I nodded my head at her, before asking her what sport she played.
"How'd you know I'm an athlete?" She asked with one of her eyebrows arched up. We put my luggage down on my bed, and headed over back to the living room. She went over to the kitchen, opened one of the cabinets and got out a big pack of Ruffles. On my side, I went over to the living room couch and plopped down on it.
"Your tan." I simply said to her.
She looked at her arms which were a dark tan as I had pinpointed before she let out a laugh. "Well, you got that right. I play soccer and I'm part of the track team. I'm captain actually." She said with a proud smile.
"Really? That's awesome. I wish I could play a sport." I said to her before I pulled my legs up, crossed one over the other, and rested them on the couch.
I was telling her the truth about wanting to be athletic. I used to play a few sports when I was young, but I kept changing, so I never really became good at one. Now I regret being raised up as a spoiled daddy's girl. Because of the way I was brought up, I was used to getting my own way, and only recently had I felt a kick in the gut when my mother told me the devastating news that I was going to High School. But now I look at what I had been mad about...and realized that Ridgeway didn't seem so bad. The school was pretty; my roomie was nice...what could be the flaw...?
"Hey!" She said, lighting up, and forgetting to open the bag of chips in her hand. "The guys and I are playing soccer in a little while. You should come and join us."
"That's a bad idea…" I said, shaking my head at the same time.
Me and a sport…nuh uh…not a good match, especially a sport where you run around trying to catch a ball in an extremely huge field. No way…
"Oh no, just try!"
"Forget it, Riley." I said to her with a small wave of my hand. "By the way, the Ruffles are still unopened."
She laughed at her own stupidity, before she opened the bag of chips and offered me some. I shook my head, before I rejected her invitation respectfully.
"You're saying no to Ruffles?" She asked in mock-disbelief which made me laugh softly.
My eating habits never used to be like this. Salads, bread, juice...nuh-uh...I remembered when I was young...where I used to finish the Cold Stone ice cream, the numerous bags of chips, the oily pizzas, the thickly-sliced steak...those were the good days when I didn't care about becoming a pig...but now, the scoops of Strawberry ice cream I used to enjoy seemed like a nightmare...Okay...maybe I’m exaggerating, but I know you lot get my point...
"I don't eat chips, sorry." I said with a small smile.
She waved the bag in front of me, and forced me to get some. To add to that, she stuck out her bottom lip, and continued to hold the chips in front of moi.
"Oh, come on Alex! Just get one small chip!" She said to me.
She kneeled on the couch and turned her whole body to me, as she held out the bag in front of my face. She wasn't giving up yet and I was actually starting to wonder when she would. I turned to my left and to my right continuously since I didn't want to look at her for fear of finally agreeing to eat something that was going to ruin the body that made me my earnings. After a few minutes of hesitating, I finally gave in.
"Fine…" I said, reaching my arm out, as I put my hand in the bag. "Just one, small chip."
She grinned a wide, evil smile at me before she complimented herself. "Who would've thought that I, Riley Adams, could make Alexandra Levi eat a potato chip smothered in powdered cheese?"
I let out a groan before I hit her in the arm. "Don't remind me this chip I'm eating has a lot of calories…"
She put down the bag on the empty space between us, and crossed her arms over her chest. She opened her mouth and was about to speak until we heard a knock on the door. She stood up and opened it, as I remained on the couch. After a couple of seconds, I looked up to see who had entered, and came face-to-face with a tall, young man that slightly resembled Riley. He was hott, with two t's.
"Alex, this is my twin brother Nathan." She said to me.
She got her brother's arm, and pulled him over to the couch, as the both of them plopped down with Riley in between the two of us. I took a few seconds to observe Nathan, and realized that he could actually be a model. He was attractive just like most of the male models I had posed with, and if he fixed his hair, which was a light shade of brown, and got out of the whole 'I'm-a-high-school-student' sort of look, and started to wear finer clothing, than a pair of cargo shorts and a plain t-shirt, he could actually be the new face of some top brand like Armani or something. I took in his ruffled hair, his hazel-green eyes, and the mysterious-but-confident aura he gave off, before I turned my attention back to Riley.
"Nate, this is Alex." Riley said to her brother.
Nathan nodded at her, before he looked at me with his shady green orbs. They were handsome, just like the rest of him, and that was saying something, considering I’ve met a lot of gorgeous people. I'd probably give him an eight point five out of ten rating.
"Hey." He said in a deep, mature voice that wasn't fake at all.
He held out his hand at me, and waited for me to shake it.
Nuh-uh.
"Such a gentleman you are…" I said with a laugh. "I'm sorry but I don't shake hands with people my age. I prefer hugs." I told him soon after, trying to lighten up the mood. Apparently, what I said caused Riley to laugh; making her hit her brother in the arm.
"Don't worry Alex; he's not really like that. I have no idea what he's trying to pull."
I simply smiled at Riley and at Nathan since I had nothing else to say. I had no idea how I was going to return what Riley said. Good thing Nathan decided to speak.
"I came here because mom's on the phone." Nathan said, handing his mobile to Riley. "She wants to talk to you."
Riley got his iPhone, and then left us, before she went over to her room. I turned my head to the side and looked at the guy who sat only a few inches away from me. What could I say?
"Have you ever thought of modeling?" I asked.
It seemed like he got taken aback with what I said since his eyes widened, and his head shot up. After regaining his composure, Nathan simply let out a small silent laugh before he shook his head.
"Not really…" He said as he slumped his back, and rested his elbows on his knees.
I did the same, and then turned my gaze back to him.
"Why not?"
"Probably because throughout my whole life all I've been thinking about is soccer." He said in a casual tone of voice.
It was his turn to ask questions.
"Why did you ask?"
"Oh, nothing…" I said with a wave of my hand.
I got the Ruffles that was on the table in front of us and handed it to him. He got it from me after he nodded and smiled, and then he started to dig in.
"You could pass for a model. That's all."
"Really?" He said with a small grin spreading across his face.
"Really, really."
Not knowing what to say next, he slouched back down on the couch and stretched his arms over his head before he rested the back of his head on the palms of his hands. I heard him mumble something to himself, before he asked me about my career.
"So, you're a model?" He said with a small awkward laugh.
"Uh-huh."
"A supermodel?"
"Yup."
He ran a hand through his light brown hair and started to apologize for no apparent reason. "I'm sorry…really sorry…" He started with a real look of slight disappointment (towards himself) on his face. "It's just that…you…you're here…"
I let out an awkward laugh before telling him, "I can't really understand what you're trying to say."
"I've never met a supermodel before. I mean…I have…because of my parents' parties…you know where famous people come…but never…"
"I'm still not getting it." I said to him.
I inched my way nearer to him, and looked at him straight at the eyes. I saw him scratch the back of his hea
d, before he tried to explain again. He looked...well...cute, and I couldn’t help but grin.
"Oh damn…you're just…" I wanted to laugh at his agitated posture. It was really adorable, that I needed to take a picture of it, but if I did that, it'd be rude, and…mean.
"It's just…I've never met someone like you." He said. Thankfully, I understood that part of his explanation, but only that part.
"Yeah…you've never met a seventeen-year old supermodel aside from me."
* * *
Chapter 3: Supermodels Aren't Porn Stars
* * *
After a few minutes of Nathan and me playing the 'getting to know you' game, we heard the bedroom door open, and out came Riley. She handed the phone she held back to Nathan, before she spoke.
"Are we going now?" Riley asked her brother, as she went over to the kitchen counter to get the black hoodie that rested on it. Nathan checked his watch and mumbled an 'Hmm-mm', before he stood up from the couch we sat on.
"Oh, are you guys going somewhere?" I asked the both of them. I got the remote that was on the table in front of me, and used it to turn the TV on. Riley pointed a finger at me, before she got the remote that was in my hand. I gave her a 'Why' when she turned off the LCD screen.
"You are not staying here on you first day in Ridgeway." She explained to me. She got my hand and pulled me off of the couch. I then gave her a clueless look.
"You, my roommate, and my newfound friend…you, are going to play soccer."
I immediately tried to escape from her tight grasp by the mention of 'soccer.' I wasn't athletic, and that was kind of obvious. I may be fit, but I didn't have that athletic build. Also, my body figure was slender, and the amount of fat in my legs and arms was very little. Truth be told, I could imagine my thin arms breaking if ever a soccer ball was thrown right at me.
"No, no way…!" I said, waving my hands up in surrender. "I am not making a fool of myself…"
Riley laughed before calling me 'silly.' Apparently, Nathan was on his sister's side of the bench, and he too was forcing me to play the sport the both of them loved.
"Trust me; you're going to be sorry when you start seeing me play."
"Nonsense. There are going to be other girls playing too." Nathan said with a bright smile, trying to make me feel better. It actually kind of did.
"Other girls?"
"Yeah," Riley said to me, getting the room key that was lying peacefully down on the counter. "Some of my teammates are playing too…"
"Teammates…?" That really didn't make me feel any better. "You mean those who train with you?"
She nodded at me, before giving me a raised brow. "That's why they're called teammates, Alex." She said with a small laugh.
I continued rejecting their invitation, but obviously it was a lost case on my part. Both Nathan and Riley dragged me outside of my room, after they forced me to change into a pair of jogging pants and a loose, comfortable t-shirt.
We left the dormitory building, and headed over to one of the many fields of the school. Seated on the grass were a mixed group of guys and girls chatting happily about something. They stopped when Nathan and Riley called out to them.
The three of us headed over to the group, and I immediately felt out of place. All of the girls I saw were sweaty, and had their hair pulled up into messy ponytails. They wore no make-up, and even though the only make-up I wore was eyeliner, I felt like a complete alien. As I had suspected, all the girls were giving me skeptical looks.
"Is she Cindy's friend?" I heard one girl ask her teammate. The both of them were whispering to each other while they looked at me with a displeased look.
"Who's Cindy?" I asked Riley in a very soft and barely audible tone.
"Is she telling you how muscular we look? Or maybe she just called us tomboys." Another girl said, the question was directed to Riley, but the girl was looking at me with such disdain.
I must admit, they looked tomboyish, and their body structures were big, but I was never ever going to say that out loud. To make it worse, the guys were also giving me looks, but not looks of contempt, looks of hunger.
"No, no. Let me introduce her first." Riley tried to explain to them.
Reminder: Thank Riley for being such an angel, and not a hypocrite.
"We don't need another Barbie doll in this school, Ri." The tallest one among the girls spoke up.
"Having just a Cindy is enough. We don't need an Alexandra Levi."
"So you guys already know her?"
"How can we not? She's practically on every porn magazine available."
Okay…that hurt. Supermodels ARE NOT porn stars. There is a very thick line between those two kinds of people. We don't sell our bodies. We sell clothes, shoes, and accessories, by wearing them.
I've been known to be short-tempered, but the good thing was that I was capable of controlling my anger. But unfortunately, I've already tried to control it for a good ten-minutes, and I am not intent on waiting for another ten minutes before I explode.
"I think you guys are mistaken." I said in a calm voice.
Good job Alex…you're not yet shouting…I congratulated myself.
"And how is that?" One girl asked in a matter-of-factly tone.
"Supermodels aren't porn stars."
I heard a few of them laugh at me. Some even started to whisper things to each other. Talk about being rude…
"And would you care to explain that?"
"You guys study in this boarding school, don't you? My parents say this school has high standards, especially academically…don't tell me you guys don't know the definition of dignity? F-Y-I we, supermodels, have that too." I said to them in the same tone they had been using on me. "That…differs us from porn stars."
Before I walked away, and left them to continue laughing, whispering, and badmouthing me, I noticed someone at the back of the group. This whole time, she was silent. She didn't open her mouth, and not one single thing came out of it. I smiled at her for what she did, and she smiled back. I heard a few guys whistling and applauding for what I had just done, but sad to say, their whistling made me feel like a prostitute.
I was going to cry when I got back to my room. Unfortunately, the tears left my eyes sooner than I had wanted them to, and while I was making my way back to the dorm building, the people I passed saw my wrecked look.
Worse, I heard the sound of a camera snapping pictures.
* * *
Thank God school wasn't going to start for a week, which meant that I didn't have to leave the room. The refrigerator was fully stocked, and there were the TV, my laptop, and my iPod. I could do with only those things for seven days.
I stayed in my room for two hours just unpacking and trying to feel-at-home. My bedroom door opened, and in came Riley with a large box of pizza in her hands. She wore a very sympathetic look that made me smile at her. She put down the box of pizza on the bed before she went over to me and embraced me.
"I'm not mad." I said to her. "Don't worry." I then told her with a small laugh, as I tried to lighten up the air.
She ended the embrace and sat on the empty space on the bed nearest to me. I could see she looked really sorry, and I repeatedly told her that everything was okay.
"Here, I brought pizza…" She said. "I know, pizza isn't your number one choice of food, but it's the most soothing…well, that's next to ice cream." She said with a small laugh.
I opened the box, and my smile widened. The slices were big, and the whole pizza was oily, but the simple action of Riley bringing me something just to make me feel better was enough to erase every bad memory I had about earlier. Well, not exactly erase everything…it just made me forget in the meantime.
"Even though I don't like pizza, I'm still happy you did this…" I trailed off. "…although…"
She frowned at me. "Although what?"
"I can't eat this…" I said to her with a sad look on my face. "You know what I do and what I'm supposed to eat…"
"Aw, Alex…" She
said, getting a few things from her duffel bag. She brought out her phone and her camera. She put the phone down on my bed, and held the digicam in her hand. I saw her turn on her camera, before she focused its lens on me.
"A camera…?" I asked her in an unsure way. "What's that for?"
"Oh, I want to take a picture of your red eyes." She said with a laugh. "You know, it's a remembrance of your first day here in Ridgeway."
I stole the camera from her and turned it off. "You are not taking a picture of my sore eyes." I said, as she tried to grab the digicam from me. She tried to get it back repeatedly, but every time she tried, she miserably failed. I was 5'9," and she was only 5'7."
The Heaven I Found In Hell Page 2
