Through It All

Chapter 3

Willow looked up at the tall gates, covered in ivy and towering above her. She assumed that, had she arrived at the school in September along with the rest of the pupils attending, her surroundings would have been packed full of weeping parents and their humiliated teens, suitcases and bags galore, hockey sticks and fresh textbooks strewn about the lawn, and many prefects and teachers awaiting your arrival.

However, here Willow stood, the February chill getting to her, as it seeped through the layer of yellow raincoat and black and white, polka-dotted dress, alone.

Her mother had chemotherapy to be focused on, one of her rounds falling unfortunately on the day of Willow's departure, and 'friends' were not something currently in her possession. So instead, with nothing but the company of a chubby, bald man, the entirety of the London Underground, and her bunny, "Holly" tucked away in her bag, Willow had managed to make it to Evergreen alone.

Rays of sun shone down on the building, teasing it's surroundings with glimpses of the approaching spring, but denying them it's full bliss just yet.

It didn't look miserable. Luckily, the pouring rain had not followed her across the country, and as she stepped out of her taxi, she felt blessed not to place her foot straight into a puddle.

The man who had driven her opened his car door, stepping out, and announcing in a cockney accent, "I'll get ya bags for ya, love."

Willow turned around, away from her view of the school, and toward the boot of the car where the man stood, hauling her possessions from the vehicle, and onto the gravel below.

Once both of her two backpacks, her Kanken that she planned to use for school, her satchel, and her pastel suitcase had all been dumped onto the road, the cabbie smiled at her, and got back into the car, driving off, and leaving her alone. She thanked god that she had paid him before they drove off, as she didn't fancy much social interaction at the moment.

She tried her best to fit all of her bags onto her shoulders, dragging her suitcase along behind. As she began to walk down the path toward the gate, it opened, allowing her to step through, and have the wonderful revelation that was seeing the mystical walls of Evergreen for the very first time.

It was somewhat different to the brochure that Willow had kept by her bedside in the days leading up to her arrival. Seeing it in the flesh made it all the more magnificent, a magical vibe instantly hitting her as she stepped through the gates.

Childhood memories flooded Willow, as she thought of the days she would frolic about the garden in long, flowing dresses, a faux-tiara on her head, flowers intertwined in her braids.

The days in which she was naïve enough to believe that the universe would allow her to spend each of her precious days as a princess. When she sat on her mother's lap, and was told that she was her 'little princess' she believed it the truth. Which it was. However, she allowed herself to believe that one day, she could be mummy's big princess. And as she grew, she found herself accepting the impossibility of this.

However, now as she stepped through the gates, and onto the site of such a mystically beautiful place, that she had been forced into calling home, she felt as if she were a princess once more.

Undoubtedly, half the girls who attended this school had been brought up to believe that they deserved the treatment of royalty, absolutely nothing less. To be lucky enough to attend this school, baring in mind her mother's financial position, was a miracle in the form of an aunty she had no idea she had. Maybe she would be out of place? Perhaps nobody would accept her as anything but the poor girl. Perhaps—

No. She couldn't think that way. As she approached the door, Willow thought of her negativity, and then of her mother, who she was determined to make proud.