Already Broken

Chapter 2

Climbing into the taxi, I checked my phone.

1 text message from Dad.

I opened the message,

"Hope you landed safe. Let me know when you are settled in at school."

I decided that I wouldn't respond until I get to the school.

The starts were so bright that night, and that's when the reality of the situation hit me.

I'm in Los Angeles!

But I'm here because I have no family, and my father despises me, so he exiled me from my home, and now I'm here in beautiful LA.

How funny.

Finally the taxicab pulls up to a huge gate. The driver rolls down the window, and speaks briefly to a man sitting in the booth next to the gate. Moments later the gates open.

The small car pulls up to a big building. I can't really see the campus in the dark, although I've stared at it so many times through a computer screen, but all of those pictures of smiling students and classrooms slipped from my memory.

As I payed and took my belongings into my hands, I started to lug my bags up the stairs and into the building. I walked up to the front desk, where a middle aged woman with blonde hair sat at the desk with her eyes glued to a magazine.

I set my bag on the floor next to me. "Hi, um I'm Bella Young and I'm a new student here." I spoke quietly.

Her eyes darted up to mine and a warm smile took over her face.

"Oh dear! Let me help you get settled here. Have you just arrived?" She asked with clear excitement in her voice.

"Yes, I just came from Seattle."

Her lips made an O-shape and she unclasped her hands and started searching her desk for papers as she spoke.

"Well Ms. Young, I will get you your dorm key, and some more of your things have been shipped in from Seattle." She said as she frantically stacked papers into a neat pile.

"Your orientation is going to start tomorrow, and you're going to be in building 6 room 216. I can assure you that your roommate is absolutely lovely!" She said with a smile as she handed me the jumbled papers.

I just smiled as she blabbed away about the orientation and my first few days here at Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Talent.

All I could think about was my supposedly "lovely roommate." What if she is absolutely terrible? What if she really is lovely. Well that would be nice.

"And Ms. Young, I am Sandy Evans, if you need anything, really anything, just come find me!" She said and handed me a key.

I thanked her and walked out the door and to building six. I could hear and smell the ocean. The warm breeze blew my blonde hair out of my face.

As I arrived at the building after five minutes of walking, I took in my surroundings. The inside of the dorm lobby was decorated beautifully for a school. This looks more like a country club than a high school dorm.

Girls laughing and smiling filled the seats in the lobby, or what they called the "study," which I learned from the sign over the doorway.

They looked genuinely happy.

I wish I could be happy, instead of numb.

I struggled to pull my heavy bags up the stairs and was definitely out of breath when I reached the second floor.

I pulled the bags through the hallway until I reached room 16.

Here it is.

Behind that door is someone who will either be my best friend, or my worst enemy.

My hands were shaking as I pushed my key into the lock, and turned the doorknob.

When I shyly pushed the door open, I saw my roommate.

She was a brunette, tall from what I could see. She wasn't wearing makeup, and she had a pair of wide framed glasses on as she read a book. Her walls were covered in tapestry and beautiful art and photos. Her things were fairly organized, and she had a couple of plants sitting by the window. She had strung lights through out the room, and they looked really pretty actually. Her bed was covered in beautiful pillows and she laid in the middle of the bed with her book.

Her face immediately broke into a huge smile.

I think I will like her.

She set her book down onto the comforter and walked up to me.

"You must be my new roommate, I'm Maggie and I hope we can be friends." She said cheerfully as she pulled me into a hug.

She hugged me very tightly and it felt good to be held like that.

"I'm Bella." I spoke and smiled at her excited face.

"Well Bella! I'll help you set up all of your stuff. " she said and let go of me. She stepped back to the bed and put her book on the night stand.

As I put my bags down and stepped into the room I noticed her huge bookshelf, and yoga mats. She had photos of yogis and Buddhas. There was a huge poster that looked like she painted it with the words Namaste written on it.

What she did with this small dorm room was really nice, and I didn't really expect myself to like it as much as I did.

It even smelled good.