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Chapter One
Here I was, sitting miserably on the plane to the freaking middle of nowhere. Yes, I, Adrienne Larsen, had made the worst possible decision in my entire life. I looked out the window, my forehead resting on the glass. Why had I punished myself this way? I didn’t know a single soul who was going to be attending, which meant that I was going to be a loner for a week. Neither did I have luxury of saying that my parents had forced me into attending this science camp, because I had voluntarily said I would go. Correction: I had begged my parents to go. As retarded as it may sound, but I was originally desperate to go off to some university for a week, simply because I wasn’t selected to go to the crème de la crème of all sixth form science forums: The National Youth Science Forum held up north.
I remembered so clearly the facial expression on that bitch Hayley Stamford when she told me with that fake sweet voice "So sorry Adrienne. But I guess you just lack the skills and brain. A pity it only runs for sixth formers, so I guess you won't be able to go ever. But don't worry. I'll tell you all about it." So, for the sake of my pride and my reputation as a high achiever, I had forced my parents into letting me attend the Summer Science School, held at Belmont University. Which was, in the opposite direction. It seemed alright at first, I was selected into the chemistry project and the inner romantic in me played up with the thoughts of finding some smart guy who wasn’t a tight arse player. Where else would there be more intelligent people who were freak enough to spend an entire week of their summer holiday doing science? This was of course, before the more cynical side of my head kicked in. Intelligent huh? They were probably rejects, just like me, who didn’t get into the renowned forum for hard outs. Welcome to Summer Science, school for the try hards.
I drummed my fingers restlessly on my chin. There was nothing to see outside the window as it was early morning and there was virtually no light. I craned my head and looked over to the seats on my right. The passenger beside me was a business man, completely engrossed in his newspaper, which was of course, opened to the business section. I read over his shoulder for awhile before I tired of stocks and share prices. I looked across the aisle and caught sight of a guy sitting in the window seat. I redoubled my perusal. His dark black-brown hair was tousled almost perfectly. It wasn’t too long that I felt a need to take out my scissors and chop it all off, but it wasn’t overly short either. I could only see the side of his face, but it was already quite a nice sight; a strong jaw. I couldn’t see the lower half of his body, but he was wearing a grey pullover that stretched quite nicely across his chest. I might have been a cynic, but I still appreciated the sight of a good looking man. In his hands, he held appropriately, or so I thought to myself, a book. It was better than that retard and embarrassment to Mother Nature, who sat in the seat in front of me and had so far, spent the entire time chatting up a blonde beside him. As miserable as I was at the moment, I still had not forgotten my utter contempt for males who thought that they owned the earth and whatever that lies above and below it.
A young air flight hostess walked down the aisle, offering hot drinks. I looked up gratefully. It was slightly cooler than comfortable and I had taken my raincoat from my bag stowed below the seat in front, and draped the coat over my shoulders. When she got to our row, she looked to the seats across the aisle first.
“Good morning, would you like something to drink?” She asked in a tone that could only be described as salacious, the innuendo in her words clear. I almost groaned out loud. It was too early in the morning to hear flirting. Had she forgotten the whole scandal of Ralph Fiennes getting laid with some desperate air flight hostess?
I heard him reply in a smooth voice. It was rich and velvety, something I wouldn’t mind listening to all day, perhaps even more so if the slight seductive ring in it was gone. “Just hot water, thanks.”
The air flight hostess shifted slightly and handed back a plastic cup, bending down low. Good grief, just reward him with a view of your chest as well. The free perks with accepting drinks from a slut. From the corner of my eye, I could now see his face. It was chiseled, with high cheekbones, suggesting that on the occasion of him smiling, there were going to be females with weak knees. He didn’t look old; in fact he looked to be about my age, perhaps slightly older. Even in the gloom of the plane, I could see his bright blue eyes. Strangely enough, he looked somewhat familiar but, I couldn’t put my finger on it. I stared at him harder. Yes, I had definitely seen him before, but where? I wrinkled my forehead slightly in frustration. I saw him quickly gaze over the air flight hostess as if she was a morsel for him to savor, before he smirked ever so slightly. I rolled my eyes. Not those types again. Any nice thoughts that were in my head before promptly disappeared.
My thoughts were interrupted by the air flight hostess. “Good morning ma’am, would you care for a hot drink?”
I focused my eyes on her hastily. “Yes please, coffee thanks.”
As she shifted to pour my drink, I could see more of the young man across the aisle. He had placed his book face down on his lap and was drinking from the cup. I moved my head slightly, and caught sight of the title of his book. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Not bad for a philanderer. Perhaps he was a well educated one, a pity about his lack of morals though. My mid air antics were interrupted by the air hostess once again. She frowned slightly as I shifted my head quickly back to face her. I gave her a blinding insincere smile as she handed my coffee to me and carried down the aisle, swaying her hips, no doubt trying to catch the attention of the guy in the aisle opposite me. I sipped my hot drink gratefully and snuggled into my coat, the guy across the aisle forgotten momentarily as I dozed off.
I stretched my legs out in front and bent my arms, trying to restore the feeling in them. I gazed out the window. It was of course, overcast and it was drizzling outside. A perfect reception. I waited till most of the people got off, before reluctantly grabbing my bag and walking down the aisle. When I got to the door, the same flirtatious air flight hostess was standing there with a fake smile plastered on her face. She narrowed her eyes and then looked me up and down. “I saw you checking out that guy before,” she said in a nasty tone. “Like he’d ever go for little brunettes like you.” And she tossed her blonde hair, fake blonde might I add, back past her shoulder.
I snorted. “Sorry, but at least I don’t feel so insecure about my looks, that I feel the need to show every male that passes by my chest.” I looked briefly at her chest before looking back at her. “Just so you know from an honest person, it’s not that impressive.” I gave her a broad smile and without a backward glance, I walked off the plane. Take that, bitch.
When I had collected my luggage, I caught sight of a man opposite the terminal in a green shirt waving a sign: Summer Science School. I sighed unenthusiastically and made my way over, wheeling my suitcase. I saw that some others had suitcases as well, so that made me feel slightly better. I wasn’t the only one who had much to carry. A few were carrying just a simple sports bag, like the ones which guys carried to practice, holding their gear and what not. One such sports bag was held by the same attractive guy, who the air flight hostess had been flirting with earlier. So he was a perverted genius after all. He was standing with the other guys in our group talking, a result of instantaneous male bonding. The females however, stood alone except for a few who stood together, including the blonde which had been talking with that ass of a male in front of me during the flight. I looked at the guy with the sports bag once again from the corner of my eye. It was possible to say that every female present was doing the exact same thing. In the harsh artificial light of the terminal, he looked, if possible, even better. His grey top fit snugly over broad shoulders and a nicely built chest. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans which sat on his narrow hips. I looked up into his face. Long dark eyelashes framed his cobalt blue eyes, which looked animated as he laughed at a joke made by another guy in the group. He looked incredibly like someone who I had seen before, but I just couldn’t remember at that point. Withdrawing my eyes, I stood there, trying to trawl through my memories. Who did he look like?
My thoughts were once again interrupted by a voice. What was up with people disturbing my train of thoughts? People who were observant would have realised the vibe “Intense concentration. Do not disturb.” But the imbecile who was annoying me obviously didn’t see that. “Heya hotness, what’s your name?” A blonde haired male stood in front of me, his arms crossed as he looked me up and down.
I sighed. It was the same guy who had sat in front of me during the flight, one which obviously had problems controlling his hormones. “Isn’t the question redundant? You just answered your own question.” I raised a single eyebrow and met his brown eyes. He wasn’t bad looking, but his utter lack of morals kind of lessened his looks.
He winked at me and I resisted the urge to stand on his foot. “Well then, your name obviously suits your looks.”
Laughter came from the group of males, while the females stood there with envious looks on their faces. Please, tell me that they did not want to be in my position.
I rolled my eyes. “Well then, in that case, I suppose your name would have to be ugly, then wouldn’t it?”
Calls of “Ouch” rained from people around. The blonde looked at me and gave me a genuine smile. “Wow, not many can claim that they can resist my charms,” he said laughingly. “I guess you’re the exception. The name’s Dom West. I’m from Christchurch.”
“Adrienne Larsen. Wellington.” He held out a hand and we shook hands, much to the amusement of the people around.
Eventually, everyone had arrived from their flights and we made our way towards a bus outside the terminal. I looked vainly around for a face which I knew, but couldn’t see any among the sea of strangers. Perhaps there would be some more familiar faces that were arriving later. Dom had invited me to stand with them while we were still waiting, but I had refused, citing the excuse that I had to call my parents to tell them I had made it safely. Actually, it was because I had realised that a few girls in particular had rather nasty expressions on their faces, and I didn’t really feel the need to get as many enemies as possible.
I got on the bus took a window seat, and looked out the window. To my surprise, someone else sat down next to me. I looked to my right, and there sitting there, was a girl with curly auburn hair.
“I hate my hair. It’s too red.” She said suddenly after a moment’s silence.
I laughed. “No, it must be nice having hair that stands out among the crowd.”
She smiled. “Thanks. Hey, I saw you back there talking with Dom.” She had a faint tinge of pink about her cheeks. “I have to say, you’ve got quite a gift for come backs.”
I grinned. “What can I say? It’s an effective way of saying “piss off” to annoying suitors.”
She laughed. “My name’s Emily. I picked up that yours is Adrienne.”
“I think I just said goodbye to anonymity,” I laughed. “Where are you from?”
“ Christchurch.”
I grinned. “So I suppose you know Dom, don’t you?”
She sighed. “Is it that obvious to see?”
“Only if you say his name,” I smiled. “So, how do you know him?”
She blushed. “He’s my older brother’s friend. He comes over a lot, so I see him often. He’s really quite a catch, except he may have some competition with that really hot raven haired guy.”
“Do you know his name?” Perhaps his name would be enough to rouse any dormant memories.
Emily shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t. Wouldn’t mind learning it though. Why do you want to know his name?”
“He looks kind of familiar, but I have no idea who the hell he is.”
She laughed. “He probably reminds you of some hot movie star.”
“Maybe. So, what project are you doing?” I asked.
“Zoology. You?”
“Chemistry.” I replied.
“You into explosives?” She asked, laughing.
I grinned. “Well, only when Dom’s around.”
Emily snorted. “Funny that, because he’s doing the chemistry project as well. It’s rather fitting since he managed to steal a piece of sodium from the lab and flushed it down the toilets at school.”
I doubled up laughing and turned around to look at Dom, before turning to face Emily again. “You’re joking right? He doesn’t strike me as a rebel. So, what happened?”
She grinned. “He managed to blow up the toilets. The guys had to use the girls’ bathroom for a week. That might have been his motive, now that I think of it.”
“Guys,” I rolled my eyes. “So, why are you doing zoology?”
She chortled. “I’ve wanted to be a vet ever since my twin brother got angry a few years back.”
I frowned slightly. “What does your brother getting angry have to do with you wanting to be a vet?”
She grinned. “Well, once he got angry and picked up the first thing that came to hand and threw it against the wall. It happened to be our pet hamster. What I can say, is that the hamster didn’t fare too well.”
I laughed. “Remind me to stay away from your brother. Is he here?”
She looked over her shoulder. “He’s the one sitting next to Dom. Please don’t say he’s good looking. I hear enough swooning from everyone else as it is. It’s also kind of creepy being told your brother is the epitome of hotness.” She sniggered.
I turned around and saw a red head sitting next to Dom. He had Emily’s green eyes and a nicely chiseled face. He wasn’t too bad looking.
Emily snickered. I looked at her. “Did I just say that out loud?” I asked, cringing slightly.
Emily grinned. “You certainly did.”
After an hour’s ride, we finally arrived in the city and on the campus of Belmont University. To be more precise, at St. Elvira Residential College, where we would be living and eating at for a week. Everyone dragged themselves off the bus sleepily and collected their bags. It was only 10am in the morning and most of us had caught 6am flights. The earlier high that most of us had been on had now worn off, and most of us longed for a bed to sleep in for a few hours before lunch.
After we registered and got our name badges, we were given our room keys. Thankfully, Emily and I were on the same floor, so we made our way towards the West Wing of the residential college. I noticed the guys were all heading towards the East Wing. I elbowed Emily. “Hey Emily, effective way of controlling hormones, huh?”
She looked sleepily around and then slightly perked up. “Uh huh. There goes my plan of seducing Dom.” She snickered.
I laughed. “It’ll make it more fun trying to creep over there without being detected.”
“So Adrienne, if I have my eye on Dom, who do you have your eye on?”
“Your brother,” I said with a completely straight face.
Emily sniggered. “Good luck with that. You’ll have oh, about another hundred contenders for his attention.”
I laughed. “Sorry, as much as I know you’d like me for a sister in law, but I’m not really interested in a hamster killer.”
We eventually got to our dorms and agreed to meet at the dining room for lunch in two hours time. I opened the door and waved to Emily, who had been put in a room two doors down from mine. I stepped in, wheeled my suitcase in and closed the door. It was a relatively nice room, with a large window opposite the door which looked out on the university grounds. On one side was an inviting bed and opposite that was a wooden desk. Beside it sat a tall cabinet with five shelves. I put my suitcase down and headed towards the bed, and to sleep.
After a refreshing lie down, I woke up with a start and checked my watch. It was five to twelve, and I only had five minutes to make myself look presentable and to get down to the dining room without getting lost. I dragged a brush through my hair, tied it up in a pony tail and put on a green hoodie. I took my cellphone and keys and quickly locked the door. I ran down the corridor and several flights of stairs before I saw the main foyer. There to its left was the dining room. I looked around for Emily and finally saw her sitting opposite a group of guys which included Dom, her brother and the strangely familiar guy with dark hair. I sat myself down next to Emily and she introduced me to her brother.
“Ethan, this is Adrienne. Adrienne, this is my brother Ethan, the hamster killer.”
Ethan looked across at his sister mock angrily. “Em, how many times do I tell you not to embarrass your poor brother in public? I have a reputation to keep up!” He looked apologetically at me. “Sorry for that. Yes, I killed a hamster, but what Em didn’t say was that the hamster had pissed all over my physics assignment before it met its untimely death.”
I laughed. “Well, I can’t say that the hamster didn’t deserve its fate.”
I looked towards the guy sitting next to Ethan and immediately recognised him as the dark haired guy whose name I desperately wanted to know. I looked at his name tag. It read: Tristan Hunter. I blushed immediately. Shit. No wonder he looked so damn familiar.
A/N: Review please:)