Walking into Alexander Prep was intimidating enough as it is, but going to the freshman introduction masquerade ball, man, that was a mouthful, was something completely different. There were glitzy girls dressed in long, designer gowns, and handsome boys who wore classical black and white penguin suits with pricey jewelry, stylish hair, and each with an escort dressed in just as flashy clothing. I never wanted to come here, never in a million years. But, it came with the the name.
Being a Fox, and no, not the animal, was something I never asked to be. I never asked to be rich, or to become the son of a CEO who was never around, too busy to call home or really raise his son. I just wanted to be me, Dallas Fox, the writer, the soccer player. Yet here I am, going to a school for the rich and famous, much like my father and older sister had, wearing a black suit with a black button up, which stuck out without the white undershirt, with no escort, trying to hide away from all of the… fancy.
Nothing here is what I want, nothing, nobody here could ever make me want to be here. It’s all too fake! I don’t want to learn the ways of how to run a business, hire people, beat competition, or be a ruthless leader. I prefer to write stories that can take me to a different world, my own world with my own people who I know better than myself. I don’t want to make friends with snobs like the kids here, I want someone real to be my friend, somebody who hasn’t dyed their hair blond and used a gallon of product on it, somebody who doesn’t want to be who they are expected to be, somebody who could understand. I don’t want to live in a dorm where my room would be too empty to bare, without an annoying roommate or sister. I don’t want to be here at all, where I don’t know anyone and won’t see my old friends. I don’t want to be here! I want to be home, with my sister and my mother.
A hand came down on my shoulder, knocking me out of my daze, making my eyes snap to the left, where the hand was firmly gripping my shoulder. The hand was large and pale, scars running along it as well as veins. I just looked at it, afraid to look at the owner, who was sure to be bigger than his burly hand.
“Hey, do you know where Ryann Thompson is?” The voice that knocked me out of my daze was strong and deep, causing my eyes to trail up from the large hand, to the muscled arm, then to the owner’s face, and as I looked up at the man beside me… color me intimidated. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. The man wore a white mask, covering the skin around his eyes, but not the cold, empty, brown eyes. His hair was cut short, looking like the style a military man’s would be. “Well, have you, boy? Ryann Thompson?”
“Why would I,” I asked, my voice barely a squeak, “Don’t know who he is or what he looks like, so why would I have seen him? It’s nearly impossible to tell who’s who in here, especially with the masks. It sounds to me like he doesn’t want to be found, so leave the boy alone or make an announcement.”
“Watch it, boy. That’s my sister you’re talking about like some worthless boy like yourself. It would be best that you keep your mouth shut and learn yourself some manners in the meantime.” The scowl on his face made me shrink under his gaze because it was just as tough and rough as the man himself. Ryann Thompson must be one scary girl if this is her brother, that or she is afraid of him. Wonder who her parents are. Maybe some high ranking military man? “Thanks anyway, freshman. If you do see her, dark hair, blue eyes, tell her Kai, her big brother, was looking for her.” The man stormed off into the crowd, his stride long and stiff as if he were trained to walk with dignity, to show off his authority.
No sooner did he leave did I get knocked over by the force of a linebacker, knocking me to the floor, my own surprised yelp joined with another. The ground was hard and cold, the wooden boards of the ballroom smooth under my palm as I slid across it a few inches, the squeal of my Italian leather shoes skidding across the floor.
“Watch it, dude!” When I had righted myself, I turned just in time to see a girl in a black dress stand up and dust off her own dress, which, unlike the other girls, ended right above her knees and showed off a pair of black converse. Her hair was as black as night, mouth in a thin line as it frowned. Dark, ice blue eyes stood out behind the black mask that covered her face, surrounded by tan face. “Sorry about that! Hello.”
“Have you seen a woman about my height, blond hair, fire-truck hair? Or a man? Scary?” Her eyes shifted uneasily, side to side. I thought back to the man, mind producing a clear image of him causing a shiver to go down my spine.
“Kai Thompson?” She shook her head, eyes void of emotion so I couldn’t tell if she was lying. She leaned up against a wall, shoulders dropping, head tilting back. “Why do you ask? Are they bothering you? Should I get security?”
“Of course not! They just know I don’t want to be here, want to make sure I haven’t walked home. I wish I was just me for once instead of the daughter of the famous lawyer.” The girl’s voice sounded so sincere, so… real. She understood how I felt unlike any of these other freshman.
“I know what you mean. My dad’s a CEO. Only seen him three times that I can remember,” I said, avoiding the girl’s eyes, which I could feel burning into the side of my face. She put a hand on my shoulder, forcing my attention to her. Her eyes took all of my stress away, making my body relax even more against the wall and leaning into her hand.
“I know. He wants you to take over his company when he retires, right? My parents both want me to take over the firm when they retire. I get it, man, I do. I don’t want to be a lawyer. Not even close. I want to be a sports trainer or physical therapist, and that is about as far from the law firm as could be.” I smiled at the girl, hoping to show her some sympathy. Her entire family seemed to be choosing her future while I could convince my father to try and change his mind.
“I think you understand more than I do,” I stated, glancing back to the dance floor, where the man was interrogating a girl in a white gown who looked as if she were sobbing. I shook my head slightly before leaning it back and looking at the mural on the ceiling. “I don’t want to be here, but you have more of a reason not too.”
“I miss having real friends, you know? I miss talking about feelings instead of how rich I am and what I am expected to do as an adult. I am going to miss talking about what I really want to do when I grow up and what movies are coming out that I want to see with the guys.” Her voice was so honest, so real, just like she was explaining her old life was. I wonder how she could ever be happy in a school like this or in the job she was destined for. It seemed so impossible for her to lie about something like this, even with how little I know about her.
Something seemed to startle her as she stared out at the crowd, body stiff. It was hard to follow her line of sight, but when I did, I saw exactly who she was looking at. There, in the middle of the crowd, was a woman with fiery red hair looking more than mad, more than furious.
“Is that…” I started, trying to convey what I was asking without words. The woman began to stomp over to, eyes wide behind her equally as fiery red mask, looking ready for blood. I turned to the girl again, seeing her face pale, at least paler that the natural tan skin from when she first bumped into me. “Is that…”
“I’m sorry man. I gotta go, but I’m sure I’ll see you around. You seem pretty cool,” she said before scurrying away, the woman right on her tail. She was perfect, down to earth… and real. I never got her name. I never got to see her face. I never got to know who she really was.
She was so different from my friends, from my family, from everyone at this school. I promise that I will find her and tell her that, as cliche as it sounds, and as impossible as it sounds, I have fallen in love with her at first sight. She is the only girl that I will want… at least for now. I promise to find that girl. I promise.
Being a Fox, and no, not the animal, was something I never asked to be. I never asked to be rich, or to become the son of a CEO who was never around, too busy to call home or really raise his son. I just wanted to be me, Dallas Fox, the writer, the soccer player. Yet here I am, going to a school for the rich and famous, much like my father and older sister had, wearing a black suit with a black button up, which stuck out without the white undershirt, with no escort, trying to hide away from all of the… fancy.
Nothing here is what I want, nothing, nobody here could ever make me want to be here. It’s all too fake! I don’t want to learn the ways of how to run a business, hire people, beat competition, or be a ruthless leader. I prefer to write stories that can take me to a different world, my own world with my own people who I know better than myself. I don’t want to make friends with snobs like the kids here, I want someone real to be my friend, somebody who hasn’t dyed their hair blond and used a gallon of product on it, somebody who doesn’t want to be who they are expected to be, somebody who could understand. I don’t want to live in a dorm where my room would be too empty to bare, without an annoying roommate or sister. I don’t want to be here at all, where I don’t know anyone and won’t see my old friends. I don’t want to be here! I want to be home, with my sister and my mother.
A hand came down on my shoulder, knocking me out of my daze, making my eyes snap to the left, where the hand was firmly gripping my shoulder. The hand was large and pale, scars running along it as well as veins. I just looked at it, afraid to look at the owner, who was sure to be bigger than his burly hand.
“Hey, do you know where Ryann Thompson is?” The voice that knocked me out of my daze was strong and deep, causing my eyes to trail up from the large hand, to the muscled arm, then to the owner’s face, and as I looked up at the man beside me… color me intimidated. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. The man wore a white mask, covering the skin around his eyes, but not the cold, empty, brown eyes. His hair was cut short, looking like the style a military man’s would be. “Well, have you, boy? Ryann Thompson?”
“Why would I,” I asked, my voice barely a squeak, “Don’t know who he is or what he looks like, so why would I have seen him? It’s nearly impossible to tell who’s who in here, especially with the masks. It sounds to me like he doesn’t want to be found, so leave the boy alone or make an announcement.”
“Watch it, boy. That’s my sister you’re talking about like some worthless boy like yourself. It would be best that you keep your mouth shut and learn yourself some manners in the meantime.” The scowl on his face made me shrink under his gaze because it was just as tough and rough as the man himself. Ryann Thompson must be one scary girl if this is her brother, that or she is afraid of him. Wonder who her parents are. Maybe some high ranking military man? “Thanks anyway, freshman. If you do see her, dark hair, blue eyes, tell her Kai, her big brother, was looking for her.” The man stormed off into the crowd, his stride long and stiff as if he were trained to walk with dignity, to show off his authority.
No sooner did he leave did I get knocked over by the force of a linebacker, knocking me to the floor, my own surprised yelp joined with another. The ground was hard and cold, the wooden boards of the ballroom smooth under my palm as I slid across it a few inches, the squeal of my Italian leather shoes skidding across the floor.
“Watch it, dude!” When I had righted myself, I turned just in time to see a girl in a black dress stand up and dust off her own dress, which, unlike the other girls, ended right above her knees and showed off a pair of black converse. Her hair was as black as night, mouth in a thin line as it frowned. Dark, ice blue eyes stood out behind the black mask that covered her face, surrounded by tan face. “Sorry about that! Hello.”
“Have you seen a woman about my height, blond hair, fire-truck hair? Or a man? Scary?” Her eyes shifted uneasily, side to side. I thought back to the man, mind producing a clear image of him causing a shiver to go down my spine.
“Kai Thompson?” She shook her head, eyes void of emotion so I couldn’t tell if she was lying. She leaned up against a wall, shoulders dropping, head tilting back. “Why do you ask? Are they bothering you? Should I get security?”
“Of course not! They just know I don’t want to be here, want to make sure I haven’t walked home. I wish I was just me for once instead of the daughter of the famous lawyer.” The girl’s voice sounded so sincere, so… real. She understood how I felt unlike any of these other freshman.
“I know what you mean. My dad’s a CEO. Only seen him three times that I can remember,” I said, avoiding the girl’s eyes, which I could feel burning into the side of my face. She put a hand on my shoulder, forcing my attention to her. Her eyes took all of my stress away, making my body relax even more against the wall and leaning into her hand.
“I know. He wants you to take over his company when he retires, right? My parents both want me to take over the firm when they retire. I get it, man, I do. I don’t want to be a lawyer. Not even close. I want to be a sports trainer or physical therapist, and that is about as far from the law firm as could be.” I smiled at the girl, hoping to show her some sympathy. Her entire family seemed to be choosing her future while I could convince my father to try and change his mind.
“I think you understand more than I do,” I stated, glancing back to the dance floor, where the man was interrogating a girl in a white gown who looked as if she were sobbing. I shook my head slightly before leaning it back and looking at the mural on the ceiling. “I don’t want to be here, but you have more of a reason not too.”
“I miss having real friends, you know? I miss talking about feelings instead of how rich I am and what I am expected to do as an adult. I am going to miss talking about what I really want to do when I grow up and what movies are coming out that I want to see with the guys.” Her voice was so honest, so real, just like she was explaining her old life was. I wonder how she could ever be happy in a school like this or in the job she was destined for. It seemed so impossible for her to lie about something like this, even with how little I know about her.
Something seemed to startle her as she stared out at the crowd, body stiff. It was hard to follow her line of sight, but when I did, I saw exactly who she was looking at. There, in the middle of the crowd, was a woman with fiery red hair looking more than mad, more than furious.
“Is that…” I started, trying to convey what I was asking without words. The woman began to stomp over to, eyes wide behind her equally as fiery red mask, looking ready for blood. I turned to the girl again, seeing her face pale, at least paler that the natural tan skin from when she first bumped into me. “Is that…”
“I’m sorry man. I gotta go, but I’m sure I’ll see you around. You seem pretty cool,” she said before scurrying away, the woman right on her tail. She was perfect, down to earth… and real. I never got her name. I never got to see her face. I never got to know who she really was.
She was so different from my friends, from my family, from everyone at this school. I promise that I will find her and tell her that, as cliche as it sounds, and as impossible as it sounds, I have fallen in love with her at first sight. She is the only girl that I will want… at least for now. I promise to find that girl. I promise.
A.N.- This is the rough prologue of my new story The Fox, inspired by my dislike for boys who try to charm their ways through life and try to act differently to be popular. Act like yourself and as Dallas Fox puts it, act "real"!
-Amanda L. Marcus
-Amanda L. Marcus