One Word From You: A Pride and Prejudice Adaptation

by Natalie Penna

  “What are you wearing?” Lisa asked as she curled her lashes, “You’d better not say jeans.”

  “I was thinking of putting on an old potato sack, and some leather biker boots. How does that sound?”

  “You’re hilarious,” she said, “But, seriously, what are you going to wear?”

  I set down my blood red lipstick, feeling that I looked a little vampiric with such a bold colour against my pale skin, and quite liking the idea. I held up pair of black pressed trousers and a white blouse with puffed shoulders, and short sleeves.

  “No.”

  “Yes, actually,” I said, “There’s not going to be enough boys to dance with everyone, so I’ll wear this, and then I can pair up with the girls who’ll be left out.”

  “Or,” Lisa went to Chrissy’s trunk, and pulled out a pretty white gown, “You could wear this!”

  “I’d rather die,” I said. I set my desired outfit down on the bed, knowing that it would have to do for a different occasion. Damn it. It wasn’t really a dress, but I managed to find a tartan mini skirt in my luggage, and a black vest top. I’d be mocked into the next week for not dressing like a princess, but I’d get over it. I held them up and asked, “Does this meet your approval, your majesty?”

  “God, fine. But you’ll be the only one not dressed up.”

  “I can cope with that.”

  As it happened, I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t made much effort.

  While all the girls were ready for a high society fashion show, the boys clearly hadn’t received the memo about the dress code. Their idea of casual was jeans, and some variation of a shirt. So, at least they were half way presentable.

  That was better than I’d managed.

  I linked arms with Jenny, who was angelic as always, and avoided the disapproving stares of my peers as they judged my outfit. I wasn’t in attendance for them, anyway. I wanted to see why Lisa as in such a spin over the new boys. They’d sat apart from us in the morning assembly, and it was hard to pick out one or two attractive faces from a sea of students. Plus, with so many girls raising themselves out of their seats to get a good look, I’d given it up as being too much trouble.

  “It looks like it’s just a couple of classes so far,” Jenny observed as she casually glanced around the room, “And they’re all younger than us.”

  “Lisa won’t be happy,” I said, “She does like them older.”

  “Well,” Jenny looked again, “I see a couple who look about our age. But they’re definitely outnumbered.”

  “They must be enjoying themselves.”

  “Beth, they’re probably terrified. I would be if we were in their position.”

  “But we’re girls, and they’re boys.”

  “Excuse me,” one of the forbidden creatures stopped us. Jenny and I turned to look at him, gaping, and unable to think why he’d dare to address us of all people. He was pretty cute, with fair hair, and a handsome smile. It was a nervous expression he wore, but still attractive. The boy greeted, “Hi, I’m Charlie.”

  “Beth,” I said, “And this is Jenny. Nice to meet you. Can - uh - can we help you with something?”

  “Well,” he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “Look, I’m not good at dancing or anything. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out? The girls are kind of -”

  “Crazy? Clingy? Frightening? Forward? Out to claim your for their own?” I asked.

  “All of the above,” he laughed, clearly relieved to have found a couple of normal people, “It’s a little overwhelming.”

  “Then,” I made a show of bowing to him, “Allow us to be your bodyguards for the evening. Right, Jen’?”

  Jenny made an awkward giggling noise, and then blushed profusely. Humiliated, she stammered, “I - I’m sorry! I - I just - with boys - I -”

  “She’s shy,” I said, “She probably fancies you.”

  “Beth!”

  “I’m kidding! Would you relax? You’re fine with my Dad. Talking to Charlie isn’t any different, right?”

  “I - I suppose.”

  “There you go,” a wicked idea popped into my head, and I pushed Jenny against Charlie. He held her arms to stop her falling over in her ridiculous shoes, and I hastily explained, “I have to go get something to drink. You two stick together, and I’ll find you again in a little while, okay?”

  “Beth! Beth, don’t - Beth!”

  Muahahaha!

  Okay, so that was a little mean.

  Jenny was so comfortable in a girl’s school because, whenever she found herself confronted by a young man, she lost all ability to speak until she was used to him. If Charlie was eager to escape the talons of the girls who wanted to date him before they’d said two words to him, then I knew Jenny wouldn’t be in any danger. Besides, I’d come back when I thought they’d had enough time to get to know each other. And I couldn’t do all of her talking for her. It would be a good way for her to practice her social skills.

  I knew she’d kill me when we were back in our dorm, so I was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

  Chrissy and Lisa had already found boys just as flirtatious as they were, and were making absolute spectacles of themselves on the dance floor. They giggled obnoxiously, and leapt around, almost knocking out a few of our classmates in the process. I did the only proper thing, which was to distance myself from them as much as possible, and pretend that we were complete strangers.

  “Did you not get the memo?” a scathing voice asked, and a perfectly preened shadow loomed over me, “This is an academy party, not a school disco. What do you think you’re wearing?”

  “I was going for clothes.”

  “Shut up, Blake. You’re making us look bad.”

  I stepped back, then circled Chantelle. I was taking in every inch of her outfit, from the hand stitched embellishments, to the expensive pearls sewn across the bust. It was a beautiful dress, but that didn’t stop me from saying, “No, I think you can look bad without my help.”

  She was about to snap at me, but was silenced by the arrival of another young man. He didn’t look happy about being there. In fact, he and Chantelle looked pretty good next to each other. They both had the same disdain for other people, although he was markedly better looking than her.

  “Chantelle, how long do we have to stay here?” he asked, “If one more desperate girl asks me to dance, I’m going to be sick.”

  “Are you related?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  “Who are you?” he asked.

  “Beth Blake. I’d say it’s a pleasure, but I’d be lying.”

  “Likewise. William Davies. Congratulations on being one of the few sane people in this asylum.”

  “I try,” I smiled briefly at him, “If you’ll excuse me, I’d rather not be here when decide to projectile vomit in rage all over the next poor girl to speak to you. Bit of advice, though? Try not being a dick to everyone. They might seem like stupid girls to you, but keep in mind we’re better than boys at getting blood out of things. Ciao, ciao.”

  I wasn’t going to give him the time to work out that I’d made a period joke, or a death threat. Well, I’d just sort of made a death implication. That wasn’t anywhere near as bad. Rather than stand around alone like a complete loner, I sought out Jenny and Charlie again. I hung back when I saw how well they were getting along. Although she wasn’t saying a lot, I knew from the way she smiled that she was fast developing a crush on the boy.

  “Hey, loser.”

  I jumped, and turned quickly to face the petite Asian girl who’d spoken behind me. I didn’t hesitate to hug her joyfully, “Georgia! I missed you!”

  “I missed you, too! I’m so sorry I didn’t get to see you over summer, but with Grandma -”

  “It’s totally fine, we have a million lunch breaks together before the end of the school year to make up for it, and I want to hear all about Japan.”

  “You bet. And I brought you back some sweets, like I promised.”

  “You’re the best!” I
held her hands in mine, “So, what’s the gossip? If anyone knows, it’s you.”

  “About what?” she asked coyly.

  “About the mouth breathers sharing our air in here. Come on, which boys should I be keeping an eye on this year?”

  “Ohh, that,” she grinned, “You know that guy talking to Jenny?”

  “Charlie? Yeah...”

  “That boy is minted. Well, his parents are. And you’ll never guess who his sister is.”

  “Someone famous?”

  “Chantelle Brackenwood.”

  “You’re joking! But he’s so nice! I mean, like, he smiles and everything! Is he adopted?” I asked.

  “No, I swear. Blood relatives. And he transferred over here with their childhood friend. He’s called -”

  “If you say William Davies, I might actually cry.”

  “How did you know?”

  Typical.

  “I know because I just threatened him a bit. But he was being really rude! You’ll never guess what he said -”

  “What who said?” Charlie asked, beaming away at us, utterly smitten with Jenny already.

  I opened and closed my mouth a few times, and looked at Georgia for help. She held her hands up and shook her head. There was no way she was going to walk out into the minefield with me. I fished for a plausible response, “I - I was just saying how your friend William didn’t seem all that happy about the party. He - he might be tired, maybe?”

  “Will just doesn’t know how to have fun,” Charlie laughed, “And he hates dancing. My sister’s the only one who can make him do it.”

  “Oh, your sister goes here?” Jenny asked, “Do I know her?”

  “It’s Chantelle,” I said, “Chantelle Brackenwood.”

  “Oh. Oh. Well, she’s civil to - I mean - nice. She’s nice…”

  Actually, Chantelle was nice to Jenny.

  She just didn’t like me all that much.

  Jenny’s family had old money, and they were pretty respectable. Hell, even Lisa’s family could make the same claim. I had a broken home, a flighty mother, and a father with a full time job. We couldn’t boast country estates on three continents, or private helicopters.

  We were just normal.

  As normal as we could manage, anyway.

  That meant there was nothing to be gained from anyone being friends with me, save a meaningful relationship and a bit of fun. Therefore, Chantelle deemed me to be a waste of space.

  “How about I introduce you to William?” Charlie offered Jenny, “He’d be really happy to meet you.”

  I nodded in encouragement so she wouldn’t feel guilty about leaving us. I’d much rather have spent the rest of the night with Georgia, anyway. She could tell me all about her summer, and I wouldn’t turn into one of the girls still struggling to get the attention of the members of the opposite sex.

  Of course, if I found out that William had treated Jenny with the same disrespect he had the other students, I might have to make good on that threat.

  “I think I achieved something tonight,” I told Georgia when we were alone, “World record for the worst first impression on a person ever.”

  Chapter Three

  He is remarkably agreeable.

  “So?” I asked expectantly as Jenny settled into the seat beside me.

  She set down her books, and took a pen from her bag. It didn’t matter how long she tried to put it off. I was going to have all of the gossip from her, whether she liked it or not. Eventually she turned to look at me, and confessed, “He’s really nice, okay?”

  “Nice? You can’t even tell me that you like his arse, or anything?”

  “No!” she hissed, “No, I can’t!”

  “But you do.”

  Jenny groaned, “Yeah, but he’s just – I don’t know. He’s not like I thought he’d be. I mean, aren’t most boys our age really stupid?”

  “Yes. Girls can be too, though. But we grow out of it faster.”

  “He just doesn’t seem like the boys you see on television. He’s polite, and funny, and he was really attentive.”

  “Please tell me you’re going to ask him out.”

  “Shouldn’t he ask me?”

  I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth, “What century are you living in, Jane Austen? You can ask him just as easily.”

  Sometimes I forgot that most of the girls had been at the institute since they were four years old. The school liked to take them in as early as possible in their education, and keep the students until they were ready to be released into the real world at eighteen. It was a little like zoos that bred endangered species before reintroducing them to the wild. Except in this case they were intelligent, wealthy young women, ready to take on high society. Very few left early for other schools, and even fewer joined mid-way through the process.

  I was happy I’d been exposed to the ways of the world before I’d been thrown into the asylum, otherwise I might be just as starry-eyed in the face of the new students. Boys had large enough egos without us pandering to them. They’d be easily inflated among gaggles of girls who didn’t know better, clawing each others eyes out for the sake of claiming a boyfriend from among them.

  It had struck me that Jenny might be thought of as one such girl if she was to make a move on Charlie too quickly. It was probably better for them to get to know each other before she made a decision about her opinion of him. I cautioned, “Don’t come on too strongly at first. But don’t fake being his friend for the sake of a romantic relationship either.”

  “Why not?”

  “Seats, everyone!” Mr. Hargreaves called as he entered the room. He hurried people to their desks, even though he was running later than the rest of us. It was only as the boys began filing into the room after him, and were directed to seats beside blushing girls, that I realised our classes would be mixed. I didn’t know why, but I’d thought at first they’d want to keep us divided, and introduce us slowly.

  I had to stop watching wildlife documentaries.

  “ I’ll tell you another time,” I whispered, making a mental note that Jenny needed educating in the mythical place referred to as The Friend Zone.

  In my head, I pleaded with whatever God might be listening, that I didn’t want William to come into the room. Georgia had reliably informed me that the boy I’d threatened was, not only a family friend of Charlie’s, but also the son of a woman who had a prominent position on the school’s board of directors. Should I cause too much trouble, they were the people who would happily give me the boot from the school.

  But God wasn’t on my side, and nor was any other deity.

  In strolled William, shoulder to shoulder with Charlie. Chantelle led the way. She was a native, and was sort of like the Sherpa to these brave explorers. They really looked the part. All they were missing were a couple of yaks.

  Jenny blushed at the sight of them. I wished I could be as overjoyed by their presence as she was. After the way William and I had been introduced, I wasn’t inclined to spend any more time with him than I really had to. That was my fault, but he hadn’t really been all that likeable. We’d both made a bad first impression on each other. In my experience, those were the most important moments when it came to defining a relationship. If from the start two people couldn’t find some civility in their address, then it was likely they never would.

  “Hi,” Charlie greeted, as if ignorant of any bitterness between his friend and I, “Can I sit with you?”

  Jenny motioned to the seat at her other side. He nodded to me in greeting, and I spared him a small wave of my hand. I was distracted by the need to find someone to sit on the other side of me before his friend dared to take the seat.

  William was fast approaching. With every step, I felt like some timer was ticking down to a critical point of no return. When the door opened again, and Meg stepped through, I realised I’d never been so happy to see a person in all my life. The boy cleared his throat, oblivious to my panic, and asked, “Is that seat taken?”
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  “ Yes, it is. Meg!” I called over to her, and flailed my arms in desperation towards the vacant seat, “Remember, we have to study the thing together. You know, the thing?”

  “Miss. Blake, will you be quiet?” Mr. Hargreaves snapped at me. Happy that he’d muted me, he turned his back on the room, and continued to cast his illegible scrawl across the blackboard.

  Meg hurried over, and upon noticing the way William was looking at the chair, she asked meekly, “Were you sitting here?”