She had to hand it to him – even if Brandon was doing this as a way to humor himself and humiliate her (if only a little), he was at least trying to take a measure of anonymity for her. A new identity had been crafted, that of a Petra Laskaris. The thought into the new surname was just like Brandon – it meant ‘a kind of soldier’, and wasn’t exactly untrue. Her history was largely vague, conveniently sealed by diplomatic order so that she could fill it in later. She scanned all of this as she headed down the penthouse elevator and outside, only putting away to blink against the bright sunlight.
She walked down to the garage – the one specifically set aside for Brandon, and looked through the cars, deciding on the one that was least likely to draw attention, and made her way to the school she was to attend. Along the way, she decided on one point for her identity’s background – Brandon would most definitely not be her parent, but rather a legal guardian. Upon arrival, she had to head to the office, and there was a bit of an issue trying to find her transcripts since she was a third quarter transfer.
A kid named Bronson showed her around the building briefly before abandoning her to let her find her own way to class. All the while, her brain was calculating escape routes. The bell rang while she was searching, causing the hallways to fill with a throng of students each trying to make their own way. She was smaller, more petite than a lot of them, and ended up getting pushed around a lot. Eventually she managed to find her way to Spanish class. It was an upper tier one, where they only spoke in Spanish, and she couldn’t help but cringe at the attempts some people made, and the outright butchering of others. Interestingly enough (to her anyway), she had some difficulty with Science and Math – she just wasn’t familiar enough with current trends on the subject, so they annoyed her beyond the point of irritation.
Interaction with other students had been more or less what she expected – brusque and full of attitude. Some tried flirting with her, and others were just…beyond disrespectful. Lunch was crowded, and she had difficulty finding a seat, until a table waved her over and made room for her.
“You’re the new kid, right?” one of them, a girl with bubblegum pink hair, asked.
“Yes, I – “ she began.
“You are in desperate indeed of some eyeliner.” one of the guys said, fishing into his backpack to remove an eye pencil in a smoky share before reaching for her, pausing to wait for permission, then expertly applying the eyeliner. A mirror was produced, and she had to admit, it had a great effect at making the green of her eyes stand out.
“Thank you?” she said.
“Oh, you’re welcome honey.” he said, putting the eyeliner back into a pencil pouch.
“That’s Rick for you.” the girl said. “He’s got it in his head that he’s going to be a makeup artist. You know, like Jeremy Renner was.”
“Shiloh, I can never tell if you’re talking me up, or putting me down.” he said with an expression that was somewhere between a pout and a smile.
“Praise, honey. You know I love your work.” she said, leaning in to give him a kiss before sitting back.
“I guess you guys are a couple?” Petra asked.
Rick nodded. “Two years now.”
“Wow, good for you.” she said, smiling briefly.
“So your name is Petra, right? I’ve got you in my Bio class. Where’d you transfer from?” Shiloh asked.
Petra quickly thought. Where had she ad Brandon lived prior to Los Angeles? “I’ve moved around a lot, but I most recently lived in Texas.” she said, deciding to add that little bit to the backstory. Besides, there was a branch or two of Brandon’s firm down that way.
“Oh wow. So maybe a bit of culture shock, huh?” Rick said.
“A little.” she admitted.
“Hey, what’s that?” Shiloh asked pointing to Petra’s necklace as she took a bite of an apple.
Petra looked down and picked up the rather worn pendant. “This?”
Shiloh nodded.
“Just something I wear to remind me of my faith.” she said.
“Can we ask what that is?” Shiloh queried.
“Pagan. Umm…Hellenic deities specifically.” Petra responded.
“Oh hey…that’s cool. There’s a pagan community here at the school if you’re interested.” Rick chimed in.
“Oh…that might be cool, actually. Thanks.” Petra said.
Idle chit-chat followed until the period was over, and the rest of the day continued. There was a minor mishap with her locker and a snotty entitled girl making snide remarks about Petra, until Petra had enough and shut her locker a little hard before turning to smile at the other girl.
“It was Cassie, wasn’t it?” she asked, and latched on to the fact that the girl had a damn purse dog with a pink collar and bow. “Oh, what an adorable dog! She’s every bit as precious as her owner.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cassie asked, obviously confused but trying to cover it up.
“Well, you’re the same.” Petra said with a smile.
“And…?” She said, looking exasperated.
“You’re both a bitch.” she said, shouldering her bag and walking away.
She made the drive home, Cassie shrieking at her as she walked away. She stretched out and got a drink when she got home, nodding to Emilio.
“How was your day, miss?” he asked.
“Better than I thought, but don’t tell Brandon that, ok?” she requested.
“I’ll say nothing unless ordered to.” he stated.
“Thank you.” she said, beginning to pull things out of her bag.
“Homework?” he asked.
“Yes, and a fair bit.” she grumbled. “I feel like I’m going to be working until Brandon gets up.”
“I’ll call you for dinner.” he said, and left her to the homework. True to her thinking, she had a lot to do and worked right up until the late dinner Emilio prepared, having needed to do some catch up work as well as current work.
“How was school?” Brandon said, a gleeful tone to his voice.
Petra had just taken her last bite of food, so she shot him a dirty look while she finished. “About like I thought.” she groused.
“Well, I’m sure the teenage mentality will brush off on you in no time.” he said, still cheerful.
“What are you getting at?”
“Oh, nothing. Just that you’ll loosen up, have fun, maybe party…”
“Stop right there. I will never have morals as loose as yours, Brandon.”
“Aww. Why not?”
“I’m not you.” she said, picking up her plate and heading into the kitchen, hearing Brandon sigh behind her.