𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐄, 𝐈'𝐌 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐘, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐬

chapter | 1

A New Term

Elodie Parker was unsure what she had been expecting when she had applied for enrolment at Hillerska Boarding School, but the postcard perfect campus was not one of them. She understood that private schools were preppy and prestigious, but her anxiety shot through the roof as she stepped out of the car on her first day of classes.

The first thing Elodie realised was how plain she had dressed in comparison to the rest of the students, or at least those she could presently see. They milled around the perfectly manicured grounds, teenagers sitting in groups by the stairs and sports groups running laps around the school grounds.

Taking a breath and forcing herself to calm down, if only for her mind to not dive deep into uncontrolled thoughts and anxiety filled untruths, Elodie commanded her feet to take a step, and another, one foot in front of the other. As she navigated her way to the front office, where she was to report to collect her timetable and meet the student who would be showing her around, Elodie tried to avoid eye contact with any of the students. It appeared, however, that she had caught the eye of some students.

"Hey!" A girl with beautiful brown curls called from the stairs; she had darker skin, and was surrounded by a group of friends, all who appeared as friendly as she did. Elodie turned cautiously, but the girl waved her over. As Elodie approached, the girl with the curly hair continued. "You must be new, yes? I don't believe I've seen you around school before. I'm Felice," She introduced, sticking her hand out politely for a handshake.

Elodie, not wanting to make a bad impression, shook her hand kindly. "Nice to meet you. I'm Elodie," She replied, "And yes, I'm new. It's my first day, actually. I was on my way to the office, but have to admit, I really don't know where that would be," She let out a chuckle to try and break the tension, and it seemed to work.

"This is Madison, we share a dorm," Felice pointed to the girl with the amazing braids in her hair, and the stunning make up; Elodie had to admit, she was kind of jealous - Madison was definitely someone she was down to be friends with, "And then we have Sara and Simon. They're siblings, and don't live on campus, but we love them all the same," Felice continued, pointing to the girl with the lighter brown hair, her ringlets being highlighted by the sunlight. Sara's brother, Simon, was dressed in a purple jumper, his hair falling in his face. Offering a kind smile, Elodie immediately felt more relaxed.

"Felice, is that...?" Madison hissed to her friend, though it was loud enough for the rest of the group to hear. All five teenagers turned their heads to the entrance driveway, where three slick black SUVs pulled in. Elodie turned back to the friends, to see Simon collecting his belongings.

"Is everything alright?" Elodie asked, wondering if she could help in any way. Simon didn't reply, instead heading off towards the school buildings, Sara hurrying along quickly after her brother. "What is going on?" Elodie asked, looking to Felice and Madison.

"It's not your fault, don't worry," Madison promised, as Felice waved to the boy who had just exited the vans. "You think he's talked to him? Over the holidays, I mean," Madison asked Felice.

"No idea, he was dodging all my calls," Felice replied, as she hurried over to the boy. Elodie realised who he was pretty quickly; the Crown Prince of Sweden had arrived.

Elodie wasn't surprised to see Madison and Felice being friends with Wilhelm, in fact it made a ton of sense to her. While the two girls embraced the prince, Elodie hung back by the steps, wondering if she could slip away undetected. Felice, it seemed though, had her eye on Elodie.

"Wille, this is Elodie, she's new here," Felice introduced, pulling the Prince over to where Elodie stood. Taking in a breath, Elodie knew her eyes widened, but she wasn't able to keep her expression under wraps. She had always admired the prince, and now here he was, shaking her hand. "Elodie, this is Wilhelm".

"Hi," Elodie squeaked out, as Wilhelm smiled encouragingly.

Their meeting was cut short, however, because Felice grabbed Wilhelm's arm and turned him so he was now facing her. "Please tell me you at least tried to talk to him over the holidays," She asked, Wilhelm looking away almost immediately. "Did you even text him?" She continued, and Wilhelm's silence gave her all the answers she needed. "Seriously? Not one text? Wille!"

"What would you want me to say? Sorry I won't come out, let's still be friends?" Wilhelm asked, slightly defensively, "He made it clear he doesn't want to be a secret, and I can't give him anything else. Can we just drop it please?" Madison pursed her lips as Felice thought over what he had just said.

Elodie felt extremely out of place; there were obviously issues between Wilhelm and Simon, Elodie was assuming, and she really didn't want to get in the middle of it. Instead, she figured she should get ahead of her first day admin issues. "I'm just going to head to the office, alright? Maybe I'll see you guys in class," Elodie said to nobody in particular, but before she had a chance to make her escape, Felice grabbed her wrist.

"You will definitely be seeing us in class," She said with a smile on her face, "Don't think you can get away from us that easily, Miss Elodie". Elodie couldn't help but smile. After Madison had directed Elodie to the front office, Elodie headed off, her anxiety starting up again.

Counting her breaths in an attempt to calm herself down, Elodie glided through all the questions the front office staff asked. Shortly after, the bell signaling that class was beginning rang out overhead, and the woman working the admin office directed Elodie to the student's side, to meet her student leader.

Moving around to the other side of the office, Elodie was greeted by a tall, dark haired boy. He wore a green sweater, and appeared nice enough. "Uh, hi. I'm just looking for my student guide?" She asked, as the boy smiled.

"You're Elodie?" He asked, Elodie nodding in response. "Wonderful. It's lovely to make your acquaintance. I'm August". 

_____________

(1100 words)

oops.