The Letter

"She will fit in perfectly" he said as he stroked the polished wood of the desk. My eyes wandered around the room as he continued on about how perfect the school would be, the hollow promises piling up one by one. I glanced over to my mother, her blond hair tied up neatly in a bun and her perfect smile making her eyes glitter. I peered back at the desk gazing over at the plaque. His name was engraved into, 'Mr Adams' . 

"Mr Adams," Mum interrupted, "Are you aware of my daughter's, er, position?" I could see her tiptoeing around the words.

"If you are referring to the bullying and the..." he cut off as she shot him a death stare. He cleared his throat, tugging on his collar as he tried to rephrase. "Yes, I know of her situation."

"I assume that your school offers counseling?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course!" he said, straightening his back. "I was about to suggest that we sign her up for regular visits..." Liar. I shot him a look whilst keeping my mouth closed. I zoned out for the rest of the interview, my eyes ambled up and down the spines of the old books, gently covered in a blanket of dust. Suddenly books and a timetable were thrust into my hands. My mother kissed me on the forehead as I stumbled out the door into the barren corridors. I turned around and looked at the door, the words 'PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE' knocked me back to reality. I looked at my timetable and walked off.

201, 202, 203, 204; finally I found the class. I slowly opened the door and walked in. There was a boy at the front of the class yelling answers to the questions being fired at him. I tried to close the door quietly, but failed to do so as the door sprung to life and hurled itself back into the door frame. All eyes were now on me as if I was a piece of meat and they were ravenous lions. I handed the teacher a small white note as I felt heat rush to my face. His eyes studied the paper, he flicked his hand and the boy moved quickly to his seat. The teacher glanced up at me and then turned to face the class. "Today we have a new student," he said lamely gesturing to me, "introduce yourself."

"Um... Hi I'm Rosalind, but everyone calls me Rosa for short." A feeble smile grazed my lips. He nodded and flicked his wrist once again. My eyes scanned the room for a place to sit and my eyes fell upon a seat at the back. As I walked down between the desks, I watched the ground for stray feet that threatened to trip me up, but the threat was nonexistent.

I sat down and looked over at the people on either side of me. On one side was a girl with thick glasses desperately taking notes, and on the other I saw a boy with tawny hair messily nudged to the side as he stared at the paper in front of him. He glanced up at me, and his slanted chocolate brown eyes melted over my face. His facial features were soft, bringing out his perfect cheekbones. I turned back to face the front of the class, trying not to stare for too long. The teacher was talking about language features, but I was more focused on my stomach as it grumbled and bellowed like a five year old in a toy store.

The bell made my heart jolt and my legs followed hastily. I ambled through the maze of corridors, trying to find my locker, to dump the hundreds of books I'd been carrying around all morning. After a short time and a slightly panicked search, I finally found it. After unloading, I headed off in the direction of the cafeteria, my stomach rumbling with joy. I walked through door after door until I found the cafeteria. I waited in line, shuffling along inch by inch. The buzz of chatter filled the room from corner to corner. I watched as the mystery meat flopped and bubbled onto people's plates. My stomach shrunk into the depths of my insides as I watched. I looked quickly at the choice of food, eyeing the crimson apple atop of the hill of Granny Smiths. My fingers laced around the smooth skin and plucked it from the top. I shuffled along the line and paid. I turned around and faced my worst nightmare, lunch tables. I scanned the room and saw the boy with chocolate eyes at the back sitting on his own. I tapped the girl's shoulder next to me and pointed over at him, "What's his name?"