Delicate Pulse | Violentine

Welcome

"Welcome! You must be Clementine."

Her voice came out sweet and friendly, which threw off her whole authority get-up. Watching her march determinedly towards me from afar in her polished heels, with her silky bob swishing to the rhythm of the early morning breeze, it gave me a completely different impression of her. I must have given that away on my face because her eyebrows furrowed with concern. I quickly clear my throat.

"Uh, yeah. Good morning," I extend my hand out to greet her, she takes great notice of this and smiles, returning the handshake firmly.

"My name is Carley, I'm the accountant of the school."

"Am I just a tree to you guys?"                        

The guy behind her pipes up. He was walking beside Carley before, his confident and layback stroll foiled with hers. He's decently tall but not too lanky, with dark dreads and twinkling green eyes. We are wearing identical uniforms; smart blazers, orange ties and all. Only he's not wearing a pleated skirt, of course. Carley opens her mouth to say something but he steps forward and cuts her off.

"I'm Louis," he grins and I can't help returning it back to him during our own handshake. His tone is rich and full of life, lifting and falling in the right places. Almost as if it's purely intentional, or by the least, practised many times before. He looks curiously above my head. "Hey, cool hat. What does the 'D' stand for?"

"Louis here will be taking your things to your dorm while I escort you to meet the headmaster," Carley interjects, placing her hand on his shoulder before I could answer. Louis rolls his eyes at her and shakes his head at me, his dreads swaying along with him.

"Ah, sorry, I forgot I was the bell boy," he winks at me and I snort in response. He leans over and collects my bulky suitcase sleeping upon the cobblestone beneath our feet. He sees the bag hanging off my shoulder and jesters to take it from me.

"I'm good, thanks," I say, immediately noticing how unintentionally offended I sounded.

Well, shit.

I purse my lips in instant regret but Louis carries on totally oblivious by it. He just keeps beaming at me and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

"You know, it is quite a perfect day today," he sighs dramatically, he shifts his weight on one leg and sticks his free hand on his hip. "The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the breeze is just-"

"Alright Louis, that's enough," Carley shuts down his teasing. She gives her best effort to remain composure but I can see a tiny smirk play at the corners of her lips. "You'll have plenty of time to discuss the weather and hats later."

"Why later, Carley? We are living in the now."

She ignores him and nods her head towards the building towering ahead of us, Ericson's Boarding School of Troubled Youth. Her heels begin to smack against the pavement away from me, I don't know how she hasn't twisted her foot and fallen over yet. I hesitate and look back at Louis. He's trying to figure out how to extend the handle. The suitcase is pretty old so he might be there for a while. He catches my eye and gives me a thumbs up. I don't really know what to do back except mirror him, then I turn around briskly and try to catch up to Carley who's already halfway there.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Miraculously, she holds the door open for me without any struggle as I invade into an unfamiliar environment. The building begins with polished marble tiles and rises into a high ceiling extending above the first floor. The walls are scattered with windows and picture frames all in pristine condition, which was not at all what I imagined the place to be in. When I think of a boarding school, I think of ill-suited graffiti and smashed glass, not a flawless mansion.