Kraal

Chapter 5: Rose

I pulled the hood of my coat up to ward off the fine drizzle that swirled around me, coating everything in a haze of grey.

Westwood Falls Community College was grey too – just like the weather - and huge. It was at least warm inside, but the brightly-lit reception contrasted sharply with the gloom outside, making my eyes hurt, and it was so crowded.

I checked my planner. In my stubbornness, I had refused to even read the prospectus for college, so Mum signed me up for English, History, Politics and Art – the subjects I would've picked at my old school, minus Photography.

Despite the breadth of the building and the labyrinth of corridors, I found my form room easily. I was early and only a couple of students had arrived before me, claiming the seats at the far end of the classroom. I slipped behind an empty desk and tapped my foot nervously against the chair leg.

A boy sitting in the chair in front turned to face me. He was wearing a blue woollen hat pulled down low so that it met the black rim of his glasses. "So, what school are you from?"

"Westmoreland High School for Girls."

His eyes widened. "Oh, you're not from here?"

I smiled tightly. "No."

I was rescued from having to make any further small talk by a woman with cropped black hair who strode into the classroom wearing a ruffled purple blouse tucked into a tweed skirt.

"Good morning, everyone." Her eyes fell on the empty seats in the classroom as she dumped her briefcase on the desk. She checked her watch and sighed. "Well, this is a good start to the year."

The door went then and a group of girls breezed into the room. They all had the same yellow-blonde hair and the same shade of hot-pink lipstick. They continued to chatter as they found seats at the back of the class, not bothering to acknowledge the tutor.

A few seconds later, another girl breezed into the room, she had blonde hair too, but hers was wild and unruly, billowing in waves around a pale, oval face. She looked like she had wandered in by accident and looked surprised to find herself standing in the half-empty classroom. She waved in the general direction of the tutor and found a seat.

More and more students trickled lazily into the room until the seats were almost full and the classroom buzzed with the low thrum of hushed voices. Clearly a lot of people knew each other, or were confident enough to start making friends straight away.

After checking her watch for a final time, the tutor held up her hands for silence. "Good morning, class. My name is Joanna; I will be your form tutor."

I hastily made a note of Joanna's name in my planner as the door went again.

"And you are?" Joanna scanned the list of names in front of her.

"Josh."

My face blazed as I realised he was looking straight at me.

"Ah, Mr Taylor. You're late."

"Sorry, got held up."

Joanna shrugged her shoulders like she couldn't 've cared less. "There's a spare seat right there."

I realised with horror that Joanna was pointing at the chair beside me. Josh smiled somewhat awkwardly and weaved through the desks. He slumped into the chair without so much as a hello and I tried desperately to think of anything else but the fact that he had seen me naked.

I felt eyes burning into me and I turned to find the blonde squad all shooting daggers, their eyes narrowed and their heads dipped close together as they regarded me with disdain.