When the Sun Dies

EIGHT

That night, it took Scarlett over three hours to find her dorm, get unpacked, shower and get into her bed. By the time she had finished everything, she was drained. She wasn't sure how long she had been awake for but she felt more like a zombie than an actual human being. The second her body slumped onto her bed, she fell asleep.

The next morning Scarlett shot up from her bed and with her hair in a tangled mess, she looked at her clock and realised she had missed her first two classes. Perfect.
A new sense of panic settled in Scarlett and as she ran around her dorm attempting to collect her things it took everything in her to not begin crying. Scarlett knew she wouldn't have time to shower but she also remembered she had showered the night prior so she didn't feel embarrassed for it. In a rush, Scarlett combed out the tangled bits of her thick black hair and tied it into a loose french braid before running back to her bed area and grabbing her backpack. Luckily Scarlett had tried on her uniform and altered the skirt to fit better around her waist the night before and was relieved when she remembered it. As Scarlett looked in her mirror that night she realised with gratitude she wouldn't have to roll her skirt as it already sat well and looked good on her. Scarlett also taught herself how to tie a tie so instead of taking more time to get to class she opted to tie it in the hall as she rushed around her school in search for her class she was already late to.
As Scarlett rushed down the concrete halls of her school, she came to an abrupt halt when she realised she had almost passed her class. She smiled to herself knowing she was actually able to find her classroom without any help from the three people she passed by as she rushed down the halls. Scarlett then took in a long breath and straightened out her skirt before opening the door a little too harshly causing the entire class to turn in her direction. She immediately regretted opening the door like it was going to weigh four hundred pounds but instead of panicking and leaving the room, she attempted to smile and look around the room for her teacher.
Before Scarlett could locate her teacher though, she watched as he came from the shadowed side of the cold room and walked towards her. "You're late. By twenty minutes." He said slowly. Scarlett would have been intimidated by his stern tone but she found herself unable to due to the fact he was almost the same height as her, maybe shorter.
"Um, right, yeah I know. This place is kind of a maze and I slept in."
Almost as soon as Scarlett began speaking it was as though the teacher immediately recognized her as the new student from America and began walking towards his desk. She assumed she needed to follow him so she did, and as she walked towards his desk in the middle of the room, Scarlett couldn't help but look around. Although as her eyes travelled around the room she was quick to regret it. Instead of looking at the old but gorgeous interior of the room, she was instead met with almost every student's gaze turned in her direction. Knowing every alarm in her was being set off due to the amount of people paying attention to her every move, Scarlett turned her gaze back towards her teachers desk where he was piling papers to give to her. After what felt like an eternity, Scarletts teacher, Mr. Sratz, handed her a small but intimidating pile of homework to her and pointed her to a desk to sit in.
By the end of the class Scarlett had a headache and couldn't wait till she could go back to her room and sleep. But just as Scarlett began walking towards the exit of Mr. Scratz's class, her thoughts were interrupted when a girl showed up by her side, quick to start a conversation. "Hi! I'm Violet. You're the American right?" The girl said in an excited tone.
"Good observation. Is there something you need?" Scarlett replied flatly. Just as she replied Scarlett regretted it as she watched the girl's smile fade and as she turned to walk away from her. "Wait– Violet, sorry, that's not what I meant. I'm Scarlett, it's nice meeting you."
Almost immediately Violet's face lit up again. "Sorry for being so up front, I guess it's kind of intimidating coming to a new school a week after classes have already started."
"It's not that bad, I wanted the change so I'm actually kind of happy to be here."

After Scarlett and Violet had exchanged dorm numbers, they waved goodbye to each other and Scarlett set off to find her last class before she would be considered late. Step after step, Scarlett was almost convinced her next class didn't exist as she felt like she had been walking laps around her school. Although as more and more students began to clear from the halls and she heard teachers begin their lessons she lost all hope and felt as if her first day of school couldn't have gone any worse. Just as Scarlett was going to walk back to her dorm and call it a day, she was surprised when she saw Violet walking down the hall towards her without realising it.
Scarlett's expression immediately lit up and she waved to Violet. "Violet, you've got to help me, this place is insane."
Violet laughed and as she got closer to Scarlett, she realised how serious Scarlett was. "It isn't that bad being late on your first day here especially knowing how big this place can seem to people who have never been here before. What class do you have right now? I can walk you there."
"No it definitely is bad seeing that it's only the first day for me and no one else. And yes please, I would pay you to walk me to my next class. Even if you gave me directions I would still probably get lost."
Scarlett wanted to slap herself when it only took her and Violet a few minutes to walk to her next class. And although Violet assured her being late was no big deal, she was still completely and utterly embarrassed of herself. Nevertheless, Scarlett knew she had to go to class and waved bye to Violet. Just as Scarlett was about to walk into her next class she turned around when she heard Violet's voice. "If you don't have anyone else to hang out with you could come to my dorm after classes and I could introduce you to a friend of mine." Violet said with an unknown tone lingering in her voice.
Scarlett was quick to catch on and immediately shut it down. "Violet, you are not introducing me to a boy."
Violet gave her a thumbs up before walking away and once Scarlett was sure Violet wasn't going to turn back around again she held her breath and slowly opened the door to her class. When Scarlett was shown to her teachers desk again for another stack of papers, she took it upon herself to look around the classroom. Again. Unlike her last class there were only a few people watching her. She noticed a small group of girls whispering while watching her, a boy near the back of the class with dirty blonde hair and eyes like ice, surrounded by girls talking to him, and another group of girls staring and whispering.
Scarlett made a mental note of the girls whispering knowing she wanted nothing to do with their group—the judgemental ones. As Scarlett grabbed the stack of papers, she looked around the room for a spot to sit and with only two desks left she opted for the desk behind the boy with eyes made of pure ice.