Blue Skies Academy

Chapter 3

The morning was but a mere breeze in my brain. I was now with April, walking to campus. It's only a few minutes' walk, but it's more than enough time for me to start overthinking the situation.

"I know it's a big step for you since you've been homeschooled your whole life, but let me tell you, most people here are nice!" She says.

But I'm now fully zoned out. I completely forgot about the whole "new identity" thing and rather started focusing on trying not to embarrass myself. We reach campus, and I snap back to reality, eyes widening. The building is huge, to say the least.

"Yeah, our school does tend to have that effect on newcomers. It used to be a castle for a bitter, old duke. But that was a long, long while ago, back in the XVII-th century. Since then, the building was left to degrade until M. Bouchier, an ancestor of the LaRoche family and the founder of Blue Skies, came along and apparently saw the few rocks that marked the remains of the old castle fit for a new school. But oh well, he's an inventive man, after all. We should be the first ones to arrive, so it's easier to give you a tour without struggling to navigate through the busy hallways." She gives a giddy smile. "Let's go!"

I still don't know why April thought anyone would ever struggle to pass through the hallways: they are ginormous! Everything about this school is ginormous. I don't know if it's to rub it in anyone's face that they're rich, but it's definitely denouncing the amount of riches put into the project. As April keeps talking, her voice echoes in the empty building. It gives a certain mystery to the place, as if it were enchanted. The tour takes more than I anticipated, and cars slowly start to pull up in the driveway.

"Alright, well, one last thing you should know is to never, ever venture in the left wing of the school. It's reserved for superiors, and the consequences for the people that go there are generally, I mean literally, really grave."

"Thank you, April. Really. You've been of great help."

"Of course! Now, I checked your schedule, and we have most classes together. The first one starts at 9 pm and it's sociology. It's just down that hall," she says, pointing to some other, huge, never-ending corridor.

We walk towards our class, but I stop in my tracks.
"April, do you mind if I just go to the bathroom real quick?"

She giggles a bit before pointing to a pair of doors right next to our class'. Once inside, I sigh aloud. Just what have I gotten myself into? No. I wasn't going to let myself spiral down that route. Come on, Kamari, you've always wanted your life to be exciting, even if that means going from your boring one to hunting down an assailant in the middle of some school-castle overnight. It's fine. I straighten the tie of my uniform and run a hand along the soft material of the navy waistcoat. Of course the uniform had to be blue. The puff sleeves of the white shirt peek out from underneath. I dust off the invisible debris on my straight fit pants and throw myself one last look in the mirror. While I look as rich as I can, the uneasiness on my face makes me stick out like a sore thumb. I'll blame it on being introverted. Walking back outside, where April is waiting for me, I see her talking to another girl.

"Kamari! There you are!" April exclaims.
I walk over to her, a bit anxious.
"This is Sarah, my bestest friend!" she laughs at the girl under her arm.

Sarah has a soft presence about her, one that is much more tame than her friend's. "Hey, it's nice meeting you." She has a warm smile, the few strands of light brown hair dropping over her face adding to the charm. We shake hands.
"I've heard so much about you. You're the talk of the school."

"Yeah, seems like it..." I smile awkwardly. I start twisting the elastic on my wrist. I didn't expect to be introduced to someone right as I got out of the bathroom. But as I look around, I see that people have started flooding the hallways. It's a good thing April and I came earlier.