A Universe of Possibilities - Teenlock/Johnlock/Mystrade

Chapter 3- Roommates

One Week Later
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John's father spent the entire three hour drive to Baskerville's yelling at him.

First, he ranted and raved about how he always knew John would be arrested one day, that he was just "that kind of boy".

He then continued to tell John what a huge disappointment he had always been, how he wasn't good at anything, and how a loser like him would never become a doctor.

Finally, as they neared the boarding school (much to John's delight at this point), he gave John some last minute reminders.

"You better not get into any trouble while you're here," he growled. "If I receive one phone call saying you've been anything but a model student, don't bother coming home for Christmas."

Wasn't planning on it anyway, John thought. "Yes sir," he said.

"I expect you to be on the football team, and to make perfect marks in every class,"

"Yes sir."

There were more rules and expectations, but John stopped listening at that point. He simply stared out the window at the changing scenery, inserting a "yes sir" whenever his dad paused.

The town of Baskerville was much smaller and more suburban than London, with few tall buildings and lots of open space. In fact, the largest building seemed to be the boarding school itself, which John could now see clearly.

According to the brochure, the school was only four years old, and still looked quite modern. It didn't have the worn look of faded brick that John's old public school had. But to John, the brand-new, freshly painted look made the school seem all the more intimidating.

The building seemed to be an impossibly perfect 3-D rectangle, with clear-cut sides and sharp corners. The evenly spaced windows that covered the front were tinted, but the reflection of the sunlight off the glass made them appear as a million square eyes. With the huge front doors opened like an eager mouth, the school resembled a monster. It looked just like the prison John had anticipated it to be, complete with a gate around its perimeter. All it was missing was barbed wire.

John's father pulled the car up to the curb and parked it in front of a fire hydrant. Then he said something, but John didn't hear him. He had caught sight of his reflection in the windshield, reminding him that he would be starting at a new school with a black and yellow bruise covering half of his face, to match the one that extended across half his torso. At least the larger one was hidden underneath his shirt.

"Well?" Oh shit, his father had said something, hadn't he?

"W-well what?" John stammered, revealing that he hadn't been listening.

His father smacked him in the back of the head. "I said, are you going to get the hell out of my car or do I have to drag you out by your ears?!"

John quickly exited the car, racing to the back to grab his trunk before his dad could drive off with it.

The very second John had retrieved his stuff and closed up the back, his father peeled out, tires screeching, at twice the speed limit. John watched the car until it disappeared around a corner, hoping karma would take effect and his dad would get pulled over by a nearby cop.

He wasn't.

John sighed and lugged his trunk into the building, bracing himself for whatever further misfortune awaited him.

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The inside of the school was even more pristine and immaculate than the outside, which John hadn't previously thought possible. The shiny, marble floor was made up of a distinctive black and white pattern, which continued down every hallway extending from the entrance.