Rise of the Billionaire actress

Deloise was dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans. She turned on her phone, searching for food spots on campus. Seeing her roommate wasn’t available, she figured it was best she found her way around campus.

Sooner than later.

As she strode towards the direction of the cafeteria, she made mental notes on the way and couldn’t help but notice the odd looks thrown her way from fellow students.

The Royal Arts Academy was a community of over five thousand people – staff and students Inclusive. It was a community that was tight knitted and uneasy to get into.

As a result, people recognized each other by default. Making it obvious when a new face showed up. And with Deloise, being a new intake, she stuck out like a sore thumb.

Trying her best to appear unaffected by their stares, Deloise headed quickly towards the school’s cafeteria, hoping it wasn’t too filled up with people. It was school hours afterall.

Upon entering the cafeteria, she was welcomed by beautiful aromas of pastries and food. Her stomach grumbled at the deliciousness, prompting her to look around for a counter.

As soon as she found it, she made her way towards it, but was stopped by a familiar yet unfamiliar voice.

” Running off again? ” The voice said behind her, and she turned around.

Upon sighting the guy, her eyes squinted, trying to recollect how, where and when they met. As soon as the facts were verified, a scowl made its way to her face.

She made to leave but felt a broad hand hold her by the wrist, ” Leave me alone. I’m not about to spend another minute with your rude ass.”

” Did you just call me rude? Have you met yourself? ” Aaron asked, sporting an incredulous look on his face.

” Can you please get your hands off me?” Deloise demanded, already aggravated.

” Why did you run off? I’ve been on the lookout for you. Got lost? ” Aaron placed his hands in his pocket with an aggravating smirk.

Deloise felt dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe the audacity he had to walk up to her without the littlest remorse for what he did. Even though she got help from Layla later on, he didn’t know that. She could have been stranded for goodness sake!

This went ahead to depict how inhumane he could be to strangers. What good was his chiseled body and beautiful face if the moment he opened his mouth, all she wanted to do was smack his pretty little head?

Ugh!

” Take a picture, it’ll last longer. You do know it’s rude to stare right? It’s also very rude to ignore people.” Aaron tutted.

” You know what I think is rude? It’s rude to keep a girl away from her food with meaningless talk when she obviously and desperately wants to be anywhere but here, talking to you.” She lectured. ” If you’ll excuse me, I have better things to do. ”

Tony sauntered into the conversation with a smile, ” Hello! It’s me! You know, the friend you left behind to talk to this beautiful lady. ” He addressed Aaron who threw fireball glares at his intrusion.

Deloise didn’t know what to do, so she decided to go along with it for the minimum time possible. The guy seemed a more decent human than Mr Rude over there.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

” Hi.” She greeted, keeping it short and sweet.

” Hi beautiful, care to come join the table, there’s space for one more. Come on! Don’t be shy now.” Tony urged Deloise over to their table. Stella was seated and watched them approach her.

Deloise didn’t want to sit with them. She was only interested in getting herself some delicious burger, but apparently God had other plans for her. As she approached their shared table, she contemplated rejecting the offer and just getting a to-go order but Tony was too kind about it and she didn’t want to seem stuck up.

Aaron on the other hand was radio silent, he could tell that the little firecracker didn’t want to sit with them but was trying to be nice about it. He knew that If he had been the one who offered, she’d be on her way to wherever the heck she stayed without as much as a reply.

The trio finally settled on the table with Deloise sitting opposite to Stella and Aaron beside her.

” Okay Beautiful, this is Stella, Stella – beautiful.” Tony introduced, and Deloise broke into a shy smile.

” Deloise.” She corrected, sharing a light handshake with Stella who wasn’t the most excited to meet her.

” I was fine calling you beautiful. Matter of fact, I’m keeping it. Beautiful.” Tony reiterated with a smile, while she reddened.

” Shut up.” Aaron muttered, hitting his foot underneath the table. An act that didn’t go unnoticed by Stella.

Deloise kept looking at Stella, trying to gauge exactly why she seemed so familiar. The lady seated before her felt so familiar that she could have sworn she’d met her at some point.

While the guys spoke, the two ladies were calm. Stella expertly ate her burger and Deloise pressed her phone, waiting for the to-go order she made and counting the seconds till she had to leave the strangulating area.

” Tell me, how did you get into this school? Are you visiting? ” Stella asked, breaking the silence.

” Yeah beautiful, tell us, how did you meet the big guy over here?” Tony asked, genuinely interested.

” Um, I’m a scholarship student. I just arrived here a few days back. Still feeling my way around. Prospective actor in the making. ” Deloise tattled, having noticed their keen attention to her.

” Scholarship program? Didn’t realize they still did that. ” Stella said in a condescending tone. Deloise felt off. ” I guess they need to let people in for free, so they appear more humane. You’re welcome anyways. ” She rounded off with a signature smile.

As soon as Deloise saw her blinding smile, she recollected where she saw that face. She couldn’t believe her eyes, it was the one from that movie! Stella Davis!

” Y-yo-you are Stella! From the movie! ” Deloise squeaked excitedly, totally forgetting her previous comments and reeling from the fact that she got to meet someone she was watching some months back.

It was a full circle moment.

” Um, I’ve done quite a number, so you’re going to have to be specific. ” Stella couldn’t be bothered with her antics, she wondered how Aaron met a lady who didn’t exude an iota of elegance. She acted like the slums she definitely came from.

At this point, Stella couldn’t wait for Deloise to be on her way out.

” Yeah dork, you actually need to be specific. When did it air? ” Aaron added with an air of arrogance, finally joining the conversation.

” Three months ago? ” She said unsurely, feeling the spotlight. She wasn’t comfortable with the tone and manner they spoke to her. Especially that of Stella.

” Is this an interview? Let the girl off! It isn’t a crime to have seen your movie now is it ? ” Tony said, successfully bringing the attention to himself. Deloise shoots him a grateful smile which didn’t go unnoticed by Aaron.

” Yeah whatever.” Stella couldn’t help but notice the unusual way in which Aaron kept his attention on the slum girl. She felt like she was out to seduce Aaron and that thought didn’t go down well with her.

At this point, Deloise was seeking a way out. She could hear the distaste in Stella’s voice, and Aaron wasn’t her biggest fan at the moment.

Yes, she had figured out Mr Rude’s actual name over time. At that moment, Deloise’s phone started ringing. She dug out her phone from her pocket and it was Amanda!

Pleasantly surprised, she excused herself and picked the call, ” Hi, Ams! Longest time! how’re you doing?”

” Babes! How are you doing? It’s so good to hear your voice! ” Amanda said in a familiar dramatic tone, bringing a genuine smile out of Deloise.

On her way out, Deloise sights her order headed for the table and quickly intercepts the waiter, ” One minute. Can I call you back?” Deloise requested, took her lunch and proceeded outside, sending a wave at the table and signaling her leaving.

” You better! I’ll be waiting.”

On getting outside, Deloise hung up the phone, ready to leave. She was thankful for Amanda’s call. Due to its timely intervention, she was able to get out of that situation.

Unwilling to dwell in the not so pleasant thoughts of them, Deloise proceeded back to the dorm and made a mental note to return the call when she was home and done with lunch.