Labyrinth: A Jeremiah Valeska Story *COMPLETED*

Chapter 1: The Underdog

I grew up fighting to get ahead of those with money. All throughout school, I was looked down upon by my more fortunate peers. My dad was a cab driver and my mother was an actress, so money wasn't an abundant luxury in my life. And still I surpassed expectations and worked my ass off to get accepted into Gotham's most prestigious college, Saint Ignatius. I was well aware I was heading into the lion's den and that I would be knee deep in privilege the second I stepped on campus. And yet, I was elated to be apart of the action, a member of the elites. The challenge of it excited me. My first day was a regular disaster as I would have expected of myself. I had a habit of terrible first impressions. I was late to my first class of the day, Calculus, and even with my face to the ground I could still feel the eyes of my classmates staring me down. I sat down and fumbled to retrieve a notebook from my bag. I went to grab my pencil only to realize that I had forgotten one entirely. I was convinced I was in a nightmare. "Here." I heard a kind voice to my right and I turned to see a guy with fiery red hair and thick rimmed black glasses handing me a pencil. He was attractive, but not in a traditional way. "Thank you." I smiled at him, taking the pencil. There was something very inviting about him and I felt immediately drawn in. I heard a snicker from further down the many rows of students in the auditorium-style classroom. "Typical for a poor girl to be late... Must have had to walk all the way from the homeless shelter." A bottle blond snarked to her friends and I felt all the confidence I had gathered that morning dissipate. "Do you always have to be a bitch Casandra?" The red head said with an edge to his voice and I took a deep breath. "I can fight my own battles..." I retorted and he raised an eyebrow in question. "Why don't you then?" The blond enticed and I turned my attention to the primped princess just two rows ahead of me. "Why don't you get your butchered nose job out of my business?" I sassed with a smile and I heard the ginger stifle a laugh beside me. The bimbo gasped, her hand touching her nose in shock. "Late to my class and picking fights with other students? I can only handle so much disrespect in one day, Ms.Olsen." The professor scolded and I nodded muttering an apology. During the lecture, I couldn't help but notice the guy next to me continuously looking over at me. After class, I packed my things up and turned to return his pencil. "No, you can keep it..." He offered and I smiled."Just ignore Casandra, everyone else does... She thinks because her Dad is the mayor that makes her infinitely better than everyone." He said as he extended his hand out to me. "I'm Xander Wilde." He stated as I shook his hand. "My name is Lilith but my friends call me Lilly..." I said and he smiled and I felt my stomach tighten. He had a beautiful smile. "Well Lilly, I hope to see you around."He smirked as he grabbed his bag and left. I continued with my classes of the day but Xander still lingered in my thoughts. No one ever had my back before. As my last class, global studies, came to a close, I headed back to my dorm. Everyone to went to St. Ignatius had to live in the dorms, it was an expectation of the rich I suppose. For me it was better than home, no leaky pipes or peeling paint. I unlocked the door to my room then stepped inside just to be greeted by my roommate. "So how was your first day???" Ella quizzed me enthusiastically. I had just met Ella Jones, the very positive blonde when I moved in a week ago. She was also in my global studies class which helped ease the stress of finding a familiar face to sit next to. She was very kind but I found it hard to keep up with her energy. "It went well, and you?" I asked, turning the question back to her. Ella then began to ramble off on how "fabulous" her first day was and proceeded to recite the names of every individual she had met. Impressive. I set my bags down and sat on my bed just across the room from Ella's. As Ella continued to go on and on, my mind began to wander. Back to that morning, and back to the redhead who had been kind to me... I couldn't shake the feeling that this school would be different then the others. This time it would be better.