The Girl in the Boys' Dorms

Chapter One: I never thought I'd be trapped in a testosterone-riddled hell.

The Girl in the Boys' Dorms - Chapter One: I never thought I'd be trapped in a testosterone-riddled hell. Well, there's a first time for even the craziest things... right?

"Breathe in, breathe out," Mrs. Turner instructed hastily, patting my shoulder as gently as she could manage with an armful of papers - which wasn't very gentle, and only caused my breath to hitch in my throat as I fought to swallow it. "Come on, Bailey, you can do it. Calm down - calm down." Her last words were stressed with desperation, and she threw me a wistful look as she threw herself down into the chair behind her desk.

I followed her directions, sucking deeply from the empty brown paper bag that was pressed to my face. It was difficult to draw air from it, but it eased my anxiety anyway. I knew the next step, I had gone through the whole procedure multiple times. It was simple enough; inhale from and exhale into a brown bag, slowly count down from ten, clear your head.

Ten, nine, eight...

I couldn't believe this was happening. This couldn't be happening to me - not yet. It had only been a week since school had started, and I was already being forced to switch rooms. This wasn't right, she couldn't do that to me. After all, we had gotten along fairly well... So what if I had put a damper on her stupid start-of-the-term party? She was drunk as anything and screaming at the top of her lungs at two in the morning! That wasn't any reason for her to -

"Breathe, Bailey, breathe!" Mrs. Turner, the guidance counselor and head of housing at North Shore Boarding School, exclaimed, pushing the bag harder to my mouth. "Are you counting? You're supposed to be counting!"

Oh, yeah. Step two. I'm supposed to be counting. Where was I?

Seven, six, five...

And now, after everything I'd been through to be accepted to this damn prestigious place, I would have to transfer back to my old high school. Just because Evelyn couldn't stand to share the same room with me for a year, I'd be flying on the next plane back home. There had to be another way - they couldn't just ship me back to Omaha! An alternative... anything...

Wait. Counting. I was half-way through. Four, three, two...

Even after doing everything - contacting the dean of admissions, handing in a number of essays on various topics, consulting the headmaster about financial aid programs - I was being turned away. Evelyn just had to have a room all to herself, didn't she? Even though I'd given her most of the space, sacrificing half of my closet - which, granted, I didn't need, since the only clothes I'd really brought with me other than my uniform were pajamas and sweats - to her, she had to complain to the school board - which, unfortunately for me, consisted of both her parents, and an uncle - and have me removed from her dorm. How selfish could a person be?

"Are you done counting?" Mrs. Turner asked nervously, touching my arm. "It's been almost five minutes... Surely you're done?"

One.

"Yeah," I panted, slumping down in my chair. From behind her desk, Mrs. Turner retrieved a handful of lollipops and passed them over to me. Accepting them gratefully, I tore one open and promptly stuffed it between my lips, relishing the taste of green apple and caramel. "So, uh, Mrs. - Mrs. Turner, do I have to...?" I trailed off, unable to complete the sentence. It might have been silly, but it felt as though if I said what I was thinking, it would be a confirmation that I'd have to leave the school.

"I'm afraid." She replied sadly, placing her elbows on the tabletop and resting her chin in the palms of her hands. She surveyed me keenly over the rims of her glasses, her kind eyes staring at me almost pitifully. "We don't have any more available space in the girls' dormitory. Either you'll have to take a room in the boys' building, or you'll have to return home."