Intelligence Is In

[Audrina Beaufort]

One thing Audrina Beaufort had come to love about King Protea was its abundance of fellow chic nerds for her to hang with. Most of the people at this school wanted to succeed in life, show up their rivals, and end up at the top. Those who were already born into lives of endless luxury and frivolity - Mason George, Mack del Torre, and so on - were simply keeping the legacy alive and maintaining appearances. Others, like the Audrina herself, had fairly nice backgrounds themselves but still had to work their hardest to get where they wanted. Now, Audri wasn't the average blonde bombshell; she had among the highest of intellects ever to grace the campus of King Protea College, stunning beauty which was heavily contrived through fashion stylings and makeup and a nose job at age sixteen, and unlike most of the students, she was genuinely kind-hearted because she fully understood how it felt to be tormented by superficial critics and had promised herself to never become one of them. No matter how often she refused to admit it, her popularity was flourishing; everyone knew her name and her face; girls wanted to be her, and boys desired to be with her. However, Audri was not one to be corrupted or blinded by her popularity.

Word traveled very quickly around campus, and it was common knowledge that Audrina was among the high-profile names on the Rat Pack's dream board, a list of the most highly sought-after individuals whom the Alpha Sigma Delta fraternity was dying to have join its ranks. It wasn't too surprising for the green-eyed intellectual, for she'd been invited to all of its famous, Gatsby-style parties - albeit slightly less classical and poetic - and she had plenty of connections to within the royal fraternity's grand walls. However, it wasn't her ties that boosted her image, oh no. It was all by her own work that she was one of the most well-known people in town. Audrina was never one to make pawns out of others. She had the decency and self-respect to get things done herself.

One of the advantages of having her pretty name listed on the dream board was the members were much more lenient with her liberties and she didn't require an invitation to waltz inside of the complex whenever she pleased. She had more than enough friends within the Rat Pack who would protect her if anyone spoke out against her. There was Mason, Anthony, and Clarissa, among many others, all of whom hadn't taken long at all to favor Audrina from the moment they laid eyes on her. Beauty, brains, and popularity. Those were the three traits required in order to gain the respect of the members of Alpha Sigma Delta, as superficial as it may have sounded, and Audri possessed all three. Her relationship to King Protea's royalty could be obliterated to ashes if they were to find out about her rhinoplasty, which she had undergone many years ago in order to conform to society's standard of beauty, and although it was one of her best kept secrets, she took additional measures to ensure nobody would ever know of it. Certainly, elegant beauties such as Sutton Francis and Skylar Valentine had never resorted to cosmetic surgery to enhance or alter their already gorgeous appearances.

Today, she was in a particularly social mood, having met with many other friends from different cliques prior to entering the large set of doors into the Alpha fraternity. Upon her entrance, she recognized many faces, who instantly stopped and smiled at her, or, at the very least, acknowledged her with a slight nod. Notable absences included Mack del Torre and Katrina Moon, who were away in Korea; Sutton Francis, who was in France with her mother for the Christmas holiday and shopping on Champs Elysées to her heart's content; and a couple of the lesser known members, whose names and faces Audrina hadn't bothered to connect at the moment. For a second, she considered meeting with Mason George, the king of the campus, to catch up on what they'd missed, but he was probably with Clarissa, his new bride and one of her closer friends. In the end, she decided to see her fellow nerd, Anthony Suarez, who knew her as well as she knew him.

The corridors of the building were familiar to Audrina by now and she no longer got lost in the hallways or had to ask for directions. Each bedroom she passed alternated scents. Some smelled of expensive Chanel or Versace perfumes, others reeked of alcohol and the occasional joint. When she arrived in front of a room that smelled of new books, she knew she'd found Anthony's. Knocking on the door once before gently pushing it open, she stepped inside and called out to him.

Audrina was aware of his complicated relationship to Imogen Brookes, sometimes through Anthony's confessions, other times through Gossip Girl and her incessant dish on King Protea's finest and not-so-finest. Imogen's still-born baby had been quite a tragedy that saddened many students, Audri included, and she'd made an effort to comfort both the mother and the father.

"Anthony? You here? It's Audri, just coming in to say 'hi' and 'Happy New Year's,'" called the blonde nerd with a gentle smile. Her hot pink dress swayed slightly as each step of her cream-colored pumps clicked against the hardwood floor. Something remarkable about the fraternity's bedrooms was they were all huge! Some were larger than others, depending on the member's standing within the ranks. People like Skylar Valentine and Clarissa were second only to Mason and had glamorous chambers. Audrina wasn't as certain of Anthony's position, but she assumed he had personally chosen where he wanted to be.

[anthony suarez]

-timing this thread so that it's just before the party to make things easier-

Genetics must have been the only thing keeping him in the AlphaFrat; Anthony Suarez was anything but the popular, rich stereotype that seemed to slot in here just fine. A sigh escaped his lips as deep brown eyes scanned the work that he had just finished. Dissertations were not fun. The realisation that he was a senior and these months were literally the last he would be living in California for seemed to hit him like a ton of bricks as the sea breeze swept through his hair the night before. The idea of even going on a plane back to São Paulo wasn't exciting him in the slightest. Resting his face on a now somewhat comfortable hand, he let another one of his famous sighs out from his lips, before his eyes returned to the line that he was reading.

Schizoid. Even with the four years he had spent with the word, he had never become fully acquainted with it. Perhaps it was partially because the Wikipedia definition of the disorder was mainly a header about how it shouldn't be confused with Schizophrenia and how the pair were completely different. Even with the ruby Greek wonder by his side for most of the time. His encyclopaedia for a brain just couldn't create a definition for it. Or rather, how he felt about it. A "lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, and apathy." But couldn't one then say that this person was a sociopath? Or something like that? His left hand tapped his pencil repeatedly onto the desk with impatience. But this lack of interest in Nikki's case wasn't existent, was it? She seemed to care, yes, perhaps in her own odd way, but she did. She was surrounded by people; his cousin's ex, Kimiko's "onee-San" or whatever the Japanese word was and that last one, along with their plethora of children (okay, two.). But she wasn't cold. A tender kiss in a park wasn't cold, was it? Running around in the rain without a care in the world, flirting with all the normality of the average teenager? He didn't see her as the girl with the disorder that he had to be patient with anymore. It was almost like they had a connection that no-one else could tap into, no hacker, no linguist, no body-language interpreter. Just that shine in those green eyes. The way they lit up with the knowledge of someone understanding her, getting to know the girl behind SPD.

And that made him smile.

But he hasn't seen her recently. And he couldn't lie - things between the pair of them had made things difficult between him and another little girl (little in respect to the rather large difference in height, you see, and in age, now I think of it) - a blonde, Imogen. The bond the pair had was stronger than ever; even through the bad times, where she was diagnosed, when she lost the baby that defied all the odds - he was thinking of her. Perhaps this was the fabled love that Disney movies have capitalised, selling dreams to doe-eyed little girls who dream of Prince Charmings who'll sweep them off their feet while singing to them acapella on 5th Avenue. He didn't know. But what he did know was he just wanted to see her. Pined for that glowing smile she gave, the silly jokes she chimed. Perhaps it would bring back the smile that he had lost over the last few weeks, like the one he had spent time envisioning, with the night sky as the backdrop, stars twinkling. She probably wouldn't come though. He hadnt exactly been there when he needed - blame cowardice.

A voice came from the door, and Anthony jumped to attention. Since Mason usually bounced his way right into the room, it had to be someone else. This was new. Our Anthony keeps to himself, you see. Hastily, he opened the door.

"Oh? Hey hey, bom dia! Come right in, Audrina! Sorry, my room is chock a block full with books and all,"

It was Large, with a capital L unnecessarily. That was the great thing about being the nephew of the benefactor of the new build of the fraternity. However, it did get lonely at times - Anthony didn't want anyone else in his room, so he usually tries to scare off any newcomer who wants to remake it their home. So it was nice having company for once.

[Audrina Beaufort]

Out of all the residents within the walls of Alpha Sigma Delta, Anthony was among the least superficial and hedonistic, making him Audrina's go-to buddy when she felt like talking to someone. All of her other scholarly friends outside the Greek life were away for a science convention; all the boys in this fraternity wanted to get her in bed, and all the girls were only interested in gossip and boy talk. Only she and Anthony could go off on nerdy tangents and still look cool doing it. Moreover, one of his best traits was he wasn't judgmental; she could tell him almost anything and he would listen without sneering or scorning her.

Over the years, the blonde had taught herself a little bit of Portuguese to communicate with the school's surprisingly vast Brazillian population. She'd acquired a small vocabulary, primarily consisting of celebratory expressions and greetings."Feliz Ano Novo!" proclaimed Audrina, smiling brightly as she showed off a little of the Portuguese she knew. Unfortunately, she wasn't very fluent with much more than what she'd just uttered, but she still knew plenty of Spanish, having taken classes for that language since middle school. However, she knew better than to reveal everything in one draw.

Pulling Anthony into a friendly hug, Audrina gave his shoulders a light squeeze before releasing him and letting her eyes roam around the chamber. Her friend had apologized for the clutter of books lying everywhere, but the room looked the same as it always did. She was used to the sight, and her room usually looked the same when she was busy and not expecting company. "Sorry for just barging in like this, but I'm seriously clueless about what to do for this boat party of yours. Like, how do you want me to dress? Simple? Mega-formal? I mean, it's not like I'm a total stranger to these parties you and Mason throw. I've been invited to them all. Granted, I've never actually attended but one or two for special occasions, but I have my reasons! However, I have a feeling this event means a lot to you and your company, so I thought, 'Why not?'" she rambled, pacing back and forth, stepping over the piles of books on the floor as she did so. Whenever she stressed over social details, the emerald-eyed beauty had the habit of speaking rapidly and openly expressing everything on her mind. It was one of the quirks she was most embarrassed by and among the very few things in her personality she hadn't been able to dispel when she changed her appearance beyond recognition all those years ago.

Her fingertips pressed gently against her temples as the blonde let out a deep sigh. "I'm just a little jumpy about tonight. After all, everyone will be there, right? What if I spill my mimosa on one of the big people on campus, or trip and fall off the deck, or get nauseous, or get too drunk and hook up with a creeper, or-" Another deep breath, followed by an amused chuckle from the very girl who had been fretting over the details.

"I'm sorry, Ant. You're probably busy, and I'm just annoying the hell out of you with my incessant babbling," she apologized with a small smile. Her back leaned against one of the many shelves in the room, and she swept a stray lock of golden hair from her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. "Well, want me to help clean this place up a bit? Think of it as super early spring cleaning, or just a New Year's favor from me," she offered, bending down to pick up a book and setting it in its proper place on a shelf.

"I mean, I know I dropped in unexpectedly, but this room could make even my place look like a perfectionist's dream," she jested with a playful laugh. "And that's coming from one of your favorite fellow nerds." Another book was picked up off the floor and placed on another shelf. This was going to take a while...