The Beauty Read online

  The Beauty

  L.C. Mortimer

  Published by Sophie Stern, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  THE BEAUTY

  First edition. October 3, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 L.C. Mortimer.

  Written by L.C. Mortimer.

  Also by L.C. Mortimer

  Swords of Darkness

  Just Another Day in the Zombie Apocalypse: Episode 1

  The Lost Fallen

  Outbreak: A Zombie Novel

  The Beauty

  The Beauty

  Enchanted Academy

  L.C. Mortimer

  Story copyright by L.C. Mortimer

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  Author

  Hybrid Academy: Year One

  *

  Once upon a time...

  To second chances.

  Boarding schools aren't for the faint of heart.

  Neither are fairy tales.

  My school has all the usual players.

  There's Snow White: Queen of Everything. She's the most popular girl in school, but she's got a dark side.

  There's the Beast: the jock who can't lose, but who also can't seem to catch a break when it comes to love.

  Then there's me.

  I'm no one special.

  In fact, I'm not from a fairy tale and I don't have any special powers or skills. I'm just a kid who won a scholarship to the weirdest school in town. I'm just trying to keep my head down, mind my own business, and stay out of the drama.

  But then Beauty disappears, and all hell breaks loose.

  Someone took her, but nobody's talking.

  It's a good thing I know how to read between the lines because I'm not about to stop until I find out who stole her.

  I'm not going to stop until I save Belle.

  THE BEAUTY is Book One in ENCHANTED ACADEMY: a high school bully romance.

  Chapter 1

  “You’re not magical,” the woman staring up at me wrinkled her nose, as though there was nothing quite as terrible as being around a non-magical person.

  “Congratulations,” I said. “You win a prize.”

  She looked confused for just a fraction of a second before she realized I was being rude, and then her confusion morphed into something else: disdain.

  “Young lady, proper manners are required at all time for students at Enchanted Academy.”

  “I’m aware.”

  “I don’t think that you are,” she said. She looked down at my paperwork and back up at me. Then she looked down again. I knew exactly why, too: she was trying to figure out how Jessica Elizabeth, trailer park princess, had managed to get a scholarship to Enchanted Academy.

  To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure myself.

  It had all started out innocently, of course. My art teacher had encouraged me to enter a contest, which I had. He hadn’t expected me to win, which I had. Perhaps I shouldn’t have taken the opportunity to transfer to Enchanted Academy. After all, I was a sophomore already. It wasn’t like I was just starting high school. Nobody likes transfer students. Not even transfer students liked transfer students.

  Yet there I was.

  I sat quietly, impatiently tapping my fingers on my knees, as the woman in the office looked over my paperwork.

  “It says here that you’re a straight-A student,” she said.

  “Yes, I suppose it does.”

  “Lose the snark,” she looked up at me. The woman pushed her glasses up her nose. A strand of frizzy hair managed to make its way loose from her frigid bun, which gave her the look of a fussy librarian. “It’s not going to do you any favors here.”

  “Sorry,” I said, but I wasn’t. I just wanted to get this over with so I could go to my room, settle in, and try to forget about everything I’d been dealing with up to this point. The reality was that my life hadn’t been perfect: far from it, in fact. I was ready for a fresh start more than anyone I knew, and in my opinion, attending Enchanted Academy was the perfect way to get that start.

  Despite completely lying about my behavior and my willingness to obey the rules, the admissions counselor working with me somehow managed to finish my paperwork, hand over my dorm room paperwork, and give me a copy of my class schedule.

  Then she handed me a key.

  “What the hell is this?” I picked it up and held it out from myself.

  “Don’t swear.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “But it’s just that...well...look at it.”

  The key itself was somewhat strange. Well, that was putting it lightly. It was a skeleton key, from the looks of it: old and worn. Was it made of brass? Or maybe...was it gold? The key looked like something you’d find in a fairytale or a legend. It wasn’t the type of key an ordinary student would use to open up their bedroom door.

  The advisor looked at me as if she was counting down the days until I flunked out. That kind of grated a little bit. I wasn’t going to flunk out. Not even close. Still, what was up with the key? It would be nice to have some answers. Any at all would do.

  “It’s going to give you access to the girl’s dormitory,” she said.

  “So, this is how I enter the building.”

  “Right.”

  “And how do I get into my bedroom?”

  “An enchantment,” she said.

  “Uh, what?”

  The counselor bit her lip, probably to keep from yelling at me and my irritating questions, but she held up a little necklace.

  “An enchantment.”

  I took the necklace from her. It was a long gold chain and there was a little rose on the end of it. The rose was also gold and it looked like something from a fairy tale. It was small. Seriously, it was no bigger than a quarter.

  “I’m not a huge jewelry person,” I started to say.

  She held up her hand.

  “Jessica, please. Let’s just get this over with, shall we? Look, the necklace is enchanted. Hold it up to the lock beside your door and it’ll allow you to enter your room.”

  I held it in my hand for a minute, considering it. Maybe the necklace wasn’t going to be the worst part of life at Enchanted Academy. Besides, I should probably just wear it, right? It would make her happy if I would wear it, so I should just do it.

  If I knew one thing from my years as an orphan kid, it was that you had to choose your battles. You had to decide exactly when you were going to fight for something and when you were going to give up. Sometimes, giving up wasn’t the worst thing you could do. Sometimes, giving up was exactly right.

  In this case, I realized that I hadn’t made a very good impression with this lady. I peered at her nameplate. Amanda. I hadn’t made the best impression when it came to getting to know Amanda. That was too bad because there might be a time when I needed her for something. Maybe I would need her to help me when it came to dealing with a teacher or maybe I’d have questions about the school and would need her guidance.

  It was time for me to stop being fussy and just accept what she was giving me.

  “Thanks,” I said. I slipped the necklace over my head and settled it around my neck. It was comfortable and strangely warm. Okay, so this was my first time around enchanted objects. Maybe they were all warm like this.

  If Amanda was surprised by my sudden change of heart, she was smart enough not to say anything. I got the fe
eling she was used to dealing with people all day long: some of whom had some pretty big emotions to deal with.

  “When you get to your room,” she said. “You can either remove your necklace entirely or just hold the rose up to the lock. It’s not on the handle, the way you might be used to back at home.”

  “The lock isn’t on the door?”

  “Nope,” she shook her head, and her dark curls bounced as she did. “The locking panel is beside the door.”

  “Very fancy.”

  “We try to be,” she smiled. Then she leaned forward and clasped her hands on her desk. “Look, Jessica, I know this is going to be an adjustment.”

  “Understatement of the century.”

  “But,” she continued, ignoring my comment. “I know that you’re going to like it here.”

  She was so certain, and I just...wasn’t. I knew that Enchanted Academy would have to be better than Millbrook High. It just had to be. My old school was full of bullies and cheaters and liars. It was full of girls who were mean and boys were even meaner. It had drama. It had outcasts.

  It had pain.

  I didn’t want that anymore.

  What I wanted, more than anything else, was to experience school in a way that was...fun.

  Relaxing.

  Meaningful.

  I wanted to go to my classes and learn: not be scared for my life.

  I didn’t want to be constantly afraid that someone was going to hurt me or tell a lie about me or trick me.

  And mostly, I just wanted a fresh start.

  “Okay,” I said. “Thank you.”

  She stood and motioned toward her door. Amanda walked around the desk and guided me to her office door. She pulled it open and just looked at it for a minute. Then she turned back to me.

  “I was new here, too, once upon a time.”

  “Any advice?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Stay out of trouble,” she said. “And be careful.”

  “Careful about what?” I asked, suddenly a little surprised.

  “What you see isn’t always what you get,” Amanda smiled sadly. Then I stepped out of her office, and she closed the door. I stared at it for a little while, wondering what the heck she was talking about.

  What you see isn’t always what you get?

  What did that mean?

  Shrugging, I decided to just accept it and go with the flow. That was important, right? The reality was that I was the new kid. No matter what I did and no matter what choices I made, I’d be awkward. I’d be a little bit weird. I’d be...well, I’d be strange. Eventually, the other kids would warm up to me. That’s what always happened.

  “Do you need directions, dear?” An old woman walking by stopped and looked at me. She had a cloak on, which was pretty weird, and she was walking with a cane. She almost looked like the evil witch in old fairytale stories, but that would be crazy.

  Right?

  “Nope,” I said, and I turned and walked in the opposite direction. I actually didn’t know where I was supposed to be going, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. All I wanted to do was get away from this place. I was supposed to find the girls’ dormitories and then meet up with the rest of the school at the opening banquet, which was at six o’clock. It was only three, so I had plenty of time, and I planned to use my time wisely.

  I practically raced down the hallway. I could feel the old lady’s eyes on the back of my neck as I moved. She was watching me, and I hated that feeling, but I had to hurry and leave. I didn’t look back until I had pushed open the double-glass doors at the end of the hallway and left the building entirely. Once outside, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

  I had done it.

  I wasn’t sure what I felt like I was escaping from, but there was something, and I wasn’t about to let that go.

  “Hey, watch it!” I was so caught up in worrying about the creepy woman that I hadn’t noticed the girl standing in front of me. She was taller than me, and older, and much more beautiful than I could ever hope to be.

  “Oh, sorry,” I said. “I didn’t see you.”

  “Are you blind?” She asked, blinking.

  “Uh, no?”

  “Oh, so you’re just an idiot,” she said.

  “I...uh...”

  She rolled her eyes, flipped her hair back, and then glared at me.

  “Do us both a favor, new kid, and stay out of my way.” Then she turned and marched off. I just stared at her. Seriously. What had I done to piss off that lady?

  “New kid, huh?” A friendly voice said from beside me. Inwardly feeling anxious and stressed, I turned to see a tiny girl with long hair staring up at me. She was probably about a foot shorter than me and honestly, she sort of looked like a pixie.

  Or a fairy.

  “Uh, yeah. My name is Jessica.”

  “I’m Amy Tinkerbell,” she said. “But you can call me Tink.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said. “Who was that?” I jerked my head in the direction of the girl that had stormed off, and Tink just laughed.

  “That? That’s Hook. She’s not quite the meanest girl in school, but she’s up there, so stay away, okay?”

  “Uh, okay.”

  So apparently, Enchanted Academy wasn’t going to be totally unlike school back at Millbrook High.

  Perfect.

  “So it’s your first year here, huh?”

  “Yep.”

  “Do you know where the dorms are?”

  “No idea.”

  “Come on,” Tinkerbell laughed and took my hand. “It’s not far, and I’d be happy to show you.”

  She led me away from the main building. I looked around as we walked toward what I imagined must be the dorms. The school consisted of a huge castle, as well as seven smaller buildings. Three of them were dorms and four were for other school activities and classes.

  “So, you’re a sophomore, too?” I asked Tinkerbell, smiling at my new friend. Man, it felt good to have someone with me who understood what I was going through, or who at least was willing to talk to me. I had always been pretty lonely, even at my old school. Being in a new place was promising, and it was supposed to be fun, but so far, I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be all that different from my old school.

  Then again, I’d never made a friend so quickly at my old school, so that had to count for something.

  Right?

  “Yeah,” she said with a smile. “I started last year. My parents said this place was the best. I mean, I wasn’t really big on the whole boarding school idea, you know?”

  “Oh, yeah, totally,” I said, pretending like I understood, but I didn’t. For me, I was glad to go to boarding school. I was glad to get away from the chaos and the yelling that had been my life before. Things hadn’t been easy for me, but they also hadn’t been over-the-top horrible. They’d just been...kind of mundane, I supposed.

  “What about you? You transferred, right?”

  “Yeah. I went to a normal school last year. You know, a non-boarding school.”

  “A non-magical school?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, you could say that.”

  “So, what are your abilities?” Tinkerbell asked me, and I groaned inwardly because I had known this moment was coming, and I still hadn’t come up with a good response for it.

  What was I supposed to say?

  “I know everyone else here is a magical being, but sorry ya’ll, I’m not?”

  Oh, that wouldn’t be super, totally, completely weird.

  No, I didn’t want to do that.

  I didn’t want to say that.

  I did want things to be normal at Enchanted Academy, and I wanted people to get to know the real me.

  Unfortunately, the real me didn’t know magic, which meant I had to make a choice.

  I could fake it until I got caught, but eventually I’d get caught.

  I could lie outright.

  Or I could be honest.

  None of my options seemed particula
rly good. Trust me, if I’d been able to figure out a way to pretend to do magic where my new friends couldn’t tell, then I’d be all about that.

  I finally decided to go with the tried-and-true diversion tactic. I’d learned it well as a kid. I had to. Diverting someone’s attention meant I might not get beat up by the bigger kids and I might live to see another school day.

  “What are yours?” I asked Tinkerbell. “Can you shapeshift?”

  “I...well...I...no,” she said, obviously caught off guard by my weirdly-specific question. “I can’t shapeshift.”

  “Can you become invisible?”

  “Well, no.”

  “Then what can you do?”

  “I’m a fairy,” she said.

  “What? No!”

  “Yeah,” she nodded, and for a second, she looked pretty happy about it.

  “A fairy, huh? I’ve never met a fairy.”

  “We’re not as common as we like to pretend,” she shrugged. We kept walking away from the main castle and towards some of the smaller buildings. We passed one that was obviously a greenhouse of sorts. Plants and trees were practically crawling out of the top of the building. Rows of windows revealed flowers and herbs and all sorts of other things. I looked away before I could get too distracted. I was here to make friends and learn to fit in: not go fangirling over some weird plants.

  But I made a mental note to go back later because plants were pretty cool.

  “So, what are a fairy’s special abilities?” I asked. “You can fly, right?”

  “Well, I have wings,” she said slowly.

  “But you can’t fly?”

  She shook her head, and I realized suddenly that this was a sort of sore spot for Tinkerbell.

  “Hey, I’m sorry,” I said. “Don’t mind me putting my foot in my mouth. This is all new to me, okay?” I searched for the right words, hoping I was expressing myself correctly. The reality was that I didn’t really know what to say to Tink or how to say it.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “Don’t worry about it.”

  We passed a group of guys who were heading toward the main building. One of them blatantly looked Tink up and down, and she shuddered in response, but kept going. She didn’t pay him anymore attention. She didn’t look back at him or stop or even acknowledge the fact that he was sort-of leering at her.