YEAR 5 CONFERENCE HALL
As sudden as the touches arrived, they left, leaving just lingering tingles in remembrance.
Bri was still trying to recuperate from the almost spaced-out she just felt, eyes glued to her thigh, formerly occupied by slender fingers.
Max snapped the book shut, giving notice to everyone in the group. Collecting herself, she rose to her feet and spoke,
“If you would excuse me, I have to get this book back to the library.”
Glancing at Bri, her eyes conveying; follow me.
In an attempt to follow the brunette, Elise signified, “Max, let me go with you. I don’t want to stay around a certain someone”, throwing a stink eye at the unbothered male beside her.
“Trent, watch Elise for me. I’ll be right back”, Max ordered while motioning for the pouty girl to sit back down. Elise sagged back into her chair, mumbling incoherently to herself in dissatisfaction.
With a last look at the disrupted tomboy, a tiny smirk made its way to her lips at how much Bri was impacted. With that, the girl with glasses excused herself.
After minutes of pondering whether to go after her taunter or not, Bri’s face betrayed her conflicted mind. The sound of her name pulled her out of her thoughts,
“Bri! Bri! Are you okay? You seem very lost. What are you thinking about? Is the about the dresses?“, the blonde inquired.
“Hmm, I have to go guys”, The pixie-haired girl got up unexpectedly.
“Wait, where are you going to?“, Elise called out after her.
“Toilet!“, Bri answered rounding the corner, and out the door.
The confusion evident on her face, Hannah shifted to the others, “But that’s not the way to the toilet”.
All the while, sitting quietly behind Hannah while fondling her hair, Senza’s eyes hidden behind his overgrown hair caught a glimpse of Max’s hands caressing Bri’s thigh.
With that image in mind, all he could utter was a small grunt of amusement at his partner’s confusion. Interesting.
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THE LIBRARY
1ST FLOOR
Will she come? What if she didn’t detect my gesticulation earlier?
The thoughts of disappointment pulled a sigh of despair from Max. Jerking away the thoughts, it’s insignificant, she surveyed the queues of books for her next conquest.
Greek Mythology? No. Ayuttaya History? Done. Egyptian Poems? I could utilize that to brush up on my Arabic.
The silence in the library was disrupted as hesitant footsteps echoed along the hall. Who could that–
Ginger strands stood out among the rustic background of the library walls. Max found herself gazing at the confused girl, from behind the shelves. Hair messy from repeatedly running through, necktie laying lax along her torso, one hand gently tucked in her pant pocket as her eyes wandered about looking for the one who occupied her thoughts.Hmm...Not bad.
“Max? Hello? Anyone?”
“Are you aware this is a library?“, the girl in glasses reveals herself, taking light steps towards Bri.
Placing the book with a foreign language written on the hardcover on her thigh, she took a seat on the vacant table, looking directly into Bri’s hazel iris, “I see you are quite observant.”
“Maxine, what was that in the classroom?“, Bri blurted out, desperate for answers. Her eyes scoured Max’s, trying to read where her mind was.
Erasing any form of hesitancy, she inclined forward and articulated, “Kiss me”
Bri’s dilated eyes paced around, trying to make meaning of what just exited from Max’s mouth.
“Kiss... you? This doesn’t make sense to me. What is this?”
“You don’t want to? Okay. I’ll just ask someone–“, Max made an effort to descend from the table, feeling somewhat dejected.
Caging her between her arms, Bri arrested her, “Where do you think you are going? I didn’t say I didn’t want to, I... just needed a minute to wrap my head around it”. The now-settled girl clarified, a small smile resting on her lips. You kinda sprung this up on me.
“I will assume that you have consented. Alright. Kiss me then.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The impatient girl puckered her thin lips together and shut her eyes in expectation. A giggle broke her out of her daydreaming. This was a new side of Max that Bri was not aware of. The thought of the face constantly buried in a book showing such a cute and childish expression was one for the imagination.
Opening her eyes to the smiley Bri, Max cocked her head to the side in puzzlement, “Why are you laughing? The books plainly said I ought to do that”. Stifling a chuckle at the smart girl’s naivety, Bri gently unfolded the hands clenching onto the strange book,
“That is all theory. But would you like me to teach the practical?“, examining the clueless girl in glasses for permission. “We’ll take it slow. If you are not comfortable with anything, stop me.”
Max abruptly burst into a rant out of uneasiness, “My lips are moistened. Eyes open or closed? I opted for closed and then readied my lips”, running through the checklist in her head, “I would desire you don’t muddle up my uniform and we have restricted time, approximately 15 minutes but a kiss based on my study is relatively quick–”
Bri shut her rambling with a premature peck on the lips.
Pulling away, she slowly removes the glasses off the brunette, tidying up her bangs to have a better look at the constantly hidden upturned honey-brown. Her eyes searched Max’s expression for hesitation. At the sight of none, she cups the slim girl’s chin and plants a soft kiss on her slightly ajar lips. Pulling back, their eyes linger for a moment.
There, a kiss...
Just then, Max pulls on the loose tie of the girl hovering over her to seal their lips once again, a firm closed mouth kiss. Quickly recovering from the abruptness, Bri slows her down by running her thumb across her cheekbone, “Open your mouth for me”, as she kisses down on the innocent girl’s lower lips, opening her up to deepen the kiss. Sweet... Strawberry... You prepared earnestly, Max.
Holding herself back from intensifying the kiss, their location serving as an anchor, Bri pulled away from the kiss. Max still heaving, eyes closed and she savoured the new feeling from this experience. It is very different from when she practised on fruits in the dorms. The tomboy gently wiped residues of lip balm that veered from the lips of the recovering girl.
“And I didn’t have to mess up your uniform”
The rings of her silvery voice woke Max from her trance. Putting on her usual plain expression, she adjusted her glasses back on the bridge of her nose.
“That was... adequate. Thank you for... yes. We should leave now”, the constantly monotonous girl found herself stumbling on her words, resulting in a broad grin from Bri. Uncomfortable with the strange ambience, Max cautiously leaps off the table, book in hand as she totters to walk away.
Bri’s appealing words stop her after a few steps, “If you ever need someone to do that with, I’ll... love to.”
“I’ll consider it. Class now”, she responded walking away with the pixie-haired girl strolling after her.
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YEAR 5 CONFERENCE HALL
Amidst the hum of conversations around her, Elise’s attention was undivided, locked on the enigmatic man seated by her side. Her mind churned, trying to decipher the enigma of his behaviour – so inconsistent, leading up to that bewildering proposal. Elise needed an answer to a mind-boggling question.
“Why did you pick me?” Her voice trembled with curiosity, carrying the weight of her unease.
Trent, with his eyes veiled, responded with an indifferent tone, “You were right beside me. Too tired to think”
His words pierced through her, a stark display of his disinterest. The fragile hope she held, that perhaps he had chosen her out of genuine affection, crumbled to dust. A lump of disappointment welled up within her, making her question why his casual response had the power to hurt her so deeply. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she battled the urge for a more aggressive response.
“You can still change it. Pick someone else. It doesn’t have to be me,” she impulsively offered, her voice edged with desperation.
“Too lazy to change”, Trent replied, his words final, dismissing the notion. Stop disputing, Elise.
Her face scrunched up in sadness, a quiet lament of their incompatibility. Her hand gestures accompanied her words as she poured out her frustrations, “But you don’t even like me. We can’t even make simple agreements without fighting, talk less of making plans together as dates”
Abruptly, Trent shifted gears, as if the previous conversation held no significance. He raised an unrelated question, his interruption inconsiderate, “What colour is your dress?”
“Excuse me” Elise blinked, taken aback by the sudden change in topic.
Trent gazed at her with open eyes, an uncharacteristic act, and repeated, “Dress. Color. Are you even listening?“, topping with a shake of his head. I would have heard you if you didn’t interrupt me. Changing the subject out of nowhere.
“Sigh, I don’t know yet”, she responded, her shoulders slumping as she realized she had entirely forgotten about the dress predicament.
Pointing at the white snowflake emblem on her cardigan,
“Wear this”
Her narrowed eyes followed the path of his finger down to her uniform, then darted back to him, disbelief etched in her expression. “You must really hate me, Trent Lee. It’s a ball, not a school trip. I can’t wear my uniform,” she pointed out the obvious, her frustration evident.
He rolled his eyes at her assumptions and corrected her with his typical bluntness, “Stupid. I meant the colour.”
Elise’s gaze returned to the emblem on her uniform, the realization dawning on her. “Oh!” She inspected her shirt more closely, her face lighting up as she declared, “It’s white, Trent.” Her sulking transformed into a pout as she gazed at the emblem on her chest.
Trent was well aware of her lukewarm feelings toward the colour white, but ever since her abilities had transformed her appearance, something was intriguing about it.
“I’m aware. Stop whining like a child. It brings out your eyes”, he muttered the last statement to himself.
“My eyes?” Elise looked at him with curiosity, waiting for more.
“Just wear it. Now stop talking to me. I have reached my social quote for the day”. he declared, closing his eyes as a sign that the conversation had come to an end. His dismissal left Elise mildly irritated, and she let out a huff of frustration.
“This is going to be a hassle. Fine, fine. Shut me out. I have better things to spend mental energy on.” She retorted, her voice laced with irritation, and turned her attention to her tablet, determined to focus on the pressing matter of choosing an outfit for the upcoming ball. Despite her annoyance, she still found herself scrolling through a catalogue of white dresses.
Moments later, Trent quietly opened his eyes and discreetly observed the focused girl beside him. His gaze lingered on her features, and he couldn’t help but feel a faint hint of amusement at her furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips. “Stupidly cute,” he mumbled to himself.
Sensing an intense gaze upon him, Trent shifted slightly in his seat to address the source of the scrutiny. He caught sight of someone in the distance, Samuel, glaring at him with pure envy. A ghost of a smirk played across his lips as he silently revelled in the realization that Samuel should have treated Elise better.
Regaining his composure, Trent returned to his previous position, inching slightly closer to the absent-minded Elise.
Like and Comment for more Trent dialogue or I might just make him mute.
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