Toy Soldiers

Chapter One

"It think this is gonna be good, you know, a fresh start. You can do whatever you want, reinvent yourself, be whoever you wanna be."

"Thanks Dad," I smiled awkwardly from the back seat of our Cadillac, as we pulled up to the gates of the Regis Preparatory School.

We came to a soft stop, then the officer on guard opened the gate and we continued down the gravel driveway towards the building.

I was in my second year of what would have been regular schooling, but my dad decided I was somewhat better than that, so we started looking at prep schools. I had sent out about ten applications to various schools across the country, but was denied every one. Until my dad came across this place, Regis Prep, which began accepting girls as of today.

I had never actually been inside the school before, only seen pictures. It looked pretty decent, and big. But I was more worried about who was on the inside. This school was known as the 'rejects' school. Filled with those who either got kicked out, or weren't good enough for the other schools, myself included. I didn't mind it being mostly boys, as I heard only a couple of girls had registered, but these boys were different. They were the tough ones. Always getting in trouble, causing a problem. That's why, they're here.

My dad pulled up to the front doors and parked the car. I slowly grabbed the one bag I had on me, and stepped out of the car, looking around. The whole property was covered in fields with lots of trees, it had a very welcoming look to it. I turned back to see my dad grabbing the rest of my bags out of the trunk, then slam it shut. He walked towards the stone steps leading to the doors, then turned back for a moment to check if I was following. I quickly nodded and tucked my hair behind my ear, then started up the steps.

We walked through the doors and into the grand foyer, where a man greeted us and showed us to the cafeteria, where the opening introduction was taking place. I took a seat in the middle of the room, and my dad placed my bags around me.

"I know you've heard this a thousand times before, but be safe, okay? I don't need to get a phone call at one in the morning saying my daughter's hurt herself and I need to rush halfway across the country to see if she's alright."

"I promise I'll be safe, and won't get in too much trouble," I smirked.

He gave me a small smile then patted my shoulder. Then he turned and began to walk out the door, stopping for a final goodbye wave before he left. I waved back, then turned my attention to the front of the room, where the the man in charge was preparing himself.

"Good morning everyone," he said as he stepped up to the podium they had set up, "I'm Mr. Parker, the Dean here at Regis Prep."

Mr. Parker continued his introduction, telling us some of the basic rules and what not.

"Now, I'm sure you are all very excited to jump right into things and start your classes, but first you will all be assigned your dorms. So if you would all like to gather your things and follow me this way I-"

Before he could finish, all the girls had stood up and started gathering their things, flooding out of the cafeteria and into the hall. We were guided through the school until we reached the dorms. As we continued down the hallway, girls were assigned their dorms, and disappeared into them to begin unpacking.

"Valerie Wilson?" asked a man once we reached about the sixth dorm.

I nodded.

"Right here. Number 85. Here's your schedule," the man said, opening the door for me as I struggled with my bags. Then he handed me my schedule.

I put all my bags down on the closest bed, as another girl followed behind me, claiming the other bed as her's. We both stood awkwardly in silence unpacking out things.