"Ms. Woods, we have agreed to have you at our school despite your qualifications or rather lack of. Your record is- let's say colorful, but I'm willing to give you a chance. This could be a fresh start for you. I don't want to see a talented individual as yourself waste their life in the slumps." 'Slumps' Lexa had to keep herself from rolling her eyes.
"Here is your schedule and your login for the school's online enrollment. I have spoken with your tutors and they are all aware of your rather unusual experience. You were DJing in clubs at 14?" She asked looking at her transcripts. The brunette nodded. "So much experience yet an 8th-grade reading level." Lexa clenched her jaw. She had no idea what her life was like. She had told the brunette when she got there she wouldn't judge her but here was Abigail Griffin, judging her, just like everyone else.
"And finally a map of our campus." she smiled and Lexa nodded. Lexa accepted the map and stuffed it in her black leather backpack. She bit her lip awkwardly while she waited for the principle to dismiss her.
"You may leave Miss Woods, please do not disappoint me." Lexa nodded but clenched her jaw nevertheless. She knew this was her last chance, She did not need Abigail Griffin telling her otherwise.
She made her way to Marlowe House, her dorm room was located on the second floor of the building. There was no elevator even though the building counted 6 floors. She was lucky being on the second floor, even though she could use the workout. She unlocked the door and spotted two single beds. The room seemed abandoned.
"I must be alone." she hummed feeling pleased with the arrangement.
She put my bag on one of the beds as someone muttered behind her "Gosh I love your scarf." She turned around and frowned. "I'm Monty." Lexa nodded and sized up the girl standing before her. "Your roommate?" She said looking at the brunette's bags.
"Oh." Lexa uttered. "I apologize, is this your bed?"
"No." Monty answered sitting on the other end. Lexa gave her a curt nod and continued unpacking. "So...what's your name?" Monty asked and Lexa blushed embarrassed not having introduced herself. She turned around feeling flustered and said "Alexandria Woods, but you may call me Lexa."
Monty scratched her head. "Right...cool, nice to meet you." Lexa again only bowed her head acknowledging what the other girl had said but made no attempt in making any conversation. "So where are you from?" Monty tried again after letting silence settle for a few minutes. She was dangling her legs from the bed.
"Indianapolis."
Monty felt a bit awkward around the brunette. The girl was stoic and obviously did not engage in small talk. She was already dreading sharing a room with the newcomer. She sighed and nodded her head.
"Right, well it was nice to meet you. I'll see you around." Monty said leaving but Lexa did not respond. Monty sighed rolling her eyes. She felt frustrated.
"What a bitch." She muttered when she was walking through the hallway.
Meanwhile, Lexa had started unpacking and took out her clothes from her bag. She sighed hanging the few clothes she had on the coathanger. After she had unpacked everything, she took out a pack of cigarettes. Anya always mocked her for it. After she had unpacked everything, she took out a pack of cigarettes. Anya always mocked her for it.
"How can you be such a workout freak and then smoke?" She could hear her say. She could use the distraction, though. It's not like she smoked a lot, she only smoked one or two a day, just to take the edge off. She quickly took out the pack and made her way down stairs. She wasn't exactly sure what the school's policy on smoking was but she assumed it wasn't allowed as it wasn't in most schools. She found a solitary spot behind the building near the pond which was located to the left of the Marlowe house. It was nice but badly maintained, which is probably why it didn't attract many.
She tried to light her cigarette but the light stopped working. She let out a frustrated blow and shoved the now empty lighter in her backpocket. She stayed on the bank of the lake and even spotted a rotting wooden boat at the other side. The sun was setting soon but she did not feel like going back into her room. She settled on lying on her back.
Twenty minutes passed before she was rudely interrupted.
"Hello." a boy said looking down on her. Lexa sprang up and dusted off her clothes.
"Hello." She said, sizing up the boy. He had brown scruffy hair. A pair of goggles pressed down a few hair strands on his forehead. He smiled and had his hands stuffed in his bleached jeans.
"I'm Jasper." He held out his hand. She made the observation that people here seemed keen on welcoming newcomers. They obviously had no problem making social contact. She smiled.
"Lexa." She said making sure she did not make the same mistake as she did with Monty. "I'm from Indianapolis." She added and Jasper grinned, seemingly amused.
"Cool, you got a light, Lexa from Indianapolis?"
"No, unfortunately, my lighter is empty." She deplored. He seemed surprised and pursed his lips.
"You're new." It wasn't a question.
"It seems to be that way."
"You're not much of a talker are you?" He asked after quietly watching the sun set. Lexa gave him a pointed look and he raised his hands in defense. "I should head over to the dining hall, I won't be smoking tonight it seems." When he stood up he eyed her hesitantly and asked: "Would you want to join?" Lexa quirked an eyebrow. Was he hitting on her? "With friends." He added. "Look you're new right? Better break the ice sooner rather than later?" He made sense. It wouldn't be bad to know one person in this place. She nodded, surprising them both, headed to Eliot Hall where they were serving dinner. Tonight's special was Cajun salmon with avocado salsa.
"Guys this is Lexa." Jasper said as they sat down a nearby table. She recognized her roommate Monty sitting at the other side of the table and smiled shyly. They all greeted her.
Monty added, "She's my roommate, we've met." She said sounding slightly annoyed. Jasper looked surprised at the girl and furrowed his brows as if to ask what was up. Monty shrugged, silently asking Jasper to let it go.
"So Lexa what are you in for?" Octavia asked her.
"I'm sorry?" Lexa answered not understanding what Octavia was getting at.
"Your subject?"
"Oh. Music. I'm here studying music."
"Cool! I'm dance and so are Jasper and Clarke. Monty is visual arts, alongside Bellamy. Though Clarke used to visual arts as well, but she kind of quit doing two things at the same time. Oh and Raven does sound, lighting, set design, who knows what else?" Octavia was firing off names, Lexa did not know which belonged to who. She was also surprised at how forthcoming she was, basically making small talk not for one person but for five. She smirked a little amused by Octavia's attitude.
"So you do that classical shit?"
"Hardly. I enjoy classical music but I never studied it. There's a first time for everything, though." Lexa answered struck by her own frankness. She smiled inwardly, maybe this wasn't going to be so difficult after all. Octavia had an air to her which made Lexa feel at ease. She felt her own attitude coming back to her. She was never very talkative, and her nature wasn't gentle nor tender. "What kind of dance do you do?" Lexa asked. Octavia perked up.
"Well, we all have different styles to learn though we choose a specialty in later years. I do contemporary though the rest would like to do ballet." Lexa nodded and perked up an eyebrow at Jasper. His outfit completely contradicted his dancing style. She cursed herself for not being more perceptive.
"What just cause I'm a guy doesn't mean I cannot appreciate ballet? It gives you balance, strength, and discipline." Lexa smirked and agreed.
"I was merely surprised. I apologize." She smirked and Octavia started laughing.
It was going well, she enjoyed this group. They were nice and very funny. When Lexa was nearly finished with her meal a tense looking blonde sat down next to Raven. Green met blue. The blonde felt uncomfortable in the stare Lexa had trapped her in. She gulped. The new girl was gorgeous, though she clenched her jaw; Clarke Griffin didn't do distractions and this was probably just a temporary thing. Jasper tended to make a lot of acquaintances and Clarke didn't appreciate how Lexa stared at her. It was uncanny.
"Oh Clarke, finally you're here. This is Lexa." Octavia beamed, but Clarke frowned at her. This was why she had been summoned? Octavia had been texting her for an hour now, saying there was a surprise for her in the dining hall. How was this a surprise? Octavia knew how busy her schedule was. She felt annoyed. She didn't have time for this shit.
"Hi, how's it going?" she said looking right at Lexa. Lexa nodded smiling a little, trying not anger the tightly wound blonde, though she didn't know she had already accomplished just that. An awkward 5 minutes went by and Lexa rolled her eyes. God this girl really knew how to make a whole meal feel tense. The easy going vibe that they had going before was completely ruined. She was on her phone at all times and raised her nose at most things that were mentioned.
Clarke then stood up and said "Not that this isn't thrilling but I have to go."
"Clarke don't be rude." Octavia muttered.
"I'm not being rude. First you text me during my rehearsal, when you know how rude that is and then you beg me to come here, blowing off my second rehearsal to what? Meet this week's charity case? So you can make yourself feel better for being an ass most of the time? You know I don't have time for this. She's not exactly talkative anyways-" Clarke muttered that last sentence. She was just so stressed. She had barely any time to finish her summer project.
"What just cause she isn't kissing your ass?"
"That's not how it is." Clarke breathed in and closed her eyes. "Look I don't appreciate being summoned, just to meet some random girl we probably won't be friends with next week when you know how busy my schedule is. My deadline is the day after tomorrow. I thought this was important."
'Fuck me this is too much drama already.'
"Don't worry Princess I'm leaving." Lexa said standing up. She wasn't having any of it. A part of her, the insecure part believed that she was only a charity case and then cursed herself for getting comfortable and naive. The blonde or the group didn't genuinely like her? Fine, Lexa would return the favor. Clarke didn't have a lot of buttons one could push, calling her princess though was one of them.
"You did not just call me that?" Lexa sighed angrily. She felt word vomit gargling up.
"Why not? I'm surprised it's not stamped on your forehead." Lexa stood up and looked Clarke in the eye. "You're in my way sugarplump." The blonde widened her eyes. She then scoffed and stepped a few inches aside.
Lexa groaned silently when she left Eliot Hall.
She woke up the next morning with Monty banging against her bed. "What are you doing?" Lexa snapped as the other girl blushed.
"Sorry, there's a spider underneath my bed, I was just trying to get it." she stated and Lexa huffed dropping her head down on her pillow. She was not a morning person. "You better get ready, classes start in a half an hour." She closed her eyes and dreaded this first day. She did not want to do this.
She got up 15 minutes later and rushed into her clothes. She quickly made her way downstairs to the secretary's office.
"Hi I'm looking for auditorium 2B," she asked an older looking lady with glasses hanging down on her chest.
"Right here honey." she pointed to the map Lexa was holding. Musicology by Professor Meskins the timetable said as she sighed.
"Here we go." she muttered entering the auditorium.
She looked around and found no familiar face, a relief. After yesterday's dinner, she did not feel like dealing with the embarrassing aftermath.
'At least, I can get through this shit without anyone bothering me.'
The professor started speaking and even though she had promised herself to be attentive and take notes she found herself daydreaming as the professor rambled on about the motif in Carmen's Habanera.
"Here we go." Lei said filling the bag.
"Lei, are you sure this is wise? This isn't the most subtle way to do things." Lexa told him as he rolled his eyes. She was educating him.
"Its fine look; the alarm is off." he stated pointing at the door.
"Right." she mumbled waiting for him to clear out the cash as she heard sirens going off.
"What the fuck Lei I thought you said the alarm was off?" She hissed at him. He panicked.
"Come on!" She yelled and they started running away. They heard hastened footsteps follow them down the street. Lexa took another direction hiding from them as she saw the police closing in on Lei. She quickly made the decision to distract them from finding the boy. She banged on a car window which set off its alarm. 'She was not going to sacrifice one of her people, especially since she was supposed to be educating him.
Lei jumped over a fence as they tried to follow him. She started bashing more cars as several alarms were going off. It seemed to divert their interest.
Class finally finished as she started making her way out of the auditorium as fast as possible. A guys she had noticed entering earlier, stood in the doorway, and blocked her way. She rolled her eyes at their immaturity. She was astonished people like this still existed at the age of nineteen.
"You're new." He said smirking. This felt like high school.
"Are you going to let me pass or do you need your boyfriend's permission to do so?" She sassed knowing which buttons to push.
"He is not my boyfriend." he said defensively. She smirked and shook her head. Too easy.
She tried to pass, and when he did she hoped that was it. Jasper and Clarke were chatting. Lexa didn't notice the group of guys following her until she reached the duo. She looked behind her. Murphy and the others glanced at Clarke, then headed the other way.
"Fuck sakes." Lexa muttered.
"What was that about?" Jasper asked when Lexa walked by. She stopped in her tracks and considered ignoring him. Maybe she had been too quick to conclude what was going on before. Maybe the blonde was just an insecure bitch with a clique complex. Anything was possible.
"The male ego." Lexa shrugged.
"Well, at least they're gone now. Good thing Clarke is here, or they probably would've kept bothering you." Lexa eyed Clarke suspiciously. What skills could the blonde possibly posses to have guys like Murphy back down? "She's the principals daughter." Jasper added. Of course, she was.
Lexa raised her eyebrows knowingly. 'Well, now it all makes sense. The attitude, the clothes.'
Clarke was throwing daggers with her eyes. Lexa readjusted her backpack to straighten her posture. The blonde had obviously caught on to Lexa's attitude and wasn't impressed. She wasn't the princess everyone kept on suggesting she was. If they had any idea what it was like. Abby and Jake Griffin were two hippies who happened to excel in the arts, opened an art school and then tried to enforce their white politically correctness, which sounded more like middle-class ignorance than actual awareness, on their daughter and their students. Everyone else just thought how cool her mother was which was a testimony to the lack of diversity. Clarke was pissed. She couldn't stand this new girl. She couldn't really pinpoint why but the way the brunette stared was unsettling. It felt like she was reading her soul.
'Judgmental bitch.'
"You don't know anything about me." she said raising her head. Again Lexa raised an eyebrow, subtly but enough to communicate to Clarke she wasn't convinced. Clarke turned on her heels without another word and started working away. Jasper, on the other hand, was scratching the back of his head. He shuffled awkwardly and hid his hands in his pockets. There was a lot of distance between Jasper and Lexa as the brunette hadn't actually moved from her original position; which made it all quite unsettling.
"Look she just takes a while to warm up to." Lexa shrugged. She wasn't interested in the blonde or what her story was. Sure everyone had a reason for their imperfections and maybe if the blonde wasn't so particularly disconcerted around Lexa, they might have been peaceful acquaintances, even friends, but this was too much effort. She didn't need to be her friend.
"She puts a lot of pressure on herself. Her mother isn't exactly a walk in the park." He added trying to convince Lexa, Clarke wasn't all that bad. She was actually a really good friend once you got to know her. Lexa seemed to run into Clarke every time she had a stressful day, which in Lexa's defense were most days lately.
"It's okay Jasper, I don't need to be friends with everyone." She tried to reassure him and he gave her a tight smile.