habits of my heart

1

Lake Field Boarding School.

My mothers job required her to travel a lot, so she decided to leave me behind and enrol me at Lake Field. It was situated in the middle of a massive forest, also known as, the middle of no where. But my mother didn't care, who cares about her daughter, right?

It was cold when my mother left me at the boarding school, my pale fingers wrapped around my suit case as I began walking down a gravel pathway in the direction of the reception. I wonder if the weather is always cold here, I hope not, if I get any more pale I will be invisible. Puffs of smoke leave my mouth as I finally reach the receptions door, a little bell indicated that I had entered the small office.

"hello!" I heard an overly energetic voice to my left, my head snaps in the direction of the voice and I see a chubby middle aged women grinning at me. "hi." I smile and walk over to her desk. "I'm.." I begin to introduce myself but I get cut off. "Maddison Rose." she smiles and stands up. "you're the new student. welcome." she says and walks to the printer at the back of the room. "yeah, do you know.." I get cut off again "I know everything sweetie" she laughs as I get slightly irritated at her overly perky attitude. "your dorm room is number 84, here are your keys." she hands me the metal object before continuing. "I have printed out the map of the campus, but if you get lost just stop by and I will be sure to help you. Your schedule is stapled to the map, classes start at nine every morning and the cafeteria opens at 7.30." I nod trying to remember the information she had just told me. "follow me." I hear her say before  she walks out of the room.

Her boots make a loud sound as she walks down a hall with a lot of doors. "I'm sure you will make your self at home, but please do not leave the campus without checking out." she continues to give me all the rules as I try and remember the way to my dorm. Her boots skid to a halt and I almost crash into her knitted sweater. "here we go, if you have any further questions be sure to ask." she smiles and walks away. I hear the sound of her boots getting further away as I look at the wooden door in front of me, I guess I can call it home from now on.

the smell of wood invades my senses as I enter my room and I immediately move across the small space to open the window, I would rather deal with the cold than that intoxicating smell. The view from the window is amazing, the forest looks like a painting. I turn to look at my new room, there is a desk, a bed and a wooden cupboard. nothing spectacular. I place the map on my desk and start packing my clothes in the wardrobe. There is a full body mirror on the door of the cupboard and I cringe as I unexpectedly see myself.

My dark hair is messy as it falls down to my lower back, the dark circles under my eyes looks a lot worse due to my pale skin. I sigh as I close the wardrobe and kick my suit case under my bed. I walk over and grab my lip gloss and wet my cracked lips, its going to be a long year.

A knock on my door startles me and I walk over to see the mystery person. "hi, I'm Cara. I live right across the hall, so I thought I should introduce myself to the new student." she smiles. Unlike me, she looks like she just came from the salon, her blond curls fall in waves and it reaches her collarbones. "I'm Maddi." I smile. "Well, Maddi, if you have any questions just ask, I'm right across the hall." She says and steps across the hall to her room. "will do, um, could I actually ask you one right now?" I say and she nods "um, where are the bathrooms? " I ask and she laughs.

"I will walk you there" she says and closes her door. I'm relieved she was so willing to help me, "so, Maddi, what is your secret?" she asks and my breath hitches "wh-what?" I say and she laughs "your hair, its so long and thick! I'm totally jealous." she clarifies. "not much of a secret, just shampoo and conditioner." I reply. "well, you should stop by my dorm sometime, I would love to curl your hair for you." she smiles and I like her already.

Shortly after I am finished in the restrooms she offers to walk me to the cafeteria. Our conversation flows and before I realise it, we are walking into the massive dinning hall. "how is the food here?" I ask . "heavenly, but I love all food so you shouldn't ask me." she laughs.

We choose to sit close to the heater, the dinning hall fills up and the giant clock on the wall states its almost time for supper. "shit, its the McClan brothers" Cara whispers and the dinning hall falls silent. I turn to see what silenced the massive crowd of students, my jaw drops as I see the three males that enter the room. The one that catches my eye the most, is one on the end. He has long brown hair that sweeps across his forehead and his chizzled jaw looks like it could kill someone. His eyes were intense as he looked for a place to sit, his eyes reminded my of emeralds, the greenest emeralds one could find.

"Earth to maddi!" I hear Cara yell. "pardon?" I turn and stare at a laughing Cara. "I see you have spotted the McClans " she smiles. "why did everyone go silent when the entered?" I ask and Cara takes a breath "they are like, the most wanted boys in the school, I mean, look at them!" she says. "the one with black hair is Jason McClan, also known as the oldest McClan." she says "the one in the middle with short brown hair is Liam McClan. I have had a crush on him since freshman year." she gushes.

"and the one on the end?" I ask. "He is Carter McClan. also know as 'off limits' " she laughs before continuing. "Darcy over there" she points to the table close to the window, five girls sit around the table, all of them are blond. "which one is she ?" I ask. and she explains that she is the one with the 'fakest boobs' and pink fluffy boots. I'm guessing she doesn't like Darcy. "she has been after him for ages, any one who even looks at Carter gets put down in her black book." Cara rolls her eyes, "he is in our year" she smiles and waves over a group of people who, I'm guessing, are her friends.

"Maddi, this is Noah, Ryan, Lisa and Megan." she introduces us as they sit down. A chorus of greetings chime through our table. "so, your new, yeah?" A guy with ginger hair asks and I nod. "I'm Ryan." he smiles before putting his arm over Lisa's shoulders.

Throughout supper our conversation never dies and I find myself laughing at Noah's well thought out jokes, the group seems great. whilst chuckling to myself I stand up to throw away my left overs, the journey to the bin is short but on my way back I bump into a hard surface. "s-sorry." I stutter, "no problem babe, you alright?" A raspy voice says making me gasp and look at the owner of such a raspy voice. My eyes lock with the intense green orbs I saw before. "I'm Carter." he grins, showing me his perfect straight teeth.