With the exception of April, her birthday month, September was quite possibly Tiara-Jean's favourite month of the year. The return of school brought with it the return of everything she loved -- the homecoming parade, the homecoming
dance, the excitement and pep that was brewed within the student faculty as the first game of the season crept over the horizon. Tiara-Jean
adored the back-to-school environment and everything it brought with it, but not because she herself was overfilling with school cheer. No, Tiara-Jean Tremont loved the homecoming period because it was when she reascended her metaphorical throne and reigned over Hainescombe High School, after a long summer of being away from her loyal subjects. And of course, she would obviously be crowned Homecoming Queen. She had no doubt in her mind about it.
However, the arrival of one individual to Hainescombe had not flown under her radar. Not only was it impossible for anything to happen in Hainescombe without the Tremonts' knowledge, but the return of one Andrew Lind to their small town was monumental enough for the entire community to be aware in only a matter of days. Andrew Lind, the apparent grandson of Tiara-Jean's very own father's political rival, returned to his hometown at last after years of schooling elsewhere.
To the common folk, Andrew's presence in Hainescombe meant nothing more than the return of a small-town celebrity. But to the Tremonts, it meant everything. The leeches were trying to plant their roots in the town again -- the elder members could not stay in power forever, for they were appearing in their last few decades of life, and would therefore have to stage their own retirements soon. Andrew Lind was a seed being planted early in the rich soil of Hainescombe's political sphere. He was nothing more than an insurance plan for the Lind family. The vampires were smart, that was obvious, and their system had worked for years. But the werewolves were smarter, and Tiara-Jean knew what she had to do to maintain her own family's political success.
The wolves had been in Hainescombe for a significantly shorter period of time than the vampires. While the Linds had practically settled the town, the first record of the Tremonts in Hainescombe only dated to the 1950s, when Tiara-Jean's great uncle, Magnus Tremont, had moved there and founded the quarry that changed the economy of the town forever. Jobs had been created for countless citizens, which had rippled out into the ability to open more stores, fund more public works projects, and create more business opportunities for Hainescombe at large. The Tremont name had been cemented in a metaphorical Hall of Fame as a result -- any Tremont was treated like royalty in Hainescombe, and when Tiara-Jean and her father, CEO of Tremont Technologies Darius Tremont, had moved to Hainescombe, they had received no lesser treatment whatsoever. The people adored Darius. His factory had created even more employment opportunities for the town, and his charitable nature and general charisma made him a very well-liked local politician.
Of course, if the public knew what went on behind closed doors, they may be slightly less adoring of the Tremonts and the Linds. Very few humans would be pleased to learn that their local government was run by warring clans of vampires and werewolves. They would perhaps be even less pleased to learn that their sweet old mayor was being controlled by the aforementioned warring clans. But the less they knew, the better.
As Tiara-Jean sat in the back seat of her family's Mercedes, being driven to school by their personal driver, she opened her emails on her phone to find a request from the principal to show Andrew Lind around. It made sense for her to be delegated this responsibility -- she had been the student body president for the last two years, after all. She was pleased by the request, because it allowed her access to Andrew, which was what she had wanted the second she had learned he was back in town. Her father was ready to strike, and finally, after seventy years of conflict between the two clans, drive the leeches out of town. Tiara-Jean had delegated herself the responsibility of taking care of Andrew.
And since Tiara-Jean was
very talented at manipulating people into doing what she wanted, she knew she would succeed. He would be gone by Christmas.
When Tiara-Jean stepped out of the car, every single eye in the parking lot was immediately redirected to her. She looked like a model stepping out of a luxury vehicle in a music video -- long, voluminous brown curls, half swept up into a ponytail atop her head and the rest left to cascade down her back in soft, lovely tresses. Her slender frame was clad in a tight-fitting, pink plaid skirt that ended about an inch above her knee, paired with a snug white long-sleeve
shirt with a small frill at the bottom. Around her neck sat a rose gold necklace with her name as a pendant, and rose gold hoop earrings dangled delicately from her small ears. She carried a black Chanel
bag, and on her feet she wore black lace-up ankle
booties with a small heel that added to her tiny height. Peeking from the booties were cute socks with a frill that matched her shirt. Her best feature, of course, was her beautiful face, painted with a light coat of makeup that enhanced her already stunning features, though she did apply pink shadow and lipstick to match her outfit. Tiara-Jean was perfect, physically, in every single way -- she knew that, and she loved it.
With the confidence of an actress having just won an Oscar, Tiara-Jean strolled into the office to meet her new classmate. The smell hit her first. A vampire and a werewolf could smell each other immediately -- there was no way to miss their stench. But, regardless, Tiara-Jean strode up to Andrew, planted herself right next to him, looked up at him with a sweet and completely fake smile, and held out her hand.
"Hello, you must be Andrew," she said sweetly. Her accent stuck out like a sore thumb -- upstate New Yorkers normally did not sound like Southern Belles who were preparing for their cotillion, yet, it suited Tiara-Jean perfectly. "My name is Tiara-Jean Tremont, and I'll be showing you around this morning. It's a pleasure to meet you."