Family Comes First- ASOUE

Chapter 61: A New School

*Duncan's POV*

Three days after we had left Lucky Smells, Poe loaded us into his wife's van to drive us to our new home. The drive was hours long. Who could our new guardian be, living out all the way in the hinterlands?

"I think you children will have a good home here," Poe said. "I hope so anyway, because I've just received a promotion: Vice President of Orphan Affairs. This means I'll be too busy to check in on you, orphans..."

'Fine by me,' I thought. "What's our new guardian's name?" I asked.

"Guardian? Oh, no. Good God, no." He said. "The only one previously willing to take you in has had to help a friend move in, so it's already quite hectic at his penthouse, apparently. Oh, no, children, you're going to boarding school! They've just started a new semester, so you might have to put in effort to catch up in your studies. It won't be easy, but I promise it'll build character."

There was that stupid phrase again. If this school would be as miserable as the mill, I'd be so upset. I tried to look on the bright side of things, however. I hadn't been in school for a while and oddly enough I sort of missed it. I liked meeting new people; it'd be nice to make some new friends, although I could only imagine me hanging out with Izzie and the Baudelaires... Maybe going back to school would make me feel somewhat normal again. I was already way behind in school after not being there for about a year at this point, but I also consider myself quite intelligent so maybe I'd catch up...

Another few hours later the school began to get bigger and bigger as we approached it. The fence outside reminded me of a graveyard, and the buildings were all shaped like tombstones. On the opening of the fence, there was a sign that said "Prufrock Preperatory School: Memento Mori."

"These are all the dormitory rooms, I think." Mr. Poe said as we drove up to the main building. "Here's a fun bit of trivia: The architect who designed this place was severely depressed."

It reflected in their work. The sidewalk was all cracked and there were weeds growing out of them, the grass on the lawn was very, very dead, and looked dry and itchy. There were trees, barely; those were dying too. There were students running around in part of the lawn, some tripping and falling, then getting right back up and running again. Mr. Poe took us to the office where we picked up our new uniforms, two sets per person, and our book bags that had a Prufrock Preparatory patch stitched onto it. We were told to go to the nearby restrooms to change, and after looking at myself in the mirror, I decided I looked good and regrouped with the others in the hallway. At least we didn't have ugly uniforms...

"I've always wanted to go to a prep school. Rules... Traditions... Why, I'd give every last suit just to wear a uniform. You have a meeting with the vice principal; his office is right over there, so you can wait on that bench."

"You're not coming with us?" I asked.

"No, this has taken up my whole day already and Polly will have my head if I'm not there when dinner is ready. Um... I do want you children to know that I hope you find comfort here. So long..."

We watched Mr. Poe as he walked away and waved goodbye when he turned the corner. We waved back and went to sit on the bench. There was barely enough room for all four of us.

We quieted down... And waited for our meeting... And it just felt so slow. We were all a little nervous, but I tried to remain somewhat optimistic, which was difficult, sort of, because thinking positively isn't an easy task when in the next room you can hear someone playing an instrument they have no idea how to play...