Song of Sirens

Chapter 1

I button the front of my jacket up as I step out of the cab, the breeze rustling my shoulder length brown hair. My feet hit the ground and I'm instantly colder. I walk around to the back of the car and open it, pulling my rucksack, suitcase and duffel bag out and setting them on the pavement just before the cab drives off.

Standing on the sidewalk, I stare up at the old building. It was huge, a giant old manor house. My new school. Other buildings stood around the central building. All a cream coloured wood on the outside, with red roofing tiles, doors and window ledges. The railings along the patios and lining the stairs were a dull black, but the colours combined nicely.

At least it looks welcoming.

I walk up to the central building with my luggage and through the front door, looking around. The interior was just as beautiful as the outside, with green paisley wallpaper, cream skirting boards and polished dark wooden floors. A huge desk blocked off one half of the room and I walked over, looking over it at a small, petite woman in a black blazer and pencil skirt, her feet tucked under her desk.

"Can I help you, dear?" Her voice is soft almost, yet high-pitched with a slight Irish accent.

"Hi, I just came to find out what room I'm in. My name is Olive Westlin, I'm new." My voice, with is country accent seems out of place next to her perfect one.

"Westlin, did you say?" She peers at me over maroon framed glasses and I nod with a small smile. Her thin fingers tap rapidly at her keyboard and then to the wall next to her. The woman grabs a small bronze key with a purple tag on it off the wall and hands it to me. "House 4, Room 3. Can you find your way, or would you like me to call someone to show you the way?"

I hear footsteps approaching from behind me and turn slightly to meet the gaze of icy blue eyes locked on mine, before quickly looking down. "No need to call anyone, I'll show her the way Miss Cader."

She nods and returns to her computer screen and turn to face the stranger. His hair is light brown, almost blonde, and cut not quite short, but it sits nicely with his strong jawline. He wears a pair of faded skinny jeans, a white t-shirt and a black jacket with a pair of old faded sneakers. He smiles suddenly at me. "I'm Nathan. It's lovely to meet you." He offers his hand.

I take it, his warmth seeping into me. "I'm Olive."

He smiles again, and its captivating. I have to look away. "Did she say house 4?" I nod slightly. "I can show you the way, lets go."

He picks up my duffel bag and grabs my suitcase handle. "I can take those, you don't need to carry my luggage."

"But I'm being a gentleman." He beams at me with his British accent and decide to let him. What's the worst that can happen?

I follow him out the door, tucking my wavy hair behind my ear. Outside the grass is pale green, and the few trees are almost leafless. The wind is cold and the scent of pine needles drifts through the air.

"So, why did you move here Olive? It's incredibly cold," Nathan turns and smiles at me he speaks and I stare at the ground.

That is the question I was avoiding.

"My mother went here and I wasn't happy at my old school. So I decided to just move countries." My reply was rehearsed, I'd said it a million times in anticipation.

"Surely your old school can't possible have been so terrible you had to move countries." A chuckle underlies Nathan's reply and I smile a little.

"It was a good school, it was just a particular person in it," my reply is quiet in the cold air.