Delia

2~Settling in

The next morning wasn't as horrible as I expected, thankfully I was adjusting well. However Thalia was long gone by the time I woke up. She laid out my uniform on her bed for me and left a simple note.

Morning, I had an environmental club meeting this morning :( but I left your uniform. Wear black shoes unless you want to do community service and also tie up your hair!! I'll see you at lunch, xx Thalia.

I chuckled at her cute note and shook my head. After getting ready and putting my hair into a low, side parted bun, I headed downstairs.

While walking in front of the boys' dorms however, I collided with someone rushing down the stairs. I stumbled back a little, my arm was hurt from the impact, it had already been sore yesterday. My eyes were leveled with their chest so I tilted my head up. He had feathery, onyx hair that touched his shoulders. Looking down I noticed a multitude of silver rings adorning both his hands. His face held sharp features, high cheekbones and angular, deep set eyes. However, the emotions in them weren't too pleasant.

"Watch where you're going," he spoke solemnly. "Pardon? What about you?" I glared at him. "What about me? I wasn't the one walking in a crooked line, stay on the right side" he argued back. Before I could defend myself I felt someone tug at the sleeve of my blouse.

"Excuse her Neo, she's new here" Thalia suddenly interrupted. "Teach your friend to watch where she's going Thalia" he addressed her formally. I scoffed before being pulled away. I turned my head around and glared at him. We crossed over to the school building without another word. A few steps away from my classroom I finally snapped.

"Who the hell is Neo and why can't I talk back to him?" I questioned in annoyance. She bit her lip and refused to make eye contact. "He's the Headmistress' son..." She smiled awkwardly. I was dumbfounded but it made sense as to why he carried such a cocky aura. "Wow...what a brat, I don't start things but if someone tests me I'm not responsible for what happens next" I said curtly before entering my class.

...

I found a seat in the middle row and rocked back on my chair. Our teacher, Miss Rayne, entered soon after. The students' expressions went from tired to attentive within milliseconds. "Cordelia Cruz, new girl, I hope I can whip you into shape like the rest of these delinquents" her smile caused me to shiver.

During the class I studied everything unusual about Timothy Mikaelson. The school logo was unlike any other, a '™' embroidered into a red diamond and a snake ran over it. Miss Rayne had some unusual teaching methods, she carried around a golden stick and would slam it on your desk if she caught you zoning out. I guess her method was to instill fear in us, but was that ethical as a teacher?

Throughout the day I realized she had the mildest method. Our English teacher would hit the back of your hand with a wooden ruler, others gave penmanship and even chores. However this was a boarding school for the misbehaved so I didn't pay too much attention to it.

Finally it was lunch so I found myself in the dining hall. As expected it was fancy yet vintage, this school seemed to be stuck in the 1800s. I looked around for Thalia but she was nowhere to be found. I got my lunch and decided to go to our dorm to finish unpacking.

While strolling down the hall I passed an eye-catching girl coming from the end of the hall. "Oh Hi, you're the new girl right?" she flashed a blinding smile. Her skin resembled porcelain and had rosy highlights, her hair was all fluffy and tied with a crimson ribbon. "Yeah, I'm Delia" introducing myself started to become tiring.

"I heard you were bunking with Thalia, how's that going?" She asked, her smile became softer but it didn't lose its sincerity. "It's... an experience, she's really fun but I can never seem to find her" I chuckled. "She's got quite a few clubs, and separate endeavors" the girl winked at me but I had no idea what she was suggesting. "Anyways, I'm at the end of the hall so just knock if you need anything, I was on my way to poetry club, I hope you enjoy it here" she skipped down the hall.

"Wait, what's your name!" I shouted before she left. " Lilian Jiang, also check out the poetry club, it's fun!" She replied in glee before continuing on her way. "So perky..." I mumbled while opening my door.

Unfortunately that was a mistake, I closed the door soon after and turned around. It was a sight I was not meant to witness. Thalia, and an unidentified boy, with his tie undone and his shirt halfway unbuttoned.

"Delia you can come in!" I heard Thalia from the other side of the door. I reluctantly opened the door to see a red in the face Thalia sitting with her hands in her lap. The boy however, was unphased. "Not gonna ask" I grabbed my phone and bolted out the door. What could I have said? The situation was awkward enough.

Somehow I wound up in the common room eating and scrolling through my phone. I didn't necessarily have friends back home, there were acquaintances. Since the move was so sudden I at least owed them an explanation. Many people back home avoided me, not because I was scary looking, but the amount of fights I'd been in. It would be hard for the word not to get around. So I wasn't a social butterfly, that was the only thing I planned to change on coming to this place.

Regardless of my past reputations, it would still be nice to have someone to talk to about my day or to watch a movie together. Craving some form of friendship and attention was normal and it took me too long to realize it.

After a while I contemplated actually going to the poetry club, but decided against it. Instead I observed the tapestries hung to the right. Snakes seemed to be a recurring symbol at this school. There were some words written in Latin, but I was too lazy to translate it. I felt a weird draught coming from the center of the cloth. The closer I got, the more cold air I felt. Before I could press against it there was a painful shout that came from the courtyard. I jolted backwards and took a deep breath. Everyone in the common room immediately ran towards the noise. I glanced back at the tapestry but shook my head and followed everyone outside.