Exceptional

Chapter Two

Good luck she said.... I bloody wish! Tears strolled down my face on the the letter. "We regret to inform you that you have failed your external assessment for your level 3 qualification..... unfortunately this means you cannot continue you're current course..." I sobbed. "It's okay Amelia, we'll get through this," my dad said giving me a hug. "How!" I exclaimed, "I'm nineteen, I only just got into this course and if I reenrol to start the course again I will have to pay this time and I'll be thousands of pounds in debt!" I cried and cried and cried. I was screwed. I'm gonna spend the rest of my life flipping burgers a Mac Donald's or scanning items at ASDA.

I eventually pulled myself together after lots of cuddles from my mum and dad. "Amelia, you haven't opened this parcel," my mum said whilst bringing me a medium sized parcel wrapped neatly in brown paper with white string. I popped it onto my lap, it was addressed to Miss A Blackwood... definitely me alright. I gently untied the string, undid the paper and opened the box to find a letter among many other things which I left to one side for the moment.

I opened the letter to see in the left hand corner a beautiful gold flower that looked strangely familiar. "Dear Miss Amelia Blackwood, I am happy to inform you that you have been accepted at St Dorothy's Academy for Exceptionally Talented Young Ladies and Gentlemen," I said in shock, "Your attendance at this school shall be under a scholarship... oh my god!" The tears started rolling so I passed the letter to my dad. "It says you'll live on campus if you choose to attend," he continued with the letter, "if you would like to attend please come to the school on Friday 1st September for your enrolment, after enrolment you will be shown to your room and will have time to become accustomed to your surroundings before starting the following Monday... we hope you will join us... kind regards Miss Felicity Pendleton Headmistress."

I looked in the box to find pamphlets of a few of the lessons I would be doing even though they were all quite vague, it said things like 'classes will be tailored to suit your own specific talents' and other weird things like that. So I carried on routing through the box and found a list of things I will need to bring however, it was the list of things that I did not need to bring that caught my attention. Clothing, bedding, textbooks and note books, pens, pencils even a tooth brush was all provided. The list that said things that I need to bring said things such as a picture of my family, a month supply of any medication I take and any electronics I want to bring.

There was a pamphlet that said for parents which I gave to my dad, he started telling me that it said stuff like days they can visit and days I can come home... he said every second weekend of the month friends and family can visit between 10am and 4pm (note to self... if I do decide to go here tell Rose before hand and give her all visiting details! Rose being my absolute best ever friend... who I do not contact or see enough... which is totally my own fault! I'm terrible at keeping in touch as it is but she's just started attending some posh higher education school in the middle of nowhere and we're as busy as each other) and you can come home for Christmas for 4 weeks and summer for 10 weeks. "It also says weekends are not school time however, I have to stay on campus and if I want to go out shopping or visit family or friends in the nearby village I need to get permission 3 weeks in advance..." my dad continued reading out this parents pamphlet.

Wait what? 3 weeks.... what is this place a prison?!.... but 4 weeks for Christmas.... and 10 weeks for summer... okay I can't say I don't like the idea of that! I could hear mum and dad ohhhing and ahhhhing at all the different things including a swimming pool, a salon and even a spa!!! They also said all my meals will be free as well as access to things like the spa and pool.  I carried on with the box and found a small leaflet saying for students, a small book saying student guidance (must be some kind of rule book) a black leather diary with intricate gold patterns and a small jewellery box. I was burning with curiosity about the jewellery box however I had a funny feeling not to open the box right away and decided to explore the leaflet and books first, I can't open and keep some jewellery if I'm not even sure I'm going to the place.

I was right to not open the box. The small leaflet said inside the box was a pair of earrings, necklace and bracelet which are given to wear if you have decided to go to the Academy, which must be sent back if you choose not to. It said these are the only pieces of jewellery you are permitted to wear with your uniform... which makes sense, I mean instead of getting all the issues about what jewellery you can and can't wear it seems a lot smarter to just give out the only sort that you can wear.

The leaflet continued to say a few bits about the Academy including the fact it had been working as a higher education school for 400 years! It also said the qualifications I gain are degree equivalent... so classes are going to be harder than college... but can I really turn this offer down? Yeah it's kind of weird how all this has happened between opening a mortifying letter to unwrapping a mysterious parcel but how could I possibly turn down a scholarship placement? I mean I've always been against university and doing courses past the age of 18 when you have to pay since my family has never had a lot of money... good luck she said... extremely good luck...

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After a couple of weeks thinking about it I had more or less made my decision. Truthfully, I don't think I have a choice as there is no way I could find a better option. Mum and dad have given me the go ahead and I've told the very few friends at college that I have what was going to happen. I'd even been through the entire pack again and again with Rose (she had come home for the weekend)... who thinks this is awesome! To be honest it's sounds a little bit like prison with all this you can't leave campus without 3 weeks permission and I have 1 week until I have to go if I definitely choose to.

It's somewhere in Norfolk... a 7 hour train journey... all because the parents pamphlet says mum and dad can't accompany me. Usually they'd be like no way but there was a number for a private taxi from the train station who they'd called and the taxi man went through all the details explaining that it was very safe and is the easiest way for me to get to my destination... poor man... my dad kept on at him for 45 minutes... Anyway it's suddenly a given that I'm going, especially the fact that there was a train ticket ready and waiting for me along side the taxi's number. It seems this place really wants me to come, I mean if not why put such an effort with the scholarship and access to all the cool stuff and a free train ride and taxi! Well there's only one way to find out!