Funny Thing About Love

chapter one. ♡

“Well, that’s the last of it.” My father wheezed out as he placed my last bit of luggage on the ground next to me. I took a moment to take in my new surroundings. This was the place I was going to be staying at for the next nine months. I still can’t believe my parents are sending me to a boarding school. I was just joking when I suggested that idea over the summer, I didn’t think they would take it literally! There’s nothing I can do about it now, my parents have already paid the tuition and no refunds so it looks like I’m stuck here. Here it is, Ridley Academy, home of the tigers.

For starters, the entire campus was huge. There were multiple buildings, each had their own name. To my left there was a very large building with a bunch of sports equipment outside wrapped up and in boxes so I’m taking that was the gym. To my right I saw a building that was even bigger than the gym which was saying something, considering the gym was a VERY huge building. I’m going to take that as the refectory because I saw girls coming out with bottles of water in their hands.

In front of me was the grand building. This was the tallest building of the dozens I’ve seen. The school was so big that there are dozens more about ten minutes from the actual main building. Those must be the residence halls. This school was so insanely huge and confusing; I think I might need to use a map for the next four years.

“How do you like it so far?” Dad asked as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I was still looking around before I felt him tap my shoulder. I spun around and smiled at him.

“Well, it’s big and I’m pretty sure I’m going to get lost.” I said.

Dad just laughed. “Don’t worry, you’ll find your way around eventually.” He responded.  There was silence after that, dad took in a deep breath and exhaled.

“I can’t believe you’re going to go off to school all on your own. I won’t be able to come visit you for two months. When you get home, your mother and I will have a surprise for you.” He told me.

I engulfed dad in a bone crushing hug. It took him a second to respond and he stumbled back a little bit, probably from the force of the hug. He laughed some more and ruffled my hair. I stepped back and scrunched up my face at him. He knows I hate when people get in my hair. I spend a lot of work on it and I hate to see it all go down the drain.

“Dad.” I groaned.

“Sorry.” He apologized. Like always, I forgave him. He’s my dad, how can I be mad?

“I should probably find someone to help me get these bags in...” I trailed off. 

“Yeah.” Dad said as he ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m going to miss you so much.” I could tell dad was trying to hide the sadness of losing his baby girl. It’s not easy when your only daughter is going away and you won’t see her for a whole two months.

“I know dad, I’m going to miss you too: all of you guys; the pets, mom, Aaron and Luke, no matter how annoying they are.” I said.

I gave dad one last hug and then in less than fifteen minutes, he was gone and I was trying to fight back tears that were threatening to spill out. Random guys passed by me and helped me to my room and carry my luggage there after I went to the office and asked for my schedule and other things. The only thing I hated about private boarding school was the uniforms.

Girls had to wear white blouses and these horrid plaid skirts with flats, high heels, or sneakers. Absolutely no open toed shoes whatsoever. This included flip-flops and sandals unless we were going down to the lake or something or we were in the privacy of our dorm room.  I don’t know about the boys since I’m not one; I just know what the girls wear. I’m guessing they had to wear pants, ties, and shirts identical to ours.

“Thanks guys.” I breathed out as I placed the last of my things on the bed that I had officially claimed.

“You’re welcome. By the way, my name is Joshua. These are my friends, Matt, Vincent and Jake.” He pointed to each boy as he said their name. It took me a moment but I was able to recognize the name with the face. I smiled at them.

“My name’s Drew.” I introduced myself; I reached my hand out to shake their hands. Vincent was the first one to take it. He lifted it up gently and kissed it.

He’s definitely the player of their little group.

The boys must’ve seen the reaction on my face because Josh spoke up. “Don’t mind Vincent. He’s sort of a pervert and a player. Most girls run away from him.” He chuckled at the open mouth Vincent.

“That is not true!” He defended.

Jake rolled his eyes while Josh checked his watch. “Ooh, we have to go get settled into our own dorms. We’ll see you around school Drew.” Josh replied and they all left. I looked behind me and groaned. Why did I pack so much stuff?

My bed was a bare white and I scrunched my face up. The bed totally needs color. I took out the bedding set that I had ordered from some store I can’t remember the name of. It had a damask pattern to it and it was my favorite color scheme: black, white, and pink. The bedding was really pretty and I hoped it would fit perfectly with the rest of the room once my roommate gets here. The walls were white which I was thankful for because white goes with any color.

Once I was done with my bed, I began to unpack all my clothing. I was slightly annoyed that the closet was so small. Good thing I brought three storage trunks with me. The rest of the clothes that didn’t fit, I put them into my storage trunk and kept it at the foot of my bed. Most of my shoes wouldn’t fit in the closet so I stacked some on top of others and put the rest under my bed neatly.

I was finally done with packing and I hadn’t broken a sweat. Thank you! I flopped back on my bed and looked up at the smooth textured ceiling. Back at home, I had posters of my favorite artists and musicians up. Posters of All Time Low, Black Veil Brides, and Avenged Sevenfold and so many more that I can’t think of right now.

Let me guess, you thought I was going to say something like Justin Bieber or One Direction right? No, I mean Justin Bieber is cool but One Direction is just flat out annoying. Sorry if I offended anyone out there. I know I’ll probably be catching hell from some of the chicks out here if they ever ask me that question.

I was so lost into my One Direction rant that I didn’t even hear the bedroom door open and close. I sat up straight and gasped. Standing before me had to be the cutest girl ever! She was so short and skinny, she had brown eyes and she was wearing lip gloss. She was wearing a black tie and a heart shaped necklace around her neck. On her feet were shiny black stilettos. The thing that really stood out from her though had to be her hair. Her hair was a bright colored red, and it was really long with bangs. She had that scene hair. I know some people who couldn’t pull off a hairstyle like that but she pulled it off very nicely.

She looked at me and smiled.

“Hey, there. My name’s Gwen but everyone called me Gweenie. She explained.

“Hey there, Gwen. My name’s Drew. You can call me anything as long as it’s not offensive. Can I just say, I think your hair is incredibly awesome.” I said.

Gwen laughed and nodded her head. “You think so? I can dye yours if you want to sometimes.” She offered.

I smiled. “That would be fantastic!”

Gwen and I spent the rest of the day talking and laughing with each other. I noticed we had a lot of things in common. She liked the same bands I liked, felt the same way about One Direction and she also acted like me. It was like looking at myself in a small, short, and red-headed sort of way. I was so happy my roommate was my friend, she just might be the person to help me survive this place.

I couldn’t wait to begin school tomorrow.