Breaking the Ice

Chapter Twenty-Five: Evasive Maneuvers

Anna's POV

It's been almost a week since Courtney and I walked out the doors to the café, leaving behind the McKay brothers and feeling pretty damn sure of ourselves. Now, as I stood at the doors to the main assembly hall, my breath hitched a bit and my feelings were anything but damn sure.

"What's the matter, Anna? Something on the other side to be afraid of?" Jessica's shrill laughter sent all the blood raging to my head and I spun around, my right fist swinging hard.

Her face is a mask of pale plastic as my fist shakes slightly just a breath away from her perfectly crafted nose. I let my lip tug up into a smirk as a single bead of sweat rolled down her temple. Or was that a tear? I leaned in close, my fist never wavering from her face.

"I'd be careful how loosely you wag that tongue of yours, Jessica. Pretending to have a hold over me won't earn you points with the new lead b***h on the scene," I whispered as I removed my fist and brushed past her to push open the doors to the assembly hall.

The large room was filled with students. Everyone was talking among themselves about the announcement that was just given over the PA system. Members of staff were making their way to stand next to their students while the Heads of Departments and the Dean made their way across the large stage. Dean King made his way to the podium and everyone became quiet. He tapped his finger on the microphone and then cleared his throat, just as the doors behind us opened and closed shut once more.

The combined clicks as the sound of heels walking across the polished floor filled my ears as my hands instinctively clenched at my sides. I took a few deep breaths and instantly regretted it as the punjent smell of perfume filled my lungs. The approaching heels ceased their clicking and I fought the urge to turn my head. The sound of screeching feedback from the podium kept my eyes in front of me as the Dean addressed the room.

"Thank you all for joining us here today. This assembly call was definitely last minute, but under the circumstances, we found it necessary to let everyone here know what great honor befalls our blessed campus," Dean King's voice rang loudly throughout the hall and collective whispers began buzzing about.

"Today, I have the honor of introducing a new student to campus. One who has ever so graciously volunteered to help us commandeer our newly formed competitive figure skating team. Please help me welcome the ever-talented and national inspiration to us all, Miss Isabella Ramsey!"

The smell of perfume wharfed around me once more as the sound of heels clicking past me gave me a glimpse of wavy, shoulder-length blonde hair that somehow accentuated the most lithe figure I have ever seen in my life. Shaking my head to clear it from the dazed state, I regained my focus to channel the shock and now the gritty need to walk over and yank out every grain of golden perfection off Bella Ramsey's head.

She made her way over to the podium and her eyes scanned the room before purposefully stopping on me. I watched as the corners of her ruby-painted lips quirked up as she addressed the hall.

"Thank you Dean King. My father spoke so highly of you and your people, who generously donated to our foundation this year which helps young children realize their dreams of sports. As the ambassador for that foundation, I found it quite fitting that I volunteered my help to make Hillcrest High a resounding name in the field I hold so dear to my heart," Bella breathed out every word without a flinch, but the way her eyes bore into me promised there was more to come.

"My father was a hockey player as well. He played for the Lakeview Lions alongside his good friend and now business partner Richard McKay. Our families are very close and pulling from that, I'd like to grow such a relationship of my own," there was another dramatic pause as Bella's smirk turned into a devious grin.

"Anna Donovan, could you join me up here please?"

The hall was filled with murmurs and shuffling as members of my class looked around and stared at me. Some shocked, while others encouraged me to walk up to the stage.

I allowed my feet to carry me forward, all the while my brain was trying to figure out what the hell was happening here. As I crossed the stage and planted myself beside Bella, the room went quiet again as she wrapped one of her arms around my shoulders.

"Anna here is a legend herself. Her father is also a hockey player. Elias Donovan was one of the best defensemen of his time. Isn't that right, Anna?"

Bella's fingers dug into my shoulder and I nodded silently while shaking her hand off me.

"Now I told the Dean that this project had to be a group effort. So I would need someone who the campus knows. So Dean King gave his permission to let Anna help me build the new figure skating team and help them become the next best thing to talk about for Hillcrest High!"

The hall erupted in applause as Bella turned to face me. She leaned in close and her breath fanned my cheek. "Did you think that this visit was short term, Anna? I'm sure this will shock Marcus and his family just as much as it did you. The past week of Marcus and his brothers showing me and my sisters around this grubby town was nothing short of hysterical. I know that your so-called relationship with Marcus is causing his dear father some heartache, so I told him that I was willing to help Marcus push himself out of this slump."

The Dean began to address the room again as Bella plastered a faux smile on her face and guided me off the stage. We walked to the back of the crowd as several heads turned to watch us as we moved together. We stopped just at the edge of the room and Bella faced me with her arms crossed over her chest.

"This will be my one and only warning for you Anna Donovan. Marcus McKay is out of your league. The McKay name and prestige is mine, so any little happy plans you've envisioned in that hollow little mind of yours, should be forgotten. You need to remember that compared to me, you're nothing but a speck of dust. So do us both a favor and ----- Ahhh Ouch!"

The continued chatter in the room didn't pay heed to Bella as my hand reached out and grabbed a fistful of those glorious locks and pulled Posh Spice a few pecks down her high horse.

"Let go of me you----"

"Oh shut up. I swear your lips are going to fall off with all that work you give them," I tightened my hold as my voice went dangerously low. "Now it's my turn to talk. I don't know which version of Mean Girls you ran away from but the whole 'My daddy has more money than yours' bit is kind of old. I don't care what you or Mr McKay think about me, my only concern is Marcus. And well, his brothers by extension. You could ask daddy to buy this campus, name it Spice Girls for all I care, hell, you could become the freaking Dean. Nothing you do is going to stop me from being the one to stand beside Marcus."

Bella's eyes went wide as she struggled to break free from my hold. Relaxing my fingers I allowed her to step back as the crowd in the assembly hall began to disperse. A few groups of people watching us closely before shuffling out the door.

Bella cleared her throat and eyed me up and down before turning her back and clicking her way out the door, never catching sight of the person leaning against the wall on the other side of the retreating crowd.

My heart did a little flip as I took in the way the white shirt clung to his chest and shoulders as his hand reached up to loosen the knot of the tie at his throat. He walked over to me, a smile playing on his lips. I stood rooted in place as my head and my heart began arguing about what to say and what to do.

Say Hi stupid!

I opened my mouth to do just that, but his hand reached out and cupped the back of my neck as his head swooped in and everything around just faded away.

Yeah...saying hi is overrated...