The End is Only the Beginning

(x: Old Version) 2: This Jacket is Lucky I Swear

{I didn't have time to draw a photo for this chapter but my little sister did so earlier this week! Here is her drawing of Cheyenne! :)}

Cheyenne Huntsman- September 8th

The enormous charmitorium was already packed with students and smelled of split pea soup from the nearby castleteria. It was a familiar and welcoming smell to me.

I wasn't sure where to sit, so I followed my brother Ashton towards the front. He shrugged at me then sat in one of the rows, so I took a seat in the row in front of him, praying someone I knew would appear soon.

With nothing else to do, I gazed around the room at all the kids already here. Nobody looked even slightly familiar except for Cali White, the daughter of Apple White, a good friend of my mom's. An average-height girl with pink hair and wings and the girl she was talking to with long, perfect blond curls and a big blue bow reminded me of two people I'd seen in my parents' yearbook.

Cali was rushing around and talking to just about everyone as if she'd known them her whole life. I waited for her to notice me, but wondered if she would with my hood up. I was wearing the jacket my mom had given me last night for good luck that had been my dad's in high school. It was really comfortable, despite being big.

When Cali moved on to talk to a girl in the second row with low-hanging wavy blond pigtails and a cat ear headband, I gave up waiting and turned to my brother behind me. "See anyone you know?" I asked him.

Ashton was too busy drumming the side of his chair with two pencils he'd found in his backpack to hear what I said. "What'd you say?" He shouted, turning towards me and hitting the pencils on the top of my head instead.

"Ow!" I yelled, snatching the pencils away.

"Hey, what gives?"

"That's my head."

"Yes, and it's hollow and makes a good sound."

"I've never known anyone stupider than you in my life."

"Thank you."

Just then, someone I recognized finally appeared at the entrance. Shea, Bryce and Hayden Hood stood with two other boys and three other girls I didn't know. Shea noticed me and had the three girls follow her over here. One had pretty purple eyes and was wearing headphones, another had long brown hair with white streaks and a little silver tiara, and the third had dark hair and was wearing a camera hanging by a strap around her neck.

Once my brother noticed Shea on her way over here, he jumped up and dashed away, going over to talk to her brother Bryce, his best friend.

"Cheyenne! Hey!" Shea exclaimed, stepping into my row and giving me a hug. She turned to the side to introduce me to the other girls. "This is my cousin Cherry, and her cousins Taylor and Aria."

Cherry, the one with the brown and white hair and silver tiara, smiled kindly and then excused herself. She moved over by Cali, who noticed her right away and squealed with excitement.

"Wow, it feels like forever since I saw you in person!" Shea said. She sat next to me, and Aria and Taylor sat down to the other side of her. Taylor stared at the screen of her MirrorPad, but Aria turned toward us.

"Hey, I love your hair," Aria complimented me on my naturally wavy honey-blond hair, peeking out from under the brown hood of my jacket.

"Thanks! That a cool outfit," I responded, motioning to dark red tee shirt, chunky black necklace and light blue jeans that matched her eye color.

"Thanks! So do you think this is when we get our schedules and dorm information?" She said, striking up a conversation.

"I hope so. I hope I get a cool roommate. I will die if they stick me with Hayden," Shea sighed. Shea's slightly older sister Hayden, who I'd once been as equally close to as I was to Shea, had started to ignore and despise the two of us somewhere between fifth and sixth grade, like we were no longer cool enough for her to hang out with.

"Cute boy alert," I whispered, spotting and nodding toward a blond boy with perfect hair and sparkly green eyes who was standing next to a girl, presumably his twin sister, by the door.

"He's pretty good looking," Aria approved.

"Oh, what about that one over there? His name's Colton. My friend Tara is good friends with his sister," Shea said, pointing to a boy with dark brown hair and bluish-hazel eyes.

"Attention, new students of Ever After High! I'm Queen Darling Charming, your principal," a pretty, young-looking lady with platinum blond hair said into the microphone on the stage.

"That's my mom," Aria whispered.

We all turned our attention to the principal.

"When I call your name, please come to the front to accept your dorm assignments and schedule from Ms. Blanc, our assistant principal," Principal Charming announced.

She began to call us up in alphabetical order.

"Cheyenne Huntsman," they called, and I rose and stepped around Shea, Aria and Taylor to get out of the row.

Ms. Blanc handed me a yellow envelope with my name on it in bold black printing. I politely waited to open it until I sat back down. Once seated again I ripped open the top, excited to see who my roommate would be.

"No way, Shea, we're roommates!" I said, showing her the paper. Her name was called two names after mine so she quickly looked, smiled wide and then exited the row to get her own envelope.

When everyone had received their envelopes finally, Principal Charming announced that lunch would be at 1:15 and that we were excused for the rest of the day and tomorrow to settle in.

We said goodbye to Aria (and Taylor, but I'm not sure she even heard us because she didn't say anything back and didn't make any eye contact) and then I turned to Shea. "Come on," I said, "let's go see our new dorm!"