Learn to Fly

New Beginnings

It was a beautiful fall afternoon in Birmingham, England. The leaves were colored red, orange and yellow of the oak trees that surrounded a lake. Two schools sat on either side of the lake, both looking like mansions with stained-glass windows and Victorian decor. The only difference was the colors of the schools; one being gray and one being pink, and the signs in the front of each.

The sign in front of the pink Victorian mansion read, "Walden's Boarding School for Girls." Which would be expected, since the building itself was a girl's type of color. The gray one, as you may have already guessed, was the boys' boarding school. The staff of Walden liked to keep the girls and the boys separate, as to not erupt any unwanted relationships at their young ages. I don't believe that it ever worked, though. This is actually a story about a relationship I've been in (thankfully, I still am) for a beautiful girl named Emilene. We met at this school, and come back to visit every so often to remember our adventures together.

This story begins with my arrival to Walden. I was merely 13 years of age, in 6th grade, and I had never attended a boarding school in my life. I didn't know anyone, but I was determined to make friends. As I sat in the back of my step father's carriage, I planned out the first things I was to do when I finally arrived.

"Are you excited for your first day, my dear?" Mother asked me. Clearly, I was. She could tell by the animated look in my blue eyes. "Yeah," was all I could say. I was distracted by the beautiful scenery that surrounded the roads that led to the school.

We arrived just as the sun reached the mid-point of the sky, making the air a little less chilly. I took a deep breath and soaked in the sight of the large school. I didn't even know why I was so excited; it was school!

The coach drew our journey to a halt, and we stepped out of the carriage. Well, my mother stepped out. I jumped out. My mother shook her head and helped me up, brushing me off.

"You have to look nice for your first day," she said, a smile playing on her face.

"I look fine. Mom, don't worry about it." I smiled as well, cherishing the last couple of moments I had with her for a while.

The coach carried my bags for me. My mother and I entered first. I blew the red hair out of my eyes and looked around me. We had entered through the main doors, and there weren't any kids running about, as I had expected. They must have been still in class, because the only person we saw was a maid in a black dress and a white apron, dusting off a shelf. She looked up when we came in, startled. Putting down her feather duster, she ran over to us.

"Are you Richard?" She asked, a heavy accent from which I couldn't quite place coating her words. I nodded, lost in thought.

"Come with me." We followed her down the corridor and up a flight of stairs to another hallway. The size of this place told me how rich the owners must be. It seemed to have endless corridors and many, many doors. Not to mention the expensive decor everywhere.

She dug a set of keys out of her pocket and unlocked a door, leading to an empty dorm room. "This will be your room. Go ahead and get settled; you won't start your classes until tomorrow." She handed me the set of keys and left, most likely to return to her duties. The coach set my bag on my bed and left my mother and I to say our goodbyes.

"So, this is it," I said sadly. My mom looked like she was going to cry. I am not sure why she was so worried; I was going to be fine.

"I promise to write every day. You don't have to worry about me, mom. It's just a boarding school."

She blinked away the tears and said, "Look at you, all grown up. You are right; you'll be fine." She smiled. "I hope that you have fun! I will see you next year." She hugged me, and when she pulled away, wiping away a runaway tear. She kissed me on the forehead, then left. I have to admit, I will miss her. Dearly.

Typical Mothers.