[IC] Boarding School

[sweetserenity]

Diana Knowles was your typical girl. She had attended public schools throughout elementary, middle, and half of high school. She was involved in book club and student council. A fair amount of students knew her name, but then again, she was from a small town. At the end of the day, Diana was one who always blended in with the crowd. She had long, soft, brown hair and blue-grey eyes. Standing at about 5'4, she was pretty short. Overall, her life was normal.

That changed when her application to a private school somehow got mixed up with Lakemann's Boarding School For Boys. The most surprising part? She was accepted! Initially, she and her parents were going to withdraw her from the school, but after seeing many good reviews of the school online they reconsidered. To help her blend in, they cut her long brown hair short and got the shirt of the uniform in a bit bigger size to help hide her chest. She looked like a petite boy, but not a girl.

On move-in day, Diana arrived in a baggy hoodie and basketball shorts. She filed through the line to get her room key and schedule. She was not only a rookie in the sense that she was attending a boarding school for the first time, but also that she wasn't even a ninth grader. She was going into eleventh grade- meaning the other students her age already knew each other and had their own friend groups. Swallowing down her nervousness, she walked to her room which was located on the fifth floor.

"Why does my room have to be on the top floor?" She mumbled to herself as she went up the long stairway along with some other people. Finally, she reached the top. She walked down the hallway until she found her room: room 5-10B. Slowly, she opened the door and saw that her roommate was already there.

[firestar64]

There he was. The most popular guy at school, including being from the richest family at this school. He made himself look good. For his reputation and his family's. So he did almost everything right and perfect. Almost. It didn't mean he didn't sneak out and do things that were risky. But even then he didn't do that often just to be sure his reputation didn't fall. So he was nervous about this new roommate. what if this guy just ruined it? Derek did bring girls over sometimes and didn't want him to be told on.

Derek was stressing out as he laid on his bed shirtless. "Fuck." He muttered sitting up freaking out. Worse comes to worse he could just stop everything if this roommate was a snitch. No he didnt want to. He got up from his bed and went to the mirror. He stared himself. Derek was a good looking kid. The kid got his good looks from his father who was a handsome older man and his mom who use to model in her twentys. He had light blonde hair, a sharp jawline, dark blue eyes like the ocean and stood up to be 6'1. "Don't stress out.." he muttered to himself.

As he was staring at himself he saw he had a scratch on his chest. That was from last night when he jumped over the fence from the cops last night. He smiled feeling great from that. But what if he had to stop that? Derek had a strong idea. "No, I'm going to make them not say anything." He said. Suddenly the door opened and he looked back, seeing his small ass roommate. oh my god I don't even have to worry he laughed quietly while he grabbed a shirt. "Hey man." He said.

[firestar64]

It's not my best post I'm on my phone doing this! I'll do better when I get home(:

[sweetserenity]

Diana blushed lightly, feeling embarrassed since she walked in on him shirtless. She was the sort of girl who'd get flustered from simply wearing a bikini at the beach. Diana, stop being so awkward! she thought to herself. Act like a 17 year old boy, goddamnit!

Straightening up, she spoke, "Hey. I'm Damien." She had to consciously tell herself to speak in a lower voice than usual. Whether she sounded sick or like a middle school boy was up to interpretation. But hey, at least she didn't sound absurdly feminine.

She walked over the bed which didn't have tousled covers, presuming it to be hers, and lifted her suitcase onto it. Unzipping it, she was very self conscious about how she was doing things. This is going to be harder than I thought... She opened the suitcase and started hanging her clothes in the empty wardrobe. Aside from the school uniform, she had a black suit for formal occasions, a few t-shirts, and various other items of clothing for different seasons and weather conditions. All clothes were from the men's section of stores and websites.

At the bottom of her suitcase, hidden in a small cardboard box, was a bunch of tampons. It was her mom's idea to hide them there. The issue was that there was only enough to last the next couple months, so eventually she'd have to figure out a way to discreetly get some more. Other things at the bottom of her suitcase included a couple books and some money.

[sweetserenity]

It was a good post! I like how you gave him a different personality than the basic 'nice guy'. It leaves way more room for little conflicts between the two and character development. :)

[firestar64]

"Hey I'm Derek Walton." Derek gave a quick introduction. He was use to people knowing his last name because of his fathers good name with the IPod industry. The kid seemed to be wrapped in his own world, let alone snitching him out. He was small as hell, so he wouldn't be that hard to scare if it did come to Derek threatening him. But all of the stress was lifted off of his shoulders. He did want to know a little more about his roommate since he was stuck with him. He knew just how to do it. "Hey I'm going to get lunch soon outside of the school since it Saturday do you want to go? I'm paying for everyone." He offered. He wanted to see this guys body language and how he would react. He was very good at observing people, knowing what small movements truly meant and it scared most people.

Suddenly his phone gave a small buzz, it was a girl that asked if she could hangout with him. He stared at his phone as he began to reply to her inviting a few more girls to sort of give off the vibe that this girl wasn't the only one that would get his attention. He was awful like that, but he didn't care. Plus it benefited him when people didn't know his relationship status.

[firestar64]

Oh good(: I'm glad! Also I love to post as much as I can so I don't think you'll have to worry about me posting once a day, or even flaking out!

[sweetserenity]

"Paying for everyone? Other people are coming too?" Diana inquired as she slid the now mostly empty suitcase under her bed. She wasn't the most sociable person in the world. She was equipped with a very good brain but an awkward mouth. Back at home, her friends would often have to drag her to parties and other social events. Thinking for a bit, she figured going out now would be a good way to become familiar with the town and meet new people. It really would be sad if she just stayed to herself her whole time here. All she hoped was that she'd at least make a good first impression on the other people.

After a couple moments, she finally said, "I'm down. But you don't have to pay for me, you really don't, I have money of my own." In her mind, she cringed at herself. That was too polite of an offer; something one wouldn't except from a guy her age. Oh well, it could have been worse. She ran her fingers through her short hair and looked up at Derek.

[firestar64]

Derek just nodded since he wasn't really paying attention to him. "Okay cool let's go then." He said standing up, putting his phone in his wallet and grabbing his wallet. Derek went to the mirror for a quick look and just looked back at Damien. "We have a few people coming. It's not a lot." He said. Then again, Derek was use to a lot of people hanging out with him so this group of seven guys and two girls wasn't a lot for him.

"Derek!" A guys voice yelled outside of their door. He barged right in with the other guys coming and stopped when they saw Damien. "You have a newbie?" One of them asked. Derek glanced over at his small new roommate and just nodded.

"Damien, this is Jason, Michael, Jasper, Alvin, Harry, David, and Baylor." He introduced his friends to his new roommate. They were all tall, and muscular guys who made Damien look small.

[sweetserenity]

As soon as seven guys came in, her eyes widened. That wasn't a small group of people to her. "Hey guys," she said, still making a conscious effort to speak in a lower voice. Looking up at them, she felt slightly intimidated. Was everybody at this school super tall? "As Derek said, I'm Damien. I'm from Hagsbe, you know, that small town that's about 50 miles away from here?" Wait, crap, no! Since it's small they probably don't know about it!

She grabbed her phone and some money she had previously put on her nightstand and slid them into her short's pocket. It was weird having such big pockets compared to the tiny ones she was used to.

She turned back to them. Wanting to make them laugh, she remarked with a little chuckle, "I already forgot all of your names. All freakin' seven of them."

[firestar64]

Derek looked over at her from the guys. "I know about that town. I have a cousin that lives there. She's the one with the mansion up Deerroad." Derek said. The other guys just shook their heads not knowing what that was since they haven't ever been in a small town before except driving through some to get to this school. When she said that, they gave a few laughs trying to be polite. "Don't worry you'll remember their names." He said leading everyone out of the room since it was full with seven guys in there.

"Oh shit are we meeting up with Cadence and Jennifer?" One of them asked smiling. Derek just grinned as he was walking. All of them did a loud ohhhhh sound.

"Derek likes the girl Cadence." Harry told Damien smiling.

"I don't like her." Derek defended himself. He did, but he didn't want to admit that to them or himself.

"You'll see he's full of shit." Harry smirked and looked at Damien again. "Bro you're short as fuck. I feel like I'm going to crush you." He said while all of the guys looked back.

[sweetserenity]

She had to admit she was surprised girls were coming along. For some reason she must have thought they were illegal or something to all the boys at the school. "Oh, yay, girls!" She exclaimed, probably sounding like the biggest dork on the planet. She cleared her throat and quickly moved on.

"If you like Cadence, then just ask her out on a date, dude," she said, looking up at Derek. She knew she'd hate it if a guy liked her but was too wimpy to ask her out. "If she says no, then whatever. But she'll still appreciate it... unless she hates you. Then she'd just hate you more." She chuckled.

Her attention turned to Harry. "And you, you're so tall you must be half-Godzilla. Same with the rest of you." She laughed. "Hey, maybe Jennifer and Cadence will like me because I'm short? You never know."

[firestar64]

"I am not going to ask her out, and it's not like I am too scared." Derek defended himself because it really wasn't because he was too scared. In fact, he just couldn't take relationships seriously because of him growing up with his parents. He couldn't help but hate relationships because watching his parents hate each other but remain married ruined the idea of marriage, and love for him. He liked the sex but it was a personal problem he had to deal with. A lot of girls hate him for that. Not really a time to be thinking about this, but when it came to his parent's and dating the topic just brought itself up in his head. He didn't want to be tied down to someone, or even be committed to someone. Some people thought he was gay because he was never in a relationship. A sigh escaped his lips with that frustration and rumors he had to shut down.

"Yeah we are fucking tall aren't we?" Harry laughed along with the rest of them. "Maybe Cadence will like him because he is short, but she's tall." Harry said to tease Derek who wasn't even listening. He started to think about his parent's marriage and everything. "Derek? Mate?" He hit his arm, wondering if he was even listening. Derek looked up, confused. "Oh you're thinking about Cadence aren't you?" Harry laughed. They all started to tease him.

"Yeah.." Derek forced out a laugh as they were near the shop

[sweetserenity]

Diana smiled as she watched Harry and the other boys tease Derek. Like Harry, she had noticed Derek space out, but when he said he was just thinking about Cadence she let it slide. Personally, she hadn't had much experience with crushes. Most of the guys at her school were idiotic druggies who made the bathrooms and parking lot reek of weed. The other guys were athletes who only cared about the hottest girls, which Diana disapproved of. She didn't like being so cliché, but why like somebody solely for their body? Not only is that shallow, but bodies and looks are very temporary. Hotness will fade away over time after people start hitting big age milestones.

She wondered how Cadence and Jennifer will perceive her. Sure, she's short, but will they find her attractive despite her true gender being a girl? Diana smiled a bit to herself and shook her head. She was getting a little deep. They approached the building and Diana opened the door. Immediately, she was hit with the scent of coffee and cinnamon. She stepped forward to provide room for the boys to come in behind her. Her eyes scanned the area, trying to figure out who and where on earth Jennifer and Cadence were.

[firestar64]

When they entered, a tall white girl stood up from one of the tables. She had long blonde hair that went to her waist and nice blue grey eyes. That was candence, the boys around derek made it obvious. She had a petite figure which most of the guys in Derek's group made them like her a lot but he didn't really seem to care about her figure. If she was chubby or not, he didn't care. Why am I thinking so much? He asked himself. He was Just in a thoughtful mood. Cadence came over and hugged him throwing her arms around his neck.

"I thought you weren't coming like last time." Cadence said smiling as she let go of him. Her friend came over too. "Oh, who's that?" She asked pointing to Damien curious. She pushed past the boys as if noticing something different. "I don't think I've seen you around, you must be new." Cadence said smiling kindly.

[sweetserenity]

Diana smiled gently at both of them. Cadence was taller than her while Jennifer was about the same height. It was nice no longer being the sole short one. "Hi, I'm Damien, Derek's new roommate," she greeted. "I'm from Hagsbe, if you know that town. If you don't, I'm from the Bahamas." She chuckled, once again trying to make these people she just met laugh.

The group of teens walked over to the table the girls had reserved. Looking around, Diana was impressed with the place. It was very homey. The walls were wooden and fairy lights were strung around them. The loudness of the room was very moderate- not too loud and not too soft. Quiet classic music played in the background. Sitting at a table near the group was a couple and their baby. Diana looked at the baby and gave them a little wave, causing them to giggle. She then looked back at the group. "This is a lov-" she was about to say lovely, but caught herself. "-cool place. Do you guys come here often?"

[firestar64]

Derek had Cadence around his arm as they all sat down around the table that was big enough for them. She was watching Diana though which obviously caught Derek's attention. "Is something wrong Cadence?" He asked the girl who was wrapped all over him.

"No, I just kept help but say your roommate is super cute." Cadence said. Maybe she was trying to bother Derek but Derek stopped paying attention when a girl came up to them asking them what they wanted to order. "Can I just have a water? I've sort of been gaining weight so I don't want to eat anything from here, it's all unhealthy." She said. The waiter blinked with surprised. Derek pulled his arm away from her when she said that, more annoyed that she would. All of the group started to tell her she was beautiful and she wasn't gaining any weight.

"What do you want Damien?" Derek asked not giving Cadence a compliment since she already knew how beautiful she was and only did it for attention.

Ohh what if Cadence knew Diana in middle school?

[sweetserenity]

(Ooh yes that's a neat idea! But she should only think Diana looks familiar, at least for now. It would be kinda funny if she didn't say anything until after Derek already learned of her secret.)

Diana, of course, was one of the people to reassure Cadence of her beautiful appearance. "Don't say that about yourself! You're pretty," She reassured her. Then she looked up at the waitress and said, "I'll have a coke, please." The waitress nodded and jotted that down on her note pad. The other boys shared their orders as well, which she also wrote down. Then she handed out the menus.

"I'll be back soon to take your orders," she remarked before walking off.

(Sorry for the short post, busy right now)

[firestar64]

Derek still didn't say anything about her appearance. That seemed so desperate to him. Maybe he didn't like her as much as he thought he did just because of that. He ordered after everyone else did. Cadence noticed he didn't say anything to her, so she slowly wrapped her arms around his biceps and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Damien I must say you look like an old friend of mine I use to be good friends with in middle school. Her name was Diana, and we would play on the swings everyday together." She said not taking her eyes off of her but with a gentle toned voice. Derek looked up at her.

(It's okay me too!)

[sweetserenity]

Diana's breath hitched. Playing it off, she was like, "Oh, cool! I have a cousin named Diana, she's like, twenty years old though." She smiled at Cadence, then looked up to Derek and made brief eye contact with him before looking back down at the menu. She was going back down memory line, trying to remember Cadence. It took a few moments, but then she remembered.

She and Cadence were friends way back in first and second grade. Inseparable, in fact. It all started when some kid brought in cupcakes as his birthday treat for the class. He had some left over and insisted on playing a round of 'Heads Up Seven Up' to determine who got an extra cupcake. Cadence and Diana were the only ones to be successful. Since then, they called themselves 'The Cupcake Girls' until they eventually drifted apart after two years.

Diana drummed her fingers on the table, bringing herself back into reality. She found something that looked good on the menu right as the waitress walked up with their beverages. "The water.. the coke..." she spoke the drinks as she placed them in front of their respective people. After delivering all the drinks, she whipped out her notepad again. "Are we ready to order or do you need another minute?"