YOUNG HEART

Sophie York. 17 years young. RUNWAY magazine. Independent.

[nedcarlyle-deactivated20150528]

Ned had certainly been through slews of on and off studying, but most of that was before university. He pitied Sophie; secondary school was much less satisfying than uni was, but was happy to see that she seemed to be doing well. He was fond of the York sisters. He nodded. “Mm. Good marks are really satisfying.” A grin. “I couldn’t agree more. We should put you in charge of things.”

[sophie-york]

Sophie nodded. She had an essay coming up for school and she was less than psyched for its quickly approaching due date. She liked the book, and she’d finally found a topic, but she’d procrastinated it for a week and now it was due in two days and she had only a loose outline. She knew she’d pull it off, though. She always did. Sophie couldn’t imagine not being able to turn in an essay. “Yes! I would be a great leader. Forget a magazine, the Yorks will take over the world. I should go for Prime Minister.”

[ceciliayork-blog]

“Unless you know someone qualified and capable of being a junior PA, not really,” sighed Cecilia. She knew Sophie had much on her plate already between school and the demanding social life of a York. “I’m really in a rut with it. Nobody seems quite right - though that’s probably since it’s in comparison to Olivia. She’s a goddess. I need another goddess, but I keep getting acrylic-nailed, under-prepared phonies. A million girls want the job, but none of them really want the job. They want to hang around in the offices on the off chance they’ll be discovered. Am I being too picky?” Cecilia mused, half to herself and half to her younger sister.

[sophie-york]

Sophie pursed her lips. Unfortunately, Cecilia had hit the nail on the head. She knew a handful of young socialite girls a little older than herself who would love to work at RUNWAY and always hung around her at parties asking if she needed anything, but they all just wanted to be famous. They liked the magazine, of course, but they’d just as soon make a sex tape if they thought it would get them what they wanted. "I totally know what you mean. No, I think that’s exactly right. You don’t want someone working here who is only looking out for themselves. If someone was a die-hard fan of the magazine, that might work, but I guess I’d say try fishing in a different lake...? Like, I don’t know, maybe the type of girl who doesn’t even read the magazine, but will still care about the job. That’s probably hard to find, though. You could ask Olivia if she knows anyone.”

[ginasplan]

“I’m not sure I’d want all that attention, and scrutiny.” Zara doubted that she could cope with being in Sophie’s shoes as a style icon of sorts. Curling a lock of hair behind an ear she sighed, happy that Sophie shared her outlook. It made her feel a bit more comfortable in the blonde’s presence. “Exactly, and nothing beats being true to yourself.” If only Zara could manage to do as she spoke. “I have to give the trend followers props though, they are a vigilant bunch.”

[sophie-york]

“Right,” Sophie agreed with a nod. With her family’s wealth and power, she got caught in the edge of the spotlight from time to time, but she didn’t mind. She wasn’t as constantly under the eye of the public as much as her older sisters, and she’d grown used to it over the years. Sometimes pictures of herself that she didn’t know anyone was there to take turned up in crappy tabloid magazines, and that was a little creepy. She loved her life, though, and wouldn’t change it for the world. “Yes, thank you! You make that sound so wise. Oh, yes, they’re very impressive. I honestly don’t know how they do it, and I’m never sure whether the fashion trends that wind up in the magazine come from the people, or the fashion trends that wind up on the people came from the magazine. It’s a whole chicken-and-egg deal, though to be honest, it’s probably a bit of both.”

[nedcarlyle-deactivated20150528]

“Good! Good, I’m glad that went well.” He grinned. Sophie had such a good heart, and he was happy to see that in what could tend to be a cutthroat business, she maintained kindness and generosity. Many would do well to take a page out of her book. Ned chuckled and nodded. “I can imagine. I’ve never been overly fond of studying, I have to say. But it’s always worth it to me.” Now he began to laugh, and nodded. “You’re right! They should just give us both diplomas right now!”

[sophie-york]

Sophie nodded. “Thanks.” She’d had crazy weeks of studying on and off since the beginning of the school year. Her teachers all seemed to plan for everything at the same time. “Yeah, I guess it’s a trade-off. The feeling when you get a good grade is amazing.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Right? We’re practically geniuses. Schooling is rubbish. All you need are puns and smiles and coffee.”

[nedcarlyle-deactivated20150528]

“I’m doing well, all things considered. How about you?” Ned rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, it’s… I’ve got mixed feelings about studying right now.” He envied Sophie a little; she was still a student of course, but she wasn’t studying medicine. She probably had much more of a choice in what she learned about. Ned… well he didn’t really have any. He nodded when she spoke and shook his now empty coffee cup. “And yet not even that can seem to keep me awake.”

[sophie-york]

Sophie shrugged. “Pretty well. The Project Blanc party was super fun, and I think we raised some good money. Other than that, it’s just school and family, pretty much all the time." She was so appreciative of her life. There were so many ways that she knew she could be struggling, and even more she was sure she couldn’t even conceive. “Mm, I feel. Studying is a struggle even if it’s not for fancy doctor stuff.” Sophie glanced down at the empty coffee cup and shook her head. “You must just not be drinking enough. Embrace the drug. If you drink the same amount regularly it’ll lose the effect. There. Medicine. Bam. Who needs med school?”

[ginasplan]

Admiring Sophie’s fashion ethic made Zara smile. “I guess you have a point. You of all people would have much more influence than the average joe like me.” Her own sense of style wasn’t as elaborate or statement making to say the least. “Of course, and it’s amazing how they manage to keep up with it all.”

[sophie-york]

Sophie grinned back at Zara. “Thanks, but you’re selling yourself far too short. You could wear anything in public and have people copy you.” She felt that the other girl was not quite living up to her potential, and suspected she’d step into the spotlight soon. She didn’t know her well enough to gauge where exactly Zara’s talents would fall, but she had faith in the girl. “Oh, I know, right? I couldn’t follow trends if I tried. There’s so much to keep track of. It’s much easier to do your own thing.”

[nedcarlyle-deactivated20150528]

Ned stirred, mildly perturbed at being woken, but he sat up anyway. He was happy to see a familiar face, and not a disgruntled manager. “Hey, Sophie,” he said smiling, and then running his hands through his hair, “More or less, yeah. I need to get used to it though, if I’m ever gonna work in an emergency room.”

[sophie-york]

“Hey, Ned! How’re you doing?” Sophie replied with a matching smile and a nod. “Right, yeah, that sucks. I mean, it’s a good thing, but the lack of sleep part sucks.” She couldn’t imagine how much dedication it took to study to be a doctor. She often found bursts of motivation, but the workload seemed impossible. She supposed it was all worth it if you loved what you were doing. “Well, this is a cafe, right? They must have something with caffeine.”

[ceciliayork-blog]

“Oh, it’s fine Soph, I was joking,” said Cecilia, offering a smile. “I’d rather clean, responsible fun than whatever the hell Rose gets up to.” She sighed before continuing. “Not really. Even when I’m away from the office, I still have to take all my work home with me. It never ends. If I didn’t love it, I’d have run away to some secluded mountain community in South America to get away from it all. But there’s no need to worry, I’m not going to burn out anytime soon.”

[sophie-york]

Sophie smiled. She’d prefer to try a little of both types of fun. She didn’t want to get quite as out of control as Rose seemed to be, but letting go every now and then sounded rather nice. Then there were the days when all she wanted was to sit at home and watch movies, and the moments of extreme motivation and creativity. “All righty, as long as you keep an eye on yourself.” She had a great admiration for her sister’s work ethic. She secretly worried that she’d never find the personal responsibility to be as successful as Cecilia was. “What are you working on right now? Anything I can help with?”

[duncan--fletcher-blog]

“Have I been rude to you? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.” Owen instantly replied, though he was still confused. “And I don’t know if I believe that because if you knew anything about my family, aside from us having a magazine, you’d know how little I’m involved with any of that. I want nothing to do with the magazine so please redirect your judgements.”

[sophie-york]

Sophie shook her head. “Not you, no. Sorry.” She realized she was being a bit too harsh, but it was hard not to. Every other problem her family had with the magazine seemed to involve the dreaded ICON. “I don’t... I’m not that seriously involved either, to be honest. Too busy with school, hence the not knowing about your lack of involvement, so, yeah. Sorry.” She shrugged. “I’ll withhold my judgements for now, okay? From you, at least. No promises when it comes to your sisters.”

[nedcarlyle-deactivated20150528]

Ned had not-so-conveniently dozed off on his books at the cafe table he was sitting at. Unaware that he was sleeping in public and out cold, he began (embarrassingly) to snore.

[sophie-york]

Sophie wandered into the cafe to get coffees for herself and her sisters when she noticed a somewhat familiar face snoring at a table. She laughed and sat down. “Hey,” she bugged, poking him in the shoulder. “Pull an all-nighter?”

[duncan--fletcher-blog]

Owen held his hands up in mock defense. “Hold on, I didn’t mean it in any sort of way. I am a Lancaster, but I couldn’t care less about that age old rivalry. Do you? I can’t imagine why, I’m not even sure how it all started.” Owen knew he was betraying some sort of loyalty by attempting to lower his shield at Sophie, but he didn’t care about being loyal to Henry. He almost craved the dishonor.

[sophie-york]

Sophie hesitated before speaking. She wasn’t a huge believer in the whole rivalry, but she did have a distaste for most Lancasteres. She didn’t know how much of that was because of actions of theirs that were spawned solely from the rivalry and how much was legitimate. “I don’t solely depend upon it for my opinions of people,” she said carefully, “but I think there’s a grain of merit in it, or at least in people’s actions towards others because of it. Rudeness and the consequences of that rudeness can’t be forgotten just because somebody told you that the person was worth being rude to.” She straightened up and held her head high, aloof. “It all started with the magazines, or so I’ve heard.”

[ceciliayork-blog]

“Clean, responsible fun - that’s my tagline is it? I can live with it, I suppose.” A sigh slipped from Cecilia’s lips before she could catch it. “And who runs the magazine for that day? Grandmother might step in…” Cecilia dismissed the thought quickly. Weaknesses were not acceptable in this industry. She had to prove herself, prove that she was able to do this. There would be time for spa days later. “Perhaps,” she said in non-committal tone. “It looks smashing on you.”

[sophie-york]

Sophie’s eyes widened slightly at her sister’s reaction. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it as an insult. There’s nothing wrong with clean, responsible fun. It’s sustainable. usually any kind of irresponsible fun is only fun until it’s over, and then it sucks. Good clean fun, though, no diminishing returns.” She hadn’t meant to offend her sister. She had a great admiration for Cecilia. Sophie wished she could take the best parts of both of her sisters and her aunt and even her grandmother and add a little bit of all of them to a big dose of herself. “Thanks. I’ve heard great things from very wise sources,” she teased. “You don’t take any days off? I don’t know how you keep that beautiful smile on your face. You should write an autobiography/guide book!”

[poppykingston]

Poppy stared at the young girl before her, turning this way and that with her new possession. She knew the girl was one of many York’s - obviously, she worked for the whole lot of them - but couldn’t put a name to the face. 

“It’s… Nice,” she said, unconvincingly. “I didn’t know we were allowed to take things from the closet. Is that for all employees? Because my homeless tramp boyfriend is in desperate need of a new outfit for his job at a strip club tomorrow and I was wondering…,” she trailed off, raising her eyebrows innocently. 

[sophie-york]

Sophie smiled at the dark-haired young woman, whose tone she found mildly amusing. It wasn’t often that someone would respond to her like that - unless they were a Lancaster or a RUNWAY cover star, of course. Usually the employees saw the trademark blonde hair and light eyes and treated her like she was far cooler than she knew they actually thought she was. 

“Thanks. Well, I don’t think they encourage random raiding of it, but sometimes they give old stuff away. I was just going to borrow it, anyway. My friend’s having a birthday dinner and it’s just the right color for my dress... I don’t think they have stripper clothes in there. They have to be easily tearable. I know a lot of great thrift stores, though, if you want to go on a shopping spree.” She kept a straight face as best she could. She wasn’t entirely sure if the other girl was kidding or not. “We could cut little perforations for the big reveal.”

[ceciliayork-blog]

“It’s fine, keep it,” Cecilia told her. “Your big sister isn’t a total killjoy. If George asks after it, I’ll pretend to have no knowledge.” She mussed her sister’s hair affectionately. “Honestly? I’m exhausted. I need a sleep in one day soon, or the biggest cup of coffee you’ve ever seen. How about you, little one?”

[sophie-york]

Sophie giggled. “Really? Thanks! Oh, of course you’re not a killjoy. You’re lots of fun. Clean, responsible fun, but fun nonetheless. Okay, thanks, it’s a plan. If George comes around, I’ll just give him puppy-eyes and play totally innocent.” Sophie wrinkled her nose as her sister messed with her hair. “I just curled it,” she complained, though she didn’t really care. “You need to sleep. I’m serious. You work too hard. You should take a spa day.” She faced Cecilia straight-on and reached her arms up to rest her hands on her sister’s shoulders. “I worry about you. You need rest.” Sophie just hoped her sister wouldn’t overwork herself. RUNWAY was important, obviously, but so was Cecilia’s health. “I’m pretty good! Just got a new bag,” she teased.

[ceciliayork-blog]

“It’s cute,” Cecilia agreed. “The colours suit you. Although you should know better than to be going through the closet. You never know what’s in there that we might need one day. Archive items, George’s hair maybe…” Cecilia cracked a smile and pulled her sister into a one-armed hug. 

[sophie-york]

“Thanks!” Sophie chirped, grinning at her sister. “It’ll go really well with this new dress I just bought last week.” She flicked the bag’s handle absentmindedly. “Might be a bit big, though. Sorry. I figured you hardly ever use anything from the last year. Let me just take a picture for reference.” She was about to pull out her phone when Cecilia hugged her. Sophie giggled and wrapped her other arm around her sister and returned the hug tightly. “Anyway, hi! How are you?” 

[ginasplan]

Zara stood nearby idly checking her phone when the voice broke her trance. “Uhm…” she tilted her head studying the bag’s exterior from her purview. “It certainly is vibrant.” At the latter part of Sophie’s statement, Zara quirked a brow. “But, shouldn’t you have gone for something in season, as they say?” 

[sophie-york]

Sophie smiled. “Thanks!” She turned the bag over in her hand. She’d been looking for something in this color for a while. “Why follow a trend when you can wear whatever the hell you want and maybe even start your own?” she countered with a shrug. “That’s just me, though. I have a great love for trend-followers. They’re pretty much the reason my family’s business survives.”

[duncan--fletcher-blog]

Owen glanced around, unsure if Sophie was speaking to him, but then went with it. “Looks fine to me. I’m the wrong person to ask though. I’ve never owned a purse.” He teased, smirking. After observing her for a few seconds, he spoke up. “You’re the baby York, aren’t you?”

[sophie-york]

Sophie turned all the way around to face the person who had responded and widened her eyes. There was no mistaking a Lancaster, from magazine covers to family resemblance to the empire rivalry. “Thanks,” she said slowly, unsure of how to proceed. She chuckled a bit at his reply. “Yes, well, any opinion helps, I suppose.” Sophie raised her eyebrows. “That I am, and you’re clearly a Lancaster. What of it?”