The School For Gifted Kids

Chapter 4: Willa

We all met in the diner, Ben brought a bunch of his friends and I brought Tyldy and nick along. I was wearing the new jeans aunt Nanda had bought me, along with one of my old two tone tee shirts. I had put my hair into its loose side braid. We were all sitting at the table, Nick a little closer to Tyldy than i'd like. Ben trues to break the ice."So, Tyldy, you single?" She was taken aback by the joke for a second than recovered. "No." That she whispered over to me. "I am single, I just don't like him!" Ben pretended to look offended. "Hey, I heard that!" And we all broke out laughing. I wish every day was like this. I pondered, it felt like with them, that they were my family. I grew up without parents, or siblings, and so I never got this kind of experience. But I also felt homesick, the blouse smelled of aunt Nanda's perfume, and after Friday's incident with Valarae, I could really use a hug. "Hey, Willa was it? Do you mind coming over here for a sec?" Tyldy got up and we walked over to the other side of the restaurant. Her face was grave, but then: "He likes you, he likes you... " she sang in a sing-song voice. I clamped my hand over her mouth. "He's just a friend." Tyldy pried my fingers off her mouth. "Some close friend." And we went back.

That night I lay in bed, pondering what Tyldy had said.  I checked the clock, 2:30 A.M. I sighed and stuffed my head under the pillow. Finally, I couldn't take it any more. I wrapped my blanket around my shoulders, and walked down owl hall. I reached the giant bay window, the one I had seen on the tour. It looked out over frosted mountain peaks, glaciers and the moon. I sat back on the comfy couch. "Hah! This is nothing. You should see the view from upstairs."  I jumped out of my chair only to find Ben standing there! "What are you doing here?!" I whisper-screamed. "I heard you plodding down the hall." He sat down beside me. "You've got to work on your tip toeing." He turned to me. "Hey, you alright? Why can't you sleep?" I absentmindedly started chewing my fingernails. "Home sickness." He put his arms around me and hugged me. "Ahh, don't worry. It happens to all of us. Don't worry. Ms. Lento has a phone in her office that you can use to call your family." I leaned my head against his shoulder and fell asleep like that.

I woke up that Sunday morning to sunlight streaming through the curtains. I grabbed my bedside clock. The time read 10:30! I rushed to pull on some old jeans and got a running start out the door to find... Ben, with a plate of food. "I thought you might be needing this." I blushed. "Thanks." We walked towards the main commons. "Wait... how'd you get me back to my room last night?" Last night had been quite an ordeal. I remembered falling asleep though. "I carried you. No offence, but you aren't exactly heavy." That's the only thing I was a bit sensitive about. I wasn't a midget, but I was way shorter than average. "None taken." I shrugged. "So what's on the line for today?" He winced. "Sorry, I actually have tutoring today." My spirits dropped. "Oh. It's okay. See you 'round." Walking off, I realized how big the building actually was without someone (like Ben) guiding me through. I decided that if I was going to make it a year, I had to find friends of my own.

The first place I looked was the front doors. I expected there to be kids playing in the snow, but all I saw was some of the high schoolers smoking. I quickly moved on. Next stop was the commons. Just Valarae's gang making a scene about her phone dieing when we weren't even aloud phones on campus. My final spot was the library. Quiet, and Valarae free. Over in one corner, Tyldy was reading a paperback novel but my real interest was the red haired girl with a load of freckles exploding across her face, while her glasses framed her ombré brown eyes. She was reading War and Peace. I walked over to her and held out my hand. "Willow Solomon. Pleased to meet you." The girl jumped up in her seat and pushed her glasses up her nose. And in the quietest voice, she stuck out her frail hand and shook mine. "E-Elle. M-most delighted t-to make your a-acquaintance."

I learned that Elle had been here ever since third grade, but still had few friends. We were both absolutely elated to hear we were in most of each other's classes. "I'm a shape-shifter." My jaw dropped. "What?! That's awesome!" She half laughed. "Not really..." I was astonished! "I turn into whatever animal I'm thinking about." I was confused. "I still don't understand." "Try science, studying life forms?" Ooh. "And what's our current subject?" This time I was the one whispering. "Sea life..." she huffed. "Yeah, not so great ability anymore, huh." We spent the rest of the day together, getting the wallflower tour. She showed me the bathroom stall that looked locked from that outside, but actually wasn't, so it was much cleaner than the others. The little tree fort that her and her friend had made in grade five, and the most exciting; a couple secret passages. "Wow! How many of these are there?" I exclaimed as we passed through  a hall hidden behind a fake locker. "Many." She shrugged. "It's an old school, it has lots of secrets." I looked the hallway over in amazement. "Do the teachers know?" She grinned. " Nope."

Over the next few days, me, Tyldy, and Elle became close friends. Every morning, Ben would greet me outside my door, and then Tyldy and Elle would meet us in the cafeteria. We all were good about each other and nothing bad ever seemed to happen.