Don't Go Into The Woods

Chapter 5

I found myself back in the dark passage, but it was still better than being stuck in that office with the principal for a second longer. I charged forward towards the dim light that shone from the great hall. Along the way I whipped out my phone and checked the time. It was already after 4pm. I had to somehow find my way around this place if I wanted to see where I was sleeping tonight and where I would be dining tonight. I was sort of hungry, but I was still deciding whether or not I wanted to eat here. Who knows what they feed their perfect little brats. I had barely stepped out of the passage and into the great hall when I suddenly found myself colliding with a rather hard force. I caught myself just in time to prevent me from falling backwards. When I looked up at who or what I had rammed myself into, I found the old lady before standing there. Her candy floss pink skirt really hurt my eyes and it diverted me from the fact that this woman was a lot more sturdy than what she looked. I barely had a chance to say anything as the lady whipped out a leaflet and handed it to me. I just frowned before reaching out slowly and taking the leaflet from her.

"A map of the castle. All new students need one." The lady said, almost as much she could read my thoughts as I was wondering what this leaflet was for. "The castle is massive. We wouldn't want you getting lost on your first day here. Who knows how long it will take before anyone finds you." The way she said that and the look on her face as she said it, gave me the impression that something similar had happened before. Or maybe I was just over reacting here as this was the second warning about this place I had received in less than five minutes. Were they working together just to scare me? I would not be surprised if that was the case. Especially seeing as Rick knew the principal. He and my mom probably even put them up to this. That certainly would not surprise me.

"Thanks." Was all I chose to say. The lady gave me a grunt before she turned and headed back to her desk. I officially had enough of these weird people who clearly needed to get out a little more. Working too much in a place like this was definitely not doing them any good. I just shook my head before I reached into my jeans pocket where I had hid the envelope which the driver had given to me earlier. I pulled it out, opened it and searched for the room number that I saw inside earlier. Room 203. I hoped that was not very far from here. I opened up the leaflet to reveal the map inside and searched for my room. To my dismay, the room was on opposite ends from the principal's office which meant I had quite the walk. I let out a heavy disheartening sigh as I begun my marathon through this castle.

It took me a while but I eventually managed to find the room designated to me. The key was still inside with a spare key attached to the key ring. I pulled the keys out and grabbed hold of the door handle to turn it. I could not help but notice how old fashioned the door was. It definitely stood out more than the rest of this old castle with what looked like a pure silver handle and pure silver frames which surrounded the door completely. A quick look around at the other doors as I entered the room, I saw that each and every door was like this. What an odd way to style this place seeing as the rest of this place was strictly either made from brick, porcelain or wood. Not to mention all of these paintings of olden day people which just felt creepy. I was so relieved to see that there were no paintings hung up on the walls inside the room once I was inside. Taking a decent look inside I found the room to be a lot bigger than what I thought it would be. That was partially to do with the clear fact that there was two beds in this room. Two singular beds of moderate size placed on opposite sides of the room against the walls. There was a large window directly in between the two beds. The walls were all covered in a maroon colored wall paper. I guess they were aiming for a regel look as the wooden floors must have been varnished recently. I noticed that there was a bathroom attached to the room as well. Taking a step inside there to give it a brief inspection, I found a toilet and shower inside together with a basin and a medicine cabinet with a mirror on the door. There was even a little maroon bath mat on the floor. Not bad considering that I thought I would have to somehow share a bathroom with quite a few girls. I stepped back into the room. It was almost perfectly divided with each end not only having a bed, but also a semi large wooden closet and bedside drawers next to the bed with a lamp on each of them. There was also a trunk placed at the end of each bed. Probably to lock some super annoying people in them. It was large enough. I laughed at myself as I made my way up to the bed on my left, closest to the bathroom where I saw my luggage had been placed neatly by the driver. He did not even wait for a tip. Not that I had money on me seeing as my mom only gave me a credit card to use for emergencies. Stopping beside the bed I noticed something else. There were neatly folded clothing items with the school emblem on them still sealed in plastic, waiting on my bed for me. A closer inspection showed me that were at least five black knee length skirts, white shirts for both winter and summer, two black blazers with dodgy looking shoulder pads, two black jerseys, five pairs of black stockings, a few black pairs of short socks and two pairs of rather dainty girly shoes all appearing to be my size. They really made certain that I had every piece of the uniform to ensure that I had no excuses if they catch me without it on and I guessed very quickly that the sizes had all come from my mom and Rick. They were suddenly the two most annoying people in the world. The urge to throw these clothes out of the window was extremely hard to ignore as I glanced out of it. It was still grey and gloomy outside, but the scenery was not too bad. The scenery consisted of a plot of solid dark green grass covered land reaching out to the woods in the distance. All tightly packed together, the trees did not offer much light by the looks of things. Then again, I could be wrong. At least I knew what I was going to be doing tonight. Some proper research on not only the school but the land itself was worth my while and it would keep me from daring myself to go exploring the castle tonight in the dark. Sometimes I was actually brave like that. The three story flight looked a lot higher than any normal three story. Maybe it was just because of the way the castle had been built, but I was finally refrained from being able to sneak out of the bedroom window. Though I was determined to find a way somehow. Years of gymnastics was not going to go to waste and like any wild animal, we were not created to be caged. I picked up all the clothes and dumped it on the top of the trunk with a heavy sigh. This was going to be a huge adjustment for me seeing as I was not ever forced to wear such uniform. I suppose on the upside of things, I liked black. Once those clothes were out of my way, I flopped down on the side of the bed with a heavy sigh. My mom really and truly wanted to get back at me and It was looking more and more like she had won. I whipped out my cellphone. I wanted to send her a nasty text message. Half way through typing this message I stopped as it dawned on me that this was probably what my mom wanted. She wanted me miserable and unhappy and by sending her this message would only show her how unhappy and miserable I currently was. I deleted the message and shoved my phone back in my pocket. I was not going to give her what she wants. Suddenly a voice was heard echoing through the passage and into the room through the open door. I nearly jumped right off of the bed from fright, but when I heard that it was just Ms. Hatch that was talking, I calmed down.
"Dinner shall be served in fifteen minutes." Ms. Hatch announced. "Please ensure you are there on time as the canteen will be closed by 7pm sharp."
I checked the time on my cellphone, it was almost 6pm. I contemplated going downstairs to the canteen for supper. I did not feel like eating in a large canteen alone as Ms. Hatch stated earlier that I was early here so I believe it was safe to assume I would be dining alone. Unfortunately I was hungry after all of this unnecessary stuff that I have been put through all thanks to my mom and her desperate to please husband. After another minute, I decided that it was better to not go hungry tonight so I rose to my feet and left the room, locking the door behind me. Map in one hand, I made my way downstairs to where the canteen was situated. The sun was setting as I entered the large dining hall which was called the canteen. There were multiple round steel dining tables covered in maroon and white table clothes with matching chairs that could at least seat 10 per table. There was an fair amount of tables and chairs here. Upon entering I saw that the one wall was nothing more than glass from floor to ceiling in order to provide enough light for the rest of room. It was quite a spectacular view to see while having ones meal. The sun slowly setting behind the large hills not too far from the school. Even I had to admit that it was worth coming here to see that. Of course I was not completely made out of stone. I appreciated natural beauty such as this. I decided this was a great way to make everyone see what a great time I was having. Although it could have been better beggars could not be choosers of course. I walked up to the windows, stood somewhat back and snapped a photo using my phone which I had brought with me. The sudden sound of a fork dropping on a plate startled me. I jumped around at once to see what was responsible for the noise, almost dropping my phone in the process. That is when I saw him. A tall muscular young man with bright blue eyes, super smooth skin, army styled black hair and a start of a black beard on his strikingly strong looking chin. His red lips laid nestled amongst this prickly beard of his and he was surprisingly tall with rather broad shoulders. He definitely resembled a football player. The grey sweat pants and hooded jacket could pass for one of those gym outfits that I have seen a football player wear before. Especially with odd gloomy whether such as this. He gave me a brief stare before leaning over and picking up his fork which he had dropped. It was only then that I noticed he was carrying a plate of food. He picked up the fork and looked at me again.

"Sorry." He said. His voice had a slight accent to it. I was not sure, but I guessed it could be Russian. It was hot though. That I could not deny.

"It is cool." I said, trying to sound exactly that. Cool. I brushed a strand of my hair behind my ears to reveal some more of my face as I knew my long dark chocolate hair had its moments to cover it. My aim was to try and appeal more open for a chat with this handsome guy. Sadly it did not work or perhaps he just wanted to be alone. Either way, he gave me a wince before heading off to a table next to the windows and far from me. I tried not to look too disappointed as I took note of the time on my phone. It was getting late and I still had to eat. I walked over to where a plate of food was waiting for me on a the canteen stand. The food consisted of a piece of chicken, some veggies and mash and gravy. It smelt alright. I just hope it did not contain any poison. Anything was possible here. I picked up the plate, walked over to one of the tables near to the windows and sat down. I started to eat using the fork provided. My one hand was placing food in my mouth while the other was uploading the gorgeous photo I had just taken up on Facebook and Twitter with the caption, "My new surroundings. In with the new. Out with the old." A couple of likes after a few minutes told me I had made the right decision. I placed my phone down one side and tucked into my food. Though I was still partially distracted by the guy sitting a few tables away from me. He must have been super hungry as he was attacking his food like crazy. I wondered if he was even tasting half of what he was shoving into his mouth one fork full after another. A quick sideway glance and I noticed he had been given a lot more chicken and what looked like other meat than what I had been given. Was he a student here? I kind of hoped so. That would mean that he had to be close to my age. The guy kept looking up at the windows as he ate. What was he looking at? The scenery? The sunset? I enjoyed it just as much, but I was not so persistent to see it. Another glance at him and it dawned on me that maybe he was using the sunset to keep track of time. Or was he rushing to avoid having to walk back to his bedroom with the sun set? Scared of the dark perhaps? It seemed weird, but anything was possible. When I looked again, the guy was rising to his feet with his now empty plate in his hands. He hurried away, leaving his plate on the canteen stand before charging straight out of the canteen. And just like that, I was alone again. Why did I always find the strange guys so hot?