Temptations (#Wattys2017)

Six

A harsh sound violently infiltrated Saskia's dreams, and she flung her hands over her face in panic. What on earth was that? Opening her eyes, her bleary gaze fell on the phone situated on the bedside table, it's alarm illuminating the screen and begging her to snooze it. Saskia felt a little ridiculous. Of course it was her alarm, what else would it have been? Groaning, she finally noticed the time: 7:00am. That meant she had around an hour to shower and get ready before breakfast started, not to mention her first full day of lessons.

She buried her face in the pillow, not yet wanting to accept the fact that there was no escaping it, and listened to the faint sounds of other students dragging themselves out of bed to start the day. Huffing loudly to herself, she eventually kicked back the covers and stormed towards the bathroom, heading straight for the shower.

Savouring the feel of the hot water gliding over her skin, Saskia wondered how her first day would go. Last night, she'd had dinner with Caleb and a few of his friends whose names she'd sort of forgotten—they were members of his football team and seemed nice enough. Luckily, Caleb shared quite a few of the same lessons with her so she wouldn't be completely alone. Not that she couldn't have handled being on her own; being independent was something she prided herself on. But still, she wasn't going to complain about having a familiar face by her side.

Reluctantly, Saskia stepped out of the shower and got dressed into the uniform she had found waiting for her in the wardrobe—consisting of a white blouse, navy tartan skirt (which she hiked up to way above her knees), and a navy blazer with the school crest emblazoned upon it. Whilst hurriedly brushing her teeth, she attempted to fasten the striped tie around her neck with alternate hands. Multi-tasking was not her strong point, yet she realised her time was rapidly running out.

Running a brush through her sleek dark hair, she eyed her reflection in the mirror, weighing up if there was enough time to add winged eyeliner to her makeup look or not. After deciding that she wouldn't be seen dead without it, she hastily drew them on, thickening them slightly as one of them had messed up. Obviously. She'd just have to pretend she'd been aiming for that look all along.

A light knock sounded on her door, and Saskia slid her feet into the black flats she had brought with her before pulling it open to reveal Caleb waiting on the other side. His white shirt was partially untucked, his tie loose and the blazer slung over one arm. The undone look was pretty hot, she had to admit. Though she would never say that out loud, as she attempted to hide the flush that was slowly invading her face.

"You ready for your first fun-filled day?" he exclaimed with faux enthusiasm, now leaning against the doorway.

"I cannot wait. I've been up all night just waiting for this moment to arrive," she replied sarcastically, following him along the hallway towards the dining hall.

"I'm going to assume you're not a morning person?" He guessed, observing her as she yawned widely, not bothering to cover her mouth with her hand.

Saskia offered him a lazy smile. "Well observed. Once I get some coffee I'll be fine. Oh, and maybe some croissants, pancakes, french toast with some syrup on..." she continued naming breakfast foods, Caleb's brows raising higher as the list proved to be never-ending.

"Wow. Anything else? I think you'll be lucky to get any french toast—we'll probably be the last ones there thanks to you taking forever to get ready..." he teased, though he took a moment to admire her, his intense gaze travelling across her face and body. She flushed a little, and drew her hair to one side to mask it.

"Perfection takes time," she proclaimed, grinning up at him through her curled lashes.

➳ ➳ ➳ 

They were seated on a shared desk in the spacious art room, after Saskia had endured the stares and the whispers that accompany being the new girl. A few guys had winked at her, which she had responded to with haughty stares. Each desk sat two people, and they were lined up in several rows facing towards a large whiteboard mounted on the wall. Artwork covered almost every surface, creating a colourful patchwork effect around the room.

Today's task was to draw the person next to each other, much to Saskia's satisfaction. Art was one of her strong points, yet it appeared that she had competition in the form of Caleb—his drawing of her was way too authentic for her liking. Nevertheless, she did like boys who could draw—it meant they paid attention to detail.

"So the football player can draw too? Sporty and creative. How dreadfully unfair," she remarked, peering over at his drawing.

He pretended to cover his work, angling himself so that she could no longer look at it. "I'm full of surprises," he smirked, now trying to inspect her work.

Saskia lifted her drawing in the air. "Hmm, you look much hotter in mine than you do in real life..." she joked as Caleb lightly punched her on the arm.

"We both know thats a complete lie," he grinned, his face now close to hers. His warm brown eyes bored into Saskia's green ones, and she forgot to breathe for a few seconds.

Just then, the door swung open as someone arrived late. A tall guy with fairly short raven-black hair breezed in, an air of confidence surrounding him as though he thought the world owed him something. Clear blue eyes smoldered from beneath his tussled hair, and his sharp jawline was veiled with a slight 5 o'clock shadow. He wore a black jacket instead of the regulated navy blazer that he was supposed to be wearing, his shirt untucked in a similar fashion to Caleb's. Some of the chatter from around the room died down, the girls sending him long, approving stares as the guys mostly looked on in jealousy and what seemed like apprehension.

"Ah, nice of you to finally join us Evan. What is your excuse?" Mrs Sparrow, the plucky art teacher drawled, emerging from the supply closet with an abundance of paints in her hands.

"Mr Henderson wanted to see me about some coursework, you can check with him if you like," he smiled sweetly, his deep, warm voice sending shivers down Saskia's spine. Mrs Sparrow nodded as Evan walked over to a spare desk at the back of the room, propping his feet up onto the spare seat next to him. A few of the girls sighed dreamily as he lazily scanned the room, those crystal blue eyes settling on Saskia as she casually swivelled in her seat to glance at him. The corners of his mouth raised in a crooked smile, and she quickly turned back around, noting that Caleb was now glaring daggers at the latecomer. She wiggled her fingers in front of his face, "Hello? Earth to Caleb?" she joked.

He snapped his focus back to Saskia, forcing his expression into a smile. "Sorry, I just can't stand that guy..." he explained, gripping the pencil he was holding with so much force Saskia thought it might snap.

"Want to tell me why?" she asked, plucking the pencil out of his grip and saving it from certain death.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," he reassured her, as he jumped up to hand in his completed drawing. Saskia stared after him in slight confusion, intrigued at the rivalry that could be between the two boys. She could still sense Evan's eyes fixed on her, his gaze so piercing she felt as though he could see through her very soul.

➳ ➳ ➳