A Chance for More

Chapter 5

Allison

“Argh!” I yelled in frustration and immediately got into my apartment. I slammed the door behind me and pounded on it. “Why the hell is this happening?”

“Are you alright?”

I hadn't been expecting a response. I jumped in surprise as I heard a voice addressing me. I turned around and saw a girl that looked to be about my age. She was sitting on one of the couches with a laptop on her thighs.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you,” she said. “I'm guessing you're my roommate.”

Oh, so I had a roommate after all.

“I'm Allison,” I said. I walked up to her and offered her a handshake. She took it with a smile. “I'm sorry about just now,” I apologized. “The last few minutes have been… well, very frustrating.”

She gave a cheerful laugh. In some weird way, it made me feel better. “Lorient didn't turn out to be what you had imagined?”

“Oh no, that's not it,” I replied, shaking my head. I took a seat next to her. “The school is amazing, it's perfect. It's the people that are my problem.”

“Really? That quickly?”

“Yeah.”

“I'm Jeanne by the way. Jeanne Delisle.” She gave me another warm smile, soon my face mirrored it.

“Delisle, wait I think I've seen that name before.”

“Yeah, my last name is on the Lorient library.”

“Wow, that's so impressive.”

“Not really, you'll see a lot of that here. Most of us are legacies or related to some rich family that has a history with the school.”

“Oh, I see,” I said, finally understanding why there were names everywhere. Jeanne looked at me anxiously like she was waiting for something. That was when I realized that I hadn't told her my last name.

“Mitchell, Allison Mitchell.”

“I'm not sure I've heard that one before. Are you related to someone I might know?”

“I guess you could say that. It doesn't matter though,” I said to change the subject. “It's nice to see at least one person who is not a total jerk.”

“I hate to admit it, but yeah. Some of the people here let their names go to their heads. So what happened to you exactly?”

“Ugh!” I sighed and I leaned back on the chair. “I saw a childhood friend.”

“Wait, isn't that supposed to be a good thing?”

“I thought so too,” I complained. “We were such good friends in middle school. All I wanted now was to catch up, but Maille didn't even want to hear it. She even told me that she had outgrown me and that I should know my place.”

“Sounds like Maille I know,” Jeanne commented, rolling her eyes.

“You've met her too?”

“Growing up the way I did, I've met everyone.”

“I don't understand,”

“For most of us here, our families have been in this school for such a long time. It extends past the school though. On paper, we're all a big happy academic family. But then you meet people like Maille.”

“So you've spent a lot of time with her?” I asked.

“Yeah. We were friends when we were little, we used to play together a lot, but she got into Lorient before me, and now it seems like I'm not even worth the trouble.”

“Exactly!” I could hide my excitement at the fact that someone understood how I felt. “Does Lorient change people that quickly?”

“Everyone is after something here, the only problem is that they think they have to sabotage others to get it.”

“That's just insane. She said something else though, something about a blog?”

“Yeah I know about that,” Jeanne answered. She picked up her laptop again and I saw that she was on the school webpage. She clicked on a link and a blog appeared. “This is it.”

“She wasn't kidding,”

“I wouldn't call it a blog though, it's more like the school's gossip column. I'm guessing that the Maille you met was the same one I met as a child and was friends with. This person is far from who you knew.”

“You want to know something crazy?”

“Always!” Jeanne replied without missing a beat.

“She's a major reason I'm here.”

“What do you mean? Did she help you get in?”

“No,” I replied. “Nothing like that. But she was the one that told me about the school in the first place. I might have learned about it later on, but when we met, it was all she talked about, going to school here. It was her dream, soon it became mine too.”

“That's amazing. The school is worth it though.”

“What about you?” I questioned. “Why did you choose here?”

“It wasn't a choice for me. I'm not exactly complaining, but I guess I'm not like you. I didn't grow up with the passion for Lorient, I was just always told that I was going to come here.”

“Your parents, huh?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I've never fully fit in among the rest of them. But my family is important here, whether I like it or not. That's one of the reasons I'm happy I met you. You seem different like you're not one of us and I mean that in the best way, it's refreshing.”

“Well, I'm not trying to be like one of you.”

“That's one of the best things about you,” she smiled. As we continued to talk, I knew we were headed for an amazing friendship.

“What's your major?” I asked.

“Architecture,” she grinned. I could tell she loved it.

“I can see that the field was your choice.”

“Oh, it was,” she said. “I love Architecture, it has to be the best field in the world.”

“I'd have to disagree,” I said playfully. “That honor has to go to Ancient History.”

“Is that your major?”

“Yes it is, it's something I've always wanted.”

“That's fantastic,” she replied, clapping her hands together.“You know they sort of go together, history and Architecture.”

“Yeah.” I couldn't help but agree. “Through history, architecture has evolved. There's always a lot to learn from the past. That's one of the reasons this place fascinates me. The stories are hidden in this school.”

“There are a lot of them,” Jeanne agreed. “You might not find them on your own, but with some help, you'll probably get what you're looking for.”

“Oh? So where can I get that help?” I inquired.

“Were you around for the orientation?”

“There was an orientation?” I asked.

Jeanne let out another laugh. “Of course, there was an orientation. I wasn't there though, and it's clear you weren't there either. That means that we've been assigned chaperones.”

“What are those gonna do?”

“They are sort of like tour guides for us. They can help with the history and the stories attached to the school. they'll give us our orientation and in turn, get extra credit for it.”

“Extra credit? You mean these chaperones are going to be students?”

“Yeah. It's usually those in their third year. Is that a problem?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Let's see if I can recognize our chaperones.” She glanced at the screen and read out the names. “Mine is Andre Guillaume, I think I know him. Yours is… oh my.”

I gave her a confused look. “What? Who is it?” I looked at the screen and read the name that was next to mine. “Zack Dubois. Wait, isn't that the name on the other estate?”

“Oh, it's more than that,” Jeanne said with wide eyes. Everyone knows that the Dubois name is one of the most important in the school. His family is the richest in the school, and they own so much. Zack is like a prince. He's the captain of the tennis team and he has to be the most popular person in this school.”

“Wow,” I marveled. “Have you met him before? What is he like?”

“I have, he's so handsome,” Jeanne replied dreamily.

“Tell me about him. I need details,” I said, clapping my hands in excitement. “Where did you meet?”

“We met at a charity event,” Jeanne answered, perking up at the opportunity to talk about Zack. “I didn't know who he was at first, but he was so dreamy, I stared at him all night. He sat with some friends of his. Then the time for donations came. Apparently, he was representing his dad. He stood up and gave the biggest donation there, that's when they said his name. Zack Dubois. It still makes my knees weak.”

“Wow.”

I turned and looked at the name again. My mind wandered, trying to figure out what Zack Dubois was like.

“Wait, something just came up,” Jeanne said suddenly. “I think Maille just posted a new story on her blog.”

“I doubt that concerns me,” I said. “I'm done with anything relating to Maille. I don't want to see anymore.”

“I think you'll reconsider, seeing as this update is about you…”

“What?” That was the last thing I expected. “What could she possibly write about me?” Jeanne turned her computer towards me and I took a look, reading what I saw on the screen out loud.

“Seems our mysterious queen, with no name or background that is worth a mention, has decided to leave her place at the bottom of the food chain and go after the biggest meal there is. Zack Dubois— what? I've never met Zack.”

“Let me see,” Jeanne said before she turned the computer back to herself.

“Could you read it out loud?” I asked, and Jeanne answered by nodding her head.

“She was spotted earlier today throwing herself shamelessly at the prince of Lorient, only for her insignificant advances to be rebuffed by Zack. Below is a picture of her storming away in anger, after her painful, albeit quick rejection.”

“What? How can there be a photo? I didn't ask out anyone, I've never even seen Zack Dubois in my life. I don't know who he is!” I realized that I had raised my voice when Jeanne flinched a little. “I'm so sorry for yelling, I'm just really frustrated right now. I've never met this Zack person, so I can't understand how I could have asked him on a date.”

“Let's take a look at the photo,” Jeanne suggested. It came up in a few seconds and sure enough, there I was walking away from the guy who had tried to talk to me earlier. The picture made me realize that I had not taken a good look at Zack. It showed him fully and clearly and I had to admit, he was more than just a bit good-looking.

He was handsome. He gave off the sort of rugged vibe you would get from a movie star. He had unruly black hair that I doubted he had control over. It covered his green eyes slightly. There was a trace of a beard on his face and he had high shoulders. In the picture, he didn't look as tall as he was in real life, but he still looked lean and incredibly muscular. I could tell from his shirt that he was no stranger to exercise.

“s**t! Is that Zack?”

“Yeah,” Jeanne answered. “I'm confused. Do you recognize him? So that is you in the photo then. Did you ask him out on a date?”

“What? No, I just met him. This happened immediately after my talk with Maille. I was still in shock. That's when this guy walked up to me, offering to help.”

“That's nice of him,” Jeanne commented.

“Well I didn't need any help, I didn't even know who he was. He just came in like I was some damsel in distress and he was prince charming.

“In a way he is.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“They call him the prince of Lorient.”

“You've got to be kidding,” I laughed. Jeanne's face soon revealed that she wasn't joking. “Wait, you're serious?”

“Yeah, and would you blame anyone? Just look at how gorgeous he is.”

“Wow, that's… something. Anyway, I'm sure Maille saw us together and took a picture. This entire story of hers is false.”

“Well, false or not,” Jeanne started. “I think it's too late now. The entire school must have seen it by now.”

“I don't need this drama. I'm here for one thing; to get the education I deserve. I don't need this.”

“I know,” Jeanne said as she patted me sympathetically. “It's a gossip column, I'm pretty sure that the entire school would've forgotten about it in just a few days. You're going to be okay.”

“I do wish that I could still be friends with her. Doesn't matter now though.”

“It doesn't,” Jeanne agreed. “Plus you and I are going to be great friends.” She moved in for a hug and I obliged. I couldn't help but agree that Jeanne and I were going to be close.