Saving Aspen

Chapter One

The rain is trickling down as my mother pulls up to the small security booth leading into Geraldine School for the Troubled Youth. The chill hits me as she rolls down the window, flashing a visitor pass to the guard slouched against the sliding glass panel separating her from the brisk London air that is currently flooding into our car. I shiver, pulling my pale pink knit cardigan closer against my chest. My breath fogs up into the air like the cigarette smoke I crave, the car lurching forward as we wind through a thin stretch of wooded area until we arrive in front of the large main building of Geraldine School.

It's large, placed in the center of a neatly kept lawn dotted with ornamental trees. Composed of brassy-hued bricks with a winding sidewalk stretching around the building and branching off into routes towards the dorms, it towers three stories against the gray sky. It takes on the appearance of your typical fancy prep school, and for the annual tuition cost, I'd expect it to.

My mother takes the key out of the it ignition and solemnly slips out of the car, walking towards the back of the rental and popping the trunk. Her heels snap against the wet parking lot, spraying up droplets of water that had collected in puddles. I press myself against the sticky leather seats, closing my eyes and feeling my heart flutter. There's this twinge of anxiety in my chest that's foreign to me; I'm not one to get nervous. But this is different, in the form of 4,475 miles from home. Much like a tree uprooted in a storm, I feel displaced.

It isn't like I wasn't expecting my mother to do something like this. She had been threatening the possibility of boarding school if I didn't get my act together since seventh grade. She didn't have much of a choice anyway, since I had been expelled from Oak 47 High School in Dennington, Mississippi, two months ago. London was a bit harsh, and I assume she chose the school farthest from home to put the most distance between us.

"Aspen, come on. I have to catch the flight back to Mississippi in an hour." She sighs, jutting out her hip and tapping her nails against my suitcase in an irritated fashion. I open the door and slide out of my seat, my sneakers slapping against the wet ground. I take a good look at my mother. Her face seems more worn, stress lines collecting in the center of her forehead and her eyes bloodshot from crying. It almost hurts to see her like this, especially when I think back to when she and I actually got along. But that was many years ago, and it's much different from now. I shake the thought from my head and snatch my suitcase from her hand, walking swiftly through the intensifying rain. She doesn't follow, but gets back in the car. She doesn't even say goodbye before driving away. So typical.

There's a woman stationed in front of the doors. She takes a look at me and then peers down at a paper in her hands, before opening the door. It closes behind me with a click of a lock, and warmth envelopes me. It's a sharp contrast against the cold outside.

"You're Aspen Whitfield, correct?" The woman questions, not even attempting to hide the boredom in her voice. I nod. "Good. I'm Ellie West, and I'll be able to help you adjust to your life here at Geraldine. We need to set up your student ID. Follow me, leave your suitcase here."

I trail behind Ellie as she winds through hallways that pass by in a blur. There's a blank room with only a stool and a camera on a tripod in it, and that's where Ellie brings me. I am instructed to sit on the stool and not smile. My student ID is printed, and I cringe at how I look. Ellie leads me back to the lobby and skims her papers.

"What this ID does is allow you access to your classes, your dorm house, your room, the girls bathrooms and locker rooms, the cafeteria, and the gym." Ellie begins. "You only get one, so don't lose it. If you do, there will be repercussions. Is that clear?" I nod. "Now, there are four dorm houses here: Greenwalk, Redwood, Charleston, and Hanselman. You're going to be in Redwood. The dorm houses are coed, but your rooms are not. If members of the opposite sex are found in your room during the morning, evening, or scattered room checks, there will be severe consequences, including being moved to Headmaster's Quarters. That is where you are put under constant watch and escorted to your classes. You are subject to random room checks throughout the day, and we can search and seize anything in your room without a warrant. Obviously, there are no drugs, weaponry, or alcohol allowed here at Geraldine. There is also a uniform policy, and we have your uniforms already set in your dorm room."