A Royal Adventure [Ongoing]

Two

NINE MONTHS EARLIER

I had been planning my arrival for so long that to actually find myself arriving in England didn't seem real. I arrived late, thanks to previous commitments and the flight schedules, which included a layover in Paris, before I could actually get on the plane that would take me towards London. And then I had to get a taxi from the airport, to take me on the final leg of the journey that seemed much longer than I anticipated.

So the first glimpse I got of the school – other than the obsessive internet stalking – was in the dark. The taxi that had picked me up from the airport pulled into the driveway, and slowed to a halt, its wheels crunching against the gravel that lined the driveway.

I peered out the window, my heart thumping, and my head fuzzy after the flight. It hadn't been long, but it had been enough time to go through several stages from excitement, to absolute panic that I had done the wrong thing – and back to excitement and anticipation again.

My brother hadn't been able to come to the airport and so we had a goodbye over breakfast that morning. It already seemed a very long time ago, and even now, I struggled to look back and remember how I had felt then. It had been a typically unemotional goodbye, with my brother telling to keep myself out of trouble, before he returned to his papers and schedule for the day. As I had left the dining room, I had glanced back at him one more time before heading out to the waiting taxi.

Although I had promised myself I would be composed, the time by myself on the plane had made me anxious and I wondered if I could simply ask the taxi driver to take me back to the airport, as there had been a terrible mistake.

But the taxi stopped and the driver pulled my cases out of the boot.

This was it.

There was no going back now.

The headmistress was waiting to meet me, and after the taxi driver left us in silence, she said, 'come on in dear, you must be exhausted after your long day.'

I nodded. The ability to speak in English had suddenly deserted me.

'I will show you to your dorm – your roommate Penelope is looking forward to meeting you. I expect you want to get to sleep, so I will catch up with you tomorrow and discuss some details.'

'Thank you.'

Although the building – and it was one of those old, English country homes – was exactly the same as it had appeared on the website, it felt different. Being there felt like a dream, something that I had been daydreaming about for the past few months, and now I was actually there, it was hard to believe.

I followed the headmistress up the wooden staircase that wound around, up to another floor, and smelt strongly of wax. I adjusted the bag on my shoulder.

I couldn't help but stare up at the ceilings and the walls, on which hung old portraits. Although I was used to a certain degree of grandness and tradition, this felt different. Older I supposed, and mostly – not home. That was the overwhelming sense that I got. It wasn't home.

The headmistress led me up another staircase and down winding corridors that I couldn't' imagine I would ever find my way back down again and eventually stopped outside a door. Elsewhere I could hear music and laughter, and the corridor behind us creaked as girls scuttled about.

She tapped on the door and then peered around. 'Evening Penelope – I've got your new roommate, she's just arrived. Come on in.' I shuffled in around the woman who smiled.

'Your cases will be with you shortly,' she said, 'I'll leave you both to chat and settle in. And I'll see you tomorrow after breakfast for a chat.'

I nodded.

The woman disappeared, the heavy fire door clicked shut behind her, and once again I was stood in silence with a girl I had never met before.

'Hi,' the girl leapt off her bed in one swift movement. 'I'm Penelope. Known as Pen.'

'Alex,' I said, conscious as I spoke of my accent and the strange way that Alex sounded in my mouth. At home I had always been Alexandria, but I figured this was as good as any time for a new start and I had always wanted a cool nickname.

'This is your bed,' the girl said, gesturing at a bland looking corner. 'Where are you from? You've got an unusual accent.'

Apparently this girl didn't hold back on asking forward questions, and although I was surprised, I was quite glad. I wanted to get the awkward questions out the way now. It solved any complications later.

And the sooner I could get my story straight then the better.

After all, I was nothing more than a normal teen wanting to experience studying abroad.

Nothing more than that whatsoever.