur began too talk again and Oliver looked too see where Lamia pointed. "I don't mind showing you the way just in case you get lost or something." The winter had figured that Lamia would do it since she was wearing the prefect uniform.. Although she looked rather uncomfortable and frantic for somebody else too show it too her. "You won't mind will you?"

Barry was just about to speak up when both Lamia and Oliver offered to show Fleur around so he just stuck his hands in his pockets and listened, waiting for an opportunity to rejoin the conversation.