[color=gray][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/D2QxvWJ.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/qQ0AsQR.png[/img][/center]
[indent][indent][color=darkgoldenrod]"I'm going to be so freaking late!"[/color]

The last-minute festivities that his mother had thrown last night because, what else was a Russian-Mexican family to do when the eldest child received his early acceptance into a winter, science program that Marco had been working on getting into for a full year now? Of course, the answer to that would be to throw a party that was hosted by his proud, if not somewhat neurotic, mother. He loved her to death and loved that she cared so much, but Marco regretted how she was so wrapped up into the moment of the now that she completely let the fact that he, unlike his two younger siblings, was starting his 11th year of high school.

As he scrambled to find a presentable outfit to wear, Marco glanced at his wristwatch that his father, Alec had given him last night as a gift. Wouldn't you know it? He was running late. No school breakfast for him. No sir, if he didn't stop himself from being an over worrying Wally, he'd be overbaked like last night's chicken dish. [color=darkgoldenrod]"Fuck it!"[/color] Marco gave up on looking fashionable. He just grabbed whatever he saw in his walk-in closet. What he ended up on picking was a Ramone's tank and a pair of some shorts. Paired with his usual shoes of choice, he was ready to [i]hopefully[/i] not be late on his first day.

Marco came down the [enter name thing you put your arm on when going up the stairs here], sliding down half of it to save him some time. He landed on his feet as he had always done in the past - well, save for a few times where he ate it or when Ian would try to closeline him (and succeed). That wasn't happening this morning. And as much as he would love to gloat about the landing he just stuck, he didn't have the time, so he made a beeline for the door. However, just as he appeared to be home free, a penalty was thrown in the field: a pink flag that signaled that mama needed him.

[color=darkgoldenrod][i]And I was so close.[/i][/color]

While Marco's pity party only extended to the inner-workings of his mind, he turned around to face his surprisingly well-dressed mother standing behind him. She didn't seem particularly displeased with him. He would take that as a good thing, but her firm stance between him and his escape to freedom didn't necessarily give him all the confidence in the world that she was going to let him leave. Odd, isn't it? Considering he was about to be late for [i]school[/i], a thing that normal parents don't want to happen to their children, let alone on their first day. Then again, Marco's mother wasn't your average parent. She never did appear that way to his friends or how she had raised him. So it fits within her visage of being a quirky parent to not want him to be on time on his first day.

[color=darkgoldenrod]"Mama, I am really running late. Can this wait for another time?"[/color]

[color=f6989d]"So,"[/color] she began, hesitating and letting out a deep sigh before continuing. [color=f6989d]"We're having a visitor staying with us for a little while."[/color]

Marco gave his mother an unamused look. [color=darkgoldenrod]"[i]That's[/i] what was so important that you had to tell me now? It couldn't wait until after school?" [/color]

Marlie let out an exasperated sigh. [color=f6989d]"No, it couldn't. He's already going to be here when you come home from school, so I figured I would tell you instead of you finding out of the blue. He's..." [/color]

He threw his hands up into the air out of frustration, [color=darkgoldenrod]"well, now I'm [i]really[/i] late. I'll see you when I get home. Love you, Mama,"[/color] Marco said, giving his mother a peck on the cheek, leaving out of the door behind her.

In less than a minute, the loud, teeth-grinding sounds of leather tires peeling from the Castillo Estate to the road. Marco's 2018 Dodge Ram was the only thing they saw as it left the vicinity of Crown Heights. It had only taken him ten additional minutes to speed through the number of green lights of the neighboring communities, with an extra five spent getting to the freeway. 

Usually, Marco wasn't the type to go over the speed limit, but in this case, he was in a hurry. As it stood, he was already late, but if he hurried, he could still make his first class and sneak in before any of the teachers or another facaulty member. It was an ambitious plan, but, if successful, Marco would've accomplished what no student before him could ever hope to do. In other words, the gauntlet has been thrown and Big Mac was the only one who could take it down.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/K4E2SM7.png[/img][/center]

[color=darkgoldenrod]"Men, man your battle stations."[/color]

First up were the evasive countermeasures. This would be the easiest part of his three-stage plan. Though loud, Marco knew how to handle his darling Rami. She was a beaut in the way her engine purred like a BMW, yet had the body and bulk of an off-road furious truck. And Marco knew how to make her purr when he wanted to and knew how to make her obey him. In such cases like this very moment, she listened intently to his desires; and what Marco desired was a subtle aggressiveness that she totally understood. They worked in unison as she pulled into a parking slot just a few meters away from the gymnasium. 

Now, the second phase was about to make its presence known. This was going to happen as Marco grabbed his bag from the back of his truck, cowering behind it like a ninja warrior. His experience in track and field was about to pay off in about three, two, one...

[color=darkgoldenrod]"Now!"[/color]

Marco had never run as fast as he was right now. Each leg going in front of the other in rapid succession, the wind picking up as his dark hair was bouncing up and down with each step he took. He sped through the parking lot in under a minute and he started to make his way past the gym. It was all going according to plan. He would sneak past the staff members he had heard through the grapevine would be where around this time of morning. Then again, people were all in class, so not like he was going to get caught or anything.

...Right?

Marco was confident of that. His legs were proving to be the very tools that secured his safety. They were the only, two instrumental things he needed at this very moment. And maybe, if he was being picky, an invisibility cloak like that he remembers seeing on Harry Potter. What a great film that was. But this wasn't like it was in the movies, Marco. Because, if it ere, you wouldn't stop dead in your tracks by the equally-as-scary-as-Snape, Coach Sutherland. Where did it all go wrong? Marco had the perfect plan. He had all that he needed. So why, when he was so close to his first class, did he have to literally bump into this man?

[b]"Marco Castillo,"[/b] Tyberius  Sutherland said, getting himself up and pulling on an in-progress, fleeing, Marco, by the collar of his tank top. [b]"Where do you think you're going?"[/b]

[color=darkgoldenrod]"To class, sir."[/color]

[b]"We need to have a little talk."[/b]

[color=darkgoldenrod]"Can it wait? I'm running a little late, you see."[/color]

Coach Sutherland didn't seem amused, which furthered Marco's anxiety of the situation. [b]"Yes, about that. You are not only late, you are also not wearing the uniform that each student is required to wear."[/b]

[color=darkgoldenrod]"It's at the cleaners. Seriously, dude, I do need to go."[/color] Marco attempted to get out of his hold, but to no avail.

[b]"Listen, [i]dude[/i], you aren't going anywhere. Now stop resisting and listen to me."[/b]

Marco scowled, but he eventually gave in and let the old fart speak. [color=darkgoldenrod]"Floor's yours, bro."[/color]

Tyberius didn't seem to be quite fond of Marco's attitude towards him. [b]"With your tardiness, blatant disrespect towards me, and, if that make matters worse, you physically assualted me."[/b]

[color=darkgoldenrod]"Whoa, take it back a second. You bumped into me, man! I did nothing to you deliberately."[/color]

[b]"So, you admit you did something to me?"[/b]

[color=darkgoldenrod]"I..uh, no, that's not what I--"[/color]

[b]"Marco Castillo, congratulations! You earned yourself a day in detention."[/b]

And just like that, Marco's day went from terrible to terribad. 

As Marco was left to his own devices, he was wallowing in his own dispair of the moment, realizing that not even a full hour into his first school day as a junior, he was to serve a day fo detention after school. He wouldn't be so bummed out about it if this wasn't yet another thing piled on top of a list of shitty things that happened to him this morning. His alarm clock didn't go off when it should've. His mother felt the need to tell him about some stranger coming to visit them, and now Cournel Sanders himself gave him detention. And, the icing on the cake was he was even later to his first class that he thought he was.

[color=darkgoldenrod]"Slim better have my seat nice and warm. I can't handle more shit today.."[/color]


[/indent][/indent][/color]
[hr]

[color=gray][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/sYS8kbf.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ZQu6Xql.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/MzXtddl.png[/img][/center]
[indent][indent]
If there was one sight that not everyone within King’s Academy was used to was the sight of Savanna Hart without her two followers, Stella and Sofia. They were often a packaged deal. If you saw one, the odds of the other two being nearby was very likely. Whether this came from the years their friendship dating back to when they were still in diapers or just how the stars aligned Stella and Sofia within the cosmos that was Sav, the one thing that was doubtless was the pure and simple fact that all three, enigmatic girls of Tri-Hart were always near each other.

So, imagine the surprise of the students within Savanna’s homeroom when she arrived solo. Granted, her arrival was just as flashy and flawless as Sav herself. Being the self-appointed Queen Bee of King’s Academy’s senior class, when she entered a room, eyes were on her. Everything from how perfect (or so she believes it to be) her ironed uniform was and how the fabric naturally complimented her body in just the right ways so it is to not promote excessive promiscuity on her part, yet just enough to make the men who eyed her want her and the women who saw her want to be her. And to top it all off, her hair down was like a river gold flowing in a controlled stream into a sea of the blue scheme that King’s Academy fashioned itself.

Savanna, despite being without her two best friends, would not miss a beat. She parked it near the back of the classroom. She arrived about five minutes early. It was within her nature to get to class early. Though, to her, this wasn’t a class that was of any particular interest to her. Plus, as she took her seat, there was a familiar face that caught her attention. Greeting the face with a smile, she finally took her seat, resting her bag beside her outside leg and turning a half-turn to face the person who caught her eye halfway to her seat.

[color=violet]“Miss Vice President,”[/color] Sav said as if announcing herself to royalty, [color=violet]“what a genuine surprise it is to see you here with me. What an honor it must be for you.”[/color]

Of [i]course[/i] she would want to talk to her.

Reia turned her head, a fascinated look on her face, bright and cheery as she chuckled. Plastered on her face was her smile, amused if anything to Sav’s statement. [color=pink]”Is it, really?”[/color] Reia asked, perching her chin on her hand as she pretended to think. [color=pink]”I thought you’d be used to coming after me.”[/color]

[color=violet]“I aim to please,”[/color] Sav noted, crossing her legs under the desk she was sitting in. It was next to Reia’s. This placed Sav in a perfect position to examine the latina sitting next to her. Features of an otherwise attractive woman who, by all rights, rivaled Sav in about everything but what actually mattered: dominance of their class’ social ladder. [color=violet]“It has to be tiring to be the good one of you and that little brother of yours. Word already spread about how he and Aurora got caught with an illegal cigarette. Though, it isn’t clear who had it first.”[/color] Sav was rambling, as she soon caught herself, collecting her thoughts in an orderly fashion. [color=violet]“To think you would actually be the good one.”[/color] There was a genuine shock in Savanna’s tone.

[i]Aurora[/i]? What? Reia was well aware Grant was a pothead, but there was no way in hell the by-the-book President smoked. Admittedly the news had caught Reia off guard, though she handled it with the grace and poise she always did. [color=pink]”I’m pretty sure Aurora was in the wrong place at the wrong time,”[/color] She hypothesized, leaning back against her seat for a moment. “[color=pink]As for your second comment, let’s see...beautiful, rich, successful career, multiple contracts waiting for me on graduation--no, I have to correct you. I’m not good, I’m great.”[/color]

Shifting in her seat slightly, she wasn’t going to stay on the defensive. [color=pink]”But enough about me. And how’s your little girl band going? I imagine all the fun you have singing into your hairbrushes in front of the mirror.”[/color]

Sav smiled, flipping her perfect hair over to the right side, revealing her fabulous, good side - well, both sides of her face were good, but her current sitting position made her left exceptionally great. 

[color=violet]“It’s going great. I’m flattered you remember. I thought to be second to a now-known smoker would’ve affected your memory,”[/color] she replied with a hint of jovial aggression. Sav adjusted herself in her seat, leaning just a few inches closer to Reia. [color=violet]“How will you cope with this, I wonder. Being associated with two, known criminals isn’t going to set well with your college aspirations. I imagine any hopes of being more than the sister of a criminal will weigh heavy on your soul.”[/color]

Outright rolling her eyes, Reia let out a laugh, though she gave her a fake gasp. “[color=pink]Oh, that’s right, I keep forgetting you don’t really know the reach of my fame,[/color]” She said, leaning back slightly. [color=pink]”You see, when you reach a certain status with your career, education takes a backseat. My success over the summer has opened a gateway...you’ll be seeing my face all over town in a manner of days. No one will even remember I have a step-brother: they’ll be too busy looking at me.”[/color] She assured her, patting her knee. [color=pink]”Don’t worry, I promise when I reach Hollywood, I’ll put in a good word for you and your little Trio-Hearts.”[/color]

[color=violet]“Reia, sweetie,”[/color] Sav leaned forward, eyes locked on Reia’s own, [color=violet]“who says you’ll ever make it to Hollywood? The sour taste of being related - even if by marriage - to a known felon will kill your career before it was even born.”[/color]

Her perfume invaded her senses, and Reia let out a small cough. [color=pink]”Just like your perfume, you insist on one point. No one gives a fuck who smokes pot in a place [i]rampant[/i] with it,”[/color] Reia reminded her, fanning herself. [color=pink]”So naive, you really should get used to the idea of drugs; your agent will be snorting it off your back as he promises to make you famous.”[/color]

For a moment, Sav almost let herself become affected by what Reia was implying. But then she remembered that, no matter what she might try to do or say to get a reaction out of her, Sav wasn’t the type who could be easily manipulated like that. Her moms, for everything they went through in their own high school years, brought every lesson they learned, and implanted them into Sav as they raised her. When you pair that up with the wisdom that her Aunt Viola and the advice she received from her cousin, Andrea (some called her Dangerous Drea), she knew how to handle insignificant bugs like Reia Santos.

[color=violet]“You say nobody cares, but in a world where public image is everything, do you really think your future employers would be willing to overlook your relation to Grant and his extracurricular activities? Think about it, Reia.”[/color]

She decided not to reply right away, instead looking at Sav’s shoes, an unimpressed look on her face as she lifted her gaze to meet her eyes. [color=pink]”We’ll just have to see when my commercial airs this weekend,”[/color] She stated, shrugging. [color=pink]”But if I were you, little Savvy, I’d definitely work on your own image before trying to preach to anyone else about it.”[/color] She concluded, flipping some of her hair off her shoulder. [color=pink]”It’s okay, amor, we can’t all be...well, you know.”[/color] Gesturing to her own, fully developed curves, she flashed her a smile.

Though she wasn’t amused initially, Sav shook it off, hearing the words of the female figures in her life not to let this girl get to her. Instead, she let out an amused chuckle, twirling a strand of hair between two of her fingers of her right hand. [color=violet]“Up until just now, I had all the respect for you, Reia. But for you feeling the need to flaunt your body shows an obvious insecurity that not even all the success in the world can fix. Simply put, you are damaged goods.”[/color]

There was no need for Sav to continue engaging in this line of dialogue with Reia any longer. She lost any and all interest that was there for this sad girl. A pity because she was starting to warm up to Reia. So she simply turned to face the front of the class.

Raising her eyebrows, Reia let out another laugh, shaking her head. “[color=pink]Then it’s a good thing wolves don’t lose sleep over the opinions of sheep,[/color]” She stated, flipping open her notebook to see what was on the agenda for the day. She was surprised to find things quiet, so when she looked up, she realized everyone was either looking at her or looking at Saraena.

“[b]Wonderful, you’ve finally decided to join the rest of us,[/b]” Mr. Hammond clapped his hands rather sarcastically.

Reia blinked slowly, opening her mouth, but not having a response. Shit, it had been a very long time since she had been left so speechless. [color=pink]”I...Sorry,”[/color] She shrugged, not sure what to say.

[color=violet]“There’s a first time for everything,”[/color] Sav said under her breath, chuckling as low as she could.

[b]”Well, Since you two enjoy each other’s company so much, I’m sure you’ll get plenty of bonding time in detention,”[/b] He stated, turning back to the chalkboard and effectively ending the conversation.

Great. Tapping her pencil against her notebook, she noticed an event today. Her expression was rather stony as she read it, though she ended up quickly slamming her agenda shut, instead quietly crossing her arms.

One would think she never got punished in her life. Though Sav wasn’t keen on the idea of detention, she, unlike certain people, knew how to take her licks when they were given to her. Very casually, she turned her head around to Reia. [color=violet]“Seems like we’re going to get a chance to bond. Maybe I’ll get to know your brother and he can tell me [i]all[/i] about how wonderful you really are.”[/color]

Sav shot Reia a wink, turning around to face Mr. Hammond. This day was turning out to be better than she could’ve dreamed.[/indent][/indent][/color]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/MzXtddl.png[/img][/center]