When Alice A. Bethany met James L. Darcy

The classroom was noisy as usual, small groups of students scattered around the spacious room. The girl cliques were gathering and perching precariously on desks in tiny shorts or skirts that rode up their slender legs while talking a mile a minute about everything under the sun it seemed. The boys on the other hand, went through the usual routine of thumping each other on the back like a bunch of neanderthals and giving each other high fives with enough force behind them to flatten a hamster. And all she wanted to do was for class to be over so she could go back to her room where she could relax.
Alice shifted uncomfortably in the high-waisted skirt she wore and swore under her breath that it would be the last time she would allow her mother to coax her into looking more like the popular girls in her class. True it gave her hourglass figure a more defined shape than the sweaters or loose tees she used to wear but it felt like a bloody corset. She almost couldn't breathe under all that. Not to mention that the top she wore made her feel like her neck was being strangled. Constantly. She ran a careful finger under the halter collar of the blouse she was wearing and loosened the tie at the back of her neck a little.
They were all waiting for their lecturer who apparently was severely lacking when it came to being punctual. After what seemed like the longest, noisiest fifteen minutes, the door opened and the ever-mousy looking Mr. Edgewith stepped into the class looking particularly sheepish. He gave them all a bleary eyed glare which sent the rest of the stragglers scurrying to their places and instantly stopped most of the tittering girls in their conversations.
Adjusting his glasses, he flipped open the book he had been carrying. It was a very old copy that she knew by heart. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Alice groaned inwardly. Mr. Edgewith was probably going to make them recite dialogues from it. Since there was a Mr. Darcy in it, she felt a familiar niggling fear that gave her butterflies in her stomach. Or maybe it was a herd of elephants having a party in her stomach. She felt like she was going to throw up. What if he picked her? She hated being under the spotlight. She still remembered when he made her read Macbeth's scene with the three witches in it. That had been embarrassing, particularly since he had made her one of the witches and she had stumbled over all her lines. The other two girls snickered at her while covering their made-up Barbie doll faces with hands tipped with perfectly manicured nails in mock horror. The only consolation was that James wasn't among those who had made fun of her nervous stuttering and mumbling. But even then, she never knew why since he had never even spoken much to her other than the customary "Hi" or his sleepily mumbled "G'morning" when she passed by his desk on the way to hers.
A slow grin distorted Mr. Edgewith's normally blank face as he tapped his fingers against a particular paragraph in the book. Oh no, Alice screamed mentally as his muddy green eyes sought her out among her classmates. Oh no oh no ohnoohnooo....."Alice, will you please read Elizabeth's lines? James, you'll be Mr. Darcy for today." The rest of the classed giggled and the guy sitting to Alice's right shook his head disdainfully at her. Looks like nobody forgot what happened the last time she read literature out loud in class. "Alice as Elizabeth, tch. Looks like the teach is having fun with their names. Alice A. Bethany and James L. Darcy. Could almost shorten the Bethany to Beth and tadaa you have it." a girl with hot pink streaks in her hair whispered to her neighbour.
Alice nearly slammed her face into the open book on her desk. Why?! Why him of all people? And why her? She cursed her stupid name as she furiously flipped to the page Mr. Edgewith had indicated. Fifty students in a class and Mr. Edgewith just had to pick on her and the only person who hadn't laughed at her. Now he was going to laugh since he was reading with her this time, she thought sourly as she stood up. Great, just great. The only supporter she had would be gone in the next few minutes.  Alice felt utterly miserable.
James was already standing, one large hand casually holding open the book while the other propping up his lanky frame against the desk.He had even turned to face her. Alice's ears burned when she saw the paragraph she was to read. It was a good thing her dark hair covered her all the way down to her elbows. She could almost feel the blush burning her face.
Chapter 33. She could do it. She took a deep breath and began reading the narrator's parts as normally as she could. She faltered once or twice but managed to finish until "After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began..." when she gave a squeak of surprise to find James standing directly in front of her, his tousled shock of dark hair haloed in golden light from the windows behind him.
"In vain I have struggled. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I love you." he spoke quietly as he took her unresisting hand "And I mean every word I say unlike that arrogant man in this book." he continued with a devilish smile as he tossed the book to one side and knelt in front of her. "Alice, will you be my girlfriend?"

~Rei Shiori