Boarding School Bliss

Chapter 1

As Samantha Haynes stalked down the hallway, she was acutely aware of the stares her presence elicited. She loved that feeling. At home, she was invisible. But not here. Most children hated being sent away to boarding schools, but not Samantha. She hated being home. Getting to spend most of her days at Darken Boarding School was the only way she survived.

Here at Darken, she was revered. Everyone loved her, or at least wanted to be her. And Samantha wasn't sure of the difference.

Samantha's three closest friends strolled down the hallway beside her, causing almost as much of a stir as herself. Almost. Her glossy black hair swished across the stiff white fabric of her uniform with her every step.

The uniform was of course modified to flatter her figure. She couldn't be seen wearing one of these hideous things in the dreadful condition that they arrived in. The boy's had it easy, button-up, tie, and slacks. How hard is that to mess up? But the girl's uniforms had the ability to turn any budding young woman into something resembling a twelve year old boy.

Samantha's makeup was nothing less than perfect, not a thing out of place. She had her shoulders thrown back and her chin held high.

"Looking good, Samantha." Trey called as she approached.

"Hey, Trey." She called in a flirty tone as she passed the hockey star. Trey had broad shoulders and more muscles than she could count. Not really her type, but she wasn't one to turn down some fun flirtations. She relished the attention.

Trey gave her an appreciative grin and a wink.

Samantha blew kisses to her three friends as they broke away from her and headed to their classes. She rounded the corner, heading towards her government class, and her smile faltered as she came face-to-face with someone, narrowly missing running right into him.

"D-Dawson." She stammered, her heart rate skyrocketing. "I'm so sorry." She breathed, stepping back to give him room.

Dawson smiled kindly down at her, pushing his glasses higher onto his nose in a habitual gesture. His intense green eyes were far away as he looked down at her, as if he'd been deep in his thoughts and was struggling to resurface. "Sam, hi. It's fine."

He placed a polite hand on her arm and stepped around her, continuing on his way as if nothing had just happened. Samantha put a hand on her chest, feeling the sudden need to catch her breath.

Dawson was her big secret. He'd always affected her like this. She'd had a crush on him for as long as she knew him. If her friends ever found out, she would be ousted. Dawson wasn't exactly the type of guy they would approve of, but she couldn't help herself. He was so smart and kind and adorable. So, she kept him her deepest secret and dreamt of him only when she was alone and couldn't stop herself.

She glanced behind her and couldn't stop the small smile that tipped her lips as she watched his lanky figure disappear around the far corner. He called her Sam. He was the only person who ever called her that.

With a sigh and a shake of her head, Samantha turned and resumed her brisk pace to her class.

Government was her last class and halfway through she'd received a text to meet Jasmine, Lyla, and Cara in Cara and Lyla's room. Apparently, they had planned an adventure to celebrate the start of the weekend. When her friends said things like that, Samantha couldn't help but be a little worried. They tended towards trouble and Samantha didn't like trouble. Darken was the only bright spot in her world and she wasn't in any hurry to get kicked out.

She made her way to Cara's room and entered without knocking as was their habit. The three other girls were already there, waiting for her. They were seated on the bed gossiping. It was another one of their pastimes that Samantha preferred not to take part in. Gossiping only caused pain and Samantha only wanted happy things in her life. Maybe she avoided reality a little, but she had had enough pain for one lifetime and she only wanted to spend her days smiling.

Her friends looked up as soon as she entered, their words halting and replaced with smiles of greeting.

"Samantha!" Lyla shouted, her wild red curls bouncing with her excitement. "We have the best idea!"

"Oh yeah?" Samantha asked, dropping her bag and falling onto the other bed next to Jasmine. "Let's hear it."

Jasmine flipped her long brown hair behind her shoulder and turned to Samantha, her brown eyes wide and shining with excitement. "We want to TP the headmaster's office."

"Um, what?" Samantha asked, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

Lyla nodded excitedly. "Jackson and Mac are going to get us in."

Samantha's stomach started fluttering nervously. This was definitely included in her list of things she did not want to be a part of. "Are you sure we should do that? We could get in a lot of trouble. Or even kicked out of school."

Cara snickered and tugged on Samantha's arm. "Don't be lame, Samantha. It'll be fun. Besides, we aren't going to get caught. And imagine how much the guys will love it if we do this with them." Cara waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

This wasn't really a deciding factor for Samantha. She didn't want Jackson or Mac to be seriously interested in her. That was too much trouble. Not to mention, she was a little too hung up on someone else to be interested in either of them.

But Samantha knew her friends wouldn't let it go until she agreed.

"Okay," She said reluctantly. "But at the first sign of trouble, I am out of there."

Cara rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.

"Yes!" Lyla said, doing a little happy dance. "Okay, Jasmine and Samantha, you guys meet us back here at midnight. We have to wait until everyone is in their rooms before we leave or we'll be caught before we've even begun."

Samantha stood to her feet and swept back her hair with manicured fingers. "Well, I'm going to take a nap. I'll see you troublemakers later." Her friends giggled at the nickname and Jasmine jumped up to walk with her back to their room.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading guys! Vote if you like it so far and don't worry, Samantha has a lot of growing ahead of her!