Connie [James Cook]

Chapter 3

When the cousins arrived at college they met up with Pandora Moon, who Connie had met a few times on her holidays in Bristol. The three were sitting on a bench outside the entrance, many hair and beauty students crowding just in front of them. Apparently one of them had a footballer boyfriend who took her to surf and turf. Connie audibly groaned, already annoyed with the amount of new 'slang' she will have to learn over her time. Obviously she knew what surf and turf was but some other things she didn't understand.

"Bonkers! What's surf and turf guys?" Pandora asked the two Stonem's, they gave each other a side glance.

"Sex." They said at the same time. Their voices clashed. Effy had a very soft voice whereas Connie had a strong and sensual voice.

"Wow! We'll have a whizzer time at this college, ain't we?" Pandora stated. Connie loved Pandora but sometimes the girl got hyperactive and made Abbey want to rip the hair out of her head. "I'm definitely going to have surf and turf, ASAP. Mum says boys only want one thing so my plan is to give it to them, lots of times. and that way I'll get good at it, be really popular and maybe my toes will stop throbbing."

Well that was a twist. Connie had to hold in a laugh as those words left the blonde's mouth.

"You hate her." Effy spoke while looking directly at a set of red headed twins.

"Who do we hate, Ef?" Pandora asked.

"I'll let you know." Effy responde.

"Cool." Pandora said.

"Right, let's get this party started." Effy said.

As they got up each grabbed their own bags. Connie had the smallest of the trio since she knew that college wasn't a big priority since she had already planned that she was going to get a mafia boyfriend and work as a stripper, two things you don't need qualifications for.

"You want a lollipop?" Pandora asked the two.

"No." Effy said.

Effy denied but Connie took a strawberry one and unwrapped it. She kept it idle in her mouth as they headed towards the gymnasium for their 'greetings'. Connie thought it was bullshit, why couldn't they just send them to lessons so she could sleep off the slight hangover she had from the night before. When they got in, the trio took seats at the very front. Connie took off her backpack and placed it in front of her before leaning her elbows on the bench behind her and crossing her right leg over her left.

When more people started filling the benches Effy made Connie sit up properly and not lean back on the chair. By looking at Connie she got a good glimpse of a skater boy from earlier, Connie knew that so she kept talking so she could get a longer look. All of a sudden some shit music started playing and Connie pushed Effy's head so she was facing forward and not at the skater.

"Welcome to Roundview College. A meeting place for young people" a man's voice rang through the speakers while the music kept playing in the background. Connie was already bored and looked around at her peers, picking out a few she thinks she will get along with. She makes eye contact with the boy in red from earlier. She raised her eyebrows and pulled the lollipop out her mouth with a quiet pop before turning back to the front and putting the sweet back in her mouth.

"Power move." Effy mumbled and the two Stonem's discreetly high five. Everyone was now engaged in conversation, Effy and Connie whispering about different ways to get guys' attention without coming across as a slut. No one was listening to the lady trying to speak. A loud whistle echoed through the hall making many people jump and hold their ears.

"ATTENTION, PAY ATTENTION. LOOK YOU!" A man Connie recognised as Doug from the one parent teacher meeting she went to with Tony last year.

"Welcome to Roundview college. We are a designated four star educational establishment under the national 'were all in it together' initiative leading to ultimate improvement status. Anyone who screws that up will be officially burnt at the stake." The woman said.

"Well Ef's going to be a fucking bomb with the amount of hairspray she puts in her hair." Connie jokes, making the girl punch her arm. Connie punched Effy back straight away and the two started just punching one another until Pandora stopped them. It was banter, the pair knew that but to others it could come across as extremely violent and hateful.

"And expelled." Doug said.

"Yes and expelled. God help you all, your gonna get some qualifications. Any questions." Someone farted making everyone bar Effy and Connie who weren't at 'farting jokes' level of immature "Thank you. Now before I turn you over to your form tutors, I would like to tell you something about the way in which we organize our-" Another long fart. "Right, very funny. This is a further education college, not a primary school." A loud fart was heard yet again. "Stop it! I'll cut your balls off you cheeky little turds."

"Well that's not something you say to teenagers huh?" Connie mumbled.

"I do apologise, I think I might be at fault." Doug spoke. "Too much rhubarb on my ready brek. Havoc." The two teachers seemed to engage in a quick conversation as everyone was still chuckling (still minus Connie and Effy) over the farting incident. When everyone died down from the laughing fits there was a long pause before anyone spoke up.

"Last year we had some intolerable incidents." The lady was one hundred percent talking about Tony and his friend group. Some of which Connie got along with very well. She was hanging out with Chris for the first time since Tony introduced the two one summer and he gave her a spliff, her first ever spliff. The two smoked together whenever she came down despite what Tony said but then he passed away, Connie was in America when Tony called. She was in tears for at least a day although they didn't know each other for that long the pair where still good friends.

"so I want to make this easy for you. The following will result in instant expulsion" Connie and Effy looked at each other, ready to memorise what they where going to do during the day.

"Smoking on the premises, setting fire to the premises, consumption of alcohol on the premises, consumption of drugs on the premises, consumption of pornography on the premises, teacher abuse, glue abuse, self abuse, sexual intercourse with any other student, teacher or animal or combination of the above. Including oral sex and/or the use of sex toys on the premises." The lady said.

"Miss Reedy, our new head of communications. Miss Reedy is joining us from..." The lady stopped for a moment. "Where exactly are you joining us from?"

"Erm, I had some time off. Seven years. It was stress related but feeling a bit better now hopefully..." Miss Reedy answered. "form BD1 say your name please when I... put your hands up please when I Erm call your Erm name. Emily Fitch?" One of the red heads put there hands up "Katie Fitch?" the more blinged out one put her hand up "Jonah uh, Jeremiah Jones?"

"JJ, Present." The curly head boy from the trio that kept popping up raised his hand. Abbey smiled at him as she caught his gaze, almost immediately he turned to his friend to sit something.

"James Cook?" Miss Reedy asked.

"Yo!" The boy with the red shirt raised his hand. Him and Connie then proceeded to make eye contact. She had finished her lollipop a while ago so she couldn't use that again. Instead she held his intense eye contact while biting on her bottom lip a little. She knew what she was doing, she was teasing him and on his behalf, it was working because he was tempted to just jump up and pull her out of the hall that very second.

"Elizabeth Stonem." Connie broke eye contact with James knowing she was going to be called next and she was going to be called her actual name, which she hated.

"Frederick McClair?" Miss Reddy asked.

"Yes." The black hair boy with the shirt raised his hand.

"Yes!" The boy with the red shirt.

"Connie Stonem?" The blonde haired girl raised her hand with an eye roll, James making finger guns at her behind the girls back. She obviously didn't see but she felt the eyes on her. The teacher kept calling out names including Fredrick McClair, the boy Effy kept looking at.

"Naomi Campbell." Poor girl, named after fucking supermodel. Everyone chuckled minus this one blonde girl who Connie assumed was Naomi since she didn't look happy at all...