Etienne

I hung up my mobile, shoving into the back pocket of my jeans. I had only arrived in Paris an hour or two ago and my mum had already called to check how I was. I didn't mind though. She has always been quite protective, I think its partly due to my dad, not that I want to give him any credit or anything, but I think we bonded over a common fear. It became the two of us against him; the two of us against the world. He was never at home- not that I was complaining, I would rather not have to spend time with my dad. He spent his time between London and Paris, whereas mum and I lived in San Francisco. Well, she lived there. My dad shipped me to boarding school in Paris at the earliest opportunity, leaving her alone, and me under his watchful eye.

I caught my reflection in the tiny mirror above my sink, and I looked just as I felt. Shattered. I hated flying. I hated the way your stomach dropped as the plane took off. I hated the feeling I got in the air, one tiny mistake could take us all plummeting to an untimely death. I hated the hot, recycled air and the way it clung to your skin. I hated how tired I got from sitting still, I would always fidget and become restless, earning me dark glares from surrounding passengers.

I washed my face in my sink as an attempt to look more awake. It was no use. Running a hand roughly through my hair, I left my tiny room and I trudged down the stairs to find Meredith. We had spoken briefly on the phone before my fight left when she told me her new room number, it seemed she was the first one out of our friends to arrive. Josh and Rashmi must be getting here tomorrow. The only flight I could get meant I arrived late, and after getting through airport security and the metro journey, it was coming close to midnight. I decided I would just pop in to her room to say hello, before going to bed- my eyes were already halfway closed.

I reach out slowly to push the door, when a force hits me straight on. The impact makes me stagger back, reaching to the corridor wall for support. In a second I am stable again, blinking my weary eyes so they will adjust. Before me there is a girl, I frown a little, she looks my age, so she should be a senior too, but I haven't seen her around school. She definitely must be new, I would have remembered her if I'd seen her before. Frustrated with myself I frown even more, I already have a girlfriend, why am I noticing her. Oh shite, I forgot to call her! Shes going to be so mad when she finds out I'm already at SOAP. I shake my head, No, Focus Etienne, Focus. Say something.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were there." The words tumble out of her mouth in a loud whisper. I see her eyes flick up to my hair, I can feel the back of my neck heating. It must look a mess after the long flight. I resist the urge to reach up and smooth it down. Why do I even care?

"It's okay, I didn't see you either. Are you all right, then?"

There is a seconds pause, she looks at me and a surprised look crosses her face. I can tell she is shocked to hear my accent, although SOAP is in Paris, it is an American school, meaning all the students are American. Including me, I might add, despite my misleading accent.

"Er." I start unsure of what to do next, did I get the wrong room? "Does Mer live here?"

The hallway girl still gives me the same bemused look, like I didn't say anything at all. I clear my throat, the way she is looking at me makes me nervous, and I don't want to think about why.

"Meredith Chevalier? Tall girl? Big, curly hair?" God, she must think I'm crazy. A random guy has just stopped her in the corridor and won't let her pass, no wonder she is looking at me weirdly.

"I'm sorry." I edge away from her, giving her a little more room to escape, which I'm pretty sure she will do any minute. "You were going to bed."

"Yes!" She yelped enthusiastically as soon as I finished speaking, as if my movement had woken her up. "Meredith lives there. I've just spent two hours with her." Her grin is so wide it takes up most of her face. "I'm Anna! I'm new here!"

I smile back, I like girls who smile like that. Not any of this smiling-minutely-to-look-attractive crap, her smile was shameless. It was a smile to be earned.

"Etienne, I live one floor up." I mentally kick myself, of course I live one floor up, all the senior boys do. As for the Etienne thing, I don't know what I'm thinking. Only my mum calls me Etienne, all my friends adopt St. Clair, my surname, to address me. I don't know why I didn't tell her I was St. Clair, it just felt wrong for her. She felt different. She felt new.

I was still looking at her when Meredith pulled me into her room, the last glimpse I got of her was as she disappeared quickly into her room.