The auditorium at Chelsea Prep was impressive. And to think Olive thought that the auditorium at her old private school was large, this surely topped anything she'd seen. She sat down in the next empty seat she could find, landing herself in between a friendly looking boy and the aisle towards the stage. To her left, she noticed the boy next to her fiddle with his hands. She had half a mind to tell him to sit still, that it was improper to being wiggling about. Something, her mother would approve of. But she didn't, instead, she leaned and whispered loud enough for him to hear.
"Nervous?" The boy looked over and Olive offered him a smile.
"Yeah." He said before quickly correcting himself. "Yes, I mean" He had a thick accent and Olive struggled to decipher its origin.
Olive stifled a laugh. "Did your parents prohibit saying 'yeah' too?" The boy nodded and smiled.
"It's been beaten into my brain for as long as I can remember and yet I still forget."
"Same here." Olive laughed. "I'm Olive by the way."
"Nice to meet you Olive, I'm Omari."
"If you don't mind me asking Omari, where are you from. Your accent does not sound like any i've heard before." Olive worried momentarily that she had overstepped her boundaries but Omari did not seem phased at all.
"I'm Togolese american. My family is from Togo in Africa." Olive nodded and took this in.
"That's very cool, what's Togo like?" She asked.
"Well, most of the country lives in poverty but my family is from the city, so I guess they're pretty well off. It's pretty hot there and the rainy season is miserable. But overall I really like it. There's a lot of culture, not like what you see here."
Olive opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the lights in the auditorium dimming. She motioned to Omari towards the stage and turned away.
Everyone quieted as the unmistakable sounds of clicking heels captured attention. Instinctively, Olive looked down at her own heels. Her parents had insisted that she looked presentable for orientation, and given the attire of everyone in the auditorium, theirs had too.
A women with honey brown hair made her way onto the stage, in her hands she held a handful of notecards. She made her way to a podium that Olive hadn't noticed before.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen." The women began, moving slightly closer to the microphone on the podium. Olive couldn't help but notice how good her posture was and she shifted herself upright, straightening her back. She had never even realized she was slouching so bad, her mother would be disappointed. "My name is Beverly Black. However you may all refer to me as Headmaster Black. I am headmaster here at Chelsea Preparatory, this will be my ninth year as headmaster and my twenty-third year at the school. Before I was headmaster, I taught etiquette classes, and still I have been known to correct the etiquette of students as I see fit." She chuckles at this and Olive tries not to cringe when no one joins her.
"Ouch." Omari whispers with a grin. Had Omari not been her one shot at making a friend her, she would've shushed him and told him not to be rude, instead, Olive only laughed.
"Tell me about it."
If Headmaster Black was phased by the awkwardness, she didn't show it. "Welcome to your first year at Chelsea Preparatory. I'm going to start by going over rules with you all before going into general information, classes, and lastly, we'll hand out your schedules and assign your dorms." From behind Headmaster Black, a large projector rolls down. On it, a slideshow is projected. Headmaster Black motions to the screen, where a bulleted list of school rules appears. "School uniforms are to be worn in classes at all times without exception. Appropriate dress attire is to be worn in all educational buildings including the library however there is there is no dress code for the remainder of the campus. Bear in mind that teachers and staff reserve the right to send you back to your dorm to change should your clothing be deemed unacceptable."
Olive pays attention as Headmaster Black explains the rest of the school rules. Including, no drugs or illegal substances on campus, no alcohol on campus, she also explains appropriate behavior and many other rules.
"Keep in mind students that all of these rules are highlighted in detail in the student handbook, which you will receive shortly."
Headmaster Black carries on for another hour. She tells the students about various work opportunities on campus, the gallas and balls that will be held, and information on transportation around campus.
Admittedly, Olive lost focus throughout most of the presentation but her attention was quickly garnered when Headmaster Black announced that she would be splitting the students up so that they may receive their welcome packets, which contained the handbook, information on where to purchase uniforms, their schedules, and most importantly, their dorm number.
"Students last names A through H are to exit the auditorium and head down the hall to the East Cafeteria. Students last names I through P leave the auditorium and head right, to the outdoor courtyard. Remaining Students last names Q through Z stay here in the auditorium."
"Where are you heading?" Omari questions as he stands from his seat and straightens his tie.
"East Cafeteria," Olive responded. "And you?"
"I stay here, Which means I should probably make my way towards the stage." Olive looks to the stage where a line is already beginning to form. "You're my only hope at having a friend here. Any chance I could get your number so we can keep meet up later to discuss schedules?" Omari asks looking towards Olive.
"Of course," Olive agreed, hoping she didn't sound too eager. "I'm gonna need some friends." They exchanged numbers before leaving their seats and losing each other to the crowd of students leaving the auditorium.
Olive finds herself one of the first in the East Cafeteria, and her wait in line is short.
"Name?" A petite woman asks when Olive makes her way up to the table where the students information is being handed out.
"Olive Broadwell." Olive responds, immediately ensuring her posture is proper now that she is in the presence of an adult authority.
"Ah yes, Miss Broadwell. Your stuff is right on top." The woman says, grabbing a stack of papers and booklets. "Here you go." She hands the mess of paperwork to Olive and offers here a smile.
Olive returns the gesture. "Thank you ma'am." She manages before turning away. Leaving East Cafeteria, Olive does not stop to look at the stack in her hands until she finds somewhere to sit, that somewhere ends up being a table at an on-campus coffee shop; Tidbits.
Despite knowing she should read through all the papers, she sorts through them until she finds the one she is most interested in.
The paper is labelled Dorm Information and not only holds the number of Olive's dorm but also information on how and where to find items for her dorm.
All Dorms are furnished however occupants may choose to add furnishing as they wish. The paper reads. Below that, in bold lettering it states
Olive Broadwell: Women's Western Residence Hall. Dorm 310
Olive sorts back through the papers to find the map of campus, the Western Residence Halls were only a short walk from where she was.
