Stephanie96 — Roleplayer Guild

Celia glanced up as Seth offered her the plastic cup. She hadn't even realised he'd moved; she'd been so wrapped up in her own thoughts. Brushing off her knees and straightening her dress, she got to her feet. Penny was laying down, her tongue lolling out of her mouth in a dopey way. Celia took the cup from Seth with a smile.

"Sorry. Guess I didn't sleep too well last night, thats all." She began to wonder over towards the table of food and drinks with him. Picking up a small plastic bowl, she filled it with water and set it on the floor, calling Penny over to drink from it. "So, how are you enjoying being back at work?"

Around her, Celia noted that more and more of the students and staff were walking past, soaked from head to toe. No doubt, they'd become victims of Acacia's dunk tank. The girl was forever coming up with clever and amusing ways for people to enjoy themselves and, on this particular scorcher of a day, Celia thought that the dunk tank was probably a fantastic idea. That did not, however, mean that she was going to volunteer. She could see by the way Hayden and the new Principal, who had introduced himself formally as Brenden, were patting each other down, (that in itself was actually a little strange, especially as the tension between them was so obvious, and she could see a few of the students throwing them strange glances), that Acacia was slowly, but certainly, working her way around the staff.

"How long, do you think, before we have to get dunked?"

She hadn't really brought any spare clothes for the dunk tank, but it was a hot enough day that she would probably dry off soon enough. She could deal with the uncomfortability of wearing damp clothes for a short while. And the excuses were pointless; Acacia would talk her into it, either way.

Victoria Hawthorne woke up to a horrendous pounding in the back of her skull. This wasn't a feeling that she was unfamiliar with and, groaning, she pulled the soft quilt on top of her over her head. She could still hear the music from last night and taste the vodka on her tongue. She knew that the moment she opened her eyes, the sunlight would assault her retinas and she'd only retreat beneath her covers again. So, what was the point of even getting up? She'd get up later, when she had to get ready for the party tonight. She didn't know who's it was, or where it would be, but there obviously would be one. This was New York. There was always a party.

Last nights party wasn't anything spectacular, but it was a party and Tori would never miss a party because, no matter how lame, her mere presence could always spice it up. Somewhere, her phone rang. Groaning, Tori sat up and yawned, throwing back her quilt. How had she even gotten back to her appartment last night? She couldn't remember getting a taxi, nor saying goodbye to any of her friends. That was probably Alexis calling her. It was either early enough that Lex hadn't been to bed yet, or late enough that Tori had slept through most of the day.

Her bare feet hit the floor and immediately, she got it tangled up in a pile of fabric that felt like the fake snakeskin dress she'd been weearing the night before. Stumbling slightly, she grabbed the bedpost to keep herself upright. How she had changed from her dress and into her oversized 'I♥NY' t-shirt, she didn't know. The night was a blurry and sketchy mess. The phone was still ringing but she couldn't see it in her bedroom. She skid her way across the solid wood flooring and into the lounge of the appartment.

Tori spotted her phone on the sofa and stumbled towards it. She tripped over one of her heels from last night and landed on her knees in front of the couch. Cursing softly to herself, Tori tossed her hair back and picked up the phone. "Hello?" She managed to croak.

"Victoria?" A deep and rumbling voice spoke. Tori's eyes shot open.

"No..."

"I'm holding the morning paper." Her father told her. "There's a picture of you on the front of it. Do you know what you're doing?"

She could hear the strictness and disappointment in his voice. Standing up and moving into the kitchen, she flipped the kettle on before answering. She had a feeling coffee was in order.

"Uh...Charity work?" It wasn't like she never did charity work. She just knew that wasn't what she was on the front page for.

"I suppose, in a way, it's charitable to take off your clothes. For the young males in your audience, anyway."

Damn. Her dad had to see that, didn't he. Please tell me they blurred it out, please tell me they blurred it out...

"Luckily, they blurred out any unsavoury details. However, I'm sure the image is imprinted on the minds of all of the young men who were in attendance."

Tori felt the blush creep up her cheeks. It was all she could do to not hang up the phone. Words were evading her and so she simply kept quiet, her fingers picking at the slightly frayed hem of her t-shirt, pulling it down to her knees, trying to cover up. As if that would do any good, in an empty apartment. She should have done it last night. Gosh, they must have been some juicy pictures for them to make todays headline.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Victoria."

"I know, daddy. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." She lied.

"You're right." He said. Tori frowned. Usually, those kinds of claims were met with disdain and disbelief. Her father sounded pretty convinced. Tori had a feeling he had something up his sleeve and, whatever it was, she probably wasn't going to like it. "Your mother and I have decided," Nothing. Her mother never chipped into conversations regarding her second youngest. She couldn't care less. "That it's best to keep you out of the limelight for a while. We fear that we gave you too much freedom, too soon. You're becoming wild and unruly, you need to be reigned in. You, Victoria, are going back to school."

"WHAT!?

And that was how Victoria Hawthorne found herself driving back to the school she'd happily left, with a cracking hangover and a headache that made her want to rip out her own eyes. She didn't hate the place; on the contrary, she had a hell of a lot of happy memories of it. But none of them included any kind of work; intellectual or otherwise. She'd planned to be done with school a year ago, when she left.

As the school loomed in front of her, she sighed and drove through the gates and around to where the picnic was being held. Parking her green, custom made Aston Martin Vanquish, she climbed out of her car, locking it behind her, and made her way across the gravel, her shoes crunching on the stones beneath her feet. Chewing her gum, she blew a bubble as she surveyed the scene through her sunglasses, which were helping her sore head a little. Her hair fluttered slightly in the breeze, as she casually tossed it behind her. She was glad she was wearing the shorts and tshirt combo she was (pictured above), because it was hot; (The weather, and the outfit). She folded her arms and leaned her weight to one hip, taking up a confident and casual pose as she looked around. Spotting her baby sister, Tori gave a whistle and called across the grounds, turning a few heads as she did so.

"Hey, kid."

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