Wild Card

Of Rosie and Declan

One

Of Rosie and Declan

Avondale Academy loomed into view as the cab drove up the winding road towards the dormitories. It looked like some sort of modern day Hogwarts –a multilevel, castle looking manor turned school nestled amidst beautifully maintained courtyards and gardens. Privileged teens from a various array of countries wandered around the campus, some carried boxes of belongings while others caught up with friends, all having returned in time for the start of the new term the next day.

The black cab rolled to a stop at the front of a four story building, modeled in a similar style to the main school building. A fancily painted sign stood in the yard naming the building Cavendish Dormitory. The cabbie exited the car and scuttled around to the other side to open the back passenger side door. I slid out of the backseat and gazed at the scene before me in awe.

My gaze drifted from the immaculate building in front of me to the quaint front steps, and from there to the small group of students gathered on the steps talking and laughing and occasionally gesturing towards me. I fidgeted with the buttons on my flannel shirt and moved to help the cab driver unload my few pieces of baggage from the trunk.

Moments later I entered the building toting a stuffed messenger bag, one large suitcase, and a heavy cardboard box labeled Dorm Shit in a messy Sharpie scrawl. I struggled my way up two flights of stairs and down a long marble corridor until I finally located a dark door with a golden 3Q affixed into the wood at eye level. I had noticed during my trek that other doors had various types of decorations, such as a white board bellow the room number or pictures scotch taped to the surface for a personal touch, but this door was void of any such decorations. Perhaps my roommate hadn't arrived and decorated yet? For a moment I tried to maneuver my room key out of my pocket, but only managed to almost drop my box and proceeded to remember that my key was on my key chain. Which was attached to my wallet. Which was buried in my messenger bag somewhere. Groaning in frustration I aimed a small kick at the door, effectively rattling it, but it remained closed.

Just as I was about to put down my box and dig the key out of my over stuffed bag, the door to 3Q swung open to reveal a girl slightly taller than me with her auburn hair braided into pigtails. She squealed in what I assumed was excitement and did a little jumpy-clappy-dance thing in the doorway.

"Oh my gosh, helloooo!" She squealed again. She had a very British accent when she spoke. "I'm Rosie. You're Evelyn right?"

I nodded, unsure what to do as I stood in the hallway like a vampire waiting to be invited in. Rosie quickly scampered to the side, letting me step into the room. I quickly took inventory of the small room.

Along the right side of the room there were two twin beds in identical dark wood frames, with matching nightstands and wardrobes. The bed closer to the door was already made up with black and white linens I deduced belonged to Rosie, effectively claiming the bed closer to the opposite end of the room as my own. A dark wood door located just a few feet away from Rosie's bed led to what I assumed to be the bathroom, since I knew that there weren't community bathrooms in this dormitory. On the left side of the room there were two dark wood desks, perfectly aligned with their respective beds, and matching chairs.

Quietly, I made my way over to the unmade twin bed and put my things down. Opening the wardrobe to the left of my bed, I took note of the black, blue, and white uniforms pressed and hanging neatly inside. I unzipped my suitcase and began to unpack my clothes when I noticed Rosie watching me eagerly from her spot by the still open door. I raised an eyebrow, waiting for the other girl to speak.