𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 [a rini au]

ELEVEN

"Hey, guys," Big Red announced to a group of three boys making conversation at one of the dining hall tables. Ricky trailed the eccentric ginger like a meek child, timid when it came to introducing himself. Luckily, Big Red did it for him once the guys acknowledged their presence. "This is Ricky. He's a transfer, too."

"What's up," one of the boys nodded towards Ricky as the shy brunette pressed his lips together. This guy had much darker hair than Ricky's, and he had caterpillar eyebrows that made Ricky wonder if he had ever heard of a spoolie. The two other boys looked almost identical, both strawberry blonds with dark green eyes and light freckles that traveled across the bridge of their noses. Ricky mouthed a tiny hello to the table as he and Big Red took their seats.

Big Red pointed to each boy as he identified their names. "This is Garrett, Peter, and Warren," his mouth curled upwards as his finger bounced between Peter and Warren. "They're fraternal twins." Ricky entertained Big Red's joy with a convincing brow raise.

"We met Big Red in Finance today," Peter, the better looking of the twins, explained to Ricky. "We asked if he wanted to grab dinner later and he was adamant about bringing you."

Ricky felt Big Red's elated eyes on him, so he knew he had to appear as enthusiastic as he could. "Yeah, uh, yeah," he stammered, Big Red's smile growing. "We just met yesterday." Smile slightly deflating.

"All good," Warrnen chimed in, shoving a glob of spaghetti twirled around his fork into his mouth. "Transfers gotta make friends somehow."

The dinner was pleasant, Ricky being a man of few words as the other four raved about video games and sports teams that he was just not interested in. When asked about his hobbies, Ricky shamelessly admitted that he was an avid reader and musician, but the reaction he received from the three new kids was enough to make him slump into his plastic chair. As the group finished up their food, Garrett's eyes seemed to soar past Ricky's shoulder. It made the curly-headed boy do a double take, wondering if perhaps a giant monster was standing behind him. Garrett noticed Ricky's sudden curiosity, but the dark-haired kid laughed it off. "Sorry, man," Garrett chuckled, leaning back in his seat as he grabbed the attention of the other three boys. He crossed his legs, folding his hands atop. "It's just that Gina Porter gets prettier every single year, and it's unfathomable."

The name rang a bell in Ricky's brain, and his neurons began firing until he put the pieces together that the tall dancer he spotted at lunch was Gina. When Ricky looked behind him once again, he saw the girl entering the dinner line. It was like her presence magnified throughout the entire line, for people in front of her immediately turned around and showered her with compliments and comments that made her blush, grin, and flick her hair.

"She was at transfer orientation," Big Red pulled the information from Ricky's brain like a psychic.

"Of course she was," Warren comfortably crossed his arms. "Let me guess, so were her other picture perfect friends."

Big Red and Ricky glanced at one another, giving Warren the answer he needed. His tone uncannily reminded Ricky of Big Red's conspiracy yesterday. "Power to them, dude," Garrett took a sip of his water. "They run this place, and if anyone is going to, it should be them."

Ricky bit his lip in thought. "What does that mean?" he inquired.

"Do you know anything about the elite?" Peter furrowed his brow. Warren gave him an unfriendly elbow, reminding his twin that Ricky of course had to be a clueless transfer who was popularity repellent; Ricky wouldn't be able to deny such an assumption. "My bad," Peter solemnly apologized.

"I mean, all we know is that they're Leopard Leaders with insane resumes and have opinions that are apparently valuable enough to share with all the incoming transfers," Big Red laid out him and Ricky's knowledge on the table.

Garrett tilted forward again. "I'll fill you guys in," he offered, sticking out his pointer finger. "First is Gina. Super hot, crazy talented, has Stanford going for her after graduation. Every dude stares at her from far away, but I don't know anyone that's ever gotten with her. If anyone has, I'm sure they'd never tell. The elite are super secretive about stuff like that."

"Kourtney Greene is friends with Gina, and she is an artistic wizard," Peter took over. "She has her DMs flooded every formal and prom season with people begging her to do their makeup and hair. She also paints, too, which is wild. Her parents are wicked rich, as are the rest of the elite's, but hers are big sponsors of the school because of their law firm. They're well-known to have sticks up their asses and be super strict when it comes to school events they host, but Kourtney is sweet if you ever get to talk to her."

Warren wanted in on the storytelling, so he put his hands on the table to announce his turn. "Ashlyn Moon is another one of the girls. You never want to mess with her in anything. She competes hard all the time, and she always wins. Probably because she's just a naturally smart person, though, so I can't hate on it."

"Oh, then there's Carlos Rodriguez and Seb Matthew-Smith. People think they're dating, but no one really knows. Academy isn't so caught up with the times, so if they ever did date, I don't know if they'd tell anyone," the mic went back to Garrett. "Carlos is a big choreographer, and his creativity basically runs the school's theater productions all on its own. His work is so sick that even I who has no rhythm can admire it. Seb is a theater kid, too, but everyone knows him from starting the Networking Association. The job connections he gets his hands on are insane. That club is super exclusive."

"Then there's EJ Caswell," Peter huffed in admiration. "The guy's a legend, I'm telling you. Broke almost every soccer record in Academy history, yet he's still on track for Top Three at graduation. And he's hot, I'll say it. Every girl falls at his feet. Rumor has it, though, that he's kinda easy. I happen to know a girl that hooked up with him once, and she gained absurd street cred from it."

"Similar to him is Charlie Kingston," Garrett added, "and I know what you're thinking. Yes, he's one of the great-times-twelve grandsons of Harrison Kingston, the guy that founded this place. The Kingston's are stupid rich, and Charlie always gets special treatment every year. I heard he's got the master in Kingston Hall this year, which is only ever given to RA's, but I'm not surprised he got his hands on it. He's a great athlete and student, too, but he gets his fame from his ancestry."

Ricky knew there was a name missing from the students they listed, but Warren was on it before Ricky could think any further. "Oh, and Nina Salazar-Roberts," he continued. "You couldn't find someone more of a goody two shoes than that girl. She is a genius, I'm convinced, and she is the cover girl of this place. In the library all the time, running the cheer team, giving speeches at galas."

"Did you guys hear Harvard is her number one?" Peter asked, Ricky's eyes widening. "Someone told me today."

"She's practically in already, please," Garrett scoffed. "Her parents are also loaded. They've been saving for Harvard for years. They know she'll make it."

Big Red and Ricky were both equally as fascinated. "Wow," Big Red breathed, encompassing Ricky's feelings into one small word. "Talk about perfect people."

"For sure," Garrett nodded confidently. "No one really knows what goes on with them outside of their accolades and popularity, though. I think the people they party with are sworn to secrecy about everything. I don't even know if all of them do party."

"We'd never find out," Warren sighed. "For now I just have to envy them all from afar."

Ricky simply nodded along as normal conversation continued again. While he went to go throw out his trash, he laughed at himself for entertaining Big Red's suspicions about the "elite." Hell, Ricky sat behind Nina Salazar-Roberts in AP Lit that morning. There appeared to be nothing obscure about her aside from her teacher's pet title and flawless middle part. These people, although how unrealistic they might've sounded, were the epitome of this school, and Ricky accepted that it was fortunate to learn that now rather than later.