The Sewing Queen

School Tour

Chapter 11

After Link had visited earlier this week I had arranged to go at have a look around both the school and Heartly design studio. So today I was planning on going to the school, as my school has a teacher training day, so it wouldn't look odd. Mum is dropping me off there after we work on an outfit for next season together. Then Susie is bringing me back at the end of the day. I was a little bit nervous but I couldn't work out why. It's not like it was my first day or anything.

No one really tells you what these fashion schools are like, so my mind is open and my imagination is going mad. There could be all sorts. I will just have to wait and see.

**

As we drove up the long drive way with its manicured lawns and pretty flower beds made up of pink and light purple flowers. Mum was telling me about how she had worked here a few times, running courses on dress making. She was going on and on about how she would have loved coming to a place like this but all I could concentrate on was the building coming into view. The building was more of a small stately home than a school building ypu would expect. It had millions of windows along the front. With a balcony running along the middle of the building. The driveway stopped forming semi-circle gravel car park cross the front with another car parked there.

We parked and I got out saying goodbye. Walking through the double doors, a large wooden desk stood in the middle of the room with two staircases and a door behind it. To the left there were three doors and what looked like school photos from over the years lined the rest of the wall heading towards the one staircase. On the right hand side there was a set of double doors labelled dining room and a trophy case. The room was empty and there was no noise coming from any of the other doors. On the desk there was a big book, a pen and a bell. I pressed the bell lightly and a sound filled the room and was followed by a loud sound of running from above me. Then from down one of the staircases came a little lady in her mid-40's dressed in a long floral dress with no shape what so ever. It made her look at least two sizes bigger than she was.

"Sorry, I didn't know we had any visitors today." she said looking down at her book, "Are you Miss Appleton's goddaughter?"

"Yes, I think so. Susie's goddaughter?"

"Yes but when you are here you must call her Miss Appleton!"

"Yes miss"

"I will go get her" she said turning around and walking into the room behind the desk. Why are school office workers always so grumpy towards kids? If you don't like children, why on earth work at a school!

"Lucie, it's great to see you again! I'm so glad you wanted a tour, " Susie said coming out of the room and giving me some sort of bear hug.

"Right back at you." I said

"Let's get started then, I'm going to give you the tour instead of Ms Smith as I need to talk to you about the scholarship deal for you" she said happily.

"Great. I want to know as much as I can before I make up my mind"

"What! You haven't made up your mind yet! "

"Not yet like I said it is a big decision"

"Alright then let show you the school and make up your mind"

**

This place is bigger than I thought it was going to be. From outside it looked big but inside it was huge. After walking around for an hour, Susie had shown me most of the left hand side of the building, including the gym and indoor swimming pool and most of the class rooms. She explained that I would be in all the same classes as Link, so he would be able to show me around and I wouldn't get lost. As well as all the class rooms I will be in are on the first floor. The right hand side of the building held all the rooms for people who needed to stay here because travelling home was too far away. But everyone that went here was only from England. It's the only fashion based design school in England that doesn't offer an International scholarship, as the owners of the building want to lit to be run how it was originally run. Each student has a room so if they are running behind on work they can stay at school overnight. Girl's rooms were on the third floor and boys were on the second floor to keep it 'clean', Susie had pointed out making speech marks with her fingers. The whole building was amazing and would be perfect for me to learn in, this visit had started to put the idea of going here in reality.

Walking through the gardens Susie started to talk about how they were used for photo shoots of our final pieces bit I was lost in the different plants and sculptures around the different gardens. One was made to look like a tropical garden and there was a tunnel of roses that would make a perfect backdrop for a photo shoot about evening dresses, ones that would be worn on dates as such. There was even a pond that had been made to look like part of a beach with two or three little blue and white striped beach huts.

Susie explained that I would be able to use the indoor and outdoor pools, gym and Jacuzzi whenever I hadn't got a lesson, if I brought the right stuff with me.

**

"How do you like the school?" Susie asked, we were now sat in her office. One of the smaller rooms I had seen all day.

"This place is bigger than I thought it would be and is beautiful."

"Glad you like it. You get used to the size as a bit. Has the tour helped make up your mind?"

"A little bit. I'm sure that I would fit in here perfectly."

"Well you know that if you don't like the job offer, that the scholarship is still more than welcome to have you! "

"Yes, thank you. I will talk with my parents and I am going to have coffee with Mr Heartly and Link tomorrow to talk more about the job offer. He is giving me some details about it then."

"Well I hope it all goes to plan"

"Thank you for the tour and I will see you soon"

"Yes, I think we are meeting up on Saturday"

"Ok, see you then" I said as I got into mums car.

"Bye, Lucie"

"Bye"

"How was it?" mum asked.

"The place is amazing! "

"Are you thinking about taking the place?"

"Yes, I think it would be great!"

"Good, you deserve to be at a school like that!"

"Thanks mum"

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter. More to come in a week as I am away on D of E this week. So the chapter might be quite short but I hope you will enjoy it any way.

Photo on the side is a Stately home to give you a image of what the school would look like ---->

Zo xx