New Girl Troubles

Raeliana’s POV

The crack of my fist hitting Elias’s cheek echoed down the hallway like a gunshot.

His head snapped to the side, and he stumbled backward, clutching his jaw.

“Shit!” He let out a loud groan, his icy blue eyes wide with  shock.

The entire hallway went silent for a of a second before the crowd completely lost its mind. 

"Did she just punch him?"

"She's out of her mind!"

"Who is this crazy girl?!"

Elias was still cursing, staggering against a row of lockers, but I wasn't finished. The anger running through my veins was like fire. 

I stepped over the broken mop bucket, ready to charge at him again and finish what I started.

Before I could take two steps, a pair of strong arms wrapped tightly around my waist from behind, lifting my feet right off the wet floor.

"Woah, woah, hold on there, Rocky.” a voice yelled near my ear.

I kicked my legs in the air, trying to wriggle free. "Let me go! I’m going to break his stupid face.”

Just then, two professors burst out of a nearby classroom, looking frantic. 

“What is going on out here?" one of them shouted, surveying the chaos in the hallway. 

The guy holding me didn't wait around for the interrogation. He quickly dragged me backward down the hallway, pulling me away from the scene before the teachers could figure out who had swung the punch. 

I stopped fighting him and just let him pull me along until we turned a corner and slipped into an empy side bathroom.

He finally let me go and I stumbled forward and gripped the edge of the sink, looking up into the mirror.

My heart sank in horror at the sight. I looked like a disaster. My oversized sweater was ruined and dripping with dirty mop water. 

My hair was plastered to my forehead, and grey streaks of grime covered my jeans. Beyond the mess, panic started to set in. 

I had let myself go way too far. It was my very first day, and I had already started a brawl.

"Great. Just great," I muttered, wringing out the hem of my sweater into the sink. "My mom is going to kill me. I look like a swamp monster."

A light chuckle came from behind me.

I turned around to glare at the guy who had dragged me away. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," he said, holding up his hands with a wide grin. "It's just... you looked like a very cute Godzilla out there."

I turned around to glare at him. "I am not a cute Godzilla. And why are you laughing? Aren't you one of his brainless hockey friends?"

He immediately raised both hands in a defensive gesture, his grin turning into a easygoing smile. "Hey, easy. I’m on your side, I swear. Honestly? Elias had that coming for a long time."

I blinked, taking him in properly for the first time. He was tall, maybe just an inch shorter than Elias, with dark brown hair and warm green eyes. 

He was wearing the same hockey jersey, but he didn't have that arrogant look the rest of them had. 

"Elias is basically the king of this school," he explained, leaning back against the paper towel dispenser. "Nobody ever stands up to him. You just made a huge mistake for your social life, but it was amazing to watch."

"I don't care who he is," I grumbled, scrubbing at a smudge on my arm. "He's a prick."

"Fair point," he laughed. 

He reached into his duffel bag, which was slung over his shoulder, and pulled out a folded set of dark clothes. "Look, you can't walk around smelling like that all day. You should wear this. They’ll be huge on you, but they're clean."

I took the bundle from him, surprised by the gesture. "Thanks. At least one person on the hockey team has a brain."

He smirked, leaning against the door frame as I moved toward one of the stalls. "Don't get used to the compliments, New Girl."

The clothes ended up being a giant black Pembroke Athletics tracksuit. The pants were way too long, so I had to roll the waistband twice, and the hoodie swallowed me whole. 

Still, it was a million times better than my wet, smelly denim.

By the time I came out, the bathroom was empy and I wondered where he had gone. 

When I finally stepped into my first class, the room went quiet. Every single head turned to look at me. 

I could practically feel their glare burning into my face but I kept my head high, walked straight to the back row, and sat down.

But they didn’t stop glaring and whispering even though I could hear them. 

I endured that same suffocating atmosphere for the rest of the day. Every hallway I walked down, people pointed and snickered. 

The second the final bell rang, I sprinted out the front doors and practically threw myself into the back of my father's black town car, which was waiting at the curb.

The driver drove me home, and as soon as we pulled up to the massive house in upper Manhattan, I snuck inside. 

Luckily, the foyer was empty. I scrambled up the grand staircase and darted into my bedroom. 

That was when I let out a huge sigh of relief. No one had caught me. 

After taking a long shower and scrubbing the memory of the mop water off my skin, I changed into a simple navy dress. 

“I didn’t even get his name,” I muttered to myself, patting the neatly folded clothes. “I’ll just wash it and give it to him again next time.” 

After I brushed out my hair, I made my way downstairs.

The main floor was a madhouse. The maids were running back and forth, adjusting flower arrangements, carrying trays of glassware, and polishing the dining table.

I found my mother in the living room, nervously tweaking her pearl necklace.

"Mom?" I asked, looking around at the chaos. "What's going on?"

She turned around, her face lighting up with a nervous smile. "Oh, Raeliana! Good, you're here . Your father's best friend and his family are coming over for dinner tonight.”

My stomach tightened. I still hated this place, and I still hadn't forgiven my father for tearing us away from our real life just because he suddenly had money. 

But looking at my mother's bright face, I couldn't bring myself to ruin her mood. She actually looked happy for the first time in years.

"Right. Dinner," I muttered.

Just then, the loud chime of the doorbell echoed through the  house.

My mother gasped, patting her hair down. "Oh, they're here! Sweetie, could you get the door for me? My hands are trembling."

"Sure," I sighed.

I walked down the hallway toward the front door, bracing myself for a boring night of listening to rich old men talk about business.

“Think about your mom, Raeliana,” I told myself as I pulled the door open, putting on the most fake smile I could muster. “Good evening-“

The smile instantly dropped from my face. What in the world?

Standing on the front porch, dressed in a suit with a dark bruise already forming over his cheekbone… was Elias Lockhart