Mount Asteria

Chapter Five

Ms de Lacy's office was tastefully decorated. A large mahogany desk stood in the middle, its surface undisturbed apart from a slim laptop. Behind the desk, the wall was was covered from floor to ceiling with books. To the left,west-facing French-windows looked out on the front entrance of the school. To the right was the door Alexandra and Ebony had come through from the foyer. Two big double doors took up most of the space on the remaining wall. They were opened now, revealing a private sitting room behind.

"Ah, Ebony, thank you for escorting Alexandra here." A middle-aged woman entered the room. She smiled warmly at her new pupil and gestured for the girls to sit down. Ms de Lacy took her own seat behind the desk and clasped her hands together in front of her.

"Welcome to Mount Asteria, Alexandra. I'm Ms de Lacy, the principal. I understand you are coming to us from Levington International in Washington D.C.?"The principal was evidently a native of southside of the greater Dublin area; her accent not particularly strong, with hints of British and,very occasionally,  American - like Ebony's and Bláithín's. It contrasted greatly with some of the other girls' accents – It had been several years since Alexandra had lived in Ireland: She had forgotten how greatly dialects could vary on the small island.

"Yes," she replied,beginning to wonder why Ebony was still in the room.

"And your parents work for the Department of Foreign Affairs..."

Alexandra confirmed this, wondering why people kept bringing it up. It was, after all, an exclusive private school, surely many of the girls had parents who had far more impressive jobs than Irish civil servants.

Ms de Lacy nodded,taking a file out from her drawer. She flicked through it briefly,then tossed it aside, as though disinterested in the contents.

"Right. So, there are three things you need to know about our school, Alexandra. Firstly,we don't have many rules. We allow our students plenty of freedom and in return they do not abuse it. I trust there will be no issues with that?"

Alexandra shook her head.

"Good. Secondly, I wished to point out the Mount Asteria is not quite a typical school.We follow a unique curriculum. From first to third year, students study all subjects – English, maths, history, geography, science,physical education, a language, culture and society. There are a few choices – We encourage all Irish students to study their native language, then depending on your interests and your forte, if you will, you may choose up to four more subjects from religion,additional languages, technology, art, music, dancing, drama – and a few more I'm sure I've forgotten."

"Sounds like a lot,"Alexandra laughed nervously.

"You'll be well able for it. Anyway, when it comes to fourth year, where you are now, it changes and the curriculum is split into three courses: Science,politics and field work. Students can major in one and minor in one other, which we encourage, or focus on just one course. And every year we have a few who opt to take all three at an equal level. There are several options. Regardless of what you choose, you will still study a little from each course. Most importantly, throughout fourth year you may experiment with the different courses as your timetable is more flexible and decide at the end of the year."

Alexandra blinked.

Ms de Lacy sighed."Where did I lose you?"

"Emmm... Around where you began talking about majoring and minoring." Alexandra looked at her sheepishly.

"I know it's a lot,but you'll soon settle into our way of doing things here. Ebony and the other girls will explain it again.

"Now, moving on, at Mount Asteria you will find you are among some of the most intelligent and promising young ladies in the world. We are a tight-knit community and help each other whenever and however we can. If you ever need to ask a question, about anything at all,my door is always open. We also have our guidance counselor, Sr.Maria, who is on leave at the moment but you can go to our new chaplain, Liam, instead. Your classmates will help you in navigating your way around and answer any practical questions that are no doubt forming in your mind."

Ms de Lacy stood,marking the conclusion of their little meeting. Before Alexandra left, however, she turned back to the principal. "I -er -"

"Yes?" Ms de Lacy asked.

"I was just wondering why exactly I was sent here... To a school like this."

"Sent here? No,Alexandra. You were asked to come here."

"Ah. I see." But she didn't, not really.

***

Next Update: All going well, next Wednesday!:)