Wings Prep (A Maximum Ride Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

We pulled up to the admissions office at seven a.m. on Saturday morning. It had taken us just about two days to get here. It would have taken longer, but Ari and Mom were alternating between whose driving and whose sleeping, which meant we rarely stopped.

"Are you ready?" Mom asked Ari, Ella and I. Ari nodded and jumped out of the car. He immediately started quickly towards the building. Mom sighed sadly.

"I'm ready Mom. And El and I won't run ahead." I told her as Ella and I hopped down out of the car. Mom went to the back of the trunk and retrieved Ari's and her own bags. Ella reached in and effortlessly pulled out and held her three tons worth of bags. I stared at her astonished.

"How can you hold up that much weight?" I asked Ella while grabbing my own bags out of the car.

"Practice." She helped me slam the trunk closed and Mom locked the car. We headed off with all of our bags into the admissions office.

When we entered, there were three doors and a lady at an oak desk in the middle.

"Hello. How may I help you today?" The lady asked. She had her hands folded on the table next to a pair of wire rimmed glasses. She wore a purple pan suit with a white top in underneath. I didn't like her already.

"Hi. This is Max and Ella." My mom started pointing to each of us. "Max is hoping to be a student here and we booked a stay on campus for my three children and I this weekend." The lady nodded and then went digging around in her desk for paperwork.

"I am guessing that Ari was your son." All three of us nodded. "He came through and said that his family was coming in very shortly." She handed Mom the papers and a pen, explaining where she needed to sign.

"Thank you, Miss...what is your last name? I'm so sorry."

"Oh. I'm the one who should be sorry. My name is Mrs. Cross." My mom handed her back the papers and she ushered us into a big open room labeled Dean's Office.

"Have a nice day, Mrs. Cross." Ella called after her.

The room was huge with a stained glass window above a book shelf at least twelve feet high. The room itself could have been converted into at least four bedrooms. A man with blonde hair that was receding down his head and wrinkles on his wrinkles smiled at us.

"Hello, you must be our tour group for the weekend along with Ari here." He said in a big booming voice that echoed in the room. I glanced over to see Ari sitting in a corner on his cell phone.

"Yes, we are. We were hoping for the room assignments." My mom told him. Her voice sounded small compared to his. I had to admit, he intimidated me a little bit.

"Yes, yes. They are right here. Mrs. Martinez, we have a special dorm house for parents and faculty that stay the night, which is where you will be. The children will be in regular dorms." He pushed a piece over paper with names and number on it across the desk and Ella snatched them up. He then handed my mom four keys and we were sent on our way.

Outside, the campus looked enormous. There were buildings everywhere that were three stories high. A church, a bakery, some retail shops and classrooms scattered the square we were standing in.

"Were are we supposed to go?" I asked my mom. She studied the paper for a moment and then pointed to our right.

"We have to go to that building over there labeled Eagle. It's Ari's dorm." We all nodded and headed in that direction. When we got there we entered to see yet another desk, this time they asked to see our room assignments. Mom gave the kid behind the desk the paper and he motioned for us to go through the lounge to get there.