Prepsworth Academy

Chapter 63 - "Okay everyone, shut up and calm down."

Tom

The phone rang thrice before Rae picked up. Not that I was counting. I wasn't that desperate for human interaction.

"Tom?" Rae sounded slightly nervous.

"Yeah, it's me. Hey Rae." I said lightly.

"It's six am." Rae said, sounding less cautious and more annoyed. Okay, maybe I was a little desperate.

"I know. I'm just couldn't sleep and I didn't know what to do." I said, rubbing a tired hand over my face. In between all of my sports practices, running club, athletics club, school and homework, as wel as the weight of knowing what had happened at the party, I was growing more and more tired every day.

"Not all of us live in a private boarding school where there are no rules." Rae said sharply.

"I'm sorry. Forget it." I mumbled.

"Why are you up anyway? Are all of your rich dorm mates awake too?" Rae said sarcastically. She'd guessed that everyone liked to sleep if they could, which was correct, but harsh. Just because my dorm mates didn't get up at six thirty didn't mean that they weren't lazy.

"Why do you think I'm up?" I said, and then sighed.

"I'm meant to be practicing." I said begrudingly.

"Practicing what? Your lines for the school musical?" Rae asked, sounding amused.

"I'm meant to be practicing soccer (we have a soccer team all year round), cricket, rugby, basketball and running, as well as going to the gym. Oh, and sprinting, marathon running, swimming and cycling. Best not to forget the fact I also have to do a bunch of fitness workouts." I said, complaining slightly. Well, a bit more than slightly.

"But you've put off all the sports to practice for the school musical?" Rae guessed again.

"What's with you and school musicals?" I asked, slightly exasperated. I could almost hear Rae smile.

"Just trying to annoy you." Rae answered.

"When are you coming to Prepsworth Academy? I need to talk to you." I said, remembering why I'd called Rae in the first place. I'd been talking to her more, making an effort to make new friends and be sociable, and we'd struck up an unlikely, if slightly uneasy friendship.

"I can come this afternoon. It's such a long drive though." Rae replied.

"It's only an hour." I objected. Technically, it was an hour and a half, but rounding down a little couldn't hurt.

"It takes two hours for me to get there and back and if I spend an hour with you then I end up getting back at seven. If I spend eight hours asleep, and six hours, twenty minutes at school, as well as forty minutes going to school and back then that leaves six hours of free time...I think." Rae said, wondering aloud.

"Okay, that's acceptable. I also want to see this fancy private school of yours." Rae continued. I laughed, but doubted that Rae really did want to see Prepsworth Academy. She'd been making excuses for weeks for me to come to some park or restaurant instead of her going to Prepsworth. She acted like it was cursed. I didn't know what she had against Prepsworth, but I didn't want to push her.

"Okay, see you then." I said, as a way of ending the conversation, I didn't want to keep Rae up.

"Okay, and, by the way, you don't have to hide the fact that you're in a musical from me. I'm fine with you singing opera." And with that, Rae hung up. Laughing to myself, I walked back into our dorm only to find everyone wide awake and buzzing with excitement.

"What's going on?"

Harry

Everyone was clustered around my phone, trying to see the screen.

"Okay everyone: shut up and calm down!" I shouted out, standing on my bed to look over everyone. Strangely enough, everyone stood back and stopped screaming before turning to look at me. They were listening to me? Since when did anyone get a shred of responsibility?

"So, what did the text read?" Asked Matthew, eager to hear the gossip. I read out from my phone screen, my eyebrows raising higher and higher as I read more and more of the text.

"Harry – Elle thought that you might want to let your dorm know that the inhumane, psychopath you call a friend: Lukas was deposited in sick bay. Collect him if you wish. I wouldn't." I quoted from Rose's text. A bunch of the guys burst into laughter, no longer leashed by Lukas' presence.

"What did they do, beat him up?" Matthew asked sarcastically, attempting a smirk and failing miserably.

"As if I would waste my skills on scum like that. He tripped over his own feet." Everyone in the room turned to look at Rose, who was casually leaning against the doorframe.

"It's the fallen queen bee herself. Are you going to have a cat-fight with Eve over leadership?" Matthew said mockingly, walking up to Rose. Rose looked over him disinterestedly before shoving him aside easily with the palm of her hand, her sparkly pale-pink nails glittering. She stalked into the centre of the room.

"Hold on, you can't just walk into our dorm." Protested one boy. Rose appraised him and leaned closer to him.

"Sweetie, I can do whatever I want." She whispered sharply, her words cold and acidic. Rose looked around the room before her eyes locked with mine and a easy smile spread across her face.

"Now, I need all you boys to do something for me."