*Watty's 2021 Shortlist*
Samantha Roberts and Ben Evans have one thing in common - they both attend Sir Robertson's School for the Gifted, an elite boarding school for the children of the world's wealthiest. Both scholarship students, they gravitate...
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Ben seems pretty distracted the whole car ride—which is fair, because it seems like Rose is having some problems.
I can't imagine being her age and having to come so far from home, even if Ben is with her. It seems strange that their parents wouldn't have come to see them off, but who am I to talk? I'm alone.
I mean, it is a bit different, but still.
I hope she does okay. She seems like a really smart kid, and I want her to do well. I like Ben, too—he seems nice, and I'm kinda ecstatic to have made a friend already.
It's a bit of a miracle, honestly.
The road is quickly surrounded by jungle, the heat and moisture pressing in on us from all sides. Vines crawl their way up trees, lush leaves that drip water on vibrant flowers and soak the thick jungle floor.
I'm basically completely out of my element, but also entirely in awe of my surroundings. We crunch over the gravel road, and I'm wondering how the heck a school —with a pretty typical-looking campus, judging by all the photos—fits into the middle of this wilderness.
And then I see the wall.
It looms out of the jungle ahead of us, concrete stretching up way above our heads. The jungle presses in on either side, vines and trees growing up the sides, all of the visible metal rusting and corroded.
It looks like something out of a dystopian novel, and it ignites something excited and a little bit apprehensive in my chest. I knew the school was sort of hidden. But I didn't imagine this, and it makes me curious.
The tall metal gates swing open at our approach, and I take note of the cameras as we drive through. I know we're allowed off campus on weekends to go to the village, so this isn't as much of a prison as it looks, but I still shiver as the gates clang shut behind us.
I look back and trade glances with Ben, who looks about as freaked out as I do.
"What the heck?" I mouth, raising my eyebrows exaggeratedly.
"I have no idea," he mouths back, and I smile. Rose is asleep on his shoulder, her long blonde hair tangled around her shoulders.
And suddenly, I have a glimpse of how Ben might feel—halfway across the world from his home, with his kid sister to take care of, and the knowledge that all of these people are rich enough to kill us and have no one ask any questions. I would be pretty nervous right now if I was him.
Ahead of us, the campus is spread out like something from another world—something far away from the wildness of the jungle, from the hustle and bustle and untidy sprawl of the marketplace.
Past the gate, the gravel path turns into a well-paved road surrounded by manicured trees and rows of flowers. Ahead of us is the Main Office building, and the road meanders past that, opening up into the circle—the area of grass situated in the middle of the ring of buildings, populated by a gently bubbling fountain, patches of flowers, and more perfect apple trees, which provide nice patches of shade.
