No Ordinary Girl

Chapter Six

The brochure and web site had not done RAMS justice.

It is so much better in real life -- a gothic-castle with turrets (yes, turrets!), old medieval-like stone walls, and stain glass windows. It was built in 1896, and is set on ten acres, surrounded by lush greenery, and sits on the shores of Belgrave Lake in Maine.

There I was, frozen with my jaw to the floor. This definitely beat my old high school; a typical concrete block surrounded by chain-link. The coolest thing about my old school was the gumball machine in the principal's office.

I was shaking when we stepped out of the car. I don't know why – I never shake. Honestly, I was a complete mess. The driver pulled my luggage, and thankfully, I had no problems keeping up with Simone – the woman wears four inch heels and she walks kind of slowly. I spotted a few kids walking up the stairs to the entrance, but I was too enthralled with the view to pay them any mind.

Oh my... as my mom would say. This place.

The entrance hall was filled with stain glass windows; beautiful designs in blues, yellows, oranges, reds and purples. Even the ceilings were stained glass. I felt like I was held captive in one of those decorative glass hanging balls, like I was inside a kaleidoscope; the kind we all played with as kids, one eye shut and a hand twirling. It looked like one of those old churches you'd see in Europe. I've actually never been, but I can only imagine.

A series of tree designs in the alcove windows displayed the breathtaking views of the landscape outside.

A tall well-dressed man welcomed us; dark skin, blue suit, hipster glasses. That's all I took in. I was too busy looking all around me, like I was on Mars or something.

"Good day, Mrs. Adler. This must be the famous Annabelle Jenkins," I heard him say in a slight accent; possibly Spanish or French.

"This is Philippe," Simone told me. "He's the administrator here. Anything you need, you ask him."

I nodded shyly, my throat painfully dry. He offered me a glass of water or juice, almost as if he could tell I was dying of thirst. I wondered if everyone at RAMS could read minds like me.

"Thank you, do you have orange juice?"

"Sure do."

He stepped outside of the spectacular alcove to the front desk and into an office at the back, and returned quickly with a glass of orange juice.

As Simone when over a few details with him, he clicked away at a sleek black computer. I stood, frozen to the floor. As I sipped my glass of orange juice, the smell of the large bouquet of lilies at the reception desk overwhelmed me. So did the view; the double curved staircases, the console table with the biggest vase I've ever seen, the dark cathedral-like ceilings and stained glass windows. It was like I had been transported into one of those old mansions in historical movies; the kind of movies my mom can't get enough of.

Just pull my hair up in an up-do, and throw me into a corset now.

The place was dead and eerily quiet; not another soul around. I guessed that since it was a Monday evening, all the students were probably in the dorms. I was itching to go run around and explore like a kid. It took all the strength I had to behave, and just stand there and wait for Simone.

It took her forever.

She turned to me and guided me to the front desk where Philippe snapped a photo of me for my ID card. While he did his thing, she asked me for my phone. I knew this would come. I'd read about their no-cells policy on the website. To be honest, it wasn't a huge deal for me. I'm not glued to my phone like most kids are.