Rosewood School for Boys

Chapter 1 - Arrival

If you're reading this thanks you so much for giving my story a go and I hope you enjoy it. Don't be afraid to comment!

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As my battered converse touch down on the gravel driveway I take a deep breath in an attempt to calm my nerves.

The taxi driver pulls my little suitcase out of the boot and hands it to me with a smile before climbing back in the cab and driving away.

I'm left standing in front of one of the most intimidating buildings I've ever seen.

The main building of Rosewood school is a large red-brick manor surrounded by 300 acres of land that radiate generational wealth and prestige. Bathing in the late afternoon light, the stone plaque above the entrance bearing the names of old students stood out clearly to me as a reminder that I did not belong here.

 This was the kind of school that was built on tradition, that educated only the richest or the most powerful boys, the kind of school for people with double barrelled surnames and three holiday homes to choose from. The kind of boys who were raised by an array of staff and had never heard the word 'No' in their lives. I was a puny orphan girl with no friends, half an education, and barely enough money to pay for the taxi journey from the train station. Not exactly the usual clientele but I'm praying the fresh start will help me fit in among the other new girls.

The school was founded in basically prehistoric times by an old king of England or something. I hadn't done much research, as soon as I saw 'prestigious institution' and 'scholarship' on the letter I was sold. I had briefly searched the website in the taxi on the way here, underneath the battered glass of my phone the alumni list was very impressive. I looked like every CEO or oil baron had sent a son here to follow in their footsteps.

It was only because of the scholarship and financial aid I received that I was even standing here right now. Otherwise I would still be sharing a room with two other girls in the home and going to school in the run down little state school nearby with graffiti in the bathrooms and gum under every table.

I suck in a breath, flick my auburn hair over my shoulder and clutch the handle of my suitcase tighter before striding toward the door with as much false confidence as I could muster.

The heavy wood requires a hard shove to convince it to open. The floor beyond is made of scuffed but impeccably polished tiles; there's an impression in the middle of the floor where millions of footsteps had worn it down over the thousands of years the building had been around.

To the right there is a reception desk with a bored looking secretary tapping away at her computer. I stand in front of the desk and clear my throat, nervously tapping my fingers against the tip of my thumb. The secretary sighs and reluctantly turns to face me as though I'm a bothersome distraction pulling her away from something incredibly important and not just her computer.

"Yes?" She asks impatiently.

"I'm the new student, I was told to come here to collect my schedule and uniform?"

She reaches into a draw to her left and pulls out some papers and a brown paper-wrapped package which I assume is my uniform.

"Your dorm number is on the schedule and your roommate is already set up because we've already had 3 weeks of term."

She gives me a pointed look as though its my fault I was asked to enrol later.

"You've missed dinner but breakfast is at 8:30 sharp, don't be late." She turns back to her work and ignores me when I thank her.

Rude.

I pull out a map from the stack of papers and begin navigating my way to the dorms. Unsurprisingly, the campus is huge, comprised of buildings so old they could be in a museum and ancient-looking walkways with ceilings so high an elephant cold probably fit through them. I'm so distracted by the majestic architecture that I forget to look where I'm going and walk straight into a brick wall, landing on my butt and dropping all my papers. I groan and mutter a curse under my breath, rubbing my ass while I start gathering them up.