Everyone was chatting and joking around. Everyone knew each other.
“Hey, freakster,” a tall gorgeous brunette called out to a slick blond haired guy, who was surrounded by two other beauties.
He smiled wide and went in for a quick hug. “Hey, love. How was your summer?” he replied with a charming British accent.
“Fabulous! Nice to see ya, Ace.”
I wanted to gag. Popular kids. You know the type. Apparently, they were here, too.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the guy. He was gorgeous in that movie star kind of way; blue eyes and golden hair, slicked back retro-style. The wordsuavecame to mind. He was suave and as cool and frosty as a cold beer (as my dad would say).
Obviously, he didn’t notice me at all when he walked right past me, and sat in the seat behind me. The guy on my right was doing some kind of card trick, and the girl on my left was picking at her nails, already bored out of her skull, and the school day hadn’t even begun yet.
We were all handed our course materials; a few handouts, and digital tablets. Each student is assigned a tablet with a specific verification number. If one loses or damages the tablet, one is responsible for the cost which is three hundred and fifty dollars! I knew my parents could never afford this so I decided to look into having it surgically attached to my chest. Kidding aside, it’s actually kind of stressful carrying the thing around. I went over my class schedule diligently: Social Studies, Biology, Psychic Development and English on Mondays. Music Composition, Energy Fields studies, Realms & Channels, and English again on Tuesday. And the classes repeated themselves throughout the week. The good thing was, I didn’t have to deal with Math until the following semester.
I headed off to the dining hall with Alicia for lunch – my stomach was growling again. One could say my stomach is a loud overbearing extrovert. It certainly makes itself heard when it’s hungry.
The dining hall was just as gothic as the rest of the place; a dark beamed cathedral ceiling with extravagant wrought iron hanging light fixtures, a shiny dark floor, and long gleaming dark tables in perfect rows. Thankfully, the tall windows on either side of the space allowed for some natural light to bathe the dark eerie space.
I followed Alicia to the cafeteria line. My stomach was sorely disappointed when it saw the menu: Organic Wild Salmon, Gluten-Free Macaroni & Cheese, Grass Fed Roast Beef, Eggplant Parmigiana, Tofu, Quinoa, and Kale Butternut Squash Salad, amongst other equally terrifying options. Zucchini Chocolate Cake, and Cauliflower Puree Banana Bread for dessert?!
“Really?”
Alicia scowled in my direction. “I know…” she said. “But the mac and cheese is not bad.”
The special was Pasta-less Vegetarian Lasagna. “How does that even work?” I asked. “There’s no pasta, no meat. Is it basically vegetable mush?”
“Pretty much,” Alicia said as she inched forward. We both ordered the mac and cheese, with lemonade, and a slice of the Zucchini chocolate cake, which Alicia assured me was pretty good. Turns out she was right.
The third period was a school tour, which I was registered for since it was my first time here. I think I was the only junior there, so I pretended to be a freshman like everyone else. We stuck out like sore thumbs; fresh faced, no piercings or tattoos, although quite a few of the girls had pink, blue, or purple hair. It was obvious that these kids had just entered puberty; the boys were all skinny, awkward and pimply, and the girls were all giddy and bright-eyed. I actually kind of fit in since I’m short, tattoo-less, and flat-chested. I smiled and bobbed my head, in an attempt to fit in.
Pimply kids notwithstanding, I loved the tour.
We started off in the hall and main office, followed by a quick tour of the classes, labs, the cozy library with its sky-high walls lined with books, the music room; guitars and fiddles and trumpets hanging on the wall and oversized leather sofas, the art studio, the theatre room; a colorful beautiful mess, the dining hall, the media room; state-of-the-art monitors, coffered ceilings, modern art on the walls. The gymnasium and yoga studio, the ultra-cool lounge and games room; billiards table, fuse ball, pin pong, chess boards topping small round tables, and cozy looking sofas, and last but not least, the conservatory. The conservatory was amazing; gorgeous landscaping, lush topiaries, a wide of selection of flower and plant species, and a pretty fountain tying it all together.
I learned a few new interesting facts about RAMS: The school has about three hundred and sixty students, and goes from grade nine to twelve, and grade thirteen and fourteen; two post-secondary years, where credits are transferable to the majority of colleges. Mrs. Adler bought the property, added a wing for the residence building, and founded the school in 2003. Back then, it was an all-girls school. It was made co-ed in 2011, and an additional dorm wing needed to be added.
The majority of students come from far away, from all over the world, mostly from US states, but there are occasional students from Canada and South America, and some as far as Europe, Asia, Russia and Australia. I actually met a girl from Mauritius Island in the Indian Ocean. She spoke with a heavy accent and looked as shell-shocked as I was. I liked her because she was plain like me; no face jewelry, crazy hair or tattoos.
We explored the grounds around the school; the running track, the tennis court, the soccer field, the hiking trails, and the horse barn at the far end of the property, (yep, there are horses).
We made our way back leisurely to the quad where a million kids were hanging out, and everything had been going great until then.
That’s when I saw him again; the boy with the red aura. He smiled when he spotted me, his hands tucked in his pockets, his hair a dishevelled mess in the light wind, and a playful look in his eyes.
You know the type of guy you can tell is trouble with just a quick glance? Well, that was him.
I wanted to crawl under a rock. I wanted to scream, “I’m not a freshman!”
Honestly, I didn’t know why I cared.
The first thingI did once classes were over, was bound up the stairs, zip through the tube, and go straight to the dorm to take refuge in my room. I needed some alone time – my mind was buzzing. Thankfully, Alicia was still out. I gathered my origami collection and strung them all up above my bed, just like at home, a rainbow of floating butterflies, swans, birds and stars. With each creation I hung, my heartbeat settled a little.
But shortly after, I got my heart pumping again when I broke my first RAMS rule.
The sign clearly read:
ABSOLUTELY NO FOOD OR DRINKS IN THE MEDIA CENTER.
