Surprisingly, the rest of the school day went by uneventfully.
None of Elaine and her crew were in Tawny's third and fourth period classes, so she did her best to fit in with the other students. It certainly helped that Maddie was by her side the rest of the day.
To everyone else, Maddie was essentially invisible. Though she was wealthy like the others, her social status was low, so she was regarded with a cool indifference and by association, so was Tawny.
But Tawny didn't care; after the nightmare morning she endured, NOT being the centre of the attention was way better than being vilified with a bullseye on her back.
As soon as the bell rang signaling the end of school, everyone filed out into the hallways, students and faculty alike. Tawny was dizzy, mesmerized by all the faces of peers she would eventually meet and interact with.
Maddie looped her arm around hers so she wouldn't get lost in the sea of bodies making their way to their lockers.
"Yeah, it takes some getting used to," Maddie said, as though reading Tawny's mind. "Ivoree Gates has over 1000 students; they technically start admitting students as early as the sixth grade..."
As Maddie proceeded to give Tawny a makeshift tour, her eyes locked on to Professor McCurdy as he left one of the classrooms. The only other person on campus that treated her like a human being aside from Maddie. I wonder if I have any classes with him...
Distracted, Tawny wasn't paying attention where she was walking, and as she turned the corner she bumped right into Elaine, knocking them both to the ground. Of course, she was flanked on both sides by her evil friends, Elizabeth and Violet.
"Uggh!" Elaine cried as she hit the floor, then stared daggers into Tawny's eyes when she saw who was responsible. "Why don't you watch where you're going, clumsy peasant?!"
"It was just an accident, Elaine," said Maddie, helping Tawny back to her feet.
Violet and Elizabeth each grabbed one of Elaine's hands and helped her to stand. "Right, just like it was mistake that I'd be saddled with such an unsightly loser as a roommate. We may both wear the Ivoree Gates colours but that makes us NOTHING alike."
Tawny brushed herself off. "Yeah...that's for sure..." she muttered under her breath.
Elaine then got right up into her face. "What did you say to me?"
"Uh..." Tawny began to sweat.
She hated confrontations; even when she knew she was in the right, she couldn't argue herself out of a paper bag. She was so bad that when she joined the Debate team at her old school, her teacher had given her extra credit just to drop out.
Elaine pointed a well-manicured digit harshly at Tawny's chest and glared at her icily. "You need to learn your place, TAWDRY. Or I'm going to have to put you there myself..."
Suddenly, a high-pitched screech came from someone on the other end of the hall. "It's him...he's here!" the girl cried.
This kicked off a series of high-pitched squealing from every other girl in the hall aside from Maddie and Tawny.
Even Elaine started to fan herself with the hand she used just a second ago to threaten Tawny. "OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod....!"
Like Moses parting the Red Sea, everyone backed up against a wall as a young man walked down the hall.
Tawny's eyes widened; she recognized that guy! He was the one she bumped into after lunch earlier in the day.
Maddie dragged Tawny to stand next beside the lockers. "Stay back," she warned. "You want absolutely no part of this."
As the boy walked, the female students on either side of the walls began screaming and hyperventilating, as though he were some teenage heartthrob celebrity.
Directly behind him were a group of teenage girls, all dressed in French maid outfits, their eyes cast down to the ground.
"Who the heck is THAT?" Tawny whispered to Maddie.
"That...is Dylan Westinghouse," replied Maddie. "And trust me: you do not want to get on his bad side. He basically runs this school. Well, his entire family does. The Westinghouses have been coming to Ivoree Gates since the very beginning. We're talking OLD, OLD money. The girls here go crazy for him."
"And you don't?" asked Tawny.
Maddie rolled her eyes. "Please. Let's just say...he's not my type."
"Who are those girls behind him?"
Maddie exhaled. "The saddest thing you'll ever see on the Ivoree Gates campus: The Dylan-tantes. They're the most depraved group of Dylan stans in that they would do literally anything to be close to him."
As the procession of Dylan and his entourage reached the opposite end of the hallway, Elaine dared to leave the safety of the walls to approach him.
"Hi Dylan," replied Elaine. "You are looking extra hot today."
Dylan paused for a half-second to look at, Elaine, and flashed her a smirk, then proceeded on his way.
"He smiled at me...Dylan smiled at me....! Catch me, girls...." Elaine brought a hand to her forehead and swooned; Elizabeth and Violet caught her just as she fainted.
Then Dylan passed Tawny. Their eyes locked for a brief second, and he must have recognized them from their encounter earlier in the day.
Tawny held her breath. Dylan regarded her carefully, as he ran his hands through his wavy hair, then disappeared briskly around the corner.
Tawny exhaled as she watched the Dylan-tantes trail behind him. "How did those girls get in that position?"
Maddie gripped onto Tawny and gently patted her shoulder. "Trust me. You don't wanna know."281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93vJs7ClAW
