- endless, we are nothing -
Author: Tasminalice
Rating: M (Language)
Length: 1000 words, approx.
Summary:
Something new.
Naomi starts at Roundview.
A/N: First part, or: (another piece that's going to distract me horribly).
--
Leaving London was like leaving an old friend, Naomi Campbell thought, as she boarded the train.
The ticket collector did a barely concealed double take at her name. She rolled her eyes, before wheeling her overpacked trunk up and into the luggage section.
Walking back to her aunt, Naomi's gaze wandered over the familiar horizon, she allowed herself one last glance at her home city.
"Naomi, love, have you got your ticket? And your carry-on bag? And your purse? Oh, don't frown, dear. It makes you look petulant."
Christ.
"Yes, yes, yes and no, Jacqueline." Naomi allowed herself a lukewarm, if forced smile at her mother's sister.
She'd been staying with her for four months, as her own mother Gina had gone ahead, to Bristol. Naomi had stayed in Jacqueline's Putney house, with her two cousins. It had been an uncomfortable four months.
"Say hello to your mum, sweetheart, from me. Must dash off and get my roots done. Have a good train ride, and I expect emails all about your new friends, all right?" She simpered.
Giving Naomi a brief hug, and multiple air kisses, she began making her way back to her Mercedes.
"Toodledoo, darling!" Jacqueline called back, almost out of sight.
Naomi took a deep breath, and boarded the train.
Arriving in Bristol, hours later, Naomi couldn't help but feel a sense of muted relief. Her mum was about as left-wing as left-wing could go. That meant no more stuffy dinner parties, no more insufferable small talk. Just going to college, doing well at Politics and English, and moderately shit in Maths.
Gina was waiting at the station for her, with a trolley and a ridiculous grin. Naomi was happy to see her, but kept it under the radar. They were in public, for Christ's sake. Greeting her with a half-hearted, one-armed hug and a small smile, Naomi felt the relief increase.
"All right, love?"
Naomi nodded, and lifted her luggage onto the trolley. It was better than nothing.
--
Her room was a peculiar shade of yellow; like someone had painted a really rich shade of mustard, and then let the sun fade it, until it was a pale browny/yellow, with a hint of beige. The curtains were dark red, and there was a picture of Nelson Mandela on one wall. A double bed - thank God, and a note left on it:
100% pure cotton sheets,
FREE TRADE
Thought you might appreciate it.
xo, Mum
Naomi chuckled weakly, before lifting up the duvet and running her hand underneath, on said sheets.
Falling asleep that night, Naomi couldn't help but be nervous about starting a new college the next day. A whole new group of people, anyone would find it daunting. Not many other people would be annoyed at themselves for being intimidated, though.
The friends she'd left back in London had been good, but not great. She'd kept moderately to herself, only coming out when begged, hardly replying to messages. After trying, they'd basically left her alone. Naomi couldn't imagine it being too different in Bristol.
--
Her first impressions were ones of loudness and unruliness. Despite arriving slightly late into her first class - Literature - no one took any notice of her. They were all just faces and names they didn't recognise. Their teacher was a hawk-eyed, middle aged woman, with the sharpest looking nails Naomi had ever seen.
After bearable History and English (in which she only spoke up once, to correct her History teacher when she got the Cuban Missile Crisis completely wrong), Naomi retreated onto the small school field, to eat her lunch under a tree.
She saw the brunette coming a mile off. She was tall, thin, and alarmingly model-esque. She was dressed in a pair of ripped dark jeans and a sleeveless top.
"Mind if I share the tree with you?" The girl's eyes flashed, an electric blue.
"Not my tree, is it?" Naomi shot back, unwilling to be outdone.
The brunette chuckled without humour, and held out her hand.
"Effy." Naomi took it, but really. Who shook hands these days?
"Naomi."
"You're new."
"Well spotted."
Effy smirked again. "Liking Roundview?"
"Not so far," Naomi replied. "Although I can't say I know it too well yet."
Effy sat down, cross legged. Naomi noticed the straightness of her spine, the way her shoulders sat back, the almost perfect posture.
"No one really likes things they don't know. There's too much to question, first."
Naomi watched some boys casually pass around a cigarette, saw some girls engaged in a heated gossip session.
"Not much to question here. Not much to like, either."
Turning back to Effy, Naomi found those dark, bright eyes transfixed on hers.
"We're not all as easy to peg down, you know."
Naomi sighed and rested her head against the bark of the tree. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, before Naomi decided to pick up in the questioning vein.
"So. When you're not interrogating newcomers, what else is there to do in Bristol?"
"Lots, and not much. Few decent clubs and shit bars, but the pill trade's what's famous around here."
Naomi smiled slightly.
"Hopefully you don't do them by yourself."
Effy caught the question.
"They're catching up on Politics stuff."
"I'm in that class."
Effy nodded. "Yeah."
Ignoring the strangeness of the fact that Effy seemed to know what class she was in, Naomi picked a cigarette out of her pack and began to smoke it. Effy took one without bothering to ask, and Naomi found she didn't really mind.
--
Rating: M (Language)
Length: 1000 words, approx.
Summary:
Something new.
Naomi starts at Roundview.
A/N: First part, or: (another piece that's going to distract me horribly).
--
Leaving London was like leaving an old friend, Naomi Campbell thought, as she boarded the train.
The ticket collector did a barely concealed double take at her name. She rolled her eyes, before wheeling her overpacked trunk up and into the luggage section.
Walking back to her aunt, Naomi's gaze wandered over the familiar horizon, she allowed herself one last glance at her home city.
"Naomi, love, have you got your ticket? And your carry-on bag? And your purse? Oh, don't frown, dear. It makes you look petulant."
Christ.
"Yes, yes, yes and no, Jacqueline." Naomi allowed herself a lukewarm, if forced smile at her mother's sister.
She'd been staying with her for four months, as her own mother Gina had gone ahead, to Bristol. Naomi had stayed in Jacqueline's Putney house, with her two cousins. It had been an uncomfortable four months.
"Say hello to your mum, sweetheart, from me. Must dash off and get my roots done. Have a good train ride, and I expect emails all about your new friends, all right?" She simpered.
Giving Naomi a brief hug, and multiple air kisses, she began making her way back to her Mercedes.
"Toodledoo, darling!" Jacqueline called back, almost out of sight.
Naomi took a deep breath, and boarded the train.
Arriving in Bristol, hours later, Naomi couldn't help but feel a sense of muted relief. Her mum was about as left-wing as left-wing could go. That meant no more stuffy dinner parties, no more insufferable small talk. Just going to college, doing well at Politics and English, and moderately shit in Maths.
Gina was waiting at the station for her, with a trolley and a ridiculous grin. Naomi was happy to see her, but kept it under the radar. They were in public, for Christ's sake. Greeting her with a half-hearted, one-armed hug and a small smile, Naomi felt the relief increase.
"All right, love?"
Naomi nodded, and lifted her luggage onto the trolley. It was better than nothing.
--
Her room was a peculiar shade of yellow; like someone had painted a really rich shade of mustard, and then let the sun fade it, until it was a pale browny/yellow, with a hint of beige. The curtains were dark red, and there was a picture of Nelson Mandela on one wall. A double bed - thank God, and a note left on it:
100% pure cotton sheets,
FREE TRADE
Thought you might appreciate it.
xo, Mum
Naomi chuckled weakly, before lifting up the duvet and running her hand underneath, on said sheets.
Falling asleep that night, Naomi couldn't help but be nervous about starting a new college the next day. A whole new group of people, anyone would find it daunting. Not many other people would be annoyed at themselves for being intimidated, though.
The friends she'd left back in London had been good, but not great. She'd kept moderately to herself, only coming out when begged, hardly replying to messages. After trying, they'd basically left her alone. Naomi couldn't imagine it being too different in Bristol.
--
Her first impressions were ones of loudness and unruliness. Despite arriving slightly late into her first class - Literature - no one took any notice of her. They were all just faces and names they didn't recognise. Their teacher was a hawk-eyed, middle aged woman, with the sharpest looking nails Naomi had ever seen.
After bearable History and English (in which she only spoke up once, to correct her History teacher when she got the Cuban Missile Crisis completely wrong), Naomi retreated onto the small school field, to eat her lunch under a tree.
She saw the brunette coming a mile off. She was tall, thin, and alarmingly model-esque. She was dressed in a pair of ripped dark jeans and a sleeveless top.
"Mind if I share the tree with you?" The girl's eyes flashed, an electric blue.
"Not my tree, is it?" Naomi shot back, unwilling to be outdone.
The brunette chuckled without humour, and held out her hand.
"Effy." Naomi took it, but really. Who shook hands these days?
"Naomi."
"You're new."
"Well spotted."
Effy smirked again. "Liking Roundview?"
"Not so far," Naomi replied. "Although I can't say I know it too well yet."
Effy sat down, cross legged. Naomi noticed the straightness of her spine, the way her shoulders sat back, the almost perfect posture.
"No one really likes things they don't know. There's too much to question, first."
Naomi watched some boys casually pass around a cigarette, saw some girls engaged in a heated gossip session.
"Not much to question here. Not much to like, either."
Turning back to Effy, Naomi found those dark, bright eyes transfixed on hers.
"We're not all as easy to peg down, you know."
Naomi sighed and rested her head against the bark of the tree. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, before Naomi decided to pick up in the questioning vein.
"So. When you're not interrogating newcomers, what else is there to do in Bristol?"
"Lots, and not much. Few decent clubs and shit bars, but the pill trade's what's famous around here."
Naomi smiled slightly.
"Hopefully you don't do them by yourself."
Effy caught the question.
"They're catching up on Politics stuff."
"I'm in that class."
Effy nodded. "Yeah."
Ignoring the strangeness of the fact that Effy seemed to know what class she was in, Naomi picked a cigarette out of her pack and began to smoke it. Effy took one without bothering to ask, and Naomi found she didn't really mind.
--