Hallway Greetings

Back at Eagle Crest Academy, the excitement finally seemed to fade as the formalities of homeroom suddenly kicked in. After what felt like hours of basic direction and stricter rules than most students would like, the teens finally got a chance to stretch their feet as they were shown their locker assignments.

Mason, for one, enjoyed the slower and quieter pace. The snickers and whispers due to the Triple-B’s didn’t stop as he first made his way to morning class. This couldn’t be further from how he pictured his first day going. His homeroom class had a few familiar faces, but not anyone he regularly associates with. That caught him even more off guard when a curious girl he was unfamiliar with approached him once in the hall.

“Mason Anderson, senior, future wrestling team captain, 6’1’’ 184 lbs., currently a 4-star athlete with potential D1 scholarships… Should I go on?”

The suddenly creeped-out teen wished with everything in his soul that she wouldn’t. He’s pretty sure he forgot to blink as he just stared at this stranger who was reading off his stats like it was on the back of a Wheaties box. Once the stranger danger wore off, he noticed that this girl, while quite intense, had a unique beauty. Her concentrated look and slight mischievous grin made the guy unsure if she was possibly interested in him or staring at him like her next meal. Almost like a shark may look at its prey.

The forward girl seemed to take a bit of joy in his squirming as she studied everything about the guy. As if it wasn’t bad enough that she scarily knew all about him, she measured the guy and his movements as if she were the final judge of what kind of guy or athlete he may be. The beautiful and curvy girl, who looked quite athletic in her own sense, ran both hands through her violet-dyed dark hair before pulling a scrunchie off her wrist and tightly pulling her wild, shoulder-length mane into a ponytail.

Mason’s eyes couldn’t help but trace down from her hands to her toned arms and shoulders then furthermore to her fit hourglass body. It was then that he seemed to catch himself and quickly darted his eyes back up to the girl’s face, which now had a satisfied grin plastered on it.

“My name is Cecily, but most call me Cici. I’m sure you were just getting around to asking that, right?” the bold girl added with a chuckle and a wink, her confidence growing by the second.

Mason wasn’t sure what was happening on the first morning of school, but at this rate, it would also be his last. ‘Get a grip, man! ' he scolded himself and tried to figuratively shake out the cobwebs. Maybe this is just a heaping dose of karma for having had so much to drink the night before, but the girls of Eagle Crest are certainly not taking it easy on him.

“It’s good to meet you, Cici, even if you somehow know more about me than I do myself. Any chance I can get a raincheck before you get to my social security number and blood type?” He added dryly, still not sure how he even found himself in this awkward introduction. Cici grinned, now knowing that the guy seemed able to think on his feet. It’s not like she minded catching him checking her out. She’d certainly done the same but was much more sly about it. The attractive teen gave him a half nod as she opened her notebook and began scribbling something down. She then tore off the corner of the sheet that she had written on and slowly pressed it into his hand.

“Well, I was eventually getting to some info that you might find helpful. Now, it just might cost you a coffee date to hear the rest. Text my number once the curiosity starts to eat you alive. Oh, and Mason, you aren’t the only athlete I’ve been studying around here.” Cici said as she began to walk past him, maybe a bit colder than she had been moments before. “I just had more fun learning about you.” She said as the confident smirk reappeared, and she began to trot down the hall, quite sure that his eyes were glued on her every step.

Fiona took the time to look around and observe each of her new classmates. Although they're all dressed in matching school uniforms, they have unique personalities and styles to explore. She picked up her locker assignment, unloaded her books, and decorated her new space. She was pleasantly startled when she saw a familiar face at the locker beside hers, a face that wasn't as surprised to see her as he was currently letting on.

*Moments earlier*

" Blake! Dude… You're the best! " Drew excitedly explained as he thanked his teammate before rushing towards homeroom. He could already tell that the challenge of Fiona Townsend wasn't going to be an easy one and he was going to have to pull out all stops if he had a chance to win her over.

*Current time*

" Whoa… Fiona, right? What are the chances of our lockers being next to each other? It looks like you've stuck with me all year. " The tall guy chirped with a welcoming grin. The sweet blonde girl gave him a bit of a puzzled look that was quickly cutting into his confidence.

“Please do forgive me, but have we met?” Fiona asked back to the guy currently trying to hide the crushing feeling inside his stomach. Her serious expression proved too challenging to keep up as her face broke into a beautiful smile followed by a giggling fit. “I’m just messing with you, Andrew,” Fiona admitted as Drew tried to hide the deep breath of relief and reddened cheeks. He then found himself hiding the smile as she said his name in her delightful British accent. “I’m quite relieved to have a familiar face nearby. Even if we just met about an hour ago. The odds must be in our favor.” Fiona said with her genuine and seductive smile still plastered across her face before she realized how geeky it sounded to use a book quote out loud to an attractive guy at that. She was actually proud of herself for trying to mess with the guy before her inner nerd seemed to peek out. She was luckily saved from herself by a newcomer. Drew wasn’t quite so lucky.

" Yes, Andrew, what are the chances?" A suspicious Jocelyn butted in as she was inspecting her locker, which happened to be on the other side of Fiona’s. " As it appears, every other student seems to be in alphabetical order, so just how is it that you ended up here?" The serious girl said, barely containing the snarl in her voice. “The last three years, I’ve had to put up with that dimwitted jock Blake Tompsen, and now suddenly, You’re here. Wait… He happens to be a teammate of yours, right? It’s almost like it’s all connected, isn’t it, Mr. Murphy? With an M…”

Drew took a quick swallow, suddenly feeling more pressure than at the free-throw line for a game-winning shot. He noticed both girls' eyes locked on him, waiting intently for his response.

“Who’s to say, really? With all of the changes involved with both schools combining, there’s bound to be some errors, right?” Drew nervously replied as he gauged both girl's faces to see if they bought it. Jocelyn’s harsh eye roll seemed to confirm that she certainly didn’t, as Fiona’s lips curled ever so lightly. ‘Her very sexy lips,’ Drew found himself thinking, while nearly forgetting the mess he was currently in. Luckily, Drew was saved from said mess that he had created with another new addition in the hall. Actually… lucky couldn’t be further from the word.

Scotty was still in high spirits, even if he had nodded off during most of the introductory homeroom. When the bell rang, he was one of the first in the hallway, making his way toward his locker assignment. He was much less interested in decorating his locker than surveying all the new girls at the academy—he wasn’t the only one who took part in this ritual.

Alex Perez thought lockers were a ‘meaningless tether to the world, and life was more interesting when navigated with only limitations of the physical constructs that could be carried on one’s body.’ Yes, Alex is a bit odd. So he skipped even locating his and headed straight out to find Scotty.

So… Scotty didn’t agree with every belief of Alex’s, but his best friend’s open-mindedness certainly did make his schemes more achievable. At this moment, he appreciated the guy’s spirit as Alex somehow made it across campus to Scotty’s locker at an impressive speed. Alex was distracted momentarily by a couple of cute girls waving at him before he was finally at Scotty’s side.

“Isn’t it great to be back?” The cheerful young man exclaimed. Scotty played it a bit more cool as he huffed.

“It would be a lot better if we were the ones getting some action instead of Drew and Mason. We have to step our game up, my friend. Even opening day seemed to be a bust. A challenge certainly never scared us off before!” Scotty said as the cockiness started to return to his voice. Alex’s shoulders dropped a bit as he could already sense his best friend’s next ridiculous scheme coming.

Scotty started to explain one of the many plans he had devised over the summer before a sight took the words straight out of his mouth.

Walking down the hall was one of the hottest girls Scotty had ever seen. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly, but there was something different about her. She was a petite young woman with curly brown hair and bronzed skin that likely came from a summer lounging around a pool or ocean. Her yellow sundress was of modest length but just short enough to show off her killer legs. Under her sundress, from what Scotty could make out, was a tiny waist with great curves and medium-sized breasts that sat perfectly on her body. She had large hazel eyes and showed flashes of a gorgeous smile as she passed some fellow students in the hall. She was currently walking by herself, but she didn’t seem lost or intimidated in the least. She walked with a purpose and glided more so than simply walked as far as Scotty was concerned. Scotty is far from unfamiliar with pretty girls and usually had pretty decent luck in the category. His usual first step is to play it cool for a while before making a move, but there is no way he will let this opportunity pass. He suddenly excused himself from Alex, who was currently mid-sentence, before now finding himself talking to air. He turned and also caught a glance of what must have stolen his friend’s attention.

“Welcome to Eagle Crest, sweetheart. I don’t usually bother myself with greeting the new students, but you looked like you could use the help of an expert. I’m Scotty Driggers.” He boasted with an outstretched hand. The startled girl shook his hand hesitantly and started to say something as the brazen guy continued. “Don’t waste your time with the normal tours; I can show you all of the best parts of the school and maybe some of the private ones as well…” Scotty was just getting into his groove, as far as he was concerned when he could hear Alex attempting to get his attention. It wasn’t like his pal to cock block him, but with how hot this new student was, he honestly didn’t blame the guy. It simply made him all the more determined to strike first. The striking woman had a hard-to-read look on her face as she hadn’t shown any sign that his smooth-talking was working but hadn’t told him to fuck off yet, either. She looked as if she wasn’t sure what to say. After a couple more moments of describing the school and atmosphere to her, Scotty decided it was time to step it up a bit. “I’m sorry. I’m trying my best to help you out here, but I just can’t help but be distracted by the beautiful dress that you’re wearing. How about we continue this tour after school so I can figure out what it’s going to take to talk you out of it?”

The young woman froze in place as a look of shock spread across her face as all she could do was stare in bewilderment at the cocky student. Alex’s mouth shot open with concern instead of his usual entertained smile when Scotty was laying it on thick. Scotty didn’t take much longer to catch on to the fact that this wasn’t quite going as expected. While Scotty was taking in every detail about the mysterious girl’s new looks, he seemed to miss one minor detail… the staff badge around her neck.

Drew felt more relieved than words could describe as he saw Jocelyn’s attention shift. He wasn’t quite sure who was to thank for getting him off the hook until he heard a voice that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

The first day was going as expected for the popular girl. Students fawning over her at every turn, half of whom she’d swear she’d never seen before in her life. She continued her annoyed act, although she fed off the attention. The real annoyance didn’t hit until she saw her ex talking to the same blonde-haired girl she had seen him drooling over a day before. Hazel Hightower figured it was the perfect time to let this girl know who runs things around here. It wasn’t until she was nearly to the unexpected girl, that she heard the accent.

“Can you believe it, Natalie? As if this shit hole of an academy wasn’t bad enough already, they are now accepting strays from anywhere.” Hazel nearly snarled out just loud enough for some to hear before suddenly addressing Fiona in a fake and condescending tone. “Let me guess… You must be one of Eagle Crest’s new scholarship students.” Hazel announced in a way that was hard for Fiona to read.

“Um, yeah, I am, actually. I’m so blessed to be here.” Fiona replied in a sweet and authentic way, although she was a bit uneasy by the girl who addressed her out of nowhere.

“Well, you may want to tone down the gratitude, Mary Poppins. No one’s asking for an acceptance speech.” Hazel aggressively stated, which caught the poor girl off guard. Drew realized that this would only get worse unless he tried to intervene.

“Hazel, I think you’ve said enough. Fiona has plenty to adjust to here without having to deal with any of this.”

Drew’s words had the opposite effect as the stuck-up girl’s lips curled upwards, and she focused her sight on him now. “You know Andrew, I’m not sure if I should be insulted that you’ve downgraded from me to this. Or if I should take it as a sort of compliment. I knew you’d have trouble replacing me. I never figured you’d have to cross oceans just to find a girl who doesn’t know how I cast you aside.”

“For fuck’s sake, Hazel. What do you even get from this shit?!” Jocelyn hollered at the bullying girl who had yet even to notice her standing there.”

“I didn’t notice you there without your nun outfit, Mother Theresa. Similar to cock, this is something you simply wouldn’t understand.” Hazel sneered.

At this point, the girls were getting a bit loud, and Natalie and Jocelyn even shared words. It drew the attention of many other students as they gathered around. Alicia was joking with a couple of students from the student council when she noticed the commotion. It took mere seconds to see the cause and that poor Fiona seemed to be the target. Luckily, Alicia wasn’t intimidated in the least by the mean girl.

“Didn’t you get the memo, Hazel? Raging cunt was so last year!” Alicia boldly stated as she stepped in between Fiona and Hazel

“Just like those hooker eyelashes you’re wearing,” A new voice added that gained several snickers at Hazel’s expense before they looked away at Hazel’s furious glares. The voice belonged to Malia, who sided up on the other side of Alicia, and she gave Fiona a friendly wink.

Hazel was a stubborn type who rarely backed down. But when she faced off against the unlikely trio of Alicia, Jocelyn, and Fiona, she realized she might want to withdraw to fight another day. She weaponizes words after all, and this is starting to take a turn towards a potential altercation. She was saved from the embarrassment when a couple of teachers finally broke the tension and sent everyone on their way. Alicia gave Fiona a polite pat on the shoulder as she used her other hand to flick off the retreating Hazel. An action that got her further scolded by a teacher with the threat of detention.

“Don’t worry, babes. That bitter bitch will know better than to try you. Better yet, maybe we teach her a lesson in manners.” Malia said to the overwhelmed Fiona. “I’ll catch you in the dorms later to fill you in.”

Drew caught eyes with Fiona as he was being pushed by the mob in the opposite direction. He gave her a small, regretful smile and waved goodbye. He couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible for it all. The guilt ate him up as he walked to his next class. His thoughts consumed him as he sulked with his head down. That was until a door opened to his side, and a small hand grabbed his wrist firmly and yanked him into a dark room. Before he had a chance to fight off his surprise attacker, he felt a pair of soft female lips push into his.