A new year...

[Elle McQueen]

...A new year. Elle was senior now! It felt a little odd, time had really flown by. She could still remember her first day at the Academy; she’d been really frightened at the time, and also dreading it a little. Back then she hadn’t even wanted to come to the Academy and had only agreed to because it was what her father wanted her to do; she always wanted to make him happy. But now – she loved it immensely! It was like her second home. She even loved the lessons here.

She was walking along the corridor to her dorm room – her new roommate was a sophomore called Abigail Donner. She thought she knew who she was, but they hadn’t really spoken before. She just hoped to God that they would get along; there weren’t many people at the Academy that Elle hated so she hoped that Abigail wouldn’t be one of them. It would not be a very comfortable year if they didn’t get along. But still, Elle didn’t exactly spend that much time in her dorm room so it wouldn’t be too bad.

Eventually, she’d reached her room – luckily it was on the first floor, Room 178. She pushed the door open – it was already unlocked. The key was on the desk. Her chauffer had already been with all her luggage and left it in the room along with the key. Unfortunately, her parents were both working and Lee had started school the day before so she’d had to come to the school alone, well, not alone, with the chauffer. The journey had been pretty boring – she’d spent most of the time listening to her iPod or sketching… She would have much preferred for one of her family to come a long with her, even if it was Lee.

She looked around the room and the first thing that jumped out at her was the…whiteness of it all. It was so bland and...boring! She'd have to fix it up as soon as possible. Her imagination ran wild for a few short lived seconds, and then she realised that this wasn't her room alone, she had to share it with Abigail. Whatever she wanted to do to the room Abigail would have to approve it, to agree. Maybe they could have fun designing the room together, it would help them get to know each other! That would be great. Unless, they had completely different tastes, or her and Abigail didn't get along... She shook her head to herself, that wasn't a possibility. They would have to get along.

Next, her eyes strayed toward her FOUR suitcases. Four. Most people at the Academy only had one or two. But Elle had a lot of clothes! What could she do? Looking good was a priority. There wasn't much wardrobe space in the dorm rooms, her wardrobe could probably only fit about two suitcases worth. One suitcase could fit underneath the bed, maybe she could buy some of those pull-out drawers, that just left one suitcase. She looked wistfully over to the other wardrobe, but that was cruel. She would have to wait until after Abigail had unpacked, see how many clothes she had, and see how much space there was left. It was an idea. And if not then she'd have to think of something...

Once all that was done she flopped down on her chosen bed. In this room there wasn't one bed by the window but instead both beds were either side of it, she couldn't decide whether or not she liked it more this way, at least this way neither one of them could claim the window as theirs, both of them would have the view of the window whenever they pleased!

Her thoughts then wandered back to her four suitcases full of clothes, shoes, bags and make up. She'd better start unpacking if she wanted to be finished anytime soon. Sighing, she opened up the first suitcase and began to unpack. Most of the clothes managed to find their way into the wardrobes but some of them had ended up on the floor and on the bed...

[Abigail Donner]

Abigail sighed and looked out the window as her mother drove the way to the Academy. They were nearing the place now, Abby could recognize the streets and couldn't wait to get to school. That could seem like a rather weird thing to wish for, coming from a teenager, but for one thing, the Academy was no ordinary school. And secondly, her mother would soon drive her insane. Abigail loved her mother a lot, but there were just some things she didn't want to hear coming from her, and every time she spent a lot of time with her, the conversation irrevocably went to criticizing Abby and often left her with a flattened self esteem, which was already pretty low as it was.

"Abigail, sit straight please. Your posture is already bad enough, don't worsen it by leaning on windows," her mother said, her eyes still staring straight ahead at the road.

Without a comment, Abby moved to sit straight, placing her hands on her lap with an inward sigh. When the car finally drove up the way that lead to the school, turning to head for the girls' dorm building, a small smile formed on Abby's lips though she tried not to show too much excitment. She rarely did show any emotions in front of her mother, because it would most likely push her to comment on it. After a short list of advices, her mother told her to enjoy her year and write often, giving her a quick hug and awkward kiss on the cheek before Abigail got out of the car, getting her bags out of the trunk and turning to face the building with a sigh of relief as her mother drove away.

Finally, she was free. Well, as free as she could be, with the frequent letters she'd be getting, but at least now she could stand the way she wanted to, eat the way she wanted to, act the way she wanted to... not that she would all that much, but the feeling of it was pretty exhilarating in itself. Overall, Abigal was not used to doing as she pleased but mostly used to doing what pleased her mother. Whatever pleased her mother, really. When she was home, it was almost all she did, do what her mother told her to do, and there was plenty to do from only that, too. She didn't mind though, she thought it was normal. But she also sometimes wondered why she was even at the Academy - not that didn't want to, she loved the place so badly, but she didn't think she was nearly talented enough to actually be a part of it.

Shaking the thoughts away, she grabbed one of her bags and slung it over her head so that it hung from her shoulder, repeating the process with her second bag, on the other side this time. These were smaller bags in which she carried the things that were most important to her - favorite books and CDs, her laptop, her video camera of course, photographs and just objects that meant a lot to her. Then she had two more suitcases, one of which was half filled with some more books and movies, and then her shoes, bathroom supplies, accessories and the little amount of make up she owned that'd all be given to her by, no wonder there, her mother. She rarely did wear any at school, though her mother had tried to convince her it was a necessity, but she just didn't have the time. Finally, the last suitcase was filled with clothes, and those that didn't fit in there were to be sent by her mother, if she thought of it. Not that Abby thought they'd be needed, she didn't mind having not too many clothes, and when she felt like wearing something new she bought it.

She glanced down at her watch and decided she might as well get a move on, walking over to the door and smiling a little when a couple came out of the doors, holding it for her. She thanked them a bit shyly, nodding slightly and sighing a little as she walked over to the reception desk, waiting in line for a few minutes to get her key and room number, along with her roommate's name. Apparently, she'd be rooming with a Senior named Elle McQueen. That didn't really ring a bell for her, but she figured things would turn out fine still. At least, she hoped so. There was nothing worse than spending a whole year sharing a room with somebody you hated.

Glancing at the room number, she was glad to find it was on the first level - she wouldn't have too long to walk to find it. When she did arrive in front of the door, she slowly pushed it open, knowing from the mere fact that it was unlocked that her roommate would be there already, and stepping inside the room after a short hesitation. She didn't even notice the girl at first, but the room itself. It was horrible. It had no personality, no design, no... nothing. It was bland, boring, white. It was worse than her room at home, which was saying something - it'd been decorated by her mother, who obviously didn't share her tastes.

When she noticed the clothes that were on the floor, Abby remembered there was another person in the room - apparently a messy one too. Abby didn't mind messiness, she wasn't a neat freak, but at home she had to keep her room in perfect order and she was rather used to it. She wouldn't bug her roommate to do the same though, if it wasn't an habit, she probably wouldn't do it herself. Smiling a little when she finally looked over at Elle, she took a step forward the girl, though not going to her right away, clearing her throat nervously. "Hello, I'm Abigail. I guess we'll be roommate this year," she said, holding out her hand.

[Elle McQueen]

The unpacking was actually going surprisingly well. She'd managed to fit one suitcase worth into the wardrobe and there was still room for about one more. The only thing was, she had to categorise her clothing - what she'd wear regularly, what she wouldn't. Formal dresses and such obviously had to be hung otherwise they would crinkle and get ruined. She'd only bought two dresses with her, figuring that she'd either buy or make anything else that she needed. Next, was other clothes. She had to decide what she wanted to hang, what she wanted to be in the wardrobe, what clothes she'd like to keep in the drawers that she would have to buy for under the bed. All her make-up was staying in one of the suitcases for now, along with the clothes that she was hoping to put in to Abigail's wardrobe, and the shoes had been shoved unceremoniously under the bed. At least, most of them were. But she wouldn't do that to her Jimmy Choo's. She loved those shoes more than anything! Well, maybe not anything... All the clothes on the floor, while they looked like a complete mess were actually catergorised into piles. That way it would be easier when she was putting everything away.

However, she had gotten distracted from packing by planning her outfit for tomorrow. It was her first official day at GPA and she had to uphold her image. Plus, there might be some transfers from another school into the class, it would not do for a hot guy's first impression of her to be one that was untrue... But, for the outfit that she was planning she needed her jeans! She obviously had more than one pair of jeans that were in a pile next to her roommate's bed but she couldn't find THE jeans. Her favourite jeans in the whole world. They made her legs look especially thin, and long. She sighed, and leaned against the wardrobe, surveying the mess she'd made. Maybe she should carry on packing, they'd come up sooner or later. And if they didn't she could always demand that her mom sent them from home...

She turned around as she saw the door opening and a very pretty girl walking in, she'd seen her before, but never put a name to the face. This must be Abigail Donner. Oh, she was so cute, they'd HAVE to get along! Elle was about to introduce herself when she saw that Abigail was looking at the room, distastefully. Brilliant, they could decorate together! Or maybe she was looking distastefully at the mess, at all the clothes strewn all over the floor. Whoops.

Leaning to the side a little Elle saw that she'd only bought one suitcase with her. Feeling a little selfish Elle hoped that it was all that she had brought with her. Finally Abigail took a step towards her, Elle grinned. "Hey Abigail! I'm Elle." she shook her hand, even though she thought it was a bit of an odd way to introduce yourself in the modern day. "I'm really sorry about all the mess everywhere, I was trying to unpack. I just, I have too much stuff and not enough space to put it! Anyway, I'll move it all in just a second." She looked a little nervous, Elle tried to be as reassuring as possible. "I'm sure that this year is going to be great, I bet we'll get along just fine! But first, tell me a little bit about you, what year are you? What's your talent?" Elle gushed. Ok, so she was a little excited, she was just trying to be friendly. She hoped that she didn't come on too strong, Abigail seemed like a shy sort of girl...

[Abigail Donner]

Abby examined the place more critically while waiting for Elle to notice her. She was trying to think of something she could do to decorate her side of the room, if hers and Elle's tastes didn't match. At least, she hoped it wouldn't bother the older girl if they had different tastes and Abby decided to do what she wanted for her part of the rather small bedroom... if she saw it displeased her, she'd probably give in and suck it up, after all it most likely wouldn't be worse than her very own bedroom back at home (all in lovely shades of orange, the one and only color she despised, in which most of the house was actually decorated because it was her mother's favorite). She actually wondered if Elle had anything against the color pink... she knew it was mainly a color that was either loved or hated, in matters of decoration anyway, and Abby herself didn't like flashy or girly shades of pink. She wasn't a girly girl, nowhere near that, but it was mainly the mix of black and pink that she loved, though black would be another hard one to pass through. She'd figured that she could merely suggested painting the furniture in black, since that wasn't too harsh or anything, and if Elle prefered not to, she'd drop the idea. Brown was probably more suitable for furniture anyway. And she wasn't certain they could actually find a shade of pink that'd look nice on the walls, but Abby had planned on just getting a bed cover and some drapes that were a shade of hot pink. That one too she'd have to ask for she supposed.

Abigail smiled once Elle noticed her and came forward to greet her, shaking the offered hand and introducing herself, though she of course already knew the name. Then again, Elle had probably known hers if she'd looked on the sheet near the front desk downstairs, and she'd still introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you," she said with a small smile, trying not to sound as shy and self conscious as she felt. It was one of the things she was often told off about, the fact that she never seemed to be comfortable anywhere, and it tended to make people leave her on her own, which she figured was probably better anyway. She'd long before lost the habit of getting attached to people, it just wasn't for her. She didn't actually know how to like someone. Of course, she loved her mother, but it was her mother, she had to love her. She'd never really had close friends or even pets, before GPA anyway, and still to this day she felt a bit awkward at it.

"Oh, it's all right," she said with a light blush once Elle mentionned the mess, figuring she'd probably seen her looking at it and feeling a bit bad about it. She wasn't bothered by it and she hoped it hadn't come off that way. "Really, I mean after all, unpacking is rarely something that isn't done in a messy way," she added with a light smile. Well, except for her. And her mother, since she'd taught her, not wanting to have her daughter's clothes scattered around the room whenever she had to unpack somewhere, seeing as it could give a bad image... in her alternate universe anyway.

"I hope so," she said a bit shyly when Elle mentionned she was certain the year would be great and they'd get along fine. "I mean, I'm sure we will too," she added, hoping Elle hadn't taken it the wrong way. She had no concerns about liking Elle, she seemed like a very likeable person and she was certain she'd enjoy her company. Whether the opposite would still be true, though, that was yet to find. She tried hard to please people around her, but sometimes it wasn't easy, mainly because she wasn't sure on how to. "Oh, I'm a Sophomore," she said once Elle asked her what year she was, thinking she should have thought about saying that long before. "And I'm a Film student," she added with a slight nod, smiling at Elle. "What about you?" she then asked, tilting her head slightly. She was pretty sure that she was a Senior, but she couldn't quite figure what her talent was.



((from Elle's point of view, Abby would actually have two suitcases and two bags XD she doesn't know what's in there after all, unless she can see through fabric ))

[Elle McQueen]

((Whoops. I misread it. ))

Elle smiled as Abigail spoke, she could tell that she was nervous which was just too cute - Elle loved her already, they were obviously going to get along, she had nothing to worry about! She felt that Abigail was a little uncomfortable though, she didn't say anthing else in case she made her more uncomfortable. She hadn't really seen her around campus much before and had definitely not ever spoken to her, did that mean that she was really shy? Shy people were not that much fun, it was hard to know them properly but sometimes they were nicer... She hadn't had the chance to get close to many people who were that shy at GPA because she'd been much too distracted but back home, her best friend was pretty shy. And she was the most fun ever, if she was in a comfortable situation...

Elle smiled when Abigail said that unpacking was usually messy - it was so true! For some reason when unpacking her stuff seemed to get everywhere and it would sometimes take a very long time to restore it to...tidyness. Elle didn't mind much, she wasn't the kind that hated mess - provided it was an organised mess. But she had to work in a clean place, it distracted her too much to be in a messy area, then she often felt that she'd have to get up to clean it...or maybe that was just a way of putting off doing the work, that probably made more sense... This train of thoughts had bought Elle back to her unpacking, now that Abigail had come in to the room she noticed that she had another suitcase that was hidden by the door. Damn it! What was she going to do with all her clothes?! Maybe bringing that much of her wardrobe to school hadn't been such a good idea, but it hadn't seemed like that much when she packed it...her wardrobe at home was a whole room. Her favourite room in the whole house.

She was Sophomore, Elle had suspected that much. She knew that she was obviously not a senior. And she'd assumed that she wasn't studying Art because she knew most of the Art students, Film suited her though..."Oh, I'm a senior, studying Art. But its not my true calling," she smiled at her, "I know thats really odd to hear coming from someone here at the Academy - everyone here is totally devoted to their individual talent. How about you? How did you get into film?"

[Abigail Donner]

Abigail tried to get a grip on herself as she watched Elle, smiling a bit. She knew she was coming off as shy, or uncomfortable, why she pretty much was at that very moment, but she hoped the older girl wouldn't feel too annoyed at her for it or anything. She knew most people didn't necessarily like those who hardly spoke or did anything and just stayed in their corner watching the world go by, and she didn't want to come off as that. She just had to get used to the situation, rooming with yet another stranger, getting to know her a bit better and especially getting settled in the room, and then things would probably get a bit better. Her mother always told her to smile and look as though everything was just perfect in order not to offend people who she was talking to - nobody liked hearing about bad stuff, and nobody liked standing next to a person who looked as to they were about to burst into tears. Her mother's motto for Abby was 'fake it til you feel it'. Most of the time it went well enough.

"Well, I guess I'll try to get some of my stuff in," she said with a smile at Elle, wanting to get it over with. She didn't really mind unpacking, but she didn't enjoy it either. The worst thing about these dorm rooms was the size of the closets. Abigail didn't necessarily have a lot of stuff with her at the moment, but she knew her mother would send more the minute she saw what she'd left at home, along with some money to buy a few more things. She didn't grasp the concept of travelling lightly and didn't want her daughter to look as though she was poor or didn't have anything to dress with. Even though there was a bit of space left in her drawers and closet right after she moved in, she always ended up having troubles to find space for the rest that was sent in by the end of the second week. Most of the time, she ended up using all her space to its fullest capacity and then she put the rest in her luggage, placing it in a corner the room. There was a lot of things she had which she never wore anyway, so she didn't miss it even when it wasn't around. Like the bikini her mother insisted on her wearing, saying that it was the best way to get the motivation to keep her body in better shape if it was out there for everyone to see. And then there were the endless piles of silk nightdresses which she wouldn't be caught dead in, and other stuff like that.

Abigail was indeed a bit surprised when Elle said art wasn't her true calling though she was still studying it here at the Academy. It was the first time she heard someone saying that, and she felt a bit better about it too. She loved making films and it kept her mind off things most of the time, but she wasn't always sure that it was her real goal in life. She often felt bad about it, feeling as though she was stealing someone else's place who deserved it much more than her. Smiling a bit when Elle asked how she'd gotten in, she decided honesty was better. "My mother signed me up," she said. "She wanted me to develop anything and since I lack other talents, she figured film would do."

[Elle McQueen]

Elle smiled back at Abigail. Again, she could sense that Abigail was uncomfortable but she knew how to deal with that – she had to get to get used to shier people than her and had managed just fine. The trick was to try and make them feel as comfortable as possible and give them time until they felt they could open up. Or at least, felt more comfortable than they originally did. One of the best guys she’d ever had was incredibly shy, and the challenge of getting him to open up made it all the more worth it. Maybe she should go for the shier, quieter type more often... As Abigail mentioned unpacking Elle’s hopes lifted a little...maybe both her suitcases weren’t filled with clothes and she would have some space after all. That would be great. Anyway, she had to stop thinking about her clothes! She was being incredibly selfish. Really, she had to stop now.

As Abigail started talking about how she got into film Elle made a face. “I’m sure you’re very talented, Abigail, maybe you just haven’t found your true calling yet. Unless, you think that film is it, but it doesn’t sound much like that.” She paused, “My Dad signed me up too. We discovered that I wasn’t bad at Art after I had to do it in rehab.” Yeah, rehab. That was a fun time. She sighed to herself but then became more animated. “To be honest what I love most in the world is fashion. That’s why I have so many clothes... But yeah, I design and make a lot of my own clothes. I get it from my father, he’s a designer.” She smiled again, wondering quite why she was telling Abigail all this. Most of her good friends knew everything about her – rehab and all – but they were good friends, and not someone that she’d only just met. But then again, she supposed that maybe this was a good idea. If she told Abigail some of the more personal things about herself then maybe she could feel more comfortable herself. She didn’t have to tell Elle her secrets yet but hopefully, it wouldn’t be too long. This was quite fun actually, it was kind of like a project. Her aim was to make Abigail trust her enough to open up. A challenge. What fun!

“You know,” she said to Abigail, “you have really good bone structure – you’re very pretty. And tall too, and thin. You would make a good model. I could design some clothes for you. It would be cool to work with you, your eyes and hair and such – the contrast is great, I’m sure I could design something really great...” she smiled again.

[Abigail Donner]

"Well, it's not necessarily a very big lack of talent," she said with a light sigh, shrugging a little. "I sing a bit, but what I mean is... none of those talents are really developped enough to get me in here," she explained. "And well, my mom wants me to... not really be famous, but just stand out a bit more I suppose. She wants to be proud of me," she said with a small smile. "And I don't mind you know, I mean I really do love this school, it's an amazing opportunity. I just wonder if it's really my place, other students have just so much talent, it's a bit intimidating to see my films put along with theirs," she sighed lightly, placing her both her bags on the bed that would be hers and bringing her suitcases along, placing them by the closet and figuring she ought to first put her clothes in before taking care of the other bags. She really didn't know how she'd manage it once her mother sent the rest of her clothes, but she figured she might as well enjoy the little extra space she'd have while waiting for the packages to come. She didn't even argue with her mother on it anymore, it was useless to do so anyway.

She lifted the first suitcase on her bed and opened it, finding it was the one filled with clothes, which was the one she'd intended on taking care of anyway. As she started moving the neatly folded shirts and skirts in the drawers and closet, she looked back at Elle with interest as she started speaking, a bit surprised when the older girl mentionned rehab but not commenting on it. She figured it must have done her some good if she could talk about it without a problem now, and especially if she was actually here. She couldn't help but wonder what was the reason as to why a young girl like herself had been in rehab, but she figured it must have been drugs, unless it was alcohol... the first seemed more plausible though. "That must be really fun," she said with a smile as Elle talked about her fashion passion and designing stuff. "I mean I'm not necessarily a fashion expert or anything but I do love nice clothes, most of the time," she said. She just didn't really like the clothes her mother considered nice, but that was another thing entirely. "It must be great to design your own, that way you're sure you're gonna like what you're wearing," she added with a light grin. "And if people comment on it, it must make you really proud about it too."

Abby looked down slightly as she blushed after Elle's comments, not really knowing what to say to that. She never really considered herself very pretty or anything, she figured she was just normal. And though she'd gotten some comment about the contrast between her light blue eyes and black hair, good comments too, she didn't really think they were out of the ordinary. "Well... if you get inspired or anything, I'd be happy to help," she said a bit shyly, not really thinking she would do such a great job of being a model or inspiring someone, but figuring it would be good to help out her roommate.