The bus ride was two hours long and I fell asleep through it all. When the bus came to a halt, Harvey had woken me up and volunteered to give me a full tour of the boarding school. He even offered to help me make some friends.
Maybe my final year of high school really won't be a disastrous dilemma.
Harvey sighed, "This is the principles office, go and get your schedule and dorm room number. I'll wait out here." He eagerly ushered me in the room with a slight nudge to my back.
"Hey," I nodded at the principle when I met his curious gaze. "I'm Rye, the new kid."
"Nice to meet ya, I'm Mr. Ry, this schools principal. You have quite the record, Mr Beaumont. Take a seat, we need to have a serious chat."
I locked my jaw, frustrated. The last thing I needed was a chat from the guy with the same name as me. jeesh. "What?"
"I advise you to behave at this prestigious boarding school. You'll be expelled if I find out you've been bullying other students. Take your schedule, I hope we don't have to meet in my office again," He grinned. What a lunatic. "Oh and lose the shades."
I smiled mockingly while snatching my schedule from his hand and stormed out, bumping shoulders with Harvey.
"Hey! Wait up, you good?" Harvey breathed out as he caught up with me.
I didn't spare him a glance and nodded my head. "Yeah, I just wanna rest up."
"Alright, the tour can wait. Lemme check out your schedule, I can take you to your dorm room."
Harvey waved goodbye after leading me to my dorm room. He wanted to meet up with his friends. I sucked in a sharp breath and prepared myself to open the dorm rooms doors with confidence. I was nervous. My heart ricocheted against my chest, hard. I balled my hands into fists and kicked the door open. "Hey, I'm-"
The room was empty and a part of me was glad because after I kicked the door open, I realized how childish I might have looked.
"Why'd you stop?" I flinched at the squeaky voice. With my cheeks red, I frantically looked around for the boy. I found his head popping out from under one of the bunks. I gaped at him, wondering what the hell he was doing with more than half his body hidden under the bunkbed.
"Uh, I thought no one was here. What-what are you doing under there?"
The pale faced boy crawled out half-naked, with only a pair of green boxers that matched the colour of his eyes. "Someone stole my suitcase while I was asleep. I can't find it. You must be the new kid. I'm Jack Duff, also no one tends to stay in class before the official first day of class. They all usually throw a party in the gymnasium. Wanna check it out? Also, welcome to Honeyside Creek Boarding School."
I gaped at the lanky lad in front of me. He sure was chatty even without any clothes on. Speaking of clothes, I bared my teeth, antagonized by the fact that someone stole this kid's clothes. Whoever stole it clearly had no honour, who would strike when their victim was asleep, innocently unaware of the injustice he'd have to face when he woke up.
"D'you know anyone who has a grudge on you or dislikes you in this dorm?"
"Oh, nice to meet you, I didn't get your name the last time. What was it again?"
I rolled my eyes. "I'm Rye. I'm trying to help-"
"No way! You have the same name as Mr. Ry!" Jack burst out laughing.
"My name ends with an e. It's different. Now do you want your clothes back or not!" I bellowed.
Jack clamped his mouth shut and nodded his head. I was astonished at how promptly he went from laughing to a grave expression. "There's this dimwitted kid called Brooklyn. He tends to take my suitcase and hides it. It always takes me two or more hours to find it. Oh, and when I do find it, it's usually covered in milk. I've asked him time and time again to stop it but he never listens."
"Do you think he's in the gymnasium right now?"
"Probably."
I stormed off, my eyes scanning the halls and my ears searching for any loud music or chattering. Brooklyn. Who did he think he was, picking on other students! I was going to find him and make sure he didn't bother any other students again.
When I found the gymnasium, I froze. It was more than spacious. I swear it could have been bigger than four dorms combined. The majority of the students were all in their uniforms, some were break dancing, some students were playing basketball and others were eating and talking. It smelled like sweat and different types of dishes. I didn't know how everyone was fine eating here. How the hell was I supposed to find Brooklyn here, I didn't even know what he looked like.
"Hey! I thought you were getting some shut eye?" Harvey appeared from behind me.
I shook my head. "Nah, I'm not tired anymore. Harvey, by any chance, do you know a kid named Brooklyn who's in the same dorm room as me?"
Harvey's eyes widened and he nodded his head. "Yeah. Everyone knows him. He's really weird. What do you want with him?"
"He stole my roommates suitcase. I'm gonna get it back."
"Huh, look at you making friends so fast. Ah, blondie is over there!" He pointed at a short, slender boy eating a muffin. He stood alone in a corner, people watching. I thanked Harvey and marched my way there. As I neared him, I realized he wasn't as short as he looked from a afar. He seemed to be only a few inches shorter than me. "Brooklyn?" I asked.
Brooklyn snapped his head at me, his eyes alert for some reason. "Who are you?"
"Let's have a chat, alone. If you don't meet me in your dorm room in five minutes, I'll make your life miserable." I spat out and walked back to our dorm. Brooklyn was following me but he stayed silent.
"What is it?" He asked quietly.
"Did you hide Jack's suitcase?"
"Yes."
