Children of the Sea

Chapter 3

 "Wake up, Sleepy Head." A voice whispered as I was gently shook.

I pulled my eyes open, but I found it difficult, like my eyes were stuck together with super glue. After a few more moments of being shook, I pulled my eyes apart slowly, taking in a deep breath of cold air. I blinked a few times, rubbing away the sleepiness from my face. I peered at my surroundings and found Jeremy's hand on my shoulder.

"We are here now, Elsie. I'll go check you in at the office. Why don't you go and find your dorm." He said softly before climbing out of his shiny red car.

After a few moments, I stepped out, stretching as the air grew colder due to the sun slowly descending behind the dark horizon. Turning my head to look at a large, old building I saw that Jeremy was already heading off to the main office. I pushed the door close and went to the back of his car, popping the trunk and dragging out my suitcase. I saw a two-story building with what looked like an unfinished rectangle. There were two long wings on either side of a courtyard filled with beautiful, well-kept flowers. On the opposite side of the courtyard sat a wing that connected the other two. The building was clearly quite old, but still very clean and tidy.

I slowly walked down a path in the center of the courtyard then around a grand fountain that sat right in the middle of it all. I inhaled deeply, smelling the delightfully sweet smell of the flowers. Enjoying the pleasant atmosphere I didn't seem to notice the fellow student exit the building and I ran straight into them. We were both knocked back onto our bottoms. Hesitantly, I looked at them and found a girl with pitch black hair and evergreen eyes staring back at me with a fierce glare.

I hopped back up to my feet and quickly held my hand out to her, whispering an apology, only to have my hand swatted away. She stood up on her own. As she got up I realized she happened to be much taller than me, but it wasn't surprising since I only stood to be 5'1. I looked at her once and then realized she wore some very tall heels.

"Watch it, klutz. You're gonna go around making a mess of this lovely school if you continue to walk around like that." The girl hissed in an obviously hostile tone of voice.

I was silent, too shocked to reply. She rolled her eyes, pushing past me with an audible groan. Looking back as she graciously walked away I began biting my cheek. I won't survive if everyone her is like that. They would eat me alive... I took a deep breath, continuing to the door with my hands balled into fists so tight my hands turned white.

I pulled the door open, taking a step into a room that looked a bit like a lobby. There were a few clean leather couches where a few students sat and a large TV that quietly played the news. However, I watched as a boy picked up a controller, changing it to a movie that appeared to be full of action.

My eyes continued to glide around the room. There was a staircase leading to the second level and a door with a bathroom symbol on it. To the left, I saw a door painted a pale blue that seemed to lead to one of the wings. Written in big, bold letters "BOYS" went down the door vertically. To the right, I saw another door leading to the opposite wing. It had the same blue and same look besides the fact that "GIRLS" was written on it.

I was still feeling hesitant, but I wandered over to the door and entered. I found a long hall going straight forward then to the side I saw a staircase that went to the second floor. On the wall was a sign it said: "100-120" with an arrow pointing towards the hall before me and "200-220" with an arrow pointing upstairs.

I hazily remembered Willow told me that my room would be 211 so I turned up the stairs, going a little slow to make sure I wouldn't trip. I turned and looked down the hall, taking my time as I walked, checking the numbers on the doors. The hall was empty, which I didn't mind; I wasn't in the mood to run into anyone anymore. I found my room and went in, closing the door behind me.

I glanced around, seeing a fairly plain room. It did bum me out a bit, but I started unpacking. The few clothes went into drawers with my uniform. I set a few picture frames on my dresser and I set a small honey-colored bear on my bed in the corner. I set the few pairs of shoes I owned under my bed and hung my coats on a hook on the back of my door. I let out a small sigh, opening a small door that led to a tiny bathroom. I placed all my hygienic utensils inside before glancing in the mirror that hung above the sink. I studied my features, noticing how they seemed a bit strange. I never really noticed how off they looked. My hair was pale like coffee with way too much creamer. My eyes were a deep cornflower blue, but when people looked closely they could see dark spots of cocoa brown that made my eyes look like an off colored dalmatian. I sighed, knowing fitting in would be much more difficult with such a strange appearance.

I left the bathroom and went to lie back on my bed and staring up at the blank ceiling. I started to feel like my stay here would be much worse than I imagined. However, only time would tell.