antithesis | newtmas

𝐨𝐧𝐞

"What do you think honey?"

Thomas glanced up at the intimidating school. Maze Boarding School. It was huge, far too big for the 300 students it held. It didn't look friendly in any way. The buildings were made of dull, grey stone, with ivy slowly crawling up the sides of the walls.

But Thomas didn't want to upset his mother. She'd put a lot of money into sending him to this school so he could get a good education, away from all the drama going on at home.

So the boy smiled up at her. "It's great mom."

She smiled warmly at Thomas, her caramel eyes crinkled with happiness. She patted him gently on the back and walked to the back of the car to get his bags.

Thomas took another look at the school. It looked closer to an abandoned mental hospital than a place to educate teens. Thomas had heard about this school before. Back home, one of his friend's brothers had been sent here.

They'd said it was a school for misfits or kids whose parents didn't have time for them. Thomas didn't really believe them and had brushed it off. But now, looking at the school, the thought didn't seem so ridiculous. Even so, Thomas didn't think he fit either of those categorise. His mom loved him and he wasn't a difficult kid. But with his mom working full time, Thomas was kind of in the way.

His mom had sat down with Thomas one night and they'd talked it over. It made sense. And leaving his home wouldn't be too hard. He didn't have the tightest friend group. And Thomas would do anything to help his mom.

So here he was, standing before this terrifying school, ready to spend the next few years here.

Thomas took some bags from his mother, leaving her with one. She closed the back of the car and smiled at him again. Thomas returned it, half-heartedly, and they made our way to the giant front doors of the school.

They were greeted at the doors by a blonde woman with a fake smile. Thomas's mother mustn't have seen it or was an amazing actress because she smiled genuinely back at her.

"Good afternoon Ms Greene," the blonde said in a very false voice. "My names Ava Paige. I'm the headmistress of the school."

Thomas's mom smiled again and stuck out her hand, which Ava Paige reluctantly shook. Her ice blue gaze travelled from his mothers face to Thomas's. Her eyes surveyed him quickly and he was sure he saw a frown cross her face, but it was gone in seconds.

"And you must be Thomas, am I right?"

Thomas nodded quietly. He'd already taken a disliking to this woman with the fake smile, but he didn't want to come off rude. She wore a white dress suit and her blonde hair was pulled back too tight in a bun that sat on the back of her head.

Her false smiled flattered slightly at his short nod but she quickly recovered. "Right. You can call me Ms Paige."

He nodded again.

"Well, we might as well get this tour on a roll," Ms Paige stated, clasping her hands together. "The rest of the students are in class so it should be easier to show you all the rooms."

Thomas's mom glanced at him, so he forced a smile and nodded. He held the bags tighter as Ms Paige moved aside for them to step into the building.

The first thing Thomas noticed on stepping inside was how big it was. If the school had looked big from the outside, it was nothing compared to the way the room seemed to stretch for miles in every direction.

From the front of the building, it didn't look very wide. From inside, you could see just how far back it went.

Thomas's mom's eyes ran across the room, taking everything in. She had a smile so big on her face that it rubbed off on Thomas. There was a part of him, very small he might add, that might've actually been excited to stay here.