𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏
[real life]
˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚⋆

for the past hour alessia had been waiting outside the school gates in the winter cold. she shivered in her ironed blazer and watched her fingernails begin to turn a concerning shade of purple.

alessia was overjoyed when ms. rachel, the year level coordinator, called for her in the middle of her math honors class yesterday and asked that she showed a few visiting parents around the school. "i trust that you're the right person to do it," ms. rachel had said with a wide smile, "as school captain, you can tell them about how much starline academy cares for its students, and how well we've set you up for success." alessia had smiled back and nodded along with so much fake enthusiasm she gave herself a neck cramp. she was slowly regretting her decision as she was currently feeling like she was about to get frostbite.

alessia jerks her head up at the sound of footsteps crunching on the dry grass. it was so early and the parking lot was still empty. all the redbrick buildings on campus were quiet, the windows closed, the clouds rising over the bare trees painted a soft watercolor pink.

there was no sign of any lost looking parents. instead, a terribly familiar face came into view, and out of habit all the muscles in her body began to tense. blue eyes, sharp features, and smile like a blade. that single, stupid strand of dark hair that kept falling over his forehead. the school blazer draped around his shoulders like he's posing for a high-fashion magazine.

chris sturniolo.

her cocaptain, and the most prominent source of pain in alessia's life. at the sight of him, she began to experience a rush of hate so pure. it's hard to believe that someone with such an awful personality could have such decent looks or that someone with decent looks could have such an awful personality.

chris was the equivalent of opening up a gift box with gorgeous silk ribbons and confetti and finding a rat inside.  the rat in question stops three solid feet away from alessia.

"you're early," he says in his usual slow drawl, as if he can barely be bothered delivering the whole sentence. in the entire decade alessia had been unfortunate enough to know him, chris has never started a single conversation with a proper greeting.

"earlier than you" she told him, like it was a major point of victory that she had been standing there so long she couldn't feel her toes.

"yes, well, i was busy with other things" chris said. "im busy too," alessa imediatley replied. "very busy. my whole morning has been filled with things, one urgent matter after another." chris just rolled his eyes at alessia's response, then began to smirk as he looked down at her.

"cold?"

"nope" she said through chattering teeth. "not at all"

"your skin is blue alessia"

"must be the lighting"

"you're also shaking"

"with anticipation" she insisted.

"you do realise we only needed to be here at 7:30, right?" he said, making a big deal of checking the time on his watch. she actually wouldn't be surprised if he was only checking the time for the  purpose of showing it off. "its 7:20 now, how long have you been out here?"

alessia ignores his question "of course i realise. i was there when ms. rachel told us." because after ms. rachel had given alessia her cheerful little speech about representing the school, chris had shown up in her office too, and to her annoyance, she'd given him the exact same task. alessia had then vowed that she would beat him in this; she would arrive to school way earlier, a hundred times more prepared, in case anyone else arrived early too, and make an incredible first impression on the parents before he could. she was aware that this isn't something that they'll be graded on, but that didn't matter.

in alessia's head she liked to keep a mental scoreboard of every test, competition, and opportunity in which chris and her had clashed since they were seven, complete with its own specific point system that makes sense only to her:

plus three points for earning one of mr. douglas's rare approving smiles.
plus five points for hitting a fundraiser goal.
plus six points for coming first in a tournament.
plus eight points for winning a class debate.
and as of now, chris was at 490 points, while alessia was at 495, thanks to the history test that she came first in last week.

"they better arrive soon" chris says, checking his watch again. "i dont wanna freeze."
alessia rolled her eyes. the world isn't made to serve you, she wanted to snap at him. but the world must have been made to laugh in her face, because right on cue, as if he's manifested them into existence, four cars roll into the parking lot. the doors click open, one by one, and a rich mom steps out from each vehicle. ready for the tour.

. . ౨ৎ . ׅ࣪ ⊹

helloo, first chap done!! <3
the school is also named after my user !!

- grace <3