Faking Elegance H.S.

II

Around 6:30, the normal suburban houses and shopping centers, changed into large, gated mansions and private roads as we got closer to our destination. The mansions looked like they had been there for at least a century, and they screamed 'old money.'

Eventually, the car turned onto University Court, the road that led up to the school. I looked out the right window, across Genevieve, to see a pond with a fountain in the center and literal swans swimming in it. On the left, was an old stone wall that ran along the length of the road, and some weeping willow trees. Charles turned left, as a gate in the center of the stone wall was pulled open, so we could enter the secluded campus.

We drove up the stone driveway - which was similar to the one at my aunt's house - and then drove under a stone archway in one of the buildings to pull onto a large quad. There were plenty of other expensive cars - limousines, Rolls Royces, and I'm pretty sure I saw a Tesla too. Charles parked the car, and came around the left side to open my door and help me step out. My jaw dropped.

The quad was plush, green grass with intercepting walkways cutting through it, each lined with flower beds. There was another fountain in the center of the quad, with a circular patio with stone benches surrounding it. There were four buildings around the quad - the ones to my left and right were exactly identical with their large central tower and exquisite architecture mirroring each other from across the way, and the one with the archway we had passed under was behind me. The one directly in front of me, however, was by far the most impressive. The large entrance was flanked by two tall towers, and next to the central part of the building, wings jutted off to the left and right. All the buildings were made of stone, and in some places, ivy worked its way up the walls.

Chauffeurs and personal caddies followed men dressed in suits and women in dresses or stunning pant suits. Their children followed as well - the boys mostly dressed in blazers, button downs, slacks, and dress shoes, and the girls either dressed in a blazer with a skirt, or a sweater with a skirt and pumps or stilettos. There didn't seem to be a uniform, but everyone's outfits were cohesive. I looked down at my Doc Martens and pants - I was the only female student wearing pants instead of a skirt.

All of the families with male students walked to the building on the left side of the quad, and all families with female students walked to the matching one on the right. Charles unloaded the car as Genevieve and I walked behind the families going to the right. All of the girls in front of me clutched brightly colored Chanel handbags, so I clutched my Louis Vuitton bag like a lifeline, as it was the only thing that made me seem as classy as them.

The crowd, that was rather large for it only being around 7am, stopped in front of the dormitory building, and a woman standing on the front steps addressed us.

"Some of you may already know me, but if you don't, I am Madame Chesterfield, and I look over this dormitory - the Edwins Building - and I am assistant headmistress. I want to lay down some ground rules." She spoke in a shrill voice that would surely give me a headache if I listened for too long. Her gray hair was pulled back into tight, low bun, that accentuated her harsh cheekbones. She wore a plum colored lipstick on her thin lips, that matched her tweed blazer and skirt set. She was extremely intimidating. "First, no animals are allowed in the dorms. No alcohol or illegal substances either, and, if I am given reason to believe you are in possession of any of that, we can conduct a search of the dorm. Curfew is at 11pm. Anyone who is out of their dorms after that time will get a demerit point. Five demerit points results in a suspension, and if you get ten - which I hope you don't, but it has happened - you will be expelled. You can also get demerit points by failing classes. Have I made myself clear?"