THE ELITE (On Hold)

Chapter 4: All Aboard!

The Wiltshire Express was a rather dull train. Its once bright coat of red paint was now faded and there were several dents in the train's body. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd while cats of every breed and colour wound here and there among their legs (students were allowed to bring cats).

The first few carriages were already packed with students. Some were hanging out the windows to talk to their families and some fought over seats. I pushed my trolley and started walking the length of the train in search of an empty seat. Unfortunately, every single carriage was either filled with students or contained two to three students, each of them already seated. I had no other choice. I would have to continue my search on the train.

I know what you're thinking. Perhaps something along the lines of Why didn't you go in one of the carriages that had two to three students in them? Bad idea. If there is one thing you should never do on your first day of school, is try to make friends at first sight. Most times it's better to be the loner for a little while. Until you make friends you know will have your back in a sticky situation. That's important in these types of schools. You never know what mess you might get yourself into. If they come up to you, well, that's a different story. In that case, Congrats! You might be the only new kid with friends on the first day of school. Most of the times, us new kids, are jeered at and made fun of. It's some kind of initiation ceremony of some sort where all the elites line up to assess the newbies. It's really annoying with all these people getting their faces all up your kool aid. And by that I mean your business. But I was ready for that.

I started to shove and heave my trunk towards the train door. I tried to lift it up the steps but I could hardly raise one end and twice I dropped it painfully on my foot.
"Want a hand?" drifted a high-pitched voice somewhere off on my right. I turned to face my speaker. She was a student at the school no doubt, and she appeared to be in her mid-teens; the same age as me! She was already wearing her uniform and had a dignified look about her. She had thick, auburn coloured hair which cascaded down her back in layers of voluminous curls giving her a princess-like appearance. She was of mid-height and very attractive. She stood there, her great brown eyes fixed on me waiting for an answer.
"Oh -er- yes, please" I replied, a bit taken aback that someone could be so nice. "Hey, Theo! Come here and help,"she called.

A boy around the same age as her came. He too was wearing the school's uniform. He had dark hair and eyes and paper coloured skin. He seemed to be anaemic. "What's up, Chlo?" he queried, then noticing the trunk, he seemed to understand. "No problemo. Leave it to Theo," he said, flashing me a grin as he started to heave the trunk through the train's door. After what seemed to be two minutes of struggle, he straightened up and gestured towards the door in an indication for me to get onto the train. (The conductor had just announced tgat the train was ready to leave.) Helping me up, he nodded politely, and stalked off.
"Thanks..... er???"
"Oh, sorry. Chloe. Chloe Edmond," she said holding out her hand. "Thank you, Chloe. I'm Summer," I replied sheepishly, taking it.
"Hold on. Summer? As in, Summer Vince? The new girl?" she asked, a sudden look of interest on her face.
"That's me"
"Oh, okay. Well, I do hope you enjoy your stay up at the school. It really is quite lovely - "
"Hey Chloe! You coming?" yelled a voice from one of the compartments.
"Coming!" responded Chloe, yelling twice as loud.
"Well, nice meeting you. I guess, I'll see you around at school. Bye," and with that she disappeared down the train. "Goodbye!" I called after her, but she had already entered one of the compartments. Oh, well.

The train was just as shabby-looking inside as it was outside. The doors of the compartments ricketed everytime the train went over a bump in the track, and the windows rattled every so often. Nevertheless, the train was cosy and comforting despite the fact that it was also dilapidated and needed repairs. You would think that a prestigious school like Wiltshire would be able to spend some money and fix the train. It's not like they're out off funds or something. I mean they're a boarding school they get funds every month from rich parents to keep the school running and stuff like that. I'm pretty sure maintaining the train might be included in that list because which rich parent/s or guardian/s would want their rich kids or charges to travel in a train that was dilapidated and run-down. Then again, that seemed exactly the sort of thing my parents would do. Are all rich people like that? Jeez.

I walked down the aisle dragging my trunk behind me and trying desperately to ignore all the eyes that were now peeping out at me through the carriages. Whispers followed me throughout the train.
"Did you see her - "
"That's the new girl?"
"I heard her name's Summer. Weird -"
"Summer? Wait Rolland Vince's daughter? The Rolland Vince?"
"Puh-lease"
"OMG! She's such a klutz"
"What is she wearing?"
And so it went. On and on like a record player. My heart sank horribly. What on earth was I thinking? We were now on the train, I hadn't even reached the school yet! Their reactions were just as I had expected. I was in for a rough year. I would never fit in. But I was determined to try. My life at the school would be better than my life back home. Way better. It will be different - in a good way, of course. I will be popular. Everyone at school and everyone to come in the future will know me. I will be -

What I was going to be, I never knew. For at that precise moment, I walked headlong into a wall. I had reached the end of the train. I stood there rubbing the bump on my forehead. Every single compartment on the train was occupied. There was just one to the right of me that seemed as though there may be room for one more person.....maybe two. I gathered up all the courage I could muster, and was about to knock when a sudden burst of girlish laughter emanated from the carriage. No, I couldn't do it. But, I couldn't stay out in the aisle either. The journey would last approximately four hours. By the time we reached the school, my legs would be sore from standing and honestly speaking, I was seriously starting to get unnerved by the many pairs of eyes that were staring unblinkingly at me. I was still trying to debate whether or not I should knock, when suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder