My Mob Wedding

Chapter 17 - Welcome To Rainbrook Academy

I'm not sure what it is about this school, but there's something about it that's so specifically me.

Tan bricks line the walls and dance up into arches to separate each corridor. White tiles reliably pave the way to just about wherever someone could want to go. Glass panes fit into the walls in the most creative and artistic ways that I would have never even thought of.

I stand there for a moment, awestruck at the beauty before me.

"Woah," I sigh.

"You like it?" Colton asks, chuckling a bit at the amazement in my voice.

"Uh huh," I say, still taking in my surroundings.

The bell chimes and although we are in somewhat of a lobby, a door on the left opens. Girls and guys alike stream from the gaping door. I notice at once that this is a school with uniforms. Girls seem to have a navy skirt paired with a light blue polo. Boys have a matching color scheme with navy dress pants and a light blue polo. Both genders occasionally adorn their polos with a navy crew-neck sweater. It's uniformy, but still somewhat cute at the same time. This only furthers my liking of the school: I'll always have my outfit picked out nights, even weeks in advance.

As soon as the stream dies down into sputters of students, Colton places his hand on my lower back and guides me to what I assume will become the office.

He must be known by some of the people here because several different people openly gape at him. Colton doesn't seem too put out by it though, because he just marches further inward to the office.

We stop outside what is indeed the office and he turns to me.

"Are you sure this is where you want to go? The people who go here can be a little, uh, judgy," he explains, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm pretty sure being outcasted at a public school can't be much worse," I tell him, remembering the many painful examples public school has offered me through the years.

"You'd be surprised," he mutters, seemingly recounting his own horrors.

I tilt my head at him. "Did you go here?"

He nods. "For my senior year only. We moved around a lot, but this is where we finally ended up."

"So they know you here? Like the staff and everything?"

He chuckles. "I would be surprised if they forgot me."

And boy, was he right. The secretaries' reactions as soon as he enters the office say it all. It is clear he spent a considerable amount of time here back in his day.

He saunters over to the secretary with the larger desk and smirks at her.

"Colton Black," she says, about 30% amazement and 70% horror.

I follow him, but stand a few feet back.

"Well I thought we were lucky enough to be done with your shenanigans. What are you doing back here?" she asks, not even bothering to put up the fakey fake secretary persona she probably uses on any other enterer of the office.

"Well, Doris. I have a new student I'd like to enroll," Colton says, the smirk seeping into his voice. He reaches his arm back and whisks me to the counter. "Doris, meet Diana. Diana, Doris."

"Who are you and what are you doing with him?" Doris asks.

I don't quite have an answer to that, but luckily enough, Colton answers for me.

"She's simply a special friend of mine who wants to be schooled at this fine institution of yours."

Special friend. Nice one.

"Well Miss Special Friend Diana, I would watch yourself. This one here is not one you want to get involved with," Doris tells me. If she's joking, no hint of that joke bleeds through into her voice.

I've gotten warning after warning and the guy's involved with an actual gang, but honestly, I have had no reason to doubt my safety around Colton. Although I hate to admit it, he's been a pretty decent guy so far. That is, aside from the blanket situation. That is quite possibly unforgivable.

The other secretary, seemingly less flustered by Colton, waves me over to her desk and slides me a stack of forms to fill out.

"We can get you started within the next few days if you'll fill these out, hon," she tells me, smile emanating from some sunshiney place deep within.

I take a seat and the papers and get to work on filling out every random tidbit of information this school deems it urgent to know.

Form after form, I grow weary of writing down my full name and social security number. Why do they even care anyway?

Colton, for a while, busied himself by annoying Doris, but he too, grew bored and now sits at my side, casually whispering the address a normal person in a normal situation would know. This was not a normal situation, nor was I a very normal person.

At the end of just about every page, a place for a parent signature rests, staring me in the face. Just seeing the word 'parent' sends a pang of pain to my chest. It didn't hit me until now just how terribly I miss my father. I used to always hate having to get things signed and returned; I'd often have to forge the signature since he worked so much. On the occasions when he actually could sign them, I begrudgingly slid him the paper at dinner, knowing fully well that he despised the inconvenience just as much as I did. Today, I'd give anything for him to sign these forms.

Finally noticing my hang up, Colton whispers, "Oh shit."

I slowly nod in agreement and approach smiley secretary's desk.

"Did you fill them all out, sweetie?" the secretary asks, standing to reach for the papers.

I reluctantly slide them over to her. "Uh, yeah." Maybe if I just disregard the fact that I left all the parent/guardian signatures blank, she won't notice.

She briefly checks over the papers, attaches them with a paper clip, and then files the bundle into a yellow envelope.

"Thanks, hon. Expect a call from us in a day or two confirming that your tuition and paperwork went through." She hands me a small booklet that I correctly assume to be the school's handbook. "Welcome to Rainbrook Academy."

I nod to her and Colton and I turn and exit the office, nearly taking out a large group of girls who seemingly have no regard for class times.

"Watch out!" one of them whines. We may have almost messed up her perfect messy bun. It would have been a true tragedy.

They give me the standard bitch once-over before turning to Colton and it's clear that he is no stranger to the girls.

"Colton Black. Well I sure as hell am surprised you aren't in the ground," the only brunette of the group exclaims, looking at him in awe.