Temptation

Chapter 1

«L'habit ne fait pas la moine.»

«The vestment does not make the monk.»
~~~

"Oh my Gosh, Xe! Can you believe I am finally here?"

Thea's enthusiastic chatter was the only thing that filled the silence during the entire car ride. Her excitement was evident; the way she screamed in my ears just now before jumping out of the car was proof of that.

"Mhh," I muttered dully, "yay."

I, on the other hand...was not so happy to be here.

Here I was once again at Trinity Fox Academy, the school of my nightmares. I never thought I would be back in this wretched place. You could say I was not too fond of here. The level of toxicity that roams these halls is unmatchable. The harsh years I had once spent in this establishment were all thanks to the harassment and bullying I endured. I thought that I was out for good, but the merciless clutches of fate chose to drag me back.

I stepped out of the car as the shameful scents of the Axe body spray and Chanel perfume in the air stung my nostrils. It's quite disappointing, to say at least, that all these kids went to such a rich-person school and still had no taste. The disgraceful smell reminded me how much I did not miss here at all.

I dusted my skirting in an attempt to ignore the looks of students that I passed as I walked.

"Is that Xemina Royale?" One of them mumbled. "What is she doing here?"

I was just curious as to the next guy. Why did I get sent back here? I left this campus a year ago due to a scandal, which I was not even responsible for anyway.

My mother pulled me out of Trinity and sent me off to the States. I was hauled to a private school in San Francisco, which was, indeed, quite the punishment. How was it a punishment, you might ask? Well, the students there had something serious against rich people. They always felt the need to pick a fight with me, trying to make me feel less than by supposing that I only got in because I was rich, whereas they got in for their intelligence. Using that highly biased argument, they would continue to harass me, and I found myself bullied daily. Indeed I eventually took the matter up with the principal. Even after the boys threatened to assault me, which frightened me, the principal did nothing about it. I even spoke to the supervisor, who said he could not help me because there was no evidence to support my claim. It goes without saying that I would have eventually tried to put an end to the bullying myself— or at very least, fight it off. The inevitable happened; I got into a fight in one of the chemistry labs and, in the haze of the commotion, set an unintentional fire, leading to my expulsion.

Expulsion. My mum did not like the sound of that one bit.

It was back to Trinity Fox for me. The matter was not up for discussion; I protested for a long time, but my mother had her mind settled on torturing me.

Thea tried to cheer me up, saying it wouldn't be bad at all, because this time... I had her on my side.  Having her around would be a huge emotional support, and maybe there was a chance that things will not go as wrong as they went before.

Thea was my only friend in San Francisco; she was the only one that would talk and sit with me. We became best friends. A beautiful African-American with dyed purple hair and brown eyes was full of energy—that was Thea, the girl who became my best friend. Thea was the kind of friend that loved to go out, as long as you would pay. She loved talking about herself, always rambling about what she wanted and what was on her mind. It never bothered that at all. I did not particularly enjoy talking about myself or anything, so I liked to listen to her.