𝓚𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓮

"Hello", I said in an intent strong British accent. 

"Kristine!" Teressa smiled. 

She has such a cute smile. Lucky.

I smiled in return and walked into the main lounge where they all sat. 

"How did you get in here?", Charles asked bitterly.

I pulled out my Platinum card and he visibly stilled. 

"Do you and your sisters each carry a Platinum card?", Nicholas asked with his cold gaze on me. 

"Yes."

"Cool. That means all nine of us to get to hang here", Teressa said. 

I nodded and took a seat on the floor by the lounge table.

"Why are you sitting on the floor?", Isabela asked with eyebrows knitted together.

"One of the many weird things about me, is I prefer to sit on the floor sometimes. Also, because I need a table to study", I said. 

Isabella just nodded with a slight smile on her lips. I really am weird.

"Do you all spend time here a lot?", I asked them.

"No. We just came here today because we felt like it", Isabella answered. 

"I see."

"What brings you here?", Teressa questioned.

"Just felt like it", I shrugged.

"We're still on for tonight's dinner right?", Teressa asked me. 

"Of course!"

Day three and so far everything was going great. Well technically, day four since I arrived on Saturday. 

I took off my backpack strap, which I left hanging over one shoulder after class, and took out my Math notebook. I placed my backpack on the floor beside me, took out my pencil case and started studying. 

"Wow." Teressa kneeled beside me and stared at my notebook. 

"Is something wrong, love?", I asked. 

"Your notes are so organized." Her eyes scanned the pages of my notebook. 

"Sophia's habit of highlighting and calligraphy, Tamara's bullet pointing method. They're useful",  I chuckled and went back to studying. 

The room was silent while I studied. 

Tamara eventually had to leave because she wanted to take a nap, preferably in her room, before dinner. Isabella left for the library to find a textbook that'll help her recent Biology assignment.

Then, there were five. 

My eyes were constantly shifting from my textbook to my notebook while I was answering Math practice questions. 

"What is the value of 𝓍?", I mumbled to myself. 

Math was most definitely not my favourite subject but surprisingly I was good at it. Not true, I only pass certain topics. I glanced at the time on my wristwatch to find that I'd been studying for an hour straight. My brain reached its own limit.

I need something sweet.

I got up from where I was sitting and made my way toward the pantry. There were many many many options. But honestly, I just wanted candy. I scanned the shelves and spotted the best thing ever.

Sour Gummy Worms.

I took it off the shelf and opened the glass jar. I haven't had these in forever. Reaching my hand into the jar, I took out a piece and tore a bite with my teeth. 

I miss this.

"Sweet tooth?" 

I turned to find Ashton leaning against the pantry door with his arms folded across his chest. He's taken off his blazer and loosened his tie. 

He looks good.

What the . . . .

"Not really. But I'm close to falling asleep any minute now." I pointed to the jar of gummies, "This is a must need."

Ashton smiled a bit. He took a few steps in and stood in front of me, glancing at the jar in my hand. "You like gummy worms?"

"No."

"Then why are you eating it?", he asked, clearly confused with his head tilted.

He's cute.

"I love it." I shoved an entire piece into my mouth before passing one to him.

He smiled and took it. 

"What's your favourite snack?", he asked suddenly and took a bite of the candy. I couldn't help but watch the movements of his sharp jaw as he chewed down on the gummy. 

"Hmmm . . . . I like too many. Maybe the majority of this pantry are my favourites."

Ashton chuckled and nodded. 

"Yours?", I asked.

"I like too many as well", he answered as he gazed at me with his charming smile never leaving his lips. 

"Favorite midnight snack?" I narrowed my eyes at him. 

"Ice cream. Sometimes, Oreos . . .  with a glass of milk."

"Me too! - It's better with the peanut butter though."

His eyes widened. "No way. You eat it with peanut butter too??" His smile reached up to his eyes.  

"Of course! You haven't lived unless you eat Oreos with peanut butter", I chuckled and my eyes nearly fell shut as my smile too grew. 

He nodded. His eyes continued to gaze into mine and god . . . that charming smile could make any girl weak in the knees. 

But, I was different. 

That's what I thought. 

I smiled and extended the jar of gummies towards him. He giggled lightly and took one offering.

Did he giggle? 

He's cute when he does.

We were both enjoying our snacking time until I heard my phone ring. I passed the jar to Ashton and excused myself. I left my phone on the lounge table so I quickly made my way to the main lounge area and took my phone off the table.

It was my father. 

ON-CALL

Me :

Salut papa. (Hey dad.)

Sometimes I liked greeting my father in French. Also, growing up French pretty much became one of my most used languages. It became my native language. 

Father:

Bonjour ma douce ( Hello sweetheart) How are you? 

Me:

I'm good. How are you and mother? 

Father:

We're both fine sweetheart. Mais j'ai besoin de ton aide. ( But I need your help.) 

Me:

Bien sûr, qu'est ce qu'il y a? (Sure, what is it?) 

Father:

Chérie, je suis désolé. Je ne voulais pas que tu sois impliquée là-dedans. (Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I didn't want you to be involved in this.)

Me:

Papa, de quoi as-tu besoin ? (Dad, what is it you need?)

Father:

J'ai besoin que tu tues quelqu'un. ( I need you to kill someone.)

❇❇❇

Kill. 

I sunk my body deeper into the bathtub. Sighing heavily, I let the warm water soothe me. I laid my head back and closed my eyes. 

"Cheryl!", I screamed. 

I ran to the bathtub and turned off the water tap. Pulling her body out of the tub, I tried not to panic. I laid her body on the ground and checked if she was breathing. She wasn't. I started chest compressions. 

"Wake up love."

My eyes shot open. 

Pulling my hands up to my face, I stared at them emotionless. 

The hands of a saviour. Yet, the hands of a killer.

I took a deep breath and got out of the bathtub. After drying myself with the towel, I wore my towel robe and walked to the vanity sink. Bending down, I rinsed my face with cold water. 

Have fun tonight.

Kristine's Outfit

Tonight, maybe I should do a little heavier makeup. Because I sometimes enjoy doing so. Before wearing my outfit, I've already blown dry my hair and tied my hair in a low bun with a strand pulled out on either side of my face. 

Grabbing my Les Beiges Chanel foundation, I applied a thin layer onto my face. After, I applied concealer in the needed areas and did my contouring. For eyeshadow, I applied a brown shade. Using my angular eye shadow brush, I made the edges of my eyes darker and lighter inwards. The brown shade covered the outward of my eye and I used a goldish shade on the inner. Afterwards, I applied some liquid eyeliner, curled my eyelashes, applied mascara, brushed my eyebrows and applied some dark red lip gloss to match my top. Lastly, a spray of Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey. Obviously, it's one of my favourite fragrances. 

Done.

As usual, I wore my necklace and my silver ring set. Grabbed my white Coach Klare Crossbody that held all my necessities, including my phone and key card. For footwear, I wore my favourite FILA sneakers. Finally, made my way out of the room. 

When I came back to my room earlier this evening, Teressa texted asking if we three could all go together. I said yes. However, my car was a two-seater. Teressa doesn't have a license, apparently, and Isabella doesn't have her car here so she relies on her driver or Xavier to take her wherever. But it was still early, I can just text Albert to come to pick us up if needed. 

TEXT

𝗠𝗲:

𝗛𝗶. 𝗨𝗺 . .𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝘂𝘆𝘀?

𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮:

𝗢𝗵 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁! 𝗪𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲.

𝗠𝗲:

𝗞. 𝗜'𝗺 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄.

After a few minutes, I reached the lounge. I scanned my card and entered the modern luxurious room. Only the four of them were there, which were Teressa, Isabella, Xavier and Charles. 

"Hey!", Teressa greeted once she noticed me. 

"Hey", I smiled and approached her. All of them sat in the same places as before. 

I looked around the room and caught Xavier staring. Swiftly, his gaze fell towards my clothing before meeting my eyes. The moment I stepped into the room, Charles walked off to I don't know where. 

"Who's driving?", Teressa asked.

"My car is a two-seater. Tamara's too. I can call my driver though", I said.

"Actually, there is another option",  Isabella smirked and glanced at her brother, who furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. His eyes widened once he realized . . . . .

"No", he stated.

"Yes", she argued.

❇❇❇

"Why can't you just take Ashton's or Nicholas's?" Xavier led us to his car.

"Woah, is that a Koenigsegg Gemera?", I asked with my eyes wide and intrigued.

Xavier turned to look at me. "You know this car?", he asked bewildered. 

I nodded. "I know a thing or two about cars." My eyes scanned the metallic beauty. 

I wish I can drive it.

While I walked toward the car, Xavier's eyes never left me. 

"Tell me something about this car then", he told while leaning against the hood of the car. I smirked and walked to stand in front of him. 

"The Koenigsegg Gemera has a small engine. At the same time, it is big when it comes to power, torque and sound. Still, it is small when it comes to emissions and consumption. In short, it is a contradiction of an engine. Therefore, it has been named the "Tiny Friendly Giant", or TFG for short. The immense torque combined with the relatively low curb weight of 1850 kg means that the Gemera can go from 0 to 100 km/h in only 1.9 seconds and from 0 to 400 km/h at record matching pace", I beamed. 

Isabella's jaw dropped and Teressa attempted to process what I just said. Xavier looked entirely impressed with his usual smirk making its way to his lips. 

"Muy impresionante ( Very impressive )", Xavier said with amazement covering his face. 

"¿No esperabas que supiera mucho sobre coches? (Didn't expect me to know much about cars?)", I asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Nunca he conocido a ninguna chica que sepa tanto de coches. (I've never met a girl, who knows that much about cars.)" He tucked his hands into his coat pockets and his eyes still held amazement as he stared at me. 

"Eso fue antes de que me conocieras. (That was before you met me.)" / "te conocí. ( I met you.)" We both ended at the same time. Just like the day we met, we held each other's gazes. His smirk faded and a soft smile replaced it. My lips returned a small smile before I tore my gaze away. 

"I'm guessing you'll drive?", I asked Isabella, who was smirking at Xavier. 

"You can drive", Xavier said directed toward me. 

My eyes widened in disbelief. Almost got a whiplash, by how fast I snapped my head towards Xavier. He tosses me the smart key and I caught it with both hands. Automatically, a huge smile made its way to my face, my eyes holding excitement.

"Really?? Are you sure?", I asked Xavier with my eyes wide and my big smile never fading. 

He didn't reply instantly. Instead, his head tilted slightly, as he stared at my face like he was curious. Curious about this girl in front of him that I myself didn't recognise. His small smile lingered on his lips when he nodded and I couldn't help but jump in place, making everyone chuckle.

"Get in girls!", I told excitedly. 

"We're not going to die right?", Terresa whispered asked, Isabella. In response, Isabella nudged Terresa's elbow and got into the passenger seat. Teressa, hesitantly, got in the backseat. 

Making my way towards the driver's seat, Xavier's hand grabbed my wrist and turned me around. Both of his hands grabbed my arms and I looked up at him shocked. The six-foot specimen bends down his face to meet my eyes. 

"Just don't crash my car." 

"No promises", I winked. 

Taking a step back, I made my way to the driver's seat and got in. After I started the engine,  I made eye contact with Xavier through the front window. He maintained eye contact before walking aside. Then, I stepped on the accelerator pedal and drove off at full speed, making a sharp turn towards the main gates. 

"Jesus Christ!", Teressa yelled. 

I slowly pulled the car to a stop just after we passed the main gates. 

"My bad. Have you guys got your seatbelts on?", I asked the two. The two just stared at me in disbelief. However, when they noticed I was serious, they hastily buckled on their seatbelts.

"I advise you to hold on to something." I stepped on the accelerator once more. Leading to the academy, was a long forest road so it was safe to drive at full speed. Also, because I wanted to. 

Finally, I get to drive a Koenigsegg Gemera.

I'll use this opportunity to a full extent. 

"This is insane!" Isabella held onto the ceiling handle as her life depended on it. 

"That's because I am!"

❇❇❇

"I think I left my soul in the car", Teressa exaggerated.

"Fortunately, we arrived before I threw up", Isabella spoke. 

"HA HA HA", I retorted sarcastically. 

Thankfully, they're more comfortable with me now.

"That's Kristine", Sophia chuckled. 

Currently, we are dining on the terrace of 14 Hills restaurant. The view from up here was enthralling.  Definitely, we need to bring the others here too. Tamara would love it.

"What's everyone having?", Sophia asked, her eyes scanning the menu held in her hands. 

"I'll have the Lobster Thermidor", I decided.

"Ooo I'll have that too", Isabella said.

"The Kiev seems good", Teressa commented. 

"I'll have the Fillet", Sophia, finally, decided. 

We ordered our food and started getting to know each other, such as our interests, majors, families and others. As usual, we got stares coming in our direction, but we were having such a good time to care. 

"Wait what? Tomato is not a vegetable?", Teressa asked, completely shocked by the sudden knowledge.

How did it lead to this? 

"It's a fruit", Sophia stated.

"It is?????", Teressa asked in disbelief. 

"Yes", the three of us answered in unison. 

Teressa just nodded with her mouth parted. "Good to know", she mumbled. 

"Want to know a tomato joke?", I asked.

"Oh here we go", Sophia muttered. "If we say no, you'll still say it right?"

"So here's the joke", I said and Sophia just scoffed. "Why was the tomato on a motorbike?", I asked. 

Silence. 

"Oh oh oh, I know this. He was trying to ketchup with his friends!", Teressa laughed at the disbelief look on my face. The other two joined in. 

"Sheesh", I mumbled. 

Sophia continued laughing her lungs out. 

"HA HAHA. Hilarious", I snapped. 

"Why is the tomato a 'he' though?", Isabella asked Teressa.

"Because that's what it says on Google", Teressa replied

"You Google tomato jokes?", Isabella asked her confused. 

"I have nothing better to do with my life", Teressa shrugged. 

"Mood", I said.

All of us laughed. At that moment, our starters and drinks arrived. We ordered starters, of course. Many options on the menu were very appealing. For starters, we ordered Colchester Crab Cocktail and the Atlantic Grilled Prawns. The drink we ordered was Alcohol-Free Cocktails, I ordered a mix of cranberry juice and fresh lime. 

"So, you and my brother?", Isabella asked me with a smirk plastered on her lips. 

"What about it?", I asked, leaning back in my seat and crossed my legs before taking a sip of my drink. 

"He seems to be interested in you ~", she said.

"Well, it only seems that way", I said. 

Isabella shook her head. 

"He doesn't appear all flirty-like with you though. Not like his usual self. Which I am not even sure if that's a good thing or not", Teressa added.

"Maybe it's more serious than flirting", Sophia suggested, glancing at me. She gave me a pointed look and I knew what she meant. 

"OMG!! Xavier, definitely, has a crush on you", Teressa squealed.

"We only met four days ago", I attempted to reason. 

"Still, he acts differently with you. I was staring through the front window earlier you know? His eyes, the way he looks at you is just . . . .  different. Like you, fascinate him?",  Isabella explained. 

"Oh well, aren't you sweet, love?", I asked her. 

"I know my brother. Also, I will be beyond happy if he does like you." She looked at me with an appreciative smile. 

"Really?", I asked with eyebrows raised, "We barely know each other, what makes you think I'm the right girl for your brother?" 

"When you know, you know. I have a feeling." Isabella's eyes stared straight into mine. 

This is the most confident Isabella has been around me. 

"What do you have to say about this sister?", I asked Sophia. 

"Honestly, nothing. I mean you've only known him for a few days", she replied.

"True", I agreed. 

I looked at Teressa and she had her elbows placed on the table. Her eyes met mine and that small smirk was on her lips. 

"Why are you smirking?", I narrowed my eyes at her. 

"I think your days at Winxsor just got way more interesting."