The first thing Maija noticed as she passed the ivory gates leading to Hillerska was how overdressed all of the people were, or perhaps how underdressed she was. She'd learned from six years of experience that you could almost never go wrong with a pair of jeans and a hoodie, yet all of that seemed to be a lie as she got nearer to the school.
She sits there, still, as she tries not to scratch the tattoo her mother hated so much. It had been a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing, since they'd gotten into an argument and she wanted to spite her one last time before leaving for Hillerska. Astrid was hoping that spending enough time around the right people would slap some manners into her daughter, but everyone who knew Maija knew that that wasn't likely to happen. It may have worked with Kolina, to a certain extent, and it worked with Ljung, but they weren't her and she wasn't them, so why should that matter?
It didn't. Not to Maija, at least. It mattered to her mother, and it mattered to her father, but to people outside of her family it wasn't all that big of a deal. Both of her parents were known for blowing things way out of proportion, so obviously this wouldn't be much different.
The car pulls nearer to the school. Astrid says nothing, while Karl leans in for an awkward side hug that has them both in stitches - he's where Maija got her habit of laughing in tense situations - and gives her a brief lecture on safety. Ljung sprints over to her, yanking her into a hug.
Her long blonde hair is trailing down her back as they both talk about everything that's happened in the past year since Ljung was dumped here after her parents' divorce. Her deep blue eyes captivate Maija just like they had when they just sat next to each other in history, hardly saying anything other than the standard 'hi' and 'how are you', but looking back on it, it's hard to believe that Maija didn't feel that way about her.
Ljung greets Astrid and Karl, shaking their hands with a sweet smile. Her and Karl briefly hold conversation about work and classes and all of the other shit people discuss when engaging in small talk.
They wait until Astrid and Karl drive away, Ljung holding one of Maija's bags. She's shifting it between her hands, watching as they leave before turning and walking into the ivory building.
Students push past them, rubbing their shoulders for a brief second before walking off. She tries to peer over the sea of people, but to no avail.
As they walk up the stairs, a lanky ravenette with greenish-blue eyes stops Ljung. His eyes pan over to Maija's, before turning back and asking something that she didn't even bother to listen to. They talk for about five minutes, the occasional joke thrown in, until Ljung cuts him off with the excuse that he needs to show Maija to her dorm.
"OK," he's talking softly, like he doesn't want anyone other than Ljung to hear him, even though it's literally just two letters pressed together to form a word. Sure, in some situations, this would be scandalous, but this wasn't one of those.
The corridor drags on for what feels like an eternity, before finally reaching Maija's room. The golden numbers in the door read 402, glinting as the lights from the hall bounced off of them.
"I think I'll need to sleep for a decade after that staircase alone." Maija flops onto the bed as soon as the door is open, and Ljung places the key on her desk.
"Don't you dare lose that." She motions toward the key, eyebrows raised with a stern look on their face.
"Sir, yes sir." She follows with an exaggerated salute, making Ljung snort and roll her eyes.
The silence is deafening. Ljung leans on the desk, her long-discarded shoes thrown haphazardly across the room. Maija sits up, legs crossed with her elbows on her knees.
"Does she still make you wear that stupid cross?" Ljung's tone is slightly colder, and she watches as Maija pulls it out from beneath her shirt, swinging it back and forth like a pendulum.
"What kind of question is that, she's Astrid fucking Sentzke." The tone is still humorous despite the tense atmosphere.
"You should get rid of it, I haven't seen you go to church since you were fourteen."
There's a knock on the door. Ljung goes to answer it, and she's greeted by a brunette who's about the same height as Maija with bulging eyes.
"Dinner's in a bit."
And then she walks off.
"Who was that?"
"Sara, she's one of the non-boarders here. You'll probably see her around pretty often."
"Oh, OK."
The hall is packed and loud. Kids are slamming their fists on the table, pointing and laughing. The boy from earlier's sat down, grinning and laughing. Ljung loops her arms with Maija's, dragging her over to him so they could fill the seats on either side of him.
He spots them, a wide grin spreading as he waves politely. He pats the seat next to him, and Ljung takes it, resting her elbow on the table and propping her chin up with her left hand. Her voice goes higher, making Maija cringe inwardly. A blond boy is sat opposite her on his phone, and he seems to pick up on Ljung's tone as his eyebrows are furrowed and his teeth are bared. He makes brief eye contact with Maija, before panning his gaze back to his phone.
The food was mediocre. The kind of thing that would be great in the moment, but you'd forget about it after an hour or two. The black-haired boy doesn't touch his. He just prods at it with a fork while chewing the same bit of chicken and then scoops it into a bin as soon as dinner's over.
She catches up to him after the meal. Ljung had gone to a friend's dorm to hang out so she was mostly on her own and had nothing to do.
She pokes his shoulder, and he turns to face her, his eyes wide and lips slightly parted. He catches sight of her, stuffing his hands in his trouser pockets.
"You're Ljung's friend, right? Maija, I think."
"Yep, that's me. You?"
He looks at her, a confused smirk on his face.
"Your name?"
"Oh. August."
He extends his hand for her to shake, and she takes it. His hands are so fucking cold. It's like shaking Elsa from Frozen's hand, not like she knows how that feels, but it's the most accurate comparison she can think of at the moment.
They stand there in the middle of the hallway, shaking hands, until Maija pulls her hand away. They walk together in silence, her hands stuffed in her pockets while he walks with his clasped in front of him. The silence follows them, and Maija can feel his eyes on her. He's probably wondering why she walks the way she does, why she's slouched, why she's got her hands in her pockets, why she looks so tired, and all the other flaws Maija would notice if she were walking in his shoes at that moment. Or he's just weirdly interested in the cross hanging around her neck. But she's leaning toward the first option.
Maija half-expected it to be louder, and that there would be more people other than her and August. She wonders if he noticed, as well as if he minds. It doesn't look like he does, but for all she knows he could be internally talking shit about her. She's just hoping he's not.
"There's, uh, there's going to be a party on Friday you can come. Of course you don't have to, but I've heard a lot about you from Ljung." He's being awkward again. It makes her wonder what type of things Ljung has told him. He's looking at her, and he looks like he's trying to remain straight-faced. "I can try, but I probably won't stay for very long. Sorry." "That's no problem." He's facing her now, a grin across his face.
Eventually they go their separate ways. He heads off to Forest Ridge, she stays in Manor House. There's a warm feeling in her stomach that she can't name, and she wants it to go, but at the same time she doesn't. It's weird, but it's nice.
