Wooldridge Academy

4 MONTHS BEFORE: PART 1

The smell of gasoline filled the air as the taxi cab waited behind my mum, humming like a beetle. My mom and I stood, staring eachother in the face. I was tall, at least 6 feet- like my father, so I looked down at my mum. Her eyes were watery, and she had a slight frown on her face. I finally broke the stare and turned away, my jaw clenched. I turned back. 

"Mum. You have to go. I'll be fine." I said. 

I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

"Oh Cross. I wish you didn't have to go," she said. 

She stood up on her tiptoes and hugged me.

Then she walked towards the taxi and got in the back seat.

Before it drove away, the window rolled down.

"See you at Christmas," my mum said. 

She wiped the tears from her eyes as the taxi drove away.

So here I was, a clueless 16 year old with a suitcase full of sweaters and jeans. 

I had no money. 

I stuffed my hands in my pockets and looked around. There were a few people sitting on benches around me, and I spotted an empty one.

I picked up my suitcase, set it on the bench, and then sat down next to it. I sat back and closed my eyes.

I suddenly opened them again, as I felt a slight nudging on my shoulder.

The first thing I saw was the face of a boy my age. 

His hair was a dark brown, and he had pale blue eyes.

"Did I wake you?" He said shyly.

I shook my head. "Would you like to sit down?" 

He nodded and sat next to me.

"So where are you headed?" I asked him.

"Wooldridge." He said.

"Me too!" I said. I felt a bit happier, as I had already found a friend.

"Maybe we'll be room-mates." He joked.

I shrugged. "It's a possibility."

He was about to say something before the sound of a boat horn cut him off.

I stood up and grabbed my suitcase. "I think that's us." 

The boy nodded, and we both walked onto the small dock.

Parked beside it was a large boat, painted a hunter green with shiny chestnut railings. Upon the bow of the boat was a name; Wooldridge Academy. It was delicately painted in dull gold letters.

"Any day now." The captain said.

I snapped out of my daze, shaking my head.

"I'm sorry." 

The captain nodded. "She's a beauty isn't she?" He said.

I laughed, as he sounded like a pirate. Then I walked up the little wood bridge and onto the boat.

The boy was already cozy in a back seat of the boat. I sat in the front row, as I didn't want to interrupt his "moment". I watched the captain lift up the wood bridge and shut the little door, setting the bridge on its side against the metal side of the boat. I then turned my head and looked out the window into the ocean. It looked cold and grey.

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After an hour long boat ride, we finally made it to the island. The water was a bit bluer near Wooldrige, and I was happy to at least see some change. 

The captain stood up and set up the bridge, and the boy and I carried our luggage off the boat. I thanked the captain, and then left. The boy was a couple feet in front of me, and he stopped abruptly, dropping his suitcase. 

"Who threw that!" He cried out.

He turned around to look at me, and I realized there was a large splat of egg with little bits of shell stuck to the center of his sweater. 

"Are you alright?" I asked.

Before he could answer, an egg hit him in the back of the head, spraying around his ears. a fleck of egg white landed on my nose.

"Who threw that!" I shouted.

I looked up and over the boy to see what looked like a school administrator running towards us.

"BOYS! GET BACK TO YOUR DORMS!" He yelled. 

A group of boys then leaped out of a bush, racing down the path and towards the school buildings.

"I hope you had fun with your GRANDMA!" One shouted.

The rest snickered.

The administrator finally met up with us.

"Oh Martin. Not again," he said with despair.

I took into account that the boy's name was Martin.

The man introduced himself as Mr. Walt, and I shook his hand, trying to be polite as possible.

"Here is a key to your room. I can't explain some things now, so meet me in my office in 30 minutes. The dorm you're in has an owl on it's logo. My office is on the bottom floor." He said.

I nodded, took the key, and headed down the path.

As I walked, I finally got a good look at the campus. 

The same willowy trees from the pamphlet shaded the walkway, and the dorms I passed by were built with grey weathered stone. Each dorm had a crest, whether it be a red bird or grey owl, like the dorm I'd be staying in.

I found the owl dorm and walked in, finding myself in a small parlor. There was a shiny stone floor with the dorm crest on it, and then a large staircase. To my left was Mr. Walt's office, and to my right was the dorm kitchen. I walked up the staircase to find myself in a common area. 

There were 2 leather couches, each worn but in good condition, and a large TV. Computers lined the wall to my right, and to my left was a ping pong table. Two boys were playing a game, and they both stopped to nod and say hello. 

I smiled back at them and then walked down the hall.

My room ended up being a corner room with it's own personal bathroom.

I grinned and flopped onto the bed.

I'd be sleeping here for the rest of my high school years.