Layla's thoughts had kept her up and she barely slept the entire night, or what was left of it anyway. Her anxiety had bested her and her nerves were all over the place.

When the sound of her alarm did ring, she almost threw her phone before grabbing her uniform and showering.

She glanced at herself in the mirror in a disgruntled manner. Her hair was thick mess and the dark shadows underneath her eyes had already reached her high cheekbones. They refused to disappear and with a sinking feeling, Layla knew they'd always be there.

Her sleeping pattern had been in disarray ever since she could remember but there was no way she would be allowed sleeping pills. Not when she had to go through Jeremy to get them.

At least she could fit in better with the trousers she had her stylist send over.
"Do they have to put the name on everything," she muttered as she looked at the small WW printed on her black jumper, tie and blazer in disdain.

"Layla," Rose called from the floor below. "Breakfast!"

Muttering a curse to nobody in particular, Layla took an aspirin to dull her headache and aching limbs before making her way to the lounge.

"What happened to you?" Rose asked her, wide eyed.
Unlike Layla, she looked like she had just gotten off the runway. Her makeup was perfect and her uniform didn't have a single crease.

"Just tired," Layla said as she stifled a yawn. "We don't have to go all the way to the Hall for breakfast, do we?"

She wasn't feeling hungry but she did usually have some kind of tea the morning after a performance to soothe her dry throat.

Rose shook her head. "I'm sure we have something in here- oh," she said softly, pulling out a lone piece of fruit. "Wanna split?"

Layla shook her head, amused. "Nah, you deserve it."

"So you're not going to eat anything?" Rose said, her smile fading slightly. "We have chemistry with Professor Bruguier-Rigail today!"

"Professor who?" Layla asked. "And I don't think half a pear will make much difference," she added in amusement.

"He's our chem teacher," Rose said brightly. "He's also a little flamboyant," she said carefully.

"So he's French?"

"Ye- Layla! We're not all like that."

But Layla had stopped listening.

Something wasn't right. It was as if the very atmosphere had shifted. That much was clear by the time they had gotten to the ground floor and saw the extra security guards patrolling the floor, their jackets looking a little heavier, their expressions menacing.

Campus was even worse. Layla felt as if she was being thoroughly examined as she walked to the science building and instinctively pulled her jacket tighter around her.

She didn't need to see the bright caution tape to gather that Charles Wentworth had gotten the message. And so had anyone else travelling through campus to find a section of it closed off completely.

Security prowled the streets, glaring at anyone who glanced at them with ill-disguised animosity.

Rose, like many of the other students who were unfortunate enough to be walking through campus, looked troubled but didn't comment because the rest of their class had their own problems.

"What did I tell you about moving that damn table?"

Before she had even entered the classroom, Layla recognised the voice as Catherine's. She had hoped their encounter the night before had been one drawn out nightmare but judging by the look Catherine gave her when she entered the room, it unfortunately was not.

Catherine looked a little like Rose though where Rose's features were softer and delicate, Catherine's were much more regal and sharper. Her white-blonde hair looked even lighter in the sun and her pale blue eyes were pointed accusingly at Kyle.

"Catherine, I barely touched it," Kyle said as he rolled his eyes.

"I still noticed it!"

"It's not my fault you have eyes," Kyle countered.

Taking a seat next to Rose, Layla felt a little strange, as if she were being observed. She looked around until her eyes connected with another pair.

He had jet black hair that was cut a little too neatly and almost exactly the same shade as his eyes.

And he continued to look at her as if she were some strange species that had been dropped from a different planet altogether. She guessed that this was Xavier Chang. Zoe wasn't lying when she said that he refused to speak.

And by the end of their chemistry lesson, Layla couldn't blame him.

Professor Bruguier-Rigail-Novarr cared about chemistry in a way none of them could relate to. Well, except maybe Adriana whose hand shot up after almost every question. Clearly, this was the subject that had gotten her onto the programme.

Everyone else called him Rig which was fortunate because the name alone was a short story.

He danced around the room singing out formulas they barely had enough time to scribble down.
Then he would get annoyed when they couldn't recite them from memory and they'd go through the entire ordeal again.

At one point, he stopped the lesson to ask if she could join him in song, to which she politely declined.

Her next class wasn't much better. Professor Vikram, a burly man whose age was impossible to discern, insisted on teaching both Maths and Physics in his strong Russian accent.

"You don't understand this?" he would say, exasperated. "I learnt this ven I vas a little boy! Vat you guys do in spare time huh? Too much money, no brains."

Layla couldn't say she disagreed. Up until he set them twice as much work to compensate. She rifled through it in disbelief. She had no idea how she'd be able to handle all her classes with her career.

"You, Lala! Vat goes next?"

It took a while for Layla to gather that he was indeed speaking to her and when she did she just stared at him.

"Lala? It's Layla."

"Yes that is vat I said."

Layla was going to object but Kyle, who was lovingly referred to a 'Kyl' shook his head at her.

She was thankful the clock tower sounded some time later.

"What the bloody hell was that," Layla muttered as they walked to the hall for lunch.

"You're lucky you left it. That man can argue for weeks." said Kyle. "Anyways, I'm starving."

He had a point. When Layla stepped inside the hall, all thoughts of Vikram had disappeared.

The hall itself stretched the entire length of the school. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the darkening sky could be clearly seen from the floor to ceiling bulletproof windows.

It was clearly more of a restaurant as opposed to a canteen, especially with the way it was set up. Food was delivered to round tables which were placed in rows. Layla had to remind herself not to look too surprised. She was supposed to be accustomed to a life of luxury.

"Come sit with us," Kyle said, steering Layla to a table that was almost full, despite the fact that they were early.

Rose and Adriana joined them and they sat down in the remaining seats. Conversation began at once.

"Rose, do you mind introducing us?" a boy with dark hair and green eyes asked, grinning from her to Layla slyly.
He looked vaguely familiar.

"Go away, Isaac. You already know who she is," Adriana said as she rolled her eyes before turning to Layla. "Sorry about my twin. Clearly I got the brains."

"Wait does that mean I got the beauty-"

Isaac's friend shoved him out of the way before introducing himself.
"I'm James," he said, smiling at Layla.

Layla returned his smile as she realised that he too was British.

"Are you really Layla Edwards?" another guy asked as he brushed the brown hair out of his face.

"No," Layla said flatly. "I'm a hologram."

Kyle shook his head at his friends before meeting Layla's gaze. "That's Luke and that's Madison," he added, gesturing to the girl sitting next to Luke who smiled at her in greeting.
She was wearing a cheerleading outfit and had her strawberry blonde hair tied back with a bow.

"This is Mason," Kyle continued, nodding at the boy directly opposite Luke who winked at her, his brown eyes playful.
"And Callum's hiding behind that menu," Kyle finished with a sigh.

Layla followed his gaze to see what looked like a floating menu. She could just about make out a mop of curly hair and a bright red face before Tyler slowly lowered the menu.
"Hey," he muttered, his Irish accent unmistakable as he addressed the table.

"He's your biggest fan," Mason said in a carrying whisper, making the rest of the table laugh while Callum glared daggers at him.

By the time she had finished eating, Layla was left feeling a little giddy. It was strange to be finally able to speak to people her age after so long.
The closest person to her in age on tour was old enough to be her mother.

Subconsciously, she knew she had to be careful with who she was seen with. Jeremy had made sure of that.

"Can we go?" Layla asked in a rushed voice as she turned to Rose.

The hall was starting to fill up, with many turning towards their table with interest.

Rose nodded and Layla sighed with relief as they exited through the double doors at the end of the hall, leading to the gardens.

.

They were halfway through an English lesson, which began straight after lunch, when the door swung open.

"Jayke! It's been a while," said Cassandra pleasantly.

Layla looked up to see a tall, attractive boy with dark eyes smirk at Cassandra before making his way to the table at the far end of the room. He pushed the jet black hair away from his eyes but it simply fell back again.

Though he simply glanced in her direction, Layla scowled. She had seen him before. She was sure of it. But where?

She thought back before deciding against it. With her past, she was better off forgetting.

She glanced at him a few times in the lesson, enough for him to approach her afterwards.

"What?" he said, rather aggressively as his dark eyes bore into hers.

Layla shook her head before he scowled. "You're not trying to get with me, are you? Because I don't do popstars."

"And I don't do you."

She walked away quickly before either of them realised what she had said.