"So tell me again exactly why this is necessary?" I inquired, slightly overwhelmed with the number of activities Andria had planned for the day. The notebook she held between her fingers had scribbles of ink scratched across the page in bulleted points, but Andria had made sense out of non-sense as she recited the supposed words on the paper.

"If it wasn't obvious already," she stated with an eye-roll, "you're new to our team and none of us in this room actually knows you."

"And you expect me to believe that you don't know of me?" I asked incredulously.

"See, that's precisely the point. We know of you – but we don't actually know you," she finished smartly. Andria's interactions with me were far more professional than it had been yesterday, and I was slightly thankful, as my encounter with Breanna had drained what little fight I had left in me for the week.

I had arrived ten minutes earlier than I was scheduled to, despite having stopped at the vending machine to grab a Sprite. Andria had taken the liberty to have the classroom tidied a bit, by having transformed the clutter on the desks to slightly less of an eyesore than it had previously been.

"Wait. If that shrieking is going to happen again you can count me out – whether I have to be here or not." I said while crossing my arms defiantly.

"Relax," she rolled her eyes again, "like I said before, it's only the school bell. Faulty wiring is all," she added with an eye-roll, "Plus, it is after school hours, so there shouldn't be any sign of a ruckus."

"If you say so," I mumbled in defeat, allowing my eyes to skim the area of the room.

According to Finn, students are required to have at least forty eight accumulated hours of participation in an inter-school activity, sport or club in order to meet graduation regulations. Putting my blind faith in Finn was not a task I was prepared to do, so I had expeditiously referred to my student hand book, which unfortunately for me, had confirmed his statement.

Beneath a polished photo of what I assumed was Finn's grandfather was the explanation for such regulation:

"Radford Preparatory was built on selflessness, courage and sheer determination, and today I strive to uphold the standards as set by my father. As of the academic year of 1964 and onwards, we strive to enforce the art of teamwork and cross cultural communication amongst peers. Non scolae sed vitae discimus." – Mathaeus Radford, Headmaster of Radford Preparatory, 1964

There were five other members of the Website Club present besides Andria and I.

Jenny – the girl who was seemingly responsible for alerting everyone of when the bell would be ringing – was reading a book with her legs propped up on the desk before her. The unknown girl who mirrored Jenny's features and a boy with a classic Beiber haircut had their heads hung low tapping away at the screens of their phones. Higgins was whispering to a boy I had never seen before with spiky jet black hair, the topic of conversation presumably being me as they tossed occasional glances my way.

"We should just be waiting for two more people and then we can begin." Andria broke me from my reverie as she glanced at the dainty floral patterned watch that hung off her wrist, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "I can't believe she's late again," she mumbled to herself absentmindedly.

I didn't have much time to dwell on Andria's statement that was clearly meant for her ears only, as the door to the room swung open and I assumed that one of the people we were waiting for had arrived.

Finn Radford sauntered through the doorway with a coffee mug grasped between his fingers and an effortless smirk resting on his lips. Today's tie was a light hue of periwinkle that somehow enhanced the vibrancy of his cerulean irises. He had long abandoned his suit jacket, and the sleeves of his ivory dress shirt were neatly buttoned at his wrists.

"What, are you stalking me now?" My eyes narrowed in annoyance as I drank in his smug appearance. He was clearly here to ensure that I didn't try to cheat the system, and his lack of faith in me was poking sticks at my fire. "I'm not a flake, Finnegan," I spat, silently hoping that Andria wouldn't mention my attempt at bribery.

"Unfortunately for you Miss Holden, the world does not spin your axis." He took a sip of his coffee and casually sat in a vacant office chair, unofficially claiming it as his own.

Andria, as if sensing my irritation at the newcomer, breezily injected herself into the conversation. " Well Georgia, I know this is a new experience for you, but all clubs and activities have to have a volunteer chaperone," she added sheepishly. "Since Mrs Faulkner went on maternity leave, we've been operating without one," she ducked her head in embarrassment after admitting to their seemingly illegal operations of the club for a little over a month.

"Precisely. And I volunteered to ensure that this club-" he glanced around the room, meticulously scanning the awkwardly sitting students who were finely tuned in to his presence, "-is steered in the right direction."

Andria blanched at the hidden questioning of her leadership abilities of the website club. The sadistic part of me that was thirsty for some sort of revenge was quenched as Finn had implied that she wasn't a good enough leader, as she undoubtedly gave permission for the article about me to be posted.

Maybe Finn chaperoning wasn't a bad idea after all.

"So uh, yeah. I guess I'll just brief you on our club while we wait," she mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. She went around to her desk and tapped a few keys on her laptop, before connecting it to the projector mounted to the ceiling.

The projector flickered to life after a few stalled seconds and transmitted a duplicate of Andria's home screen onto the white wall directly in front of it.

Andria's background was nothing short of an inappropriate meme. I struggled to seal the laughter that bubbled from within me and barricaded it with a tight lipped smile as I violently blew breaths of air through my nostrils, my shoulders shaking in silent laughter. I was unsure of what was more hilarious, the absolute look of horror plastered across Andria's features as she hastily attempted to open a file to hide her background image, or the dumbfounded look on Finn's that morphed into revulsion after a moment's notice.

Slamming her laptop shut, Andria blew the piece of hair that fallen her in her haste away from her face. Her honey coloured skin showed no signs of the blood that was presumably rushing towards her face, but her inability to meet our eyes was a prognostic sign.

"You know what-" she added hastily, "the purpose of this club is to alert the students of the latest developments and achievements within the school in an entertaining way." The words tumbled out of Andria's mouth as if they were rolling down the side of a steep mountain. I had to listen while looking at her the movement of her lips, certain that if I didn't, I would not have been able to make sense of the jumble of words that she was spewing. "We're supposed to present the articles in the timeliest manner possible so that the students are always up to date. When an article is uploaded to our site, those subscribed receive a notification on their laptops or cell-phones. It's our job to be on the lookout for-"

"Sorry I'm late!" A girl with brown hair that tumbled past her shoulders barged into the room with laughter shining in her eyes, effectively saving Andria from her myriad of word vomit. She was distracted by the person behind her, her hand still gripping the doorknob as a gentle laugh escaped her lips. She was captivated by the boy behind her.

He had green eyes. The kind of green that pushed its way through the piles of gritty snow to remind you that spring was coming. His dirty blonde hair curled recklessly at the nape of his neck, long overdue for a trim, but incontestably adding to his enchanting allure.

Before I knew what was happening, icy tendrils were reaching and clawing at every part of my body within its reach. I was frozen, unable to move as he flashed that bewitching grin that revealed the dimple on his left cheek as his eyes held those of Julie's.

The moment couldn't have been longer than ten seconds, but the immediate shuffling in the room forced my eyes away from the scene before me.

"I wasn't aware that you were a part of the Website Club Mr McKlean." Finn's voice travelled throughout the now silent room, seemingly ricocheting off the confining walls. The room felt smaller, and I could hear the pounding of my heart beneath my chest.

"Sorry sir," he mumbled, leaning forward to plant a chaste kiss on Julie's lips as he spun on his heel and exited the room, not sparing a glance in my direction.

He hadn't noticed me, but I found myself failing to breathe in his mere presence.

As Julie attempted to hide her face behind her chalky-white fingers, her cheeks became a colour to rival the rose-pink hue of her nail polish, and shone through the gaps. "I'm so sorry I'm late Wattie! I hope I haven't missed anything import-" The remainder of her sentence was lost on her lips as her wide, doe eyes settled on me.

I smirked at her startled expression, the remnants of my weakness rolling off of me like waves crashing into the shore. "Well, well, well. Isn't this interesting," I jeered, injecting false amicabilities into my voice.

"Andria-" she inched closer to her, failing to drop her voice to a low enough baritone, "-why didn't you warn me about this?"

Andria didn't have time to chalk up a response, as the ever so trusty Finn injected, "Julietta, is it? Forgive me but I haven't yet learnt your last name." Finn glanced at the white gold watch that hung off his wrist, "Do you make it a habit to miss the first quarter of your club meetings?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Uh- no um, sir. I don't," she mumbled timidly.

Finn ignored her input, "I sure hope not, as I'll have no choice but to wonder exactly how much of your club hours you've been dishonestly earning." Julie blanched at the accusation, but she was the only person that seemed to be intimidated by Finn's presence. The other club members seemed to be good heartedly entertained by their friend's embarrassment, while Andria awkwardly stood to the side. I, on the other hand, was soaking up this precious moment, sending a vote of thanks for Finn's authoritative presence. It was thrilling to not be on the receiving end of his clear superiority, but even more so as it was directed towards Julie.

"Anyways, why don't we get started on the inductions?" Andria chimed, striving to dissipate Julie's tension. She gave her an encouraging pat on the back and whispered in her ear, "You really should be on time more often," before walking towards the centre of the room with a smile on her face.

Noticing that I've been standing throughout this entire ordeal, I mimicked Finn's movements and sat on a vacant office chair, uncaring of whom it belonged, and rolled my way to the back of the room to join the others. "So to welcome Mr Radford and Georgia into our group, and to make them more acquainted with each of us, I've planned a few exercises for us to do."

The boy with the spiky black hair groaned, "Do we have to?"

"Yes Charlie, now shut it," she snapped. As if remembering Finn's presence, a look of alarm flashed across her face. "Um, I mean-"

"Don't bother Miss Watson," Finn added with a slight chuckle. Andria breathed an air of relief and she regained her usual confidence.

I understood why Andria was the leader of the club, when she spoke- really spoke, it made you want to stop what you're doing and listen. She had a way of capturing the attention of a room without batting an eyelid, simply through the words that fell through her lips, which is why, after her little speech had ended, the eight of us stood awkwardly separated into two by a large sheet that Andria had pulled from under her desk. She had secured the sheet to a hook that had previously hung a low-hanging painting to the wall and held the other end between her fingers.

"So this is how the Name Game works," she started.

"Andria, this really isn't necessary," piped the girl that resembled Jenny, and I deduced that there were too many persons in my life with names that began with that cursed letter.

Jenny immediately sprung to life as she tried, and failed, to channel her excitement to the rest of the group. "Guys, this already sounds like fun!" she stated animatedly while clapping her hands.

"Jenny, she hasn't even explained the game," young Beibs added with an amused eye-roll.

"So this is how it goes: you all have to introduce yourselves- just say your names, save the life story for part two of our games, but seeing as we're already pressed for time, we may have to reschedule that bit," she explained, "James you can start, seeing as you're closest to the wall and then we'll loop onto team B."

The boy with the spiky black hair rolled his eyes, seemingly un-amused. "Hi, I'm James," he drawled.

"I'm Jenny," she grinned enthusiastically, her smile brightening her already pleasant features.

"I'm Mr Radford?"

I clicked my tongue, "Nuh-uh. Not in this room you're not," I teased. "C'mon, lighten up won't you. You don't want all of Andria's hard work to be for nothing don't you?" I asked, feigning innocence.

I knew that I succeeded in my guilt trip when he narrowed his eyes at me and sighed in compliance. "Fine, call me Finn- but in this room only," he added threateningly. My lips tilted in satisfaction.

"And I'm Jeffrey," he stated more to Finn than me.

"Great, that's team A," Andria interjected. "Team B, you can introduce yourselves," she instructed.

"Georgia," I announced, "but you all know that already, don't you?" I jeered at no one in particular. Their eyes simultaneously focused on other objects around the room, remembering the article they had allowed to be posted about me.

"Serena," the girl who resembled Jenny continued.

"By chance are you two related?" I asked curiously, pointing between Serena and Jenny.

"We're half-sisters," she added curtly.

"I'm Julie," a voice squeaked, interrupting my satisfied smile.

"And I guess I'm Zeke."

"Great. Now the real fun begins," Andria added excitedly.

The rest of the day was spent with frantic yelling and pulling of hair whenever a team failed to remember the other's names under the pressure of time. Andria held the curtain between us and each team would secretly select someone to stand at the forefront closest to the barrier of the sheet. When she dropped the sheet, the two people selected would have to yell the opponent's name before they could do the same. The person who didn't remember the other's name or yell it fast enough would have to be surrendered to the other team, and because we were a competitive bunch, the game went on for a half hour, with players being traded from one team to the next quicker than they had come.

At the end of the game, I was on team A, also known as the losing side. Finn smirked as he cheered in victory with the original members of his team, despite having had to switch alliances several times throughout the game.

Amidst our initial reluctance, Andria and Jenny had successfully managed to lift our spirits and spark our competitiveness. My blood was roaring in my ears from having screamed in both panic, when I had forgotten someone's name, and distraught, when a member of my team had lost. I wasn't fully sure of what had occurred, but one thing I was certain of was the gentle smile that rested on my face when I drove home.

****

Author's Note:

I suffered from a minor case of writer's block, not being able to write more than one hundred words a day, but thankfully, today I pulled through and wrote the final thousand.

Please continue to leave me your precious votes and comments, I always love hearing your thoughts and opinions.

Much love, 

gabrielle xx