Meet Katie, also known as Goldilocks. Coming from a not so rich family, she was forced into thievery by her father. She's a teen who is ashamed of her past and wishes to forget about it. Katie thought her life couldn't get anymore confusing, that is...
The chimes from the nearby bell tower rolled through the boarding village, echoing its sound into the rooms of sleeping students, I included. The sun peered through the curtains and onto my sleeping body. I hesitantly rose myself up and rubbed away the sleep from my eyes. The coolness of the air outside made me feel even more awake than I had done when I first woke up. Straggling out of bed, I made my way over to my window and stared out onto the village courtyard.
The golden leaves decorated the ground below, and the warm colours in the sky gave me such comfort. It was the beginning of a new chapter in my life, and I was more than ready to start anew. I wasn't going to let my past ruin this chance of making new friends and well, being a typical teenager. I took in a deep breath and started to get ready for the day.
Once I had finished having my shower, I got changed into my uniform, which for the record was the poshest thing I've ever worn. Ok, picture this.
I wore a long blue and red dress which had matching coloured diamond checkered sleeves. It had embroidery stitches on the front that did make it pretty to wear. I also had to put my hair in a bun, which wasn't that hard since I have long hair, but I made it look even better by having it in a braided style.
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I remember standing in front of my mirror and hardly recognising myself. If you had told me that I would be standing in a posh boarding school wearing a uniform like this, I wouldn't have believed you at all.
After I got dressed and put on a little bit makeup, (Yes, big shock I wear makeup, but it was light though.) I shoved my books into my bag and headed out the door, down the steps and towards the large dining hall. It was indeed an exquisite building, there were at least ten large mahogany tables which took up the majority of of the space inside.
At one end, there was the kitchen and dishing out area where you collected your food from, and on the other end, there was a place to clear and put away your plates. Golden brown wallpaper wrapped around every single wall, and on them hung framed portraits of the school and what I presumed to be past headmasters.
It was quite packed when I managed to enter and get my food; there were so many people in there that I didn't know how I was going to find Isabel and her friends. A long pale arm-waved me over, I spotted the person wearing thick-rimmed glasses, and I knew I had found where I was supposed to be going. After scooting around a few people, I managed to take a seat with Isabel and two other girls; one had jet-black hair while the other had light brown hair. I could also make out that the one with brown hair had light freckles around her nose, which I hadn't seen on anyone before.
"Hey Katie," Isabel smiled. "How's it going?"
"Ok, so far," I said. "There's a lot of people in here."
"Yea, it's always like this in the morning. That's why it's important to get here as soon as they open up the doors. Otherwise, you'll never get a good place to sit." Isabel explained.
I nodded, there was going to be lots of things to remember, that's for sure.
"These are my friends Lucy and Merida," Isabel pointed. "Girls this is Katie, she arrived here yesterday."
They both said their hellos and I did the same. I made sure to make a quick mental note that Merida was the one with the black hair, and Lucy was the one with the freckles.
"Nice to meet you, Katie," Lucy said, grabbing her apple from her tray. "Hope you like it here, I know it may seem daunting at first, but after a few days, you'll get used to it."
"Yea, don't worry. Everything will be great," Merida added. "Just as long as you know all about the school and the ranking system."
"R-ranking system?" I asked. "There's a ranking system here?"
"Jeez keep making the poor girl nervous why don't you," Lucy groaned, resting her head in the palm of her hand. "She's only been here like five minutes!"
Merida rolled her eyes before bringing her chair closer to me. "Relax, you're in safe hands here. I know everything about how to survive at Worcestershire."
"I wouldn't use the word survive per say," Isabel said. "More like... get through with ease."
"How is that any better?" I questioned.
"Sounds nicer." Lucy laughed.
And so for the next fifteen minutes, Merida and the girls gave me the rundown of what and who I had to know. It was so much, and I can't honestly remember it all, so I will explain the ones that spring to mind. So firstly schoolwork was important. I mean, of course, it does obviously, but you needed to stay on top of things because you would get lots and I mean lots of work to do.
You had six classes every day, and each lesson was around fifty minutes long. The day ended at 3:30 pm unless you had afterschool clubs, extra classes, or... detention. Then your day will end at 5 pm, which was stupid, in my opinion. Mr. Merlin, the school's magic teacher, was notoriously well known for his weird teaching styles and random mood swings. A bit of a pushover, according to Isabel, so I didn't have to worry about him. As for the others... I had to be on my best behaviour.
Then there was the ranking system. To sum it all up; if you were at the top you were classed as 'Most Popular', but if you were at the bottom, you were seen as a nobody. They even explained that there was an even lower ranking than bottom. How was that even possible? That would mean you were absolutely unpopular, 'the joke of the school' was what Lucy called it.
"So if there's an even lower ranking," I said. "Than who on earth is-"
A loud crash, then the sound of roaring laughter filled the room. Everyone turned their heads and got up to see what was going on. I stood on my chair, and from across the room I could see two guys laughing at each other while standing over someone; a boy with slightly dark blonde hair covered in food from head to toe.
"Have a nice breakfast looser," one of them chucked.
"Garbage suits you very nicely," The other laughed.
What was so shocking was that no one, and I mean NO ONE helped him at all. Everyone was just pointing and laughing at him; some teased him as well. I watched as the boy got himself up, grabbed his bag, and just simply walked out, brushing the food off his head and clothes.
"And that Katie," Isabel said as everyone went back to their seats. " That was whose classed as the joke of our school."
"The one that left with food all over him?"
Everyone on the table nodded.
I didn't know what to think at that moment; I felt so disgusted by the way he was being treated. Not just by those stupid guys, but by everyone else. If he was the 'joke of the school,' then I expected his time at school wasn't exactly the best. I guessed he had zero friends and I did want to introduce myself, but I only saw him from afar.
