𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐬

1

Noah grabbed his briefcase and threw it in the trunk before jumping in the passenger seat of his mothers' green ford. He fidgeted with the bandages around his knuckles as his mother tampered angrily with the radio. Then she reversed from the driveway and they were off.

The sun infiltrated through the windows and made dust billow and sparkle in the air. Meanwhile, Noah stared out the window, transfixed on the little colourful shops that passed them by. This was the last he'd see of the village until early July.

It was now the first of September, and he was off to boarding school in Dublin. He had only been to Dublin a few times when he was young, and although he didn't remember much, he always heard it was far more industrial than his small village in Galway.

The unpleasant truth for which he was leaving hung in the dead air between him and his mother. The car journey stretched endlessly and neither one of them said a single word until his mother sighed,

"I just don't understand what convinced you to do it."

Noah glanced up at his mother, but her eyes were transfixed on the road ahead of her like two green daggers.

He knew better than to speak. They had been over this already, and all it did was cause conflict between the two. In her eyes, punching someone is never justified, even more so if it tampers with her sons' future prospects.

What she didn't know, and perhaps never will, was her sons' true intentions. She could lecture him, punish him in the worst ways imaginable for all he cared, but she could never know why he did it, and that he was adamant about.

The hours whizzed by, and the rolling hills of green soon subsided to grey as they etched closer to the city centre. It wasn't until his mother reached the large, steel gates that were embellished with swirling designs and the school crest, that his nerves began to creep in.

His mother drove through them and up a long, dusty passage to the school. Topiary Spirals and hedges lined either side of the path and separated it from the long stretches of lawn.

The whole place seemed incredibly posh and sterile to Noah. It had a breath of prestige and importance. As large Sycamores shaded his view of the school, he wondered what it looked like, and more importantly, what the people there were like.

    ***

The school was large, with what looked like turrets emerging from either side of the Ecclesiastical-like building, which wrapped around in a 'U' shape.

Students dressed in navy blazers and pants with thin, black pinstripes roamed the campus, chatting under archways, or walking along gravel paths in cliques. Everything had a polished look about it, from the students to the building itself.

Noah opened the door, grabbed his briefcase from the boot and made his way inside to the receptionist, who led them to the principal. They were met by a slender-looking man in his late thirties with short, brown hair which was gelled tightly to his scalp.

"Please come in."

Noah couldn't help but notice his obnoxiously large, pink lips as he ran him through the exhaustive list of rules and policies before giving him his timetable and uniform.

"Thank you." Said Noah before getting up to leave.

"Oh, and your dorm keys. You'll be staying in Adam's room. I assure that you will get on excellently with him. He's always sets a good example for newcomers like yourself."

He continued. "Take a right when you leave the office and you should find a narrow hallway on the right-hand side. Your dorm should be a couple doors from there. Get your belongings sorted out in the meanwhile. I've requested Adam to show you around in half an hour."

Noah nodded, and he and his mother left the principal's office. For the first time since they had left, his mother looked at him with sympathetic eyes and pulled him into a warm embrace.

"Be good." She said, with two hands planted firmly on her sons shoulders.

He quickly brushed off his mothers concern, and assured her that he would be fine. His mother gave him a quick peck on his forehead before rushing back to the car and heading off.