themis

every thing about merrit reminded isabella of everything good she cultivated during their childhood. sometimes when she looked at her best friend and could almost feel her pain of not remembering a lot of things, izzy wished she could share her own memories with her. although she felt the warmth of caring about merrit, she couldn’t put into words that would make justice to how loving it was. additionally, two people don’t experience the same moment in the exact same way. perhaps merrit’s own memories could be different from what isabella had in mind, and having lost them truly made them irreplaceable. instead of dwelling on the past, isabella feigned surprise at the response. “no evil rival hunting you down? i must say i’m surprised.” which was clearly a lie. it was hard to imagine anyone having anything bad to say or feel towards merrit -- and if they did, isabella would make sure her friend would never have to face it. “it would be easier for me to make a list of people who like me, mon mignon. i don’t deem anyone worthy of being smothered by your hugs and love. they will have to live another day alone and empty inside, i guess.” a small smile graced her lips as she patted the bed next to her, urging the girl to join her. isabella let her arms go, flopping down on the mattress as she stared at the ceiling. “i have to pressure you would tell me if any freshmen bothered you or if things just got to much. you would, right?”

béatrice triggered a feeling of exasperation in isabella whenever her outbursts happened. for years, they had been quite similar in every sense and since béa’s change began, izzy felt annoyed by their differences. she might not admit, but she was proud of her older sister for becoming whom she desired, although the loss of the connection still upset her sometimes. isabella sighed, focusing to avoid leashing out at the comment and deciding to fix her own hair instead. “sometimes it reminds me of a rat’s nest. i didn’t know your new style meant no hairbrush.” one day, she hoped she could turn her sister into her own personal doll for the day so she could care for her skin and her hair once again. scoffing, isabella cleaned the table top in front of her with the tip of her fingers -- getting rid of the small crumbs scattered. “i wouldn’t consider it causing trouble, per se. mon bonheur, making a few lives miserable is merely at the bottom of my to-do list. it’s a new year and i’ve yet to heard about all the freshmen--” she pronounced the word with great distaste. “--that will be around for the following years, and they are chatty this year. more than usual.” isabella leaned forward, closing the space between them in an attempt to keep her next words from being heard by the students around them. “the chatter about secret societies started earlier this year.” 

isabella couldn’t quite recall the girl’s name, even though her face triggered a memory of seeing her around somewhere. rarely did isabella mingle and chat with other students, so it wasn’t a surprise she’d only know the girl by passing. following her eyes, she looked at the groups of freshmen around them, finding them even more pathetic than she did minutes before. upon arrival, they were foolish to believe they’d have large groups during their years at clemonte. the first couple of weeks -- before most students got tired of putting up a façade -- the atmosphere among them was of friendship, harmony and underlying deception. isabella was aware there would be a pending war in their groups soon enough. the comment captured her attention, making her frown slightly. she’d hate to be blissfully unaware of who she was. “their mentality reminds me of high school drama, and that is enough reason to not envy anything related to them. they are stupidly reckless and naive when it comes to social relationships. although i appreciate the idea that going to college gives you the freedom to find out who you are in other terms, it might not always be a good thing for people with a crooked parameter of life in a fair society.”

isabella felt the side of her lips pull, fighting a small smile at the girl’s comeback. “i’d be polite and apologise for the disturbance, but since there aren’t any other free seats around here i think i will just make myself comfortable. thank you so much for understanding, ma poupée.” she scooped some vanilla ice cream, bringing to her lips as her eyes assessed the girl across from her. “it might be a bad time to share with you that we don’t always get what we want. i wouldn’t know, but i’ve heard it’s quite common.” the chatters around them was increasing in volume, almost puzzling isabella as to why the other girl looked like she was in the middle of studying. “i’m isabella du pont, and i must say you have incredible hair.” she might dislike most people, but a girl’s hair should almost be complimented. especially if she looked like that.

isabella rolled her eyes at her friend, never quite used to romeo’s ability to make any situation be almost as dramatic as a hollywood drama. “a revolution against moi would take more than being, as you put it: ‘extra feisty’, ma moitié.” isabella could be considered too conceited, but her confidence in her empire at clemonte was tenacious and she wouldn’t allow a mere pack of power hungry freshmen to try to dethrone her. it certainly would take literal beheading to threaten anything isabella du pont cared about. it included her family, friends (including romeo), and the olympus. “intolerable and cheap are traits the impetuous freshmen all share. hence why i steered away from their pathetic attempts to befriend me.” she tucked a piece of hair behind her right ear, pushing the remaining of her ice cream to her left, no longer interested. instead, isabella tapped her fingers on the table top. “unfortunately, it means i have to find other ways to gather information and to be aware of just how much they know -- or think they do. i could bed one or two of the girls, but that is not my style.” the distaste was clear in her facial expression. if it was needed for the society, isabella wouldn’t disagree but out of her free will, she’d never let herself hook up with one of them. 

“if you haven’t realised--” isabella pointed at their surrounding with her index finger. “--since all the tables are full, i might as well be.” she rarely mingled with students that didn’t belong to her exclusive ‘group’, but lyra quinn wasn’t on isabella’s unpleasant list, therefore, her presence was something the blonde didn’t mind tolerating.  and as someone who shared a degree that involved a fair share of time spent at the science department of clemonte, they were bound to cross paths along the way. “how was summer?” 

isabella’s room had been handpicked and decorated by her -- perks of the du pont fortune and influential pulls with the administration’s office. the queen sized bed was across a large window that overlooked a good portion of the campus. in the same building, many of her acquaintances lived, but as she crossed the doors her bedroom felt like her safe haven -- one that she didn’t share with many. merrit wasn’t just anyone. beside her sister, she was the only one trusted with whatever tenderness isabella had left in her heart. removing her heels, isabella climbed on her bed and using her arms as support, she leaned back and looked at the other girl in contemplation. “how is being back being for you? anyone i need to harass?” 

“you are obnoxious. you do know that, right?” izzy couldn’t help but look down at her top and scoff at her sister when she realised bea was right. “it looks better on me so it entitles me to an attitude.” isabella quickly picked up her own spoon and scooped a bit of mint choc chip ice cream for herself. somehow, it tasted better than her own choice -- which had been vanilla and looked delicious seconds before. humming satisfied, isabella used her left hand to fix a strand of hair that sat in an odd angle -- in her eyes, since her hair was her beloved joy and béatrice’s reminded her so much of her own -- in her sister’s head. “that’s tough. i haven’t seen you in two days.” isabella’s voice could be taken as harsh by someone who didn’t know her. she didn’t think she had to explain further. she hated going days without seeing her sister, even though she wasn’t particularly affectionate. 

for the first time that day, isabella let one of her rare smiles grace her lips. she was genuinely amused at romeo’s response -- the feeling wasn’t foreign to her when it concerned him. “i though we were having a serious conversation, romeo.” isabella scoffed, making sure her nude nail polish was intact. “the only possible way i’ll be dethroned one day, it will be when i leave this place and willingly pass along my reign to someone i deem worthy of it.” so far, it felt almost impossible to imagine someone who could meet her expectations of what she thought was absolutely necessary to keep the order at clemonte. her amusement washed away as she leaned towards romeo, allowing herself to get close enough that she could almost feel his breath caressing her face. “yes.” if they were coming for her throne, it wouldn’t threaten to jeopardise hundreds of years worth of history and secrets as their rumours of olympus did. “i thought you’d never ask. to execute it perfectly je besoin de ma moitié.” the endearment fell from her lips with warmth, and a smirk. "have you been in contact with any of them yet?" 

“oh, honey, let’s be frank: i’m not even close to being B-I-T-C-H-Y yet. i’d consider myself serene for now.” isabella wouldn’t admit to anyone just how ticked this day made her feel. “i cannot stress enough how uninterested i am in what the freshmen have to talk about. however, i might have overheard some rumours that are spreading among them that are quite inconvenient.” during her morning run, a group of girls decided to join her ( although she expressed just how much she despised the idea ). they were adamant to make new friends for their first year at clemonte and were not shy from spilling out all their beliefs regarding the institution -- including about the so called ‘secret societies’. a girl walked past their table, close to battling her eyelashes like a fool at romeo, but when her bright smile was directed towards isabella, who met her with a glare, and rushed towards the door. “they must be incredibly brave or immeasurably stupid to want to approach us.” 

“well... it is certainly convenient that i found you here.” isabella scoffed, placing her handbag on one of the chairs before sitting down in front of the other student. her original plan was to enjoy a scoop of ice cream by herself, but as she arrived and scanned all the tables full of mingling students, the somehow familiar face called for her. “if we do have to share pleasantries and small chat in order to share this table, you can start now. somehow it sounds better than the freshmen chatter i’ve had to endure all day.”