CHAMPION

Her first instinct was to pull out her checkbook and buy the library, but she can practically hear her grandmothers voice in her head, telling her to think rationally, rather than making her decision out of anger. At sixteen, it was easier to get away with buying a restaurant because of some slight against her, but she wasn’t a teenager and this wasn’t something she could pawn off to someone else once she had the bill of sale. “Considering the generous donations my family makes, I don’t think it would be too much trouble having you thrown out of here if I wanted to.” The threat was empty, though she doubted the other would call her bluff. But, the last thing she wanted right now was someone trying to get a picture of her having a student thrown out and finding the news splashed all over TMZ. “However, so long as you don’t try to make this into your own exclusive interview with Rose Winters, I’m sure we can co-exist. If I have to face another faux Birkin wielding student that the seat is taken, I might lose my mind completely.” 

liv was practically beaming, the smug look in her eye practically permanently etched into her features.  ‘ and i’m sure that the dozens of witnesses in this facility with functioning cellphones and internet access would be more than happy to share a video of a self-righteous heiress throwing an innocent bystander out of one of the most well-known university libraries in the country just because the said heiress didn’t know how to share a table. ’  she tilted her head,  ‘ i’m not sure that would bode well with the 99%. ’  liv was thinking local and national headlines, e! news, national inquirer, tmz; that would damage not only rose’s reputation but also the perception of the rich. they were already seen as out of touch, and with the current political and socioeconomic climate that liv knows rose is aware of, there is no room for error on the latter’s part.  ‘ hm, ’  she hummed, satisfied with rose’s response.  ‘ i’m sure you’ll manage. ’

Closing the file she had been analyzing, Rose slipped it under her textbook, before training her eyes on the brunette across from her.  “You know, the polite thing would be to ask if the seat was free.” It was easy ripping into someone that seemed to be the living embodiment of disappointment, it brought her the very solitude she needed. Rose had always enjoyed the attention that her name brought her, but it was different when it was someone that was living the same life that she was. All Manhattan had offered her in the last eights years was leeches. People constantly finding a way to latch themselves to her coattails, ready to do whatever they needed for their five minutes of fame. It made being cold to them easier, there was no reason to feel sorry. The girl in front of her had barely acknowledged her, before slipping into the seat she had been warning people away from all day. She clenched her pen, not quite sure if she was frustrated or impressed at how ballsy the other girl seemed. “Do you mind finding anywhere else? I’m sure there is room in the basement archives, the smell of desperate first years is particularly strong down there — at least that’s what I’ve heard.”

liv paid no mind to rose at first, flipping open the pages in front of her and setting up her laptop on the table. she kept the smile that so desperately wanted to break across her face well hidden, knowing that it would drive her cousin mad. the way liv saw it, rose’s greatest weakness was control --- the lack of it in any given situation makes her tick, makes her lash out.  ‘ i wasn’t aware that this library was yours, ’  liv said without looking at her. she typed some nonsense onto her computer screen.  ‘ but it’s nice to meet you mr. thomas j. watson. ’  she continued with her idle work, keeping herself looking busy. she could already feel the steam coming off of rose’s being. she couldn’t help the way the corner of her lip turned up at the other’s suggestion.  ‘ then i’m sure they have room for you down there too. ’  

“ ─── if you’re going to dress like you’re auditioning for a part in some musical about proletariat propaganda, I hope you’ve came prepared to pay whatever they’re taxed.” She could smell the shwarma wrap on their clothing, even with the windows open in the library. Subjected to the smell of cheap beef for too long and she would puke. “ There is no loaf of bread to steal here, so you have approximately fifteen seconds to gape and keep it moving unless you’re hoping for a restraining order.” The smile that scretched across her lips did little to hide her disgust, as the student that had tried slipping into the seat in front of her scurried in the opposite direction.

her mark acquired and shadowed for the better half of the last month. liv sat quietly by on the instruction of her superior -- no, uncle -- told to observe the lovely, porcelain-skinned co-ed across the library. and observe she did, gathering the other woman’s patterns and habits; following her to her classes and schedules. stalkerish, liv knows, but it’s part of her training. con the very one you’re going to end up protecting. make her trust you before introducing yourself as family. you’re already a surprise to the ones who took you in, and with rose’s temperament, she won’t be as warm as her grandparents were. liv pushed off from the tall bookshelf she was leering from and walked over to where rose sat, laptop and fake dissertation in hand. placing her items on the table, liv took a seat across from her cousin without asking permission. i’m sure she wouldn’t mind, she thinks smugly to herself.