Like I Roll

Home Of The Grim Reaper

- Dedicated to Shansfitzloo because she was the first one to comment and tell me she liked it! Yay!

-SerialArtist593

I rushed down the hallways, almost slipping over at least twice until I came to a stop outside a door with the number seven on it. This was to be my form room for the next year. Taking a deep breath, and one last longing glance out the window behind me, I slowly pushed the door open.

What greeted me was by no means reasurring that this was a good idea. Half the students were asleep, and the other half chatting noisly paying no attention to the man at the front who didn't seem to be paying much attention to them, either.

I causiously approached the man - who, I assumed, was the teacher - and stopped in front of the desk he was sitting behind. It was covered in coffee mugs and piles of mismatched papers, with pens and paper clips scattered here and there. He looked up, and smiled. That was a first today.

He was wearing a crumpled suit that seemed slightly too small for his tall frame. His hair was a dishwater blond, what was left of it, anyway. Putting down yet another coffee mug - didn't he ever washe them? Or were they all from today? - he looked at a sticky note attached to his computer screen.

"So you're the new girl... 'Marina Dashwood'.I'm Mr Salisville. Just take any available seat."

He kindly directed. As I turned around to look at my options and starting chanting 'Please let there be a window seat' in my head as if I could will it into being with my own mindpower, Mr Salisville stood up and banged a ruler on his desk. The voices quietened down.

"Class. We have a new student, Marina Dashwood. Be nice and welcome her."

He ordered. But the command in his tone was overshadowed by the way he collapsed back into his chair, picked up his coffee mug, and started a new game of Minesweeper.

I shrunk down a little under the stares of everyone in the classroom. I wasn't used to this many people looking at me. A new student wasn't that rare, was it? Surveying my options, I could either sit in the front row or the back row. Neither were next to the window. My heart sank.

I decided on the back row. Hopefully I could go more unnoticed back there.

After a few more seconds of what I decided was unusual silence, people resumed there chattering. I wasn't sure which I preferred, the silence of them staring at me, or the obnoxious noise there was when they weren't.

I didn't need to glance at my watch to know that it was almost high tide. I knew the schedule like the back of my hand. If I'd been home right now, instead of this small, warm room packed with too many people, I'd be walking - no, running - down to the sea right now. Even in this weather.

I looked up and saw everyone was getting out of their seats. I jumped up quickly, almost tripping over the chair legs, and strode quickly out of the room. I was breathing heavily. It was too hot, too crowded. I tore into the nearest bathroom and splashed some water on my face, trying to calm down. I never did too well in crowds; which before wasn't a problem, when practically the only person I saw was my mother.

"Hey... Are you alright?" I jumped.

"Don't. Do that!" I choked.

My assailant was a full 5 feet of frightening. She had large, green eyes, that were covered with a pair of wire-rimmed circular glasses. Locks of thick, curly ginger hair obscured part of her face as she pushed them away, impatiently.

"Sorry." She apologised, awkwardly looking at the floor.

"It's just, you looked like you'd been having a rough time, being new girl and all..." She trailed off.

"How do you know I'm new?" I questioned, more curious than suspicious. I didn't recognise her from my form room, but I hadn't exactly committed every face to memory.

"Didn't recognise you. I'm good with faces. And you have that fish out of water vibe, you know?" She commented.

I winced at the word water.

"I'm just a little, overwhelmed, I guess." I admitted.

"The name's Taylor. Ella, Taylor." She said; in a deep James Bond voice. I burst out laughing. It must have been the first time since... Quickly sobered up, I came to the realisation that I'd almost managed to forget, in the company of Ella. I peered at her with confusion on my face.

"I'm Marina. But Rina's fine." I replied, still staring.

"Okay, Rina, welcome to Sicklewood Hall, home of the Grim Reaper." When I just continued to stare, she muttered,

"You know, because it says 'Sickle'wood... " I snapped out of my trance, and felt like slapping myself. Finally, somebody in this damned city was being nice, and all I'd done was state at her like an idiot. But in my defence, I wasn't used to talking to... people, I guess.

"Sorry," I apologised. "I was out of it for a minute there."

"Don't worry. Selective deafness. It happens to the best of us." She smiled.

It was nice to talk to someone who wasn't a teacher or staring at me so hard it was like they were waiting for my face to fall off.

Glancing down at my wrist as I shut the tap off, I realised I was, once again, late.

- So what do you think of Ella?

Thank you thank you for voting, 4 people out there! It means the world to me that people are reading this and liking it. So if you could take some time to vote, or even better, comment, I'd really appreciate the feedback.

Oh, and for anyone who doesn't know, a Sickle is another name for a scythe, like the grim reaper carries.

-SerialArtist593