enchanted

chapter ii

present time

rowan

we went to the school on a monday. it was huge, and i mean huge. (ethan made some "that's what she said" jokes when i pointed this out, which surprised absolutely no one. even my mom laughed.) the school was comprised of multiple tall brick buildings with moss growing up the sides, giving it a sort of haunted vibe that really resonated with me. i saw a super tall greenhouse, its glass roof meeting at a sharp point in the sky, and immediately felt drawn in. but the thing that really stood out to me was the forest on the outskirts of the campus. i even saw the others looking at it with just a hint of curiosity. you may be thinking, rowan, they're just trees, what makes them special? and the answer is, i don't know. they just seemed... off to me. i don't know how else to describe it. there was nothing unusual about the trees themselves, nor the fact that there was a forest surrounding an academy in the midwest. i guess it was more of the way all of the trees--at least, the ones i could see--were all just a little bit bent to the right, and they all had this almost too green tint to their leaves. i'd say it was almost artificial if it hadn't been for the squirrels and birds i could very clearly see and hear from the car.

we started getting our things out of my mom's minivan and lugging them toward the main building, which we saw the most people filing into. we caught up, following a stone path worn from decades of use (really puts time and existence into perspective, that i could imagine a student my age walking down this very path a hundred years ago) and followed other students and parents inside.

we got our room information from a blonde, tight-lipped lady with a name tag that read "heather" in a swirly print. we were grateful to their roommate system; ethan was paired with graham and lennox with me (their choice, preferable to a boys' dorm with a stranger).

we went up a lengthy staircase to the second floor and unpacked in our rooms, appreciating the expensive-looking wood furniture, but the view of the parking lot, not so much. the boys got lucky; their room looked over the forest.

according to the schedules we were given, lunch was at 1:00, so we had five minutes to get downstairs to the cafeteria. we made our way through tons of people, young and old alike, into a packed cafeteria lined with tables with actual table runners and centerpieces. seriously, how much fancier could this place get?

we ate a quick lunch of grilled chicken and baked potatoes, and only had one major spill (we told ethan his dr. pepper was too full). then it was time for orientation, where we all gathered in a courtyard and watched in bored silence as a middle aged man with a beard explained the school rules or something. i zoned out, staring at the forest behind him, imagining mothman emerging and attacking the headmaster.

after orientation, we all filed into mine and lennox's room to watch a movie: the imitation game. it was my absolute favourite, about alan turing, played by benedict cumberbatch (or as my mom likes to call him, britishguy cutiepie). turing was the man who invented the computer and basically solved a very vital code, helping win world war ii. (trust me, it's a lot cooler than it sounds.)

i noticed graham was watching very intently, during the end where our dear mr. turing was being prosecuted for being gay (spoiler alert?). he looked a little intimidated, despite having seen this movie a dozen times, and i put a hand on his shoulder. 'okay?' i mouthed, and he nodded, his face reading, what makes you think i wasn't okay? do i look anything but okay to you? so i just shrugged and turned back to the screen.

as it neared midnight, ethan and graham headed to their room and lennox and i got ready for bed as much as we could, having already been in our pajamas.

we eventually fell asleep, me listening to my boygenius playlist and lennox watching buzzfeed unsolved: true crime on their laptop. i dreamed about fairies in the forest.

~~~~~~

graham

i couldn't sleep. not after being reminded of what happened to alan turing. i know that was seventy years ago, but it was still scary. what if i faced homophobia at this school? what about as an adult, getting married? was i going to have to worry about this all my life?

"graham cracker," i heard ethan's sleepy voice from his bed, startling me out of my stupor.

"what?" i no longer paid attention to the nickname he'd given me years ago.

"i can hear you thinking from here. what's wrong?"

"i--"

"come here." he patted his bed, sending a shock through me that i did my best to ignore. i climbed out of my own bed and trod with socked feet to his, sitting cross-legged across from him. "now what's wrong?"

"nothing."

"you hesitated."

"did not!"

ethan gave me a dubious look and i sighed. "fine. it's just..." i reiterated my thoughts to him.

"dude," he breathed when i was finished. "why didn't you tell anyone you were dealing with this shit?"

"i..." i shrugged. "i didn't think it was a big deal."

he stared at me.

"okay, okay. i get it."

he looked like he was trying to think of what to say and failing, so he just gave me a half smile and opened his arms for a hug. i accepted. "i'm sorry you're dealing with this. it's... it's scary, yes, but i think it's all gonna be okay. this isn't something you need to be worrying about. next time, come talk to me. okay?"

my heart promptly melted at this gesture. to be honest, i could've cried. but i swallowed all my thoughts and, god forbid, feelings, and gave him a smile. "thank you," i croaked.

i fell asleep with my head on his shoulder, watching supernatural. i awoke at some point in the night, thoroughly embarrassed, but he looked so comfortable and at peace i didn't want to move, so i didn't. i went back to sleep, and though my arm was folded awkwardly under my body and was tingling, i was the most comfortable i'd been in a while.