“That is just a link to the St Joseph’s app that I have just sent to you. Along with a meeting request. We can meet back down here then and finish with a tour of the College,” she talks as quickly as she walks.
“You are in Suite 7A. Did you know it was your mother’s room when she attended? It is actually the Bellafonte suite. We have everything all ready for you dear. Please settle in and dinner tonight is at 7.30pm, after-five wear. Welcome to St Joseph’s,” and then she all but hustles me into the lift, before swiping her card on the control panel, a demonstration, and a dismissal all in one. I am a little surprised, I thought, ‘take me to my room’ is just that, apparently not.
The lifts match the rest of St Josephs, in terms of design and function, and within moments they open onto my floor. I see now why she didn’t bother accompanying me, it is impossible to get lost here, the small number of suites are clearly marked.
After first seeing the grounds then the lobby area, I have the expectation that my suite will be equally impressive and it is. It really is beautiful. Spacious but homely at the same time. My rooms include a large lounge room that is opposite a state of the art kitchen, a small dining area, a study, and a huge master bedroom complete with a massive ensuite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe. The suite has been done in simple grays, whites with timber oak feature, the soft carpet leads everywhere except for the kitchen which is finished is a matching tile.
I quickly move into the wardrobe and let my inner organisational demon out, and she coordinates the room in under thirty minutes. I place Aunt Addy’s unopened gift in my underwear drawer, I have a sneaking suspicion of what it is, but hide it away to discover later, with a little giggle at her inappropriateness. I lay my makeup out and put my favourite family photo on my bedside table, along with my Kindle. I finish with a walkthrough and an excited smile breaks over my face at everything that this suite represents, my freedom being the main one.
Standing in front of my wardrobe in my St Joseph’s logoed robe, after a long shower, the doorbell sounds. I approach it cautiously but am quickly relieved when I hear Hartley’s insistent, sing-song voice.
“Come on Ginny….we are late for drinks and nibbles,” she says quickly as I pull the front door open for her.
“Shut up Hartley! We are nowhere near legal!” I offer with a laugh, turning to leave her in the lobby, in search of clothes. A quick check of Hartely to make sure we won't clash, I leave her to find her way inside. I have already done my makeup. I drop the robe and walk into my wardrobe in my expensive lingerie and heels, before finally deciding on a long champagne coloured shift that hugs my body and falls to nearly the floor, its silk train just skimming the floor.
“Didn’t you get the lecture about being a responsible adult from Mrs. Montgomery, well apparently it covers, boys, sex, drinks, the whole shebang, honest Ginny. And I have to tell you the boys, are fucking smoking. Now get your gorgeous ass over here, let’s go,” she responds before walking into my bathroom to fix her lipstick.
Grabbing my small cocktail bag, I place my phone and key inside.
“Do I look okay?” I ask tentatively as she comes back out with her makeup impeccable.
“Ginny, did you hit your head on the drive here? Seriously, you never usually give two shits about what you look like, why now?” she asks genuinely interested.
“Well…...you did say the boys were smoking hot!” I offer, quickly backtracking. In the shower I made the conscious decision not to tell anyone, even Hartley, that Hunter is (a), the boy from my childhood, and (b), that he is a student here at St Joseph’s. It is pretty clear that he will be ignoring me.
Hartley’s carefree laughter is her only response. I smile in return.
The ballroom, that the welcome dinner is being hosted in, is nothing short of opulent. Currently decked out in a stunning array of white and gold spring flowers, matching satin banners, ribbons, and helium balloons, situated around a series of tables. All up, if I have to hazard a guess I would be confident in saying that there is room for around four hundred students, staff, and teachers. The noise in here will confirm that too, the shrill of feminine laughter, deep male voices, and a string quartet swirl around the room.
The pretty tables are set out for eight, and a desk at the front provides table allocation, which I am thankful for. It is a mixed seating arrangement and a quick glance calms my nerves as I note that Hunter is not near me. Interestingly, I note that he sits at the Prefect table with the department heads. I search quickly for the main table, but he is not yet seated.
Hartley strides off quickly towards our allocated table, looking behind to make sure I am following her before she carefully places her bag on our table. A quick glance behind me, sees her turning quickly before grabbing a hold of my hand, dragging us through the mingling crowd, towards the bar.
“Ginny, what will you have?” she asks, leaning over catching the waiter’s eye.
“Just a mineral water please,” I offer back and then turn around so that she can’t argue with my choice. I really don’t need any alcohol tonight. I am already feeling out of sorts and I don’t need to embarrass myself more than I already have.
It is only a minute or so later that Hartley is back, passing me my mineral water. I take a sip and look at her with narrowed eyes.
“Hartley, please,” I grumble, before taking a larger sip.
“One vodka is not going to kill you. It’s a night to celebrate! Our first night here. Now come on I have people you need to meet,” she breezes past me again, encouraging me to follow and we cut through a bevy of gorgeous people until she stops at a smaller group of girls.
Without shame the girls survey me slowly, starting at my Manolo’s and finishing at my matte lipstick. I seem to pass some sort of test and they all start introducing themselves, but Hartley takes over, “Okay, this is my sweet bestie, Ginny. Verginius Bellafonte, please meet Beatrice Hastings, we call her Betsy, Elizabeth Henry aka Lizzie, and lastly Karen Barkley,” she laughs good-naturedly and the others quickly join in.
“Nice to meet you,” I say as I offer a quick euro kiss to them. They are surprisingly welcoming and we soon settle in for a polite chatter. They quickly give me the rundown on the latest gossip, while pointing out the people to steer well clear off, as well as giving a critique of nearly every person that walks past us. We spend a fair bit of time giggling good-naturedly behind our glasses.
“Come on, we have to be seated before eight and I am sure we only have a few minutes to spare. We’re right next to you, on the table behind aren’t we Karen?” Lizzie asks, while quickly grabbing another glass of champagne from a roving waiter. Betsy changes the course of her direction heading to the front of the ballroom with a cheeky smile and wave.
“You guys have the twins and Dom on your table and two nobodies. Get ready to laugh, those three boyos are nothing but smoking, hot trouble. Keep your hands above the table and you will be fine,” Karen's barking laughter sounds, before she turns to sit at her table.
I quickly find Hartley and follow after her. I dodge numerous other students who are now hurrying to their seats as the lights dim, a passing girl murmurs her apology as we bump into each other causing me to drop my bag. Of course, it skids across the marble floor a couple of tables over. I rush forward to reach down to it before it gets trampled on, when it is grabbed before I can reach it. My eyes jump up wondering who has it and I am met with some of the most amazing green eyes I have ever seen. Not the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen, but these certainly are up there.
“Here you go, as good as new,” Mr. Green-eyes offers, passing my clutch back before turning and walking away. I watch after him but he too disappears in the hurrying crowd, I quickly turn looking for our table. Thankfully Hartley is watching me with an amused look on her face, waving me over.
“Looks like you just met the Captain of the hockey, swim, oh and the debating team. Ugly isn't he,” she smirks into her glass from her seat, as I walk closer to her.
�
�Don’t forget the President of the Student Council,” Lizzie calls over from the next table, followed by a giggle. “Just watch out for his snarky witch of a girlfriend.”
I laugh back at her, waving, “I am here to study, I honestly don’t need the distraction. Have you seen our schedule? OMG!” I whisper back before turning around to face the front.
I go to pull my seat out and notice two guys, obviously twins and another, all rising to stand, as I go to sit. I wonder, honestly, not for the first time since arriving, where all the ugly people are.
“Wow, wow, wow, you must be Ginny. We have heard so much about you. I am Drew Savage and this is my brother Caleb. While this is Dominic Watson. And you my dear, are fucking gorgeous. Where have you been hiding all summer?” Drew holds his hand out to me as he finishes speaking and I offer it thinking he will handshake it but of course he kisses it, winking at me.
“Ginny has been hiding the past few summers with her Grandpa. We finally got Mr. Bellafonte to let her go and voila! Ginny, don’t mind Drew, he is a first class flirt, his brother in my opinion is the darling child,” Hartley says as she laughs and grabs her glass again.
“You wound me!” Drew cries clutching his chest.
“He is right to ask though where have you been hiding?” Caleb offers softly when he shakes my hand.
“I interned with my Grandpa all summer and then I had to catch up on a few classes. I spent most of my time working and studying,” I offer back to him.
“It’s the Bellafonte curse,” Hartley whispers, “they are all fucking perfect but stuck in their ivory tower!”
I look at her surprised, wondering if she has had too much champagne.
“I’m joking Ginny! But, you should have come to the Riviera with us. I know it's not your scene but I missed you, I know how special your summers are with your Grandpa. I am honestly just playing, I’m sorry,” Hartley says while grabbing and holding my hand, letting it go when she sees my smile. I take my seat next to her a little tentatively after her strange outburst.
“Sounds like my kind of summer. Hi Ginny, as Drew said, I am Dom,” Dom is still standing and bending over to my seated form to kiss my cheek in greeting. “He is damn right, you are a very beautiful creature,” he finishes softly into my ear.
I am such an eyes person, and Dom’s, well Dom’s eyes are damn near perfect. Actually all of him is very nice to look at. He sits next to me and I watch him out of the corner of my eye. Yep, he is a looker alright.
“Dom, leave her. Okay, here we go,” Drew says quickly, his voice dropping as the noise around us does too. We all stop our introductions and turn in our seats. Just in time it seems, the Headmaster starts walking across the stage as the ballroom quickly descends into silence.
“Welcome to St Joseph’s new students and welcome back to our returning students. My name if we have not yet been introduced is Dr. Nelson. Tonight, really is a very informal evening, more like a mixer, where I want you all to mingle, introduce yourself. The relationships that you form tonight and over your time with us, will undoubtedly lead to life long bonds be it of friendship or at the very least relationships with people that you do business with. The person sitting to your right may just be on the board with you, or the person across from you may be our next governor. Make no mistake, every person in this room will be involved in your life in some way, shape, or form. We have our country’s next lawmakers, leaders, politicians, doctors, scientists, CEOs, you name it, here in this one room. St Joseph’s, you are our future,” he says as he throws his arms up in a move characteristic of a showman. And the room erupts in rousing applause.
I peek a look over at Drew, Caleb, and Dom, the twins are transfixed to the headmaster on the stage but Dom, Dom is staring intently at me. I return his stare, he is not hard to look at, with steely grey eyes, long ashy blonde hair dramatically flopping over his face. But, it is the combination of that with his lips, his mouth, that is mesmerizing. He is hard not to keep watching and he lets me ogle him, his eyes full of encouragement and that perfect mouth of his offering a slight smile, until the headmaster beckons my focus again, only for a moment. I throw a quick glance back to Dom and his pretty eyes again before physically turning in my seat away from him. He is that distracting. I really wonder about St Joseph’s, full of beautiful, like, gorgeous people that are all confident in themselves and in this setting already, I am not sure I will have what you need to survive here. I already feel like a fish out of water.
“We have a series of smaller gathering’s coming up over the next couple of days and you will be expected to attend. Those evenings will break us up into year levels and will be an opportunity for you to meet department heads as well as your cohort. Tonight though we will also present to you the School Captains and our School Champion, and then we will get to enjoy a lovely dinner. Before I start with the awards, I remind you that classes commence bright and early, tomorrow at eight am. Now please let me introduce to our newest students, our School Captains, Beatrice Hastings and Connor McDougall,” he sweeps his arm to the curtained area off the left of the stage and I watch as both Beatrice and green-eyed Connor walk out and go to stand next to the headmaster on the stage, they shake hands warmly with each other and you get a real sense of genuine regard.
“Thank you Dr. Nelson for your kind words, Beatrice and I are looking forward to this academic year and meeting all the new St Joseph attendees. We have been asked to keep it very short and simple, so that is what we do. I will take the opportunity however to reiterate, that we are your elected representatives, so please know that our door is always open. Stay safe and work hard. Thank you again Dr,” Connor finishes by grabbing Dr. Nelson in another handshake while Betsy smiles on.
Dr. Nelson is a suave, fit, fifty-ish looking man with salt and pepper hair, dressed and groomed impeccably. He wears the academic robes of a doctor of philosophy and it certainly suits him. He walks back to the microphone, “Now new students, this may be you in twelve months, although our award winner, our school Champion who sets a very, very high standard. We certainly encourage you to achieve your goals, set them high for the rewards are endless. Tonight I have the privilege of presenting to you our academic award winner. It is really no surprise, he has taken out this prestigious award surpassing his peers, despite his age, for the past two years. He is academically brilliant and we are blessed that he continues to accept the honorary scholarship we offer him, please congratulate Hunter Hollingsworth,” he finishes and the room is suddenly alive with thundering feet and whoops from around the room.
And there he is again.
I am not sure how I react, maybe I gasp out loud, but Drew looks at me quickly, his eyebrow quirking up in question before we are thankfully interrupted by the food service. I really don’t want to explain knowing Hunter, it just sounds so silly, him refusing to acknowledge me, and me for some reason agreeing to it.
The meals are all set down as the applause dies down to a few lingering claps, the waiters continue around the ballroom discretely finishing the service as Hunter addresses the ballroom. Honestly, I will not be able to tell you what he says, I barely hear anything over the ringing in my ears. Hunter finishes his acceptance speech on stage and Dr. Nelson completes the announcements for the evening to exit the stage with Hunter, Betsy, and Connor trailing behind him. Pretty much all the students continue to watch Dr. Nelson and the others leave the stage, all smiling, they disappear behind the curtains only to reappear at the stairs to make their way to their table. As one the entire ballroom stands to their feet, I am a little slow off the mark, but I quickly stand despite my wobbly legs. We all wait until they are at their table and seated, before we follow suit. A soft murmur stirs through the room as people relax around their tables and chat amongst themselves.
Everyone at my table sits down and they immediately start on the entree, the guys are talking quietly with each other and Hartley is on her phone. I am still a little shocked, as I sit back to catch my breath. I can’t help the pull I f
eel towards his table, despite my best intention to ignore everything about Hunter, something about him calls to me and I quickly look in his direction. Hunter is seated between Betsy and another beautiful girl our age, her blonde hair rolled in a chignon and even from here she looks like a young Grace Kelly. His whole table is in animated happiness, and I feel like I am intruding upon their celebration, as I take note of their happy smiles, handshakes. And then the pretty Grace Kelly sitting next to him, leans into Hunter and pulls his face to hers to kiss him chastely on the lips. He smiles into her kiss. My hands are shaking so badly after watching them, that I drop my glass and it smashes to the travertine floor, the sound echoing around the room.
I am pretty sure that everyone turns to stare at me. Including Hunter, his eyes flash at me in anger.
“You okay Ginny?” Drew asks quickly from across the table, rising from his seat, before a team of waiters run from all sides of the room and the broken glass, the mess on the floor is gone in a matter of moments. The noise of the ballroom starts up again, I am quickly forgotten.
“Oh shit, I am sorry everyone. It has been a long day,” I offer quietly to the table. They all wave it off with a series of sympathetic smiles and a few murmured words before they start chatting amongst themselves again. Everyone, except for Drew who is now squatting at my side.
“Ginny, are you okay? You are a little pale. Have you eaten? Maybe try to eat something, and then if you are still not feeling well, I will take you back up to your room, maybe an early night is what you need,” he says as he rubs my shoulder reassuringly.
You Promised Me Page 3
