Winter break had come and passed, and with it, Alise had returned to Crystal Academy, aka the school for all the rich girls that wasn’t as cool as Meadowview probably was, Meadowview being the school where all her friends practically were. Or the ones that weren’t still at Knightside, anyway. It was true she should have seen it coming from a mile away, given how wealthy her family was, especially her grandparents, and especially given how much her mother always was trying to get her to be more ladylike. It had been something discussed for at least a year or two before she had graduated from Knightside, at the very least, and in increasing amounts the more Alise started to ‘rebel’, as her mother saw it. It was known, but it was still unfair.
Or at least that was Alise’s opinion on the matter.
For awhile, Alise had wanted to vent to Clementine about the matter, seeing as Clem was her closest friend her age (though, technically, Clem was a good half year older than her); the winter break had been a good opportunity for it, but, for whatever reason existing, aside from possibly wanting to sulk about it for the sake of teenage drama, she had yet to actually act upon the thought. Etoile was a good listener, especially when motivated by food, but the little Mauvian was not the best when it came to dispensing helpful advice… not that she had ever been, to be honest. The recent cold weather had also put a hamper on any plans, but nothing would stop her now, not that anything had been stopping her in the first place, save for her own stubbornness.
Alise finally set her plans into motion one afternoon after school had let out for the day; Clem lived only a few blocks away, making it easy for Alise to head straight for her house without bothering to stop to change or anything, though she didn’t feel particularly cold, at least not at the moment. It was fortunate that she had never really been required to check in with her mother about what she was doing or where she was going… or, rather, it was fortunate that her mother had long since given up on such things. It made things easier for Alise, as it meant that she didn’t have to worry about angry calls from her mom demanding to know where she was… though she did send a courtesy text just in case. She didn’t think her mom would mind much- Clem was on her ‘approved’ list of friends, after all. It was doubly convenient, because Etoile had been staying the night over at Clem’s place, and not only did it give Alise an excuse to drop by, but her mom remaining uninvolved meant she didn’t have to worry about her discovering the little Mauvian, Alise’s worst (yet best) kept secret, aside from being a senshi, anyway.
It wasn’t long before Alise arrived at Clem’s doorstep. As she rang the doorbell, Alise briefly pondered if maybe she should have sent her a text, too, informing her friend of her intentions, but surely Clem was home, right? She couldn’t fathom her wanting to go anywhere, not when Etoile was there.
Daekie
