Stuck in the Middle

Chapter 1

I stared up at the large brick building looming in front of me. Four floors with dark windows spaced evenly apart and white trim along every straight edge of the building. A lopsided sign hung above the brick archway over the front door: Welcome Students! It almost reminded me of my old school, but as long as the people and policies were different, that's all that mattered.

Arthur Hawking Academy. My new home for the rest of the school year.

"Spencer, dear. Is everything out of the car?"

I turned around to see my mother fixing her too-tight skirt. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a neat bun, not a hair out of place, and her diamond necklace reflected the sunlight, drawing too much attention to her low-cut blouse.

I moved my gaze toward my pile of belongings. It wasn't all that much, just my trunk and two suitcases. Plus the backpack I wore on my back, they were the only belongings I'd have for the entire school year.

"Spencer, did you hear me?" Mom asked, walking over to me in her too-high heels. She always dressed way too fancy for the occasion. I was getting dropped off at boarding school for another year, not attending some black-tie event.

I nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I'm all set."

"Harry!" she called, turning back towards the car. "Come help Spencer with his luggage!"

My dad stepped out of the car, not wanting to disappoint his wife. He clearly didn't care that I was being sent to another school. I always had the feeling he never wanted kids in the first place, yet somehow ended up with me anyway.

He trudged over, holding himself up as most men of high society do, but the look on his face said he wanted to be as far away from the place as possible. Without a word, he picked up the handle of my trunk, rolling it behind him toward the entrance, not caring who was in his way.

What a great first impression, I thought, watching students and their families hurrying out of his path when they saw him coming. My father was a bit on the larger side. When he was coming at you quickly, the best move was to run in the other direction.

"Shall we?" Mom asked, motioning for me to grab both my suitcases. I wasn't all that surprised she didn't take one. If I asked for her help, she'd probably complain about ruining her manicure in the process, whether or not it was true.

I wasn't exactly sure my dad knew where we were going once we were inside the Fiske Dormatory. That was confirmed when we caught up to him at the elevator, letting a different family get on in front of him. "What floor?" he asked me as soon as I walked up.

I glanced down at the stack of paperwork I had been handed when I checked in. "Three."

I pressed the UP button after the doors had closed on the family. None of us spoke as we waited for it to come back down. I wanted time to move faster so that we could get my stuff into my room and then they could leave.

I never had a great relationship with my parents, having been sent off to boarding schools since I was old enough to attend. Before then, I had nannies taking care of me. I wasn't sure I had anything in common with my parents. I wouldn't even know how to ask about their interests, even if I wanted to know.

Finally, we made it to my room, 313. I was going to have two roommates this year, which is one more than I was hoping for. I had a bad feeling the two of them would be close friends, not needing to make another. But I survived at other schools before. I could survive this year, too. No matter who I ended up rooming with.

And maybe, just maybe, one of them would be attractive and into guys. I wasn't hoping for a relationship with my roommate, but anything could happen.

But as my parents left, after a couple awkwardly stiff hugs, neither of my roommates had shown up yet. I was glad for two reasons: they didn't have to meet my parents and I got first choice on which bed I wanted. I went straight for the bed on the far right side of the room, the one that wasn't bunked. I was always stuck on the top bunk at my last school because I was short. I wasn't going to let that happen again this year.

It was only a few minutes later when the door opened. A boy a good head taller than me walked in, barely even noticing me. He was definitely good looking, with dark skin and a tight white tshirt that showed off his muscles. His black hair was shaven fairly close to his scalp, but it looked so good on him. Behind him came who I could only assume to be his family. Mother, father, brother, and sister. The brother was definitely a few years younger, but the sister looked to be about the same age as us. They all had the same dark skin and black, curly hair. As they crowded into the room, I sat on my bed, pulling my feet in close so I didn't get in their way.

Eventually, the father noticed me. He came over, sticking his hand out for me to shake. "You must be Taylor," he said loudly. "Marc's told us so much about you."

I hesitantly shook his hand. "I'm not Taylor, sir. My name is actually Spencer. Spencer Hazlett."

The boy - Marc - stood next to his father, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're in the wrong room. I'm supposed to be living with Taylor."

I shook my head, pulling out the paperwork I had. "Room 313," I read, "It's supposed to be me, Marcus Price, and John Masters." I held it up to show him.

"Shit," he muttered. "I have to go fix this."

"We'll come with you!" his mother called, ushering the other children and her husband out of the room. "Lovely to meet you, Spencer!"

It was only another minute after the door shut behind the too-rambunctious family that it opened again. At first, I thought it would be them again, but a different guy walked in instead. He was also attractive and fairly muscluar. He was white, but it looked like he spent a lot of time in the sun during the summer, with a even tan covering every exposed section of skin and blonde hair that had the slightest hint of red in it.

"What are you looking at?" he snapped, tossing his suitcase onto the bottom bunk. "Are you even supposed to be in here?"

I immediately dropped my gaze to my lap. "I think there was some sort of mixup with the rooms," I said quietly. I then handed over the paper with all our names.

"Fucking Marc?!" he yelled. "Of all people, I get stuck with him?" He tossed the paper at me before storming out of the room.

Looks like this year was already turning out to be fairly interesting.

A/N: Welcome to Stuck in the Middle! I'm really excited to get into this story. Thanks @ConfusedWriter68 for giving me the idea. I hope it lives up to your expectations!

Before we get too far into this story, I have to say that I've never been to boarding school, nor do I know anyone who did. I hope none of you are expecting an accurate depiction. I'm going to do my best, but I only know so much.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! Let me know what you think! :)