by Olivia Quint
“Damn, how the hell did you turn that around?” Eric asked me when we were in the clear.
“Just my inherent charm, dear Watson,” I beamed at him. “More to the point, though, I’m so not doing that stupid chaperone thing!”
“Uhmm… it’s mandatory, now that I’ve signed you up? Plus, it’s about time you gave something back – it’s your final year after all,” Eric shrugged.
“Oh, I think I’ve given back a whole lot already,” I replied, pointedly wagging my eyebrows at him.
“Back to the Academy, you manwhore!” Eric almost shouted, totally forgetting where we were. Soon after, more and more death stares were aimed right at us from behind opened books.
“Well, I’m just not doing it, my man!” I whispered adamantly while motioning him to pipe down. “Besides, I have better things to focus on at the moment, remember?”
“Really?” Eric asked, crossing his arms in disbelief. “Like what exactly?”
“Like not teaching some snot-nosed kid about the wonders of the grounds, for starters!” I protested in as low a tone as I could muster.
“But you love it here…” my partner in crime complained.
“Of course I do,” I agreed without hesitation. “It’s Chambrun – who wouldn’t love it here?!”
“Just forget I even asked,” Eric conceded before changing the subject. “If those girls saw your name up on the board, though, it means you must’ve already been assigned to a first-year. You might, at the very least, see who it is…”
“Drop it, Eric!” I protested without adding any edge to my words. “I’m not going to babysit anyone.”
“I knew you’d lash out like this,” Eric smirked. “But relax, dude, think of it this way instead: with your lucky stars, I’m positive it’ll be just some other hot chick, and I would happily cover for you in that case!”
“Pfff, be my guest…” I snorted indifferently. “You have my blessing to do whatever with whomever that is.”
“Yeah, well, as much as I’d love us to switch places, only third years can chaperone, remember?” my friend sighed as we leisurely made our way back to the library entrance.
“Ah, crap…” I replied as realization bloomed in my mind. “The sheer joy of being in the final year at Chambrun... Fine, let’s just see how it goes!”
Chapter Three
Sophie
With an unexpected tinge of sadness that surprised even myself, I kept watching the limo drive off into the distance with Reggie behind the wheel. Somewhere deep down, I felt that from that moment onward, the course of my life – whether for better or worse – would be resting squarely on my own two shoulders. Drawing in the crisp mountain air, I readjusted my backpack straps, grabbed both trolleys by their handles, and letting out a mighty sigh, I started toward my new home.
Like most other first-years, I would be living in one of the Academy’s private housing estates. Chambrun had two of them, actually, and they were only a short walking distance from each other. The one I was to call my own was named Artois. It featured eight separate dormitory buildings, all evenly spaced out and built in the same Baroque style the Academy was famous the world over for.
My building – lucky no. 7 – was almost at the estate’s edge, near the stone wall enclosing the expansive courtyard. Like all of its identical sisters, it had a beautiful lawn just in front that was kept neatly trimmed by a dedicated gardener. It just so happened that he was on duty that morning and also gracious enough to help me bring my luggage inside.
While the spacious interiors maintained all of their original lavish decorations, I could tell they’d been amply renovated to fit in all of the comforts of modern life. The apartment I’d been assigned to was located on the second floor, and as soon as I’d stepped in, I noticed it had two bedrooms. I didn’t know I’d be having a flatmate, but I guess it’ll be better to have someone close by.
The living room opened up at the end of a short hallway, and it was a thing of beauty. Through the tall windows, the autumn sun cast its rays on two purple velvet sofas flanking a stylish coffee table on either side. There didn’t seem to be any TV installed on the opposite wall, but that didn’t matter to me one bit. I’ve always preferred reading anyway. What the walls did have in abundance, though, were numerous oil paintings of what I assumed were magnificent vistas in the Pyrenees. Between each picture rose tall, empty shelves that I couldn’t wait to fill in with my things.
Walking through the door on the other side of the living room brought me into a shockingly modern kitchen. Every single appliance was state of the art, from the broad stove to the recessed fridge, and I immediately promised myself never to let it go to waste. Tracing the granite countertop with my fingertips from one end of the room to the other brought me in front of a sliding glass door that led to a small balcony. Pulling it to the side, I walked out and came face to face with the vast forest sprouting just outside the estate’s perimeter.
“Wow, I must’ve walked into a mountain resort instead!” I said to myself, chuckling in disbelief. Going back into the house, through the corridor, and past my forgotten luggage, I came upon the two bedroom doors, standing opposite one other. Entering the room on my left, I was met with luxurious cream-colored furnishings and an incredibly inviting queen-sized bed. Its head was pressed right against the middle of the far wall, while the soft mattress was dressed in fitted white sheets upon which lay a puffy lavender duvet. On either side of the bed were two small tables with coquettish antique lamps resting on them. A tall window covered with long velvety curtains dominated the left-hand wall, while a fully stocked bookshelf partially obscured the wall to my right. Next to it was a desk with ample room to fit several open books at once, followed by the entrance to my very own – and very generous – walk-in closet.
Grinning ear to ear, I pulled back the curtains and opened the window to let in some fresh air while I brought my luggage into the room. The midday sun was beaming its golden light onto the carpeted floor by then, and I immediately felt like exploring the grounds some more. A walk outside wouldn’t be so bad right about now. I could take a look around before I settle in properly!
Mere moments later, I strolled out of Artois’ perimeter with a song in my heart. The first thing I decided to do was see what the other estate looked like. Walking along the forested road winding further up the mountain, I slowed down my pace to take in the view. It became abundantly clear that Chambrun took attention to detail very seriously. The road was lined on both sides with elegant street lamps, which would undoubtedly dispel any patches of darkness come nightfall.
I could really enjoy living here, I reassured myself, and an honest smile crept back onto my face. Standing still on the sidewalk for a moment, I closed my eyes and let the gentle breeze run freely through my loose hair. For a moment, I felt entirely at peace, like nothing bad could ever happen to me at Chambrun.
From there, it wasn’t much longer before I reached the other estate. The letters above the stone gate read Courtenay. This must be a really popular name around these parts because I’m sure I’ve seen it on some other Academy buildings as well. I failed to recall whether the Courtenay family had been prominent members of the French aristocracy, but I assumed that whomever their descendants were, they must have done something special to warrant this level of recognition from the Academy.
Just as I was lost in thought, a group of girls streamed right past me toward the campus below, but it was the shrill voice following them that brought me out of my historical reverie. “Don’t forget that we have to meet tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock sharp – I will NOT tolerate tardiness of any sort!”
The voice sounded eerily familiar, but I didn’t expect anyone I knew to be at Chambrun with me. Turning my head in its direction, I recognized someone I never thought I’d see again.
“No way… Marceline?!” I gasped, drawing a bit closer.
When she heard me call out her name, the girl turned to face me. The same look of surprise passed across her face, and I co
uld tell that she recognized me too. Marceline took one last look at the departing girls she’d been addressing, then met me halfway as I closed the distance.
While it was undoubtedly her, I couldn’t help noticing that she had changed so much since I saw her last. For one, she looked intimidatingly beautiful. Her rich, dark hair was a lot longer than mine and flowed down her slender back like a waterfall. Marceline stood in front of me with perfect posture, holding her chin up ever so slightly. She was miles from the shy, older girl I’d shown around my middle school when we were kids so many years ago. Even so, I was thrilled to see her again after such a long time.
“Sophie, how are you even here?” Marceline asked me, her proud French accent very much unchanged. I tried moving closer still to embrace her, but her arms were firmly folded across her chest. She wasn’t giving off the reaction I had expected, and her posture told me to keep my distance.
“I got accepted into Chambrun!” I announced happily. “Oh my God, it’s so nice to see you, Marceline. I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone I knew, but I remembered how you yourself told me about the Academy. Since then, it was the only college I’ve ever wanted to attend.”
“Darling…” she began in such a superior tone that it made me want to shrink into the ground. “We were only kids back then. I was naive and in desperate need of friends.”
“And I was your first friend there, remember?” Marceline kept quiet but rolled her eyes to the moon and back. I decided to press on. “I invited you for sleepovers at my place all the time. We always stayed up late, talking about everything under the sun and how we wanted to be the best in our school.”
“There is it again…” she sighed dramatically.
“There is what again?” I asked, becoming more and more confused at her passive-aggressive attitude.
“You just love reminding me you’re the best, just like you did in middle school. You always want me to know you’re better than me. Well, not anymore. Not here!” Marceline exclaimed. I half expected her to stamp her feet down for emphasis.
“No, it was never like that!” I countered. “Is all of this necessary just because I got slightly higher grades than you? We were always neck at neck overall, and you know that as well as I do!”
“I am NOT neck at neck with anyone!” her voice rising to the earlier shrill as she spoke. Marceline seemed to notice her outburst, so she cleared her throat before speaking again in a low, menacing tone. “I am not neck at neck with anyone… especially, not you.”
“Look, I just want us to be friends again, Marceline. Heck, I still remember that you left without saying goodbye, which hurt me to no end, I’ll have you know. I genuinely thought I’d never see you again!” I explained, careful not to raise my own voice in the heat of the moment.
“Listen, darling,” she conceded with another long sigh. “It’s been nice seeing you again, but we were friends a looong time ago. I’m way past all that now, so why don’t you make yourself some new friends for a change?”
And with no more than that, Marceline turned around and left me standing in the middle of the road, utterly speechless. I watched her trod a few more steps uphill before she turned back to address me one last time.
“By the way, you should really check out my blog – it explains exactly how things work around here. Oh, and welcome to Chambrun, I guess! Just… know your place, okay?” she said with the best fake smile I’d ever seen on a former friend.
Chapter Four
Zayn
“Oh my… I just… wow!” Marie said, struggling to find the words to describe how she felt in the aftermath of my private tour of the “wonders of Chambrun”. Her bare chest heaved ceaselessly as she lay on my bed.
I stood up to pick up my scattered clothes off the floor and chuckled when I noticed the flustered look on her face.
“My dear… We’ve only just had passionate sex, and you’re still blushing at seeing me naked?” I smirked. “What can I say – I’ll take the compliment!”
“It’s just… it’s really big,” Marie said in between raggedy breaths, turning her face away slightly.
“You might want to get dressed too,” I cut her short. “I’m expecting a friend of mine soon, and he and I have plans for the rest of the day.” I made sure to place particular emphasis on the word he so that Marie wouldn’t think I was blowing her off for another girl.
“Oh, okay…” she said, getting up on her unsteady feet. To my surprise, she then sauntered to where I stood, her lips forming a coy smile.
“But I’ll see you around, won’t I?” Marie asked as she got close to me. Wrapping her slender fingers around my member, she stroked me languidly as she leaned in to whisper in my ear. “Maybe we could even do this again sometime soon?”
“Mmm, I’m not one to make promises…” I replied, grinning. Marie smiled back and let me go so she could put her clothes back on like a good little girl.
“Bye, Zayn,” she called out to me from within the door frame. I wrapped a towel around myself, waved her goodbye over my shoulder, then headed to the bathroom. Marie bit her lip and started backing away teasingly before bumping straight into Eric on his way in. He tried reaching out to steady her, but she quickly regained her balance on her own and was out the door before I could even chuckle at the ensuing comedy.
“No way…” Eric said as he walked up to me, turning his back to the supremely embarrassed girl who’d just left. “Wasn’t that Marie, like, from right this morning?!”
“Yup, that was her all right,” I winked. “Now I just need to wash her off myself, and then we can leave for our practice.”
“But how did you… that was fast, yo!” Eric whistled, his head gyrating back and forth between my amused face and the doorframe.
“Actually, there was nothing fast about it. I took my sweet time, I’ll let you know!” I laughed heartily.
“Pfff, you know what I mean…” Eric scoffed, rolling his eyes. “You’ve only just met her for the first time today. How on God’s good Earth did you even get her to have sex with you already?! You have to teach me these things, man…”
I continued laughing at Eric’s dismay as I walked into the shower. “Just give me a couple of minutes to freshen up. And remember – tennis is what I can teach you!”
“Un-fucking-believable…” my comrade sighed, planting himself with a heavy thump in my armchair.
True to my word, I really didn’t spend long in the shower since I wanted us to go to practice as quickly as possible. After I patted myself dry and put on my training clothes, I rejoined Eric in the living room.
“Are you going to see her again later?” he asked me straight off the bat.
“Who, Marie?” I feigned ignorance just for laughs.
“Man, are you… Yeah, her!” Eric replied, clearly exasperated.
“Nah, I doubt it. I mean, she’s been fun and all, but Marie seems like the sort who would want to wring something serious out of me, you know? I really can’t deal with that shit.”
“I’m not surprised at all, what with you only thinking with your dick and nothing else!” Eric remarked, making us both laugh as we walked out of my flat. We were just leaving the estate’s perimeter when I suddenly noticed a lone girl standing smack dab in the middle of the road. Her head hung low between her shoulders, and she seemed to be in some sort of pain.
“Oh, hell no… You said it yourself, man – we’re late!” Eric reminded me when he sensed what I was about to do.
“No, no, this is different…” I explained hurriedly. “Look, just go on for a bit without me, I’ll catch up. You can handle things in practice before I show up, right?”
“Fine, but don’t keep me waiting for too long, you hear?” Eric shouted after me, but I was already well ahead of him. Walking up behind the girl, I tapped her lightly on her shoulder.
“Excuse me, are you all right?” I asked softly, and she instantly turned around to face me.
The sheer sight of her hit me like a ton of bricks,
and I forgot how to speak right there and then. Lord, is she beautiful… If Eric would have still been with me, he would have gone off on a babbling tirade almost immediately. Dark brown hair fell in waves around the face of an angel not of this world. Her alabaster skin looked so soft and delicate that I would have been afraid to touch her less I tarnished it somehow. Her luminous, delicate eyes were the lightest shade of hazel, and her body was that of a long-lost goddess of beauty. She had an absolutely delicious waist, with hips perfectly complemented by the skirt sure was wearing. I must have been staring at her like a lunatic for far too long because when I finally blinked, I noticed her lips were already moving.
“Hellooo?! What do you want with me?” her melodious voice was cold and unwelcoming.
“Uhmm… sorry, I just—” I cleared my throat quickly and tried my utmost best to regain my composure. I’m not one to be at a loss for words in front of a girl. What the hell am I doing?! I drew in a shallow breath and soldiered on. “I saw you standing here all by yourself, and I wanted to see if you needed any help, is all.”
“And why would you assume I needed any help?” she countered viciously.
“Well, for one, you just stood here, in the middle of the road…” I attempted, but she cut me right off.
“So, what? You think you’re some kind of hero? That you can just swoop down to the rescue?” she continued her relentless verbal assault.
“Will you relax, please? I was only trying to help you out,” I answered, holding my palms out toward her in surrender.
“Well, I don’t need any help, and more to the point, I don’t need ANY of you! I’ll go through the next years entirely on my own!” she shouted, her ire reverberating across the neighboring treeline.
“Any of who?” I asked sincerely, but I made no attempt to hide my growing frustration with her attitude. I was damn sure I’d never met this girl before in my life, but for whatever reason, she kept on acting like I was somehow out to get her when all I wanted was to look out for her wellbeing. “Please calm down, I think we got off on the wrong foot here…”