Chapter Text
If there were two things I hated about Blackwell Academy, it was the football team and the fact that it was owned by the Prescott family, who seemed to own every single piece of Arcadia Bay they could get their grubby little hands on. I, like many of my fellow classmates and friends, despised the Prescott's along with their plans of my home. Now don't get me wrong, as much as I hate them and wish they were gone, I would never wish death upon any of them - well maybe Martin Prescott, but nobody else, I swear.
The one good thing that came out of the Prescott's owning Blackwell was the constant upkeep of the place. It was always immaculate despite the constant toilet paper fights and the never-ending "accidents" of students spilling their food or drinks. As I contemplated how clean the bathrooms were, I cranked my shower on and stripped, piling my clothes safely in the corner where the water would never reach it. Then, as if hit by a ray of sunshine, I stepped into the warmth of the shower and let out a slight sigh, fingers regaining feeling and body breaking out in pleasant little bumps.
"Did you see Max's jeans today? Talk about generic," a voice piped from outside my shower stall. Victoria Chase- the Blackwell Bitch, as Warren and I liked to call her. She was incredibly rich, incredibly stuck-up, and incredibly rude even if you weren't rude back. She owned the school alongside Nathan, and it was surprising that they were together and whipping everybody into doing their bidding.
I huffed a bit, massaging soap into my hair slowly as the listened to the conversation continue.
"Really - like she can't afford a decent pair of designer jeans or something. Have you seen her photography? She could be making loads of money but nope, she's here doing crappy classes with the rest of us," one of Victoria's bitches replied. It was Courtney, no doubt.
There was a brief pause, then Victoria spoke up in a slightly bitchier tone than before. "Do you think she's better at photography than me? Is that what you're saying?"
"What? No! I was just saying she could make tons of money but she's here. You're so much better than her at photography, trust me, but you're gonna be come famous and shit and not have to worry about money!" Courtney said quickly, trying to cover up her mistake.
I smirked, washing the soap off my body and out of my hair, and got dressed quickly, stepping out of the shower. "You two should really be careful who you gossip in front of - I heard everything and I'm gonna let Max know you think she could be making money of her photos, thanks!" I chimed cheerfully, shooting them both a cocky smile before leaving the showers. I made my way back to my dorm room casually, not worried about time or my first class considering it was just English and I was already acing it.
When I entered my room, I saw Warren digging through my desk frantically. "Jeez, Warren, couldn't even ask if I had what you're looking for? Nice to see you too, bro," I joked, hanging my towel on the back of my door and opening up my closet to scour it for clothes.
"Sorry, where's the flash drive I gave you? I promised Brooke I would let her use it." He tossed a book up onto the desk and kept searching through my stuff.
"You mean this one?" I asked, holding up the flash drive that had been sitting on the keyboard of my laptop. "You really have to learn not to look with your guy eyes, Warren. Here." He took it from me and smiled, hugging my shoulder and leaving quickly.
Warren was a pain in my ass, but he was my pain in the ass and he was older by a couple hours so I had to deal with him.
I got dressed and shoved my bag full of my stuff, slinging it over my chest. I tucked my phone into my pocket and left, making sure my room was locked before passing by Victoria who gave me a sour look and turned to mumble something to Taylor. I skip down the stairwell steps and shoulder open the door of the dorm, looking up at the sky which was a perfect peachy colour. The clouds were tinted purple and it looked like we could've been living in a candy coated world if it wasn't for all the bad shit that went on.
As I made my way to the main building, I passed by yet another poster of Rachel Amber, the missing girl of Blackwell. By now, everyone had to know who she was and if you didn't you would find out soon enough. After she disappeared, posters started plastering themselves all over Arcadia. It started at the school but eventually escalated to the streets and beyond. Once, I even caught a glimpse of one at the junkyard. Not surprising considering Chloe, Rachel's best friend, hung out there.
I stopped to admire one for a few seconds, taking in the picture of her. It truly was a pretty picture, and she was an even prettier girl in real life. Before she had gone missing, I had known her. Talked to a few times in classes and in the halls. I had even helped her stagger back to her dorm room after getting hammered at a Vortex Club party.
"Hey, Graham!" For a second, I thought someone was calling Warren, but then I realized they were calling me because Warren was with Brooke and I turned to see Nathan jogging towards me, varsity jacket hanging over his arm. I rolled my head back, preparing myself for the onslaughts of insults and taunting that was to follow.
"Hi, Nathan. What can I go for you today?" I asked, crossing my arms and hitching my thumb under the strap of my bag.
He glanced back and forth. "I hear you deliver sometimes, is that true?"
"Depends on what you're talking about, dude. Gotta be more specific or I have no clue what you're saying."
He grunted and shoved a bag into my hand, giving me a very serious, threatening look. "Just get this to the diner by five tonight, alright? I'll meet you there but if you don't show up, you're dead, got it? Don't steal my shit."
"I don't want to steal your shit, Nathan, I just need to know what it is," I said, pushing the bag back towards him. "If you don't tell me, I can't bring it to you."
"Fine. It's meds, alright? Just meds. Look if you want to, I don't give a fuck, just meet me at the diner for five. Got it?"
I shook my head and tucked the bag into my own, listening to the various pills rattle around in their bottles. "Sure, I got it. If this gets me in shit, though, you're dead."
He didn't reply, just started walking off like nothing happened.
I looked around, rubbing my jaw, and continued towards the school, dazed and confused by what had just happened. Yeah, Nathan was an ass and could be a real dick sometimes, but I knew he had issues and I knew shit was going down in his life so I wasn't really going to question when he asked me to do stuff for him. Once he even asked me to pick up some cupcakes from a bakery and gave me one for my work. He had a good side, I just wasn't sure how to get it to come out as often as I hoped it would.
Trekking to my first class, I settled into my desk and ran my fingers over the etching on the bottom of the tabletop, grinning as I felt the grooves and dips against my fingertips. I dug through my bag and popped out a few pieces of gum, chewing quickly and lifting my knees so they were pressed against the edge of the table.
"Ah, Sami, I see you decided to come early today," Ms. Grant said, setting a few folders down on her desk as she sat down.
"Yeah, I got up early for once," I laughed, blowing a bubble. "Hey, what're we doing in class today?"
She thought for a moment. "Well, I was considering telling you guys about some weird natural occurrences around the world today but I might just let you just fiddle about on your own. Some people haven't even handed in there last project - quite a few, actually."
I smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me." And honestly, I would do anything to get out of doing schoolwork. Straight As, a perfect attendance record, and some very good student reviews and I was on my way to being Blackwell's top student without even having to suck up to anyone, unlike Victoria who sucked up to Mr. Jefferson like it was nobody's business. Everyone knew she did, no one did anything about it.
Class filled up quickly and Ms. Grant decided to leave us alone, letting us mill about. I sat in silence, doodling.
If there was one thing I loved about Blackwell, it was the teachers and the days they decided to let us do whatever the hell we wanted.