5. Elyssa
ELYSSA
C lutching the strap of my bag, I let my eyes wander through the dining hall where everyone gathered to eat. The kitchens closed at eight every night and if you didn’t come to eat in time, then you’d be without food until the following morning.
The Academy had strict rules in place, they expected us to obey them and if we didn’t, strict punishments would ensue.
Unless your parents were wealthy and scary enough, that was.
Once my eyes set on the blond head I had been looking for, I breathed a little easier and went to join her. Mia was already sitting with Briar and Lorenzo, along with a new girl I had never seen before.
I felt myself tense a little bit. Rationally, I knew my cousins and best friend wouldn’t bring just anyone to our table, so the new girl had to be nice at the very least. But a small part of me still thought the worst. Years of bullying, especially by the people who were supposed to care for you, did that to someone. It made you build walls so high that believing everyone was good before immediately thinking they were evil seemed impossible.
Still, I walked towards them and took her in. Her uniform was similar to ours, with the difference that hers was… a light pink color?
She had long, luscious black hair and olive skin, and seemed pretty petite from where I stood. The closer I got to their table, the more put together she looked. Her makeup was done to perfection with pink glitters on her eyes, flawless winged eyeliner, and plump pink lips. Her nails were done in a cute pastel pink; they weren’t too long but they weren’t short either.
Everything about this girl screamed perfect , and the smile she had on as she effortlessly laughed with my friends made me a little jealous.
She looked like everything I wished I could be.
“Hey, babe!” Briar was the first to notice me, prompting their new friend to turn my way. Her smile turned into a grin as soon as she saw me and she got up to greet me. “Elyssa, this is Sinem. Sinem, this is my bestie and Mia’s cousin, Elyssa.”
I mustered a shy smile, ready to extend my hand towards her when she suddenly engulfed me in a hug.
My eyes widened in surprise, both at her bold display of affection and at how surprisingly strong she was. Damn, were those abs I could feel against my stomach?
“It’s so nice to meet you!”
Her smile was contagious because I found myself returning it against my better judgment.
I was wary of new people; for all I knew, she could secretly be a friend of Viola or Batista, there to help them make my life hell.
“Sinem is in my Introduction to Business. She’s new here.” Briar must’ve sensed my hesitation because she almost immediately provided more info about her.
Briar was an art student, with a minor in business.
Gulping, I nodded and took a seat next to her. “It’s nice to meet you, Sinem.”
“Mia said you played violin, I love that!” she chirped.
“Yeah,” I cleared my throat. “I’ve been playing since I was twelve.”
Because my grandfather needed me to appear more sophisticated and not like the poor mixed girl from a bad neighborhood he was so ashamed of.
Sinem looked at me in awe. “That’s so cool. I wish I could play an instrument.”
I smiled awkwardly because I didn’t know what else to do. Sinem was so… joyful. So nice, and she had that na?ve vibe going for her. It was refreshing.
For once I told myself I needed to let go of my usual doubts and maybe make a new friend.
The conversation flew easily from there, the four of us yapping and laughing while Lorenzo seemed immersed in his book. I caught him sneaking looks at Sinem once or twice, which was not a surprise given how beautiful she was.
“Hey, you got henna on your hands!” she exclaimed before grabbing my left hand and almost making me spill my water all over our table.
Then the weirdo brought it to her nose and inhaled deeply.
What. The. Fuck.
“Ugh, I love the smell of henna! Yours seems fresh too.”
She smiled like she couldn’t see how fucking weird smelling someone’s hand, not to mention someone you just met, was.
Briar nearly choked on the forkful of broccoli she had just put in her mouth and Mia did her best not to burst out in laughter. Hell, even Lorenzo had looked up from his book and seemed put off.
Noticing how silent our table had gotten, Sinem’s smile dimmed a little. She looked smaller all of a sudden, like she just realized she had done something weird and was waiting for us to chastise her.
“I—I’m sorry. I just really love the smell of henna.”
Her small voice, coupled with how truly apologetic she looked, made me burst out laughing. I just couldn’t help it; the situation was weird as fuck but I could tell she truly hadn’t thought twice about it. She just didn’t seem like she had a filter or thought things through before acting.
Briar and Mia joined me and seeing how we weren’t freaking out, Sinem’s smile slowly got back on her face as she too laughed along.
“Girl, you need to slow down, okay? Lyssa here isn’t keen on being touched,” Mia chuckled, gulping her water.
My heart constricted a little after she said that, because as true as it was, I wished it weren’t.
The reason why I didn’t like physical touch was because I had been deprived of it for years. Ever since my dad died and mom became a shell of what she once was. Ever since I lost my grandma, nobody had really hugged or held me.
I could still remember those first few months after we moved to New York. My grandfather had me confined to the furthest room on the estate, away from everyone, because he still didn’t know if he should keep me or not. Even the cleaning ladies came only once a week, and someone sneakily came to deliver food outside my door. They knocked to let me know it was there, but by the time I opened the door, they were always gone. Aunt Matilda eventually convinced her father to keep me, but it took her months. Three to be exact.
Three months during which I didn’t see a single human being other than myself. Three months where I cried myself to sleep because I felt alone and scared. Three months during which I woke up screaming in the middle of the night after seeing my dad’s dead eyes in my dreams, and nobody was there to reassure me. No one was there to take me in their arms and tell me everything would be okay.
When Mamma’s father came to tell me he had finally decided to keep me, he didn’t forget to mention that if I failed to maintain their family image, he wouldn’t hesitate to send me away.
I didn’t dare ask where. I just nodded like the obedient child that I was and kept my mouth shut.
That day, after he left, Aunt Matilda came over with a bouncing Mia and a sulking Lorenzo. She was excited to meet her new cousin; he would have preferred to stay home reading but then eventually warmed up to the idea of me.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Elyssa.” Coming back to reality, my eyes found Sinem’s who smiled sheepishly. “I’m not used to socializing yet, so I don’t have the…codes, I guess?”
I frowned. “What do you mean? You seem like a real social butterfly.”
“I guess I am, deep down, but I never had the occasion to be. My dad is really protective of me. My brothers, too. I’m the only girl in the family. I’ve been homeschooled since I was ten.”
She didn’t specify why and I didn’t ask, but she went on. “I’m just excited to be here. And to finally have girlfriends.”
I found myself smiling at how happy she seemed to be with us. Sinem went on, telling us about her dad and brothers who she seemed to love more than anything. She’d grown up in Turkey but came to the US when she was ten, again, not specifying what happened in her life to make her parents move here.
Her dad was the reason why her uniform wasn’t like ours, it was pink because it was her favorite color and he couldn’t say no to her. She didn’t say it, but we all understood what it also meant: her dad was powerful as fuck, whoever he was.
After we were done eating, we decided on an early night because this first day of class had us all pretty wiped out. Mia started piling up our glasses and plates, to make it easier on the cleaning staff who came after everyone was done, but Sinem grabbed her glass of pink lemonade because she wasn’t done with it.
We didn’t usually have anything other than water to drink—admin was a stickler for healthy meals—but since this was our first day, pitchers of pink and regular lemonade were served to us.
Mia and I led the way to the girls' dorms, while Briar stayed a bit behind to chat with Sinem.
“So, what do you think of her?” my cousin whispered while intertwining her arm through mine.
“I like her,” I said. “She seems fun. Real.”
Mia hummed and added something I didn’t quite catch.
Because my eyes fell into some deep pools of ice and I felt my throat suddenly constrict.
Konstantin was seated at a nearby table along with his three friends, or whatever they called their relationship. Personally, I didn’t believe the devil could have friends, but to each their own.
Asher Donovan, Rhodes Antonelli, and Royal Donovan. They seemed to be the only mortals good enough to earn Konstantin’s loyalty.
They quieted as soon as we passed by their table, their eyes riveted on us, making my skin crawl. I couldn’t help but wonder if he had run his mouth to them. Told them my secret.
He didn’t seem like the type to… well, talk, really, but you could never be too sure.
Without really noticing, I sped up a little so we’d be out of their sight as soon as possible. Mia matched my pace, well aware that Konstantin and I weren’t on friendly terms, although she didn’t know to what extent. Briar and Sinem didn’t get the memo though.
My cousin and I were almost out of the dining hall when a commotion echoed through the great room.
All chatter instantly ceased and Mia and I froze, our backs to the room.
Then we heard Sinem's voice boom, “Oh, my God! I’m so sorry!”
Mia turned around first while I closed my eyes, expecting the worst.
When I finally joined the rest of the school, watching the scene with rapt attention, my mouth opened a little in surprise.
It was both mortifying and comical.
Sinem had spilled the entirety of her drink on Royal Volkovic. His white uniform shirt was drenched in pink lemonade, clinging to his skin. His hair was drenched too, sticking to his forehead as droplets of the sugary drink ran down his face.
Oh, fuck.
Royal was a fucking psycho.
Well, you had to be if you wanted to be friends with the Korolovs. I once saw him punch a guy because he had bumped into him in the corridors.
He would eat Sinem alive??—
“It’s okay.”
My eyes left Sinem’s apologetic expression to focus on the giant’s face. He stared at her with an indifferent, almost soft gaze that took me, and everyone else, by surprise.
Even his friends, Asher and Rhodes, seemed taken aback by Royal’s reaction. Konstantin looked like he couldn’t give any less fucks about the whole thing.
“Oh no, you’re drenched.” The little weirdo definitely didn’t have the codes as she stated earlier, because she started touching his shoulders and running her hands down his arms, assessing the damage she had made. And, incidentally, making everything worse.
Someone in the room gasped in surprise and I couldn’t blame them.
“I’ll pay for your dry cleaning. Or a whole new uniform. I’m Sinem by the way.” She extended her hand towards him, and I was just glad she didn’t hug him the way she’d hugged me earlier.
Royal looked at her hand before taking it slowly, like he himself was wondering what he was doing. Both of them stayed like that, staring at each other, her hand in his.
What the fuck was going on?
Briar cleared her throat. Our new friend didn’t seem to notice how everyone was staring at them, but we did. And we needed to get going.
“Okay, I think it’s time to go. We had this… thing that we needed to do.” Gently, Briar pulled on Sinem’s arm to get her out of the room.
“Don’t forget to send me your dry cleaning bill. I’m room 4C.”
I mentally face-palmed myself because now the whole school knew where to find her. And given how beautiful she was, she would attract quite a few suitors.
Our new friend didn’t seem to get the memo and sent Royal one last trusting smile before strutting out like the whole dining hall wasn’t staring at her.
When she saw us gaping, her usual grin slipped a little. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Deciding there was no use in telling her how unusual what just happened truly was, I just shook my head. “Nothing. Let’s get back to our dorms.”
We let her and Briar step ahead of us and Sinem immediately went back to her usual yapping.
As I turned around, I caught sight of Royal looking out towards us, but he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were drawn to a certain Turkish girl who could not, for the life of her, read a room.