Thornriver || [on hold]

01

  I could feel Esme’s cold eyes boring into the back of my skull as our coach bumped along the country lanes of Yorkshire. I couldn’t blame her – stuck at the back with Queen Emo? I’d want to kill myself too. When I turned my head around, Esme was huddled as close to the window as possible, as though Addison Matthews was contagious. I couldn’t help but smile to myself – I could feel jealous vibes drip off of her as she presented me with another Esme-Easton-scowl before I sunk back down into my seat.

  Frances, who was in the aisle seat next to me, passed us a chocolate each and we exchanged smiles as she went back to talking to Josie. I turned to face Sophia, who was staring at the rolling countryside out of her window, head gently bobbing along to her music. I gave her a gentle nudge and she jolted a bit, blue eyes wide until she realised it was me.

  “Oh. Huh,” she smiled, passing me an earbud. It was some sh*tty pop song that seemed to have been on repeat for months now, but I didn’t mind. Listening with Sophia somehow made the beat more bearable, and the lyrics have a different meaning.

  It was amazing. Being with the Elites, even for a term, made me feel so much more… different. I was given respect in corridors; the older girls would give me high-fives and the younger ones would talk about us in excited whispers. But most of all, the change was in myself. I started styling my hair differently – what was once a dark brown ponytail turned into a straight side part, rising at the hairline and obscuring one eye. I wore more makeup, I held myself with poise and confidence. If the people at Cepen Park could see me now, they wouldn’t even recognise me. And at this point, I’m meant to say ‘sometimes I don’t recognise myself’ or something along those lines, but I do. I just feel like this was the person I was inside all along.


  Coach Boswell’s shout brought me back to reality. “Right girls, headphones off and listen up!” A collective groan echoed around the bus as people shuffled around to get their bags.

  “Alright young ladies!” Coach Boswell began, “Today you will not be under adult supervision for the most part. The aim is to make your way to camp using only a map, a compass and your God-given sense of direction! That’s right, girls, phones are only to be used in an emergency, is that clear?”
  “Yes, Coach,” intoned the girls, including myself.
  “Excellent! Okay, each team will have a staggered start. That means that you shouldn’t catch up with anyone else, and no cheating. You must get to the campsite before sundown, because that’s when the wolves come out!”
  A “What?!” came from two girls in the front, and me and Sophia rolled our eyes at each other.
  “Kidding, kidding,” grinned Coach Boswell, clearly pleased with her little joke. “After we’ve camped for the night, you’ll only have another few hours walking the next day, before you end up at the car park. Now, the basic rules: what does a Thornriver lady always conduct herself with?”
  “Grace and humility!” said the girls.
  “And what must a Thornriver lady always live by?”
  “Love, honour and sisterhood,” we recited the school motto.
  “Excellent, girls! Team One, out you come!”

  A group of girls trooped out of the coach, and Sophia unclipped her seatbelt. She bent down and picked up her rucksack, putting it on her lap. She sighed, “Ugh, six hours of walking? Can you imagine?”
  Sophia was not usually prissy, so this surprised me a bit. I decided to give a safe, “I know right,” in reply.
  Team Four were called out, which meant we were next. Sophia grabbed my hand tight, causing me to make eye contact with those baby-blue eyes. “Elise, you have to promise me something as my best friend, okay?”
  “Uh… yeah?” I said, confused.
  “Look, you have to promise to stand by me no matter what happens.”
  “Isn’t that what friends are for?” I said jokingly.
  “Elise, please. You have to promise me.”
  “Yeah, I promise.”
  The serious look in her eyes was gone as quickly as it arrived. She smiled, the normal Sophia Florence back again. “Thank, Lisie. You’re a better best friend than Esme was.”
  There it was again. She said it just loud enough so that Esme could hear. She knew what she was doing, that was certain. Slowly, but surely, slicing Esme away from the Elites bit by bit. I think she was smarter than anyone gave her credit for.


  “Alright, Team Four, you’re up.”
  And again. Team Four. Just like there were Four Elites, anything Sophia did to anyone she disliked was to sneakily get under their skin ever so slowly. She was constantly reminding Esme that there were Four Elites, and I wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. She was a b*tch in a way that was almost admirable.
  I got out of my seat first and started walking towards the front, with Sophia behind me and Frances behind her. I stepped out of the coach and walked toward Coach Boswell, swinging my backpack onto my shoulders.
  “Okay… Josephine Davies?”
  “Yes, miss,” said Josie, speaking in the first time in what seemed like forever.
  “Esme Easton?”
  “Yes, miss.” Esme’s haughty voice came from behind me.
  “Sophia Florence?”
  “Yes, miss.”
  “Addison Matthews.”
  “Yes, miss,” mumbled Addison, quietly.
  “Speak up next time, dear. Frances Remington?”
“Yes, miss.”
  “And last but not least, Elise Wilson?”
  “Yes, miss,” I said.
  “Very well, you know the deal, right? Make it to camp, camp overnight, make it back? Do you have your compasses with you? Ok, good. And maps? Uh-huh. And food? Of course, you wouldn’t forget to pack that!”
  Josie gave a small giggle to that.
  “Oh yeah, Josephine. Well done at regionals. Sorry I couldn’t make it.”
  Josie looked at the floor, embarrassed by the attention. She always preferred to seem small and quiet.
  “Anyway…” she looked at her watch. “You can start… now!”

   So the six of us began our walk. Nothing much happened, at first. Josie was leading the way, as she’d done an orienteering competition a few months prior to the hike. Me, Sophia and Frances chatted aimlessly, sharing snacks and gossip from one of Frances’ many brothers (she has three of them!), who was at a boarding school called Redgrove. She excitedly told us about the party he held last weekend, and how one of the older boys was ‘totally into her’. It sounded so strange to me, hearing nerdy-seeming Frances talk about how he made out her in the gardens, but that was the thing about the Elites. Even the clever ones got action.
  Meanwhile, Esme and Addison trailed along a good two metres behind us, never speaking and probably not even looking at each other.

  And that’s how it was.

  Oh, at first, though.

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Sorry that this didn't have quite as much of a dramatic ending as the last one, things will heat up next chapter ;)

Thanks to @Helpless and @Rolling_Girl for commenting, you're the reason I got this chapter out only 3 hours after the first one!

I'm on an inspiration kick, so expect a new chapter soon :)

E.

Word Count: 1170