The Veilor

Chapter 1: The Principal's Office

August 26th

16:55 PM

Greendale

One week before the new academic year starts at Baxter High.

Cornelia Moore sat at the empty reception room near the entrance to Principal Wardwell's office and restlessly fiddled with the watch on her right wrist. Every few seconds she'd drop a quick glance at the watch and then back at the clock above the Principal's office. Due to school holidays, the secretary was long gone and the halls of the school were pretty much empty with just an odd teacher or two passing by through the corridor ever so often. Most had already finished for the day, quickly packed up their bags, and got out hoping to "retrieve" to the comfort of their daily routines and forget about the endless days they'll spend in this building over the coming year.

The girl watched the arrows on the big clock for a few seconds. 'Nearly time', she thought to herself as she pulled her waist-long blonde curls into a tight ponytail and secured it with a hairband. Her hands skillfully shaped the ponytail as they twirled and tugged at certain strands pulling them higher up and finally fixing it with several hairpins into a neat bun. As this was done, she was about to redirect her attention back to the arrows when the clock began to strike ' Five o'clock!' the girl jumped up, squeezing the navy bag in her hands tighter and forcing herself towards the door of the office. As soon as the clock stopped striking, she knocked on the door of the Principle. There came a long pause, allowing Cornelia the time to consider 'turning back' and running home, making up all the excuses in the world as to why checking in with the local school doesn't really need to be done today, and convince herself that she still had plenty of time to apply before the academic year started. She was just about to turn around, when a husky "Come in" came from behind the shut door and welcomed the girl inside. "No turning back now," she muttered to herself quietly and turned the handle, pushing the wooden door forwards ever so slightly, while battling with the wish to turn back. "Come on in," the woman repeated with a sly smirk across her face "I don't bite... usually..." she said with a small chuckle and watched the door open.

Following the given instructions Cornelia hurried to step inside the office and appear in front of the woman with the husky voice. Principal Wardwell was a tall woman with long brunette curls that lay upon her fragile shoulders just perfectly, large deep blue eyes, and beautiful porcelain skin. She wore a blood-red blouse that went all the way up to her neck with a Victorian-style collar around it and a tight fit black pencil skirt that perfectly outlined her elegant figure. Cornelia felt her heart speeding up, the whole situation of going to a new school and doing all the paperwork for it being rather nerve-wracking for the poor female.

"Please, take a seat, Miss..." Principal Wardwell looked down at the folder on her table "Miss Moore" she smiled, looking up at the girl and licking her lower lip ever so slightly. "My name is Mary Wardwell, I am the Principal of this school. How may I help you today?" Mary folded her arms together and moved forward, leaning on the desk slightly as she watched her visitor closely.

Cornelia fiddled with her fingers for a few seconds longer before she pulled herself together and looked up at the wall behind Mary as she deliberately avoided making any eye contact with her "I... Um... I recently moved to Greendale and I still need to complete my 11th and 12th grade" the girl sighed so heavily, one could have thought she was trying to push a stone wall off her chest. "I'm sorry, I understand that the deadline for applications for this academic year is already closed but..." She stopped right there and looked down at the floor again. Over the duration of her speech not once, did Cornelia dare to look directly at the sassy-looking Principle.

Shifting slightly in her chair Mary leaned back a little, taking the girl's file into her hands. She quickly flipped through a few pages, looked at the girl, and back at the file. A few seconds of torturous silence seemed to last forever before the brunette woman finally spoke up. She read the file aloud "Miss Cornelia Moore, 19 years old, British. A straight A's student, with high ambitions and passion for studies." Miss Wardwell flipped the page over "Exceptional talents: Languages, Singing, Dancing, and Swimming... Mmmm you were a leader of the reading club and were running to be the schools' student ambassador" Mary finished looking rather impressed with the girl. "Currently on academic leave' her eyes shot up to the girl as she frowned "This document is dated three years ago, you were allowed one year of academic leave due to family circumstances. According to your file Miss Moore you should have completed your final year of studies this June and should be moving onto the next step of your education."

The Principle's words echoed through Cornelia's head 'Three years...It's been three years...' a shiver ran through her body and small goosebumps crept over her skin, making her shift uncomfortably to try and release the built-up tension. She tried to focus but her head kept being flooded by the memories of the last three years. Has it really been this long already? 'I can't do this, I can't, please, I can't' she whispered in her head as her body became visibly tense and the shaking was no longer discrete 'Let me GO!' she screamed in her mind as loud as she could and her head sprung up, beads of cold sweat on her forehead and she gave out a prolonged sigh of relief.

For the first time since Cornelia had stepped into this office, she was able to look at the woman sitting before her. 'Oh wow! She's beautiful' Cornelia thought to herself and instantly blushed. The semi-darkness of the Principal's office did a good job at hiding the rosiness of her cheeks and had a soothing effect on her. Soothing but only until she realized that the dark-haired woman sitting on the opposite side of the desk had been watching her crumble all this time. 'That's it!' Cornelia thought 'No way she's admitting me into the school after this, why the hell can't I be normal?!' she scolded herself and held on to her bag tighter. "I'm really sorry. This was a big mistake; I really never should have come here. Thank you for your time, Miss Wardwell." She said and stood up, reaching over for her file. But as she leaned across the desk and her fingers latched onto the green file Cornelia's eyes locked with the ones of the brunette and she froze.