Marked

Chapter One: Ariel's Point of Veiw

"Yes, Daddy. I'm here. The limo's just pulling up now!" I told my dad, and pressed a button on my iPhone. I slid it into my purse as my ride pulled up to Millington Academy, the most prestigious boarding school in the world. "Wow", I gasped as I stepped out of my limo. All my stuff had arrived the day before. 

The building was massive! So, it was used for dorms and the class rooms. It looked like a castle straight out of a fairy tale. Well, if fairy tale castles had walls covered in moss and broken torrents.  

I walked up to the building, but was unable to open the door. I had resorted to leaning all my weight on it, when a tall, pale, dirty blonde guy opened it for me. I'm not going to lie, he's kind of cute. 

"Thanks," I said, and walked inside to a large, half circle desk. At it sat a young woman. 

"Name?" she asked. 

"Ariel Meadows." 

The desk lady handed me a key. 

"You're room 513 with Gladys Leebig. Your stuff and schedule are on your bed." 

"Thanks!" I walked quickly away from the desk but then turned around and went back. "Um, how exactly do you get to room 513?" 

Someone tapped me on the shoulder just as the desk clerk was about to answer me. I swirled around to see the cute guy that opened the door for me. One of his hands was hovering over my shoulder, and the other was plunged deep into his hoodie pocket.  

"I know how to get to room 513," he told me. "It's across the hall from my room. I'll show you there. My name's Tyler, by the way." 

I could feel my cheeks getting warm and hoped they weren't too red. "Thanks. I'm--" 

"Ariel, I know," he replied right away. I looked at him, confused. Not to mention, really weirded out. "I heard you check in." 

I didn't respond, so we walked over to a round glass elevator and got inside in silence. Tyler pressed the button for the fifth floor. 

"I couldn't help but notice your accent," Tyler noted. "What part of England are you from?" 

"Liverpool," I replied. 

The elevator came to the fifth floor and we stepped out. 

"That's cool," Tyler said, taking his hands out of his pockets. "I've been there." 

"Really?" 

"Yep." He turned to face me. He made a gesture to a door. "Your room, my lady." 

I tried to curtsy, but ended up tripping over my heels. My cheeks turned even redder. 

"Thanks for showing me to my room." 

"You're welcome." 

I unlocked the door to my room and began to open the door when Tyler grabbed my arm. 

"Want to get a coffee sometime?" he asked me. "You know, to get to know each other better." 

"Sure," I agreed. 

"Cool. Meet me at Star Bucks tomorrow after class. It's right down the street." 

"Okay." 

"Bye Ariel. See you tomorrow." 

"Bye." 

I turned around, closed my door, and got a good look at my room. There was a window, two beds, two dressers, and light purple walls. One half of the room, however, the purple-ness of the walls was not visible, since they were covered in posters of ravens, Black Veil Brides, and old horror movies. 

On that half of the room, a girl with shoulder length black hair sat cross-legged on the bed. She was surrounded by maroon candles and was either staring right at me or right through me. 

"Greetings," she said. "My name is Gladys." 

Trying to sound as perky-- and not creeped out-- as possible, I replied, "Hi! I'm your roommate, --" 

"Ariel. I know." 

"Did I miss the, 'Everyone at this school must be psychic' memo?" 

"Your sarcasm has been noted." Gladys closed her eyes as if she were frustrated and continued talking. "When you were talking to Tyler, he said, 'Bye, Ariel', and I figured he wouldn't call you that if it isn't your name." I walked to my bed and began unpacking. Gladys opened her eyes again. 

"Be careful around him." 

"What?" I asked. 

"Be careful around Tyler. It's obvious you like him, and I just want to warn you." 

"First," I began, "I don't like him. I just think he's kind of cute. Second, don't you think 'Be wary of the hunk!' is a bit too cliche? I bet you just want him for yourself." 

But I never got an answer. Instead, Gladys just began to meditate. 

"Ummm. Ummm. Ummm..." 

"Freak," I whispered. 

"I heard that," Gladys replied, and resumed her meditation.