Iris finally managed to corner him in the cafeteria the next day as he was chatting to Cat. In regards to his fellow newspaper buddies concerns about Iris, he’d seen Lauren and Thomas in the corridor since the newspaper meeting; they hadn’t mentioned Iris once to him so he now assumed they’d simply decided to trust him despite having initial misgivings about it all.

Cat and Giu shared a laugh over her comments about one of her teachers as the shadow descended. Cat’s eyes widened and she minutely nodded behind him. Giu picked up on her cues and turned, Iris towering over them. She was wearing her signature red lipstick again, her dress a mixture of floral and pink fabric, obviously imported and expensive.

“Caterina. How are you going?” Iris asked, her voice sweet and light, a grace in her movement Giu had never noticed before. He narrowed his eyes as he waited for the inevitable to occur. It was only a matter of time, seconds really, before she turned her attention to him.

Hey, y’all. So, her highness, Ms. Iris has arrived! Here’s a few things to know about her:

Iris Matilda Robyn Cunningham

Princess of England

25

Flirtatious, short-tempered, caring, intelligent, driven

She’s not on the best of terms with her parents and prefers to stay away from her family whenever possible. Not including her big brother and his wife, though she’s aware there’s some patching up to be done there. 

She wishes she could sing and be a Disney princess, but she can’t carry a tune in a bucket with the lid on

Loves nature, books, music, dancing, older men

Can be a loner at times

Fluent in: English, French, Spanish, Gaelic, Italian, German, Dutch

Learning: Greek and Russian. (Arabic, Hindi, Mandarin, Japanese, Cantonese, Tagalog, and a few others are on her list)

“It’s going great, Iris. How are you?” Cat responded politely. Unlike Giu, Cat was the one di Forza Iris supposedly liked so he hoped she could navigate this situation away from their table. However as soon as he thought this, Iris ushered a nearby pupil out of their chair and moved it to the di Forza one. Sitting primly down, she shared a smile at Caterina.

“It was going very well, Caterina, until yesterday.” Her voice was loud enough to capture the attention of those around them. As she kept talking, others quietened down, all eyes their way, curious to see how this was going to play out. Giu hated the attention in all its negative light. “I was doing what any other person here would do, try and get on the school’s newspaper. Why, with the praise it got last year, it made me curious to try it out. My university application would definitely look great with the addition of this ‘club’.”

The silence that followed was palpable. Giu waited quietly, his breathing shallow, too anxious to hear the next part. Cat didn’t look his way at all, eyes remaining on Iris as much as she wanted to look at her brother.

“Just get lost Cunningham. There’s no room on the newspaper for you. End of story.” he stated, pushing his chair back as he moved away from the table. The doors seemed far away… all he had to do was walk through the crowd and he was free. He’d had enough embarrassment for one day. Eyes watched as he slowly moved away, again anticipating Iris’ cruel knack for bringing him down. Cat quietly noted that Elise hadn’t moved; her brother Ethan was murmuring quietly to her, a light restraint on her right arm.

“Oh boo hoo, give it up Italiano. You really don’t want to mess with a Cunningham.”

He spun on the spot, furious. Iris had followed him from the table. “Mess with you? Fuck me, listen to yourself-” Her eyes glinted, lips pulled back into a smirk. “You’re the one who’s so obsessed with me. Give it up. You’re not anything special.”

“Oh pur-lease, Ital-”

“No, shut up. I’m the Editor, you’re not getting in on the newspaper. Your precious Daddy isn’t going to help you. And anyway, he couldn’t.” Giu went for the final shot, this time pulling his lips into a smirk. Elise had told him this next tidbit during the holidays, the information she’d overheard at their local coffee shop proving to be useful. “Isn’t he a bit ‘busy’ with a - what do your people call it - a side dish?”

“Oh fuck off Cunningham.” He spoke without thinking, the continuous verbal abuse over the years finally getting to him. He stood up, this time looking down on her. She smirked as he crossed his arms. Cat’s eyes darted between the two silently willing them not to cause a bigger scene. “You’re not getting on the damn newspaper, so give it up now.”

“Why? It’s about time a Cunningham took control-”

“You have no goddamn experience, for one.”

“Come on Italiano, let’s be reasonable.”

“I’m not going to be reasonable at all. What on earth are you-”

“Give me a position on the newspaper, Italiano. What’s so hard? I thought you had an ‘everyone is welcome’ mantra? Huh? What happened to Good Guy Giuseppe?” A few titters followed this and his mouth tightened as he registered she’d used his name for the first time. Cat saw Elise stand up from her table, the scene unfolding before her emerald eyes, the brunette standing very still as she analysed the situation. Giu kept his focus on Iris, trying to hear over the thud thud thud of his anxious heart. What on earth was her deal?

He swallowed what he had been chewing and looked at her thoughtfully. “Well seeing as though she hasn’t been on the newspaper at all, has no experience running one, I highly doubt she’ll be successful if she tries.”

Elise became quiet as she pulled her textbook out. Giu took this opportunity to stuff the rest of his sandwich in his mouth. He brushed crumbs off his clothes before grabbing a pen and some paper. He heard the click-clack of a small pair of heels walk through the door; Iris had made herself known.

Expecting her to pause by his desk, she moved past, greeting a minion of hers instead. Mr Davis quickly entered the room and shut it, acknowledging the class. Elise nudged him quietly as their teacher turned to fiddle with the projector, his back to the class. “What if she does make a move, any move?”

“Then I’d better be ready then, huh?” He winked at her in an attempt to brush it all over. Iris was probably just antagonising him for the sake of it. She’d never shown an interest in the newspaper until now. “Don’t worry, El. I’ve got this.”

The first week was meant to be the easiest; the introductions to what was going to be expected, lesson content, big assignments, a general overlay.

He’d had no initial worries over his timetable. Yes he knew Iris was a part of school life - he only had one year left before he was free of her. Though Elise had been last minute with her decision to continue with History in her final year, he’d never really taken into consideration of what their timetables were going to look out. They were sharing three out of six classes which wasn’t too bad, if it hadn’t been for Iris.

As he and Elise had waited outside their Art History classroom, his eyes had scanned his timetable again, his longtime nemesis sauntered up on her way to a different class, looked over his shoulder and smirked. “I see you’re taking Advanced Lit, Media Studies, Chemistry AND Classical Studies? Wow, looks like I’ll be seeing you a lot more often Italiano,” she’d muttered before slinking away, her bright red lips pulled into a smirk. He’d felt his blood freeze and his heart quicken, Elise nudging him to see if he was alright and if she could sock it to her.

Iris had shot a dark glance over her shoulder which Elise happened to catch as they’d begun moving into their classroom. It made her feel slightly sick, and she immediately came to the conclusion that Iris was up to something. As they took their seats, she remembered how the girl’s grey eyes had glinted dangerously, the smirk still plastered on her stupid face, a couple of her minions tailing with their heads bent.

It didn’t sit well with her.

Giu felt his best friend shift in her seat. She muttered something under her breath.

Elise: Plus, education is kinda important.

Unfortunately, their tutor heard her.

Mrs Thomas: Education is important, Elise. Let’s hope your work ethic improves a bit more from last year.

Elise grimaced as their tutor took the roll before handing out their timetables, starting at their desk. As Mrs Thomas moved away, he quickly scanned his  before glancing at his best friend’s. Before he could talk, a voice piped up behind them.

Iris: You know what Anderson?