The Girl Who Never Stopped Smiling - A SoTam Story

Chapter 1

Sophie Foster smiled and waved as her adoptive parents drove slowly away, leaving her, and all of her possessions, at the steps of Foxfire Academy. She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear and sucked in a deep breath. She was alone, and painfully aware of that fact. So she rummaged around in one of her bags and pulled out a pair of rose gold wireless headphones. She put them on, sweeping the hair out of her face. She sighed in relief as the music began to play. These headphones were her most beloved possession. Armed with her music, she piled her luggage onto one of the cart the other students seemed to be using to lug their stuff around, and walked towards her new life.

As Sophie walked into the foyer of the school, people stopped and stared. They couldn't help it, she was beautiful and people noticed. Sophie, it seems, did not. She was oblivious to the jealous whispers running through the gaggles of girls and wide eyed stares of the boys. She kept her head down, her long, straight, honey-coloured hair cascading down her shoulders and over her face like a curtain. The music blared through her headphones, drowning out her thoughts and the chatter of her soon-to-be classmates. Only as she neared the front desk did she pause her music and slip the headphones down onto her neck. She stood there nervously plucking at her sleeve and tugging at her eyelashes while she waited for the man to finish with another student. "Well then dear, what can I do for you today?" He chirped with a heavy southern accent. "Uh...uhm... I'm 18, I'm a freshman?" Sophie stuttered, inwardly cringing and yelling at herself for being so appallingly stupid. The man laughed and asked for her name. He tapped away at his computer for a moment before rolling away on his office chair. He returned with her student ID and a huge stack of papers. He explained everything clearly and slowly with a kind smile. "And finally, this is your suite key and map! Welcome to Foxfire Academy!" Sophie thanked the man profusely and moved off to a corner to gather her thoughts. 

With her music drowning out the noise of the world, she looked at the innocent piece of paper accompanying her key that she had been dreading. This could make or break her college life. "Welcome to Foxfire Academy!", it read in a swirly font, "Your suite mates are: Miss Biana Vacker and Miss Linh Song."  Shit. No. No. This was bad. Very bad. She had been almost sure she would get a single suite, or at least a double, like she had requested on her application. But a triple? What were the odds? She felt the anxiety bubbling up, but she shoved it back down, bottling it up. Plastering a pleasant smile on her face, she walked off to meet her potential new best friends, or enemies...

{So there we go! First chapter done! What did you think? This has been a real labour of love for me so I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks~ThatIkeaShark}