Befriending The Villainess

3~The Girl In The Greenhouse

 A week has gone by and it's time for classes to start! Even though Lavinia belongs to a different program than Virgil, there are classes that we can take together. There are a handful of programs available. The one that Lavinia is a part of is the agriculture program while Virgil is in the STEM program. I personally always thought that this high school was a bit similar to college, but that's probably me, especially since I never even got to go to college before. . .  I... Well, maybe I'll eventually go! After all, I doubt my body is actually dead.

I get dressed in the school uniform. I smooth out the white, button-up shirt and put on the black, overall skirt, attaching a yellow bow around my collar. Coupled with white, knee-length socks and black slip-on shoes, Lavinia is looking pretty cute in these clothes! I style the pink hair in a side ponytail that's tied with a yellow hair tie to finish off the look. I take a look at my class schedule to check what's my first class and leave the dorm room with Vera and Krissy.

As we make our way to the academy, we talk some more. Through the past week, I ended up learning more about these two! I can't remember if Lavinia had these two as roommates. Either way, these two are pretty friendly! Vera is in the business program, hoping to someday own a coffee shop. Krissy, who's been best friends with Vera since elementary school, is in the agriculture program, like me! She wants to help Vera achieve her goal. It's nice talking with these girls.

When we reach the academy building, where the classes are held, Krissy and I exchange goodbyes with Vera since she needed to go to a different floor for her first class. Eventually, Krissy and I separated to attend our different classes.

I take a peek at my schedule again. My first class was... history. Taking a deep breath, I open the door to the classroom. The teacher was already sitting at her desk and a few students were already seated as well. I take a seat by one of the desks in the front. As time went on, more and more students were coming into the classroom. Eventually, and I mean literally five minutes later, the teacher starts class.

I say start, but in reality, the teacher was just introducing herself and giving a short introduction about the class.

"Good morning, everyone. I am Ms. Laevis. I will be your history teacher for the year!"

After the short introduction about the class, she proceeded to hand out the syllabus.

"For the rest of the week, we'll be reading the syllabus as well as introducing ourselves to one another."

For the rest of class, we go over the first page of the syllabus, which is divided into three pages. The first page has information as to how much things such as tests and homework count to our final grade.

"I encourage everyone to try and participate in this class over the course of the entire year!" She finishes with a smile.

Eventually, the dismissal bell rang. All of us packed our bags and left the class. I look at my schedule for my next class. Looking over at my schedule, this is going to be a long first day. Of course, I have the classes that I need to take to graduate high school. Algebra, living environment, gym, whatever. I also have the class that is provided by the program Lavinia chose to be in, agriculture.

The rest of the day was just me attending the classes and receiving the syllabus that each class has. As it turns out, lunch was my final period "class". I bought the school lunch and decided that I'm going to eat the lunch somewhere else. But where should I eat?

I could go to the rooftop. But then again, I have zero idea if students have access to it. I could go to the library. Only downside is that I don't think the librarian would allow me to eat there. Maybe the garden? But what if people are there and I end up embarrassing myself? After all, this school is filled with smart and wealthy people. I don't want to turn this dream into a nightmare! Maybe the greenhouse? It has the same vibes as the garden but I doubt people will go there.

I think a bit more and decide that the best option is the greenhouse!

I made my way outside of the school until I realized that I actually have no idea where the greenhouse is. So, I decided to ask a teacher to tell me the directions to the greenhouse. Once I received those directions, I made my way once more to the greenhouse.

I approached the greenhouse and I felt a special feeling dwell deep within me. The feeling of excitement! This is the place where the two leads, Lavinia and Augustus, will develop their relationship! Not to mention, just from where I was looking, I can tell the plants inside look like they were taken care of with love!

I open the door of the greenhouse with one hand while the other is supporting the tray. I take a deep breath while I look over at all the plants residing in the greenhouse. God... breathing has never felt so good... I mean, ever since I woke up in the body of Lavinia Gardenia, breathing has felt amazing. I never really had to worry about having an asthma attack in this body!

Looking over for a place to sit, I noticed a pair of shoes by one of the tables holding the plants. I walked over it and the closer I got, the more I noticed that the shoes connected to a leg which was connected to a torso. As it turns out, that body belonged to a girl holding a tray of food.

This girl was very beautiful, especially with her black hair which shone with a purple undertone to it. Her dark purple eyes were looking towards her food as she took a bite of it. When she noticed that I was walking towards her, she looked up with a brief look of shock before standing up and placing her tray of food on the table. Even as she stood up, she did it with a trace of elegance despite how pink her face was.

"Um, hi there!", I said, trying to break the tension that was slowly forming. I came to the greenhouse because I didn't expect that anyone would eat here. Turns out, my expectation wasn't reality.

The girl turned to me. "Hello." Her voice was quite... quiet.

What a simple greeting, I thought to myself. I felt the need to introduce myself.

"My name is Lavinia," I said. "What's yours?"

The girl spoke with a bit of confidence in her voice. "I am Marietta."

I felt as if I heard that name before. And thinking a bit about it, her description looked familiar, too. Maybe I'm thinking too hard...

"Since we both came here to eat, let's eat together!", I say with a smile on my face. "They say that it's better to eat with friends!"

Marietta tilted her head a bit in confusion. "Even though we just met?", she says.

I nodded and sat beside her as she slowly sat down on the floor herself. We both started to eat and it was quiet. Despite that, the quiet was warm and cozy. Even hanging out with someone without talking can feel just as nice as talking with them. At least, that's what my mom always said. I wonder how she's doing...

"Are you a freshman as well?"

I look up at Marietta. Since my mouth was full of food and my mom would always say how talking with my mouth full was considered rude, I nodded.

Marietta looked down at her tray of food. "I see...", she said quietly, taking a bite of her food. As soon as she was done, she started walking towards the exit of the greenhouse. Turning back, she said in a small voice, small enough that I barely could hear her, "Thank you for being with me...", and left.