One Word From You: A Pride and Prejudice Adaptation (2 page)

“
Um...”

“
Jen’,” I called into the room, “We’re having a scavenger hunt! Meg’s lost her luggage, again!”

Yes, they were my sisters.

None of us looked, sounded, or acted alike, but we loved each other.

And, really, that was more than many real siblings could boast.

Chapter Two

Her report was highly favourable.

The first day of school was always the easiest.

That was mostly because we didn’t have any lessons.

The morning was taken up with a long assembly, during which we were talked through the rules we’d heard time and again, new students were welcomed, and teachers were introduced. The afternoons were more for the first years, who had to be walked through everything from their schedules, to how to order lunch properly.

It was the evening the rest of us looked forward to.

That was when we could meet the boys.

Lisa’s idea of welcoming them to the school wasn’t really appropriate. I had a feeling that breaking into their dorm building would create the wrong kind of first impression. Besides, we had a tradition of opening every new year with a party. The teachers thought it was a good way to have us interact in a laid back, fun atmosphere.

It was, by no means, a relaxed affair.

While casual was the dress code of the evening, anyone who turned up in something less than a ball gown was sneered at for the night, and deemed unworthy of anyone’s attention. The bathrooms were battlefields, with girls fighting over the showers, and screwing with the water temperatures by turning the taps on and off should anyone take too long. My friends were no exception to the rule. Which was exactly why I was sat on my bed, with hair pins between my teeth, trying to tame Megan’s unruly hair.

I reached for the bottle of hairspray beside me, and gave the strands another dousing, “You need to get this chemically straightened. I’m going to put another hole in the atmosphere soon.”

“
Well, you don’t have to do anything to it…”

“
Yes she does,” Lisa corrected as she wiggled into her dress. It looked like it was going to be a tight fit, but that was the style she was going for, “I’m not going in with you looking like a toilet-brush.”

“
Hey,” I snapped at Lisa, “Her hair’s gorgeous. There’s just a lot of it.”

Lisa clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, “Whatever. Jen’? Can you help me with the zipper?”

Jenny had been ready for hours, save her hair. I’d wanted to style hers first given it was so long, but she’d insisted that I leave her until last, and it wouldn’t matter if she just left it down. I was determined to make the time to curl it for her, whether she liked it or not. Meg whimpered as I tugged the brush through her thick hair again, and I said, “Look, I’m going to put it up, okay? Just deal with it for five more minutes, and I’ll let you go.”

“
Okay,” Meg said quietly, picking at a loose thread in my blanket.

Chrissy came back into the room, a towel around her torso, and her damp hair clinging to her olive tanned neck. She pointed openly when she saw Lisa, and accused, “That’s mine!”

“
What is?” Jenny asked.

“
That dress! I was going to wear that! You’re stretching it!”

“
I look better in it than you!” Lisa argued, “You have about five in your suitcase, anyway. Wear a different one.”

“
That’s not the point!” Chrissy retorted, “Take it off, and wear your own!”

“
I didn’t bring a dress. I forgot.”

“
Chris’,” I said, “Wear a different one. There’s no point arguing.”

“
I can’t believe you’re on her side!”

“
I’m on
my
side. The side that wants you two to shut up and finish getting ready. Wear a different dress, and dry your bloody hair. I can’t style it when it’s that wet.”

“
I’m not talking to you,” Chrissy warned Lisa.

She wasn’t fooling anyone.

Their fights always lasted all of an hour, before they were best friends again. Once Jenny had finished helping Lisa wriggle into her stolen gown, and ensured that the girl could actually breathe in it, she offered to help Chrissy dry her hair. All those movies that depicted girls giggling happily, and singing into their hairbrushes in some crazy makeover montage were completely delusional. Preparing for a party was an ugly process. There was a lot of swearing, complaints about the removal of body hair, and emotional meltdowns when one of the party discovered their concealer was inadequate in hiding a sudden acne outbreak.

I straightened out my hair meticulously while I waited for Chrissy to grace me with her presence, dragging the irons through each thick layer until they sat like curtains on either side of my head. I didn’t intend to leave them like that, and tugged a brush back through it, encouraging a side parting. It meant that most of one side of my face was obscured, but I liked it that way. Besides, I could tuck my side-swept fringe behind my ear if I needed the vision in both eyes.

Finally, I managed to wrestle Chrissy’s hair into an up-do, and curled the cascades of golden locks for Jenny. They were capable of dealing with their own make-up, as was I. Normally I didn’t wear much, and that wasn’t out of choice. Our school had a reputation to uphold. So long as we looked natural, we were allowed to slap on some foundation and mascara before class. On weekends and during social events, they didn’t really have an opinion on it. I applied thin lines of black liquid eyeliner, making the wings at the edge of each eye sharp, but delicate.

“
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.”