Gifted

2 ~ Rose Mardelle

   A week from now, we will be attending the Rose Mardelle School, me as a student, while Raziel & Muriel will be teachers on Music and Biology, respectively.

   I don't really have any interest in any one of those subjects, but I've mastered them since they told me that I can't look stupid arriving at a new school, so they made me study harder than a student-athlete who had a game today and had her finals coming the next day.

  I would be wearing a white polo with a gray blazer with the school crest embalzoned on the breast pocket and an above-the-knee gray skirt with knee-high socks and black shoes. I tried to tie my hair but gave it up. It just wasn't for me.

   Raziel and Muriel, as teachers, had to wear a sweater vest over a polo or a shirt with a tie and pants. It felt too restricting to them. I found mine a bit too revealing. I wasn't used to wearing clothes that hugged my figure. I found it awkward. I can see both my siblings were annoyed, too.

  "Well, no use in wishing we don't need to wear them. Let's go. We wouldn't want to be late." said Muriel. Always the optimistic one. She had a knack of looking at the bright side of things, even if it isn't there.

   But amidst her tendency for enthusiasm and optimism, being older than me, she had control over feelings than I did. We sort of made an oath to let ourselves experience, but not indulge, to the offerings of out new life. All of us were affected by the transfer, and we're sure we liked the past more than the present...

   THE school was, as far as schools go, old. Well, from the outside at least. The grounds were surrounded by a high stone wall with grand iron gates. When you enter through the gates, a limestone mansion stood, with arched windows, and double doors. Despite being archaic on the outside, its inside was obviously moving with time.

   We stood on the base of the stairs leading to the main doors of the school. As we watched, students swept past, each group distinguished to another. The academic ones were wearing the uniform looking prim and proper. The music and art students wore their uniforms almost the same way, except the music student carried instruments while the art ones carried art materials.

   And of course, the posse I hated the most. Boys with their loose ties and untucked shirts. Girls with their accesories and opened blazers and super short skirts. I'm no sure if the school allowed that, but as they say, if you have it, flaunt it.

   I decided we've had enough sight-seeing so we made our way to the administration office. Inside, a chubby woman with glasses, whom I figured out was Ms. Green from her nameplate, was taking a phone call. We approached her desk, and her expression  seemed to soften when she saw us.

   "You must be Laylah!" she suddenly smiles widely, which looked creepy. "And Mr. and Ms. Reed..." she seemed stunned when she laid her eyes on my siblings, which wasn't surprising since this city, as small as it is, still reeks with girls with chemical-filled faces and guys with alcohol-driven minds. Us being from the provinces seem to begin a balance, since, by the city's standard, we're techincally pure.

   "Let's go to the main wing so I can take you on tour!" she sounded overly excited, and pulled on Raziel while Muriel and I followed. The tour wasn't really a tour, since most of the time, Ms. Green was openly flirting with Raziel, and my brother, though looking unfazed, seems eager to end this "tour".

   "Okay so here's your locker, Laylah. And here's your key." she shows me two keys then gives me the other one. "I keep a copy of every student's key just in case they lose it." she said more to Raziel than to me. "Well, we better continue the tour, but judging by the time, you have to get ready for your first class, Laylah, so we'll leave you here, okay?" And the three of them disappeared in a jiffy.

   Without much choice, I checked my class schedule for the day. My first class was... I don't really know. It said I.LitC5. After several minutes of observation, I figured "Lit" meant Literature, but what's with the others?

   "Uhm, excuse me, could you tell me how to read this?" I caught the attention of a girl with black opulent waves.

   "Are you new? I haven't seen you around before..."

   "Yeah, I am."

   "Oh, figures..." she giggled a little. I don't know if I should, too. "Let me see that." she looks at my class schedule then suddenly points out every character.

   "This.." she points to the first I. "Means it's your first subject of the day, while this..." she points to the "Lit".

   "Refers to Literature..." I said blankly.

   "Wow, you're smart for someone new. Yes, it does mean Literature, which is to say, the most boring class one can ever have. Anyway, the C5 means the floor and the number of classroom, so your classroom should be room number 5 on the third floor, which, I'm glad to inform you, is just down this hallway. I can take you there if you want, I'm going that way. By the way, I'm Isabelle, Izzy for short."

   SHE seemed enthusiastic on giving me a tour, even asking me what time I'll be taking my lunch so she can show me around after. Before I enter my first ever class, she spins me around to face her. "Remember, this class is filled with old books, old writings, old stories, old songs, old poems, and an even older bitter man who has devoted his life on the sacred art of book and poem classification. Which is boring, but hey, everyone has their own opinion of boring." Less than five minutes with her and I already like her. "Well, see you later, uhm..."

   I forgot that I haven't introduced myself yet. "Laylah. Laylah Reed."

   "Laylah. What a cute name. Hope it saves you from the endless pit that consumes everyone in that class called boredom. Well, see you at lunch!" and she disappears together with the wave of students rushing to get inside their classrooms before the bell rings.

   The room doesn't really have much people inside yet, so I choose the most comfortable seat I find.