A Song for Elodie

Chapter Three

Elodie jumped off the school bus, thanking the bus driver as she went. The gates of the school were huge, and beyond them, she could see a large, modern building whose grounds were filled with students and staff going about their business. Suddenly a blonde whirlwind came and attack-hugged Elodie, who was knocked over in the process.

"SQUEEE! I'm so excited to meet you!" shrieked the whirlwind. Elodie picked herself up off the paved ground and saw a short, fair-headed girl dressed in a navy blazer and green-and-white checked school dress.

"Um hi," muttered Elodie, still a little shocked by the over-enthusiastic greeting. "My name is Elodie Moreno."

"I know, because I'm Layla Jackson, and I'm your student ambassador!" squealed Layla. "I'm here to take you on a tour of the school! Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Elodie softly, following Layla into the main building.

###

Half an hour later, Elodie was finally shown to her homeroom. On the door, it was labelled: Room 9/14. It was full of students listening intently. A tall male teacher looked up from his desk, where he was marking the roll.

"Hello, Elodie, my name is Mr Bullock. I'm your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year," said the teacher.

"Hi nice to meet you, sir," replied Elodie, shaking his hand.

"Your locker is just in the corner over there and I've seated you next to Layla, who is, of course, your student ambassador," explained Mr Bullock, pointing in the direction.

"Okay thanks," said Elodie, moving quickly over to the locker and placing her bag in there. She then walked to the empty desk and sat down. Layla herself came over a few seconds later. Just then there was the sound of a phone ringing, as an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

'Could all students willing to join the school choir please come to the auditorium at recess? Thank you.'

Elodie's eyes lit up. This was her big moment, to show the school what she had to offer.

"Are you going to try out for the choir?" whispered Layla.

"Yes, I am," muttered Elodie happily.

"Well I hope you get in!" murmured Layla softly. "Honestly, I'm more of a theatre girl myself."

"Quiet please girls," called Mr Bullock. "And Elodie," he added, "welcome to the school."

###

"Hi Mannix!" said Elodie cheerily through the computer.

"Hey Elodie, how was your first day at school?" asked Mannix.

"Yeah pretty good, this girl named Layla is, like, my student ambassador. She took me on a tour of the school."

"Cool! What's it like? As small as ours back here in Brisbane?"

Elodie laughed. "No, it's so big. I'm already lost." She paused. "How's Sophie and Jake? Managing with three instead of four?"

Now it was Mannix's turn to laugh. "Yep, Sophie misses having a girl around, but you know how spontaneous she is."

"Yeah, touché."

"Elodie, sweetie! Dinner's ready!" called Teresa faintly from the kitchen.

"I'll be there in twenty nanoseconds! Mannix," she added, directing this at her best friend, "I need to go. Say hi to Mrs Beckman for me, and Sophie and Jake!"

"Okay, sure! Talk soon?"

"Yeah, how about next week?"

"Let's do it! See you then."

"Bye Elodie!"

"See ya later potata." With that, Elodie shut her laptop lid and headed downstairs.

###

Tuesday 16th April 2019

Dear Diary,

Layla seems nice. She introduced me to her group of friends. They are Emma, Sarah, Gabriella, Josephine, Khloe, Charlie, Teagan, Peyton, Genevieve, McKenna and Audrina. I'm worried that I might get them all mixed up, because I'm used to just the four of us. It used to be Elodie, Sophie, Mannix, Jake. A perfect quartet. So, you can see why I'm concerned. I guess I just don't hang around with boys anymore.

The school is really lijepo. That's a word that Dad taught me in Croatian, it means nice. The auditorium is amazing. I went there for the choir auditions. The music teacher, Ms Heikkila, is so kind. She said I have an incredible voice and is getting a solo for sure if I get in.

All my siblings are attending the primary part of the school. They say their teachers are great, but the twins have been split up. Honestly, that was smart of whoever organizes the classes, because back in Brisbane they got in quite a few arguments during class. Mum also went to her new office as a graphic designer. She showed them a few of her paintings and all her colleagues adored them. Her new boss even asked for one to hang in her office.

I think that's all. Note to self: your locker number is 45.17 and your classroom is the one with the red stairs next to it.

Lots of love

Ellie x