Don't hesistate to tell me that it's bad and what not, I won't get offended. Leaving comments to tell me where I went wrong, would be lovely though.
&& Whitney
"We have a remarkable swim team, if that's something you're interested in, Miss Bruckner." The balding man in front of me continued to speak, clearly not seeing the boredom on my face. Spending the past hour or so listening to this man talk, was not how I wanted to spend my Sunday afternoon. Not like I really had a choice though.
Provost Higgins hadn't stopped talking but once or twice, since I arrived at his office earlier today. He would only stop talking long enough, to either catch his breath or let me answer one of his pointless questions. Wrapping my jacket a little tighter around myself, I slid down in my seat, trying my hardest to concentrate on what he was saying. No matter what I did though, I just couldn't seem to focus. My mind kept drifting back to the night my grandparents dropped the biggest bomb on me, forever changing my life as I knew it.
"Scarlett, sweetie, can you come here for a moment?" A woman in her earlier 40's called up the stairs, louder than she really needed too, seeing as I think the neighbors down the street heard her call.
"Coming, mother!" I yelled back, sighing as I told my friend I would be right back on AIM. As I opened my door, I heard the distinct voices of my grandparents, on my mother's side. Puzzled as to why they were here since they lived four whole states away, I quickly walked down the stairs.
"Ahhh, there's my beautiful granddaughter!" My grandmother exclaimed as soon as she saw me enter the living room. Knowing the routine, I made my way over to her first, giving her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. I then turned to my grandfather, who had taken the seat right next to her on the couch, repeating my actions.
"Thanks." I replied to her comment, trying to fight down the blush that was slowly creeping up my cheeks. I hated when she called my beautiful, especially out in public. I always felt like everyone was watching me after that. "SO..." I drawled out, sitting down in between my mother and father on the opposite side of my grandparents.
Clapping her hands together, my grandmother got straight to the point. "Scarlett, while we know that you are doing excellent at your current school, your grandfather and I can't help but think you deserve a bit better."
I had no idea what she was talking about when she said that I deserved better. I went to one of the top public schools in Tennessee, how was I supposed to get a better education anywhere else around here? Looking to my mother, I knew she felt a bit hurt by my grandmother's comment. We weren't overly wealthy by all means, but we weren't struggling either. Both of my parents had very good jobs, but between all of the bills and other necessities, there wasn't a lot left every month.
My grandparents, on the other hand, we're basically loaded. My grandfather had invested in stocks and bonds when they first got married and he's been lucky not to have taken a huge hit on the stock market yet.
"What do you mean?"
"I was recently contacted by an old colleague from Ipswich, Massachusetts and he told me of a private school called Spencer Academy. They are the best school in Massachusetts and a very high percent of their graduates go on to college and well paying jobs." My grandfather replied.
I felt my heart hit my stomach. There was no way they were making me move all the way up there, and in the middle of my senior year no less. "No, I'm sure it's an amazing opportunity for me, but no."
"Honey, I know you don't want to move and leave your friends, but this is what's best for you." My mother whispered in my ear, trying to get me to change my mind.
"That's all fine and dandy, but no. I refuse to move, it's not fair. I'm getting one of the best educations Tennessee can offer right now and you want me to leave that for some prestigious and stuck-up school?!" I exclaimed, jumping out of my seat and making my way back out of the living room.
"Scarlett! Don't you dare walk out on us." My father's angry voice ran through the room, making me falter in my steps, before stopping completely.
Sighing loudly, I turned back around to face everyone. "You'll have me leave all of my friends behind, everything I know, just for some school that can supposedly offer me better?"
My grandmother frowned a bit. "Not supposedly, darling, we know it will offer you better."
"Then I guess I really don't have a choice, seeing as you're all against me anyway." I quickly turned back around and made my way back up the stairs to my room before anyone could utter another word.
I didn't even bother telling my friend that I had to go, just shutting off my computer instead and throwing myself onto my bed. It's not like I knew what to say to her now anyway, how was I supposed to tell her that I was up and leaving? Hell, I didn't even know when I was leaving! Guess I should have made the effort to ask that question before I stormed out.
"Miss Brucker, are you listening?"
I mentally shook my head, realizing that the Provost was staring at me intently. Clearing my throat, I sat up in my chair, re-crossing my legs in order to present some facade to make him think I actually cared about what he was saying.
"Yes, of course I am sir." I politely smiled in his direction.
"Good, now I guess you're going to be wanting to go to your room and get settled in." It was more of a statement rather than a question, which I nodded back to in response. "Your bags are already waiting in your room and your roommate will be here shortly to direct you there." He continued, placing my transcripts back into the yellow folder that was placed upon his desk.
Inwardly sighing, I kept the smile on my face, not wanting the Provost to think I was against having a roommate. In fact I wasn't, I just had a feeling that I really wouldn't fit in here. I was already getting lovely looks from a group of girls as I passed by them earlier, making me feel right at home. My luck, I would be roomed with one of them, making my life even more miserable.
There was a knock on the door, once again, breaking me out of my thoughts. A girl with long brown hair stuck her head into the office, glancing at me first, then looking over at Higgens. She had on a pair of jeans with a pale yellow hoodie on top, a pair of Adidas running shoes adorned her feet. She looked friendly enough, but looks can obviously be deceiving, so I wasn't sure about her yet.
"You wanted to see me, Provost Higgins?" She came fully into the room, glancing at me once more.
"Yes, Fiona, this is Scarlett Bruckner. Scarlett here is your new roommate."
I quickly got up from my seat to shake Fiona's outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, you too." She replied, with a small smile on her face. "Well, I guess we should shove off and let you get settled in now." Fiona continued after an awkward moment of silence.
I turned back to the Provost. "Thanks so much for taking an hour out of your busy schedule to meet with me, I appreciate it."
He stepped out from behind his desk and grasped my hand in a firm handshake. "Anything for a student, Miss Bruckner. Now, if you have any questions or problems, feel free to drop by anytime. My door is always open for students."
Nodding, I turned back to Fiona who had already started out the door. "Afternoon Provost Higgins."
"Good day girls." Was heard before the door completely shut behind me.
"Whatever he says, never come to him with a problem or complaint. He tends to make things worse." Fiona scowled, looking straight ahead as we made our way out to the courtyard. The courtyard was pretty vacant, but seeing as it was the weekend, I wasn't really all that surprised.
"Personal experience, I gather?" I turned my head slightly to see the girl beside me, trying to read her face.
"I make one comment to that man and he calls my parents from their vacation, making a bigger deal out of it than it really was. My mother nearly blew a gasket when she found out it was nothing serious."
I wasn't really sure what to say, so I just opted for nodding my head instead. We walked in silence for a minute or two, before she broke it with her laughter.
"Wow, I sure know how to make things awkward, don't I?"
"Nah, I'm just trying to take everything in right now. It's all kind of happened suddenly, know what I mean?" We walked up the steps, to what I was guessing was the building that held the dorms. Fiona didn't answer till we had both entered the door and we're once again walking side by side.
"Yeah, it must be hard for you to transfer to not only a whole new school, but to move to a whole new state, thousands of miles from your old home. Tennessee b is /b rather far from Massachusetts."
"Wait, how did you know I was from Tennessee?!" I exclaimed, stopping in the middle of a hallway, with an eyebrow raised in her direction.
Grabbing my arm, she pulled me out of the hallway and down the corridor some more. "No need to freak out, Scar. Can I call you Scar? Thanks." I didn't even have time to register the question before she answered it for me. "Anyway, I got a sheet with all of the basic information about you. You know, where you're from, how old you are, if you played any sports, those kinds of things."
Snorting, I shook my head. "Well, at least one of us got some information on the other one."
An amused smile played upon Fiona's lips. "You had no idea what you were getting yourself into, when you agreed to room with me, did ya?"
"Agreed?! More like I didn't have a choice." I sent her a grin, letting her know that I was just joking. Fiona seemed like a person who can take sarcasm and dish it back out, but I just wanted to make sure. No need for getting an enemy my first few hours here.
Her eyes widened in mock amazement. "Is that sarcasm I detect?! Thank God!" She sighed dramatically. "My last roommate had no sense of humor whatsoever. It was absolutely horrible."
Laughing loudly, we both received some curious stares and some glares from other students who passed by us. Unfortunately for them, we didn't pay any attention, as we were barely able to make it to our dorm without falling over. It was weird, I barely knew this girl yet it felt like I've been friends with her for forever. Wow, that sounded way too cliche for my liking.
Fiona was finally able to open the door with a little difficulty before pushing it open, giving me my first look at where I was going to be spending the next few months living. It wasn't small, which surprised me the most. Being a decent size, with enough room for the both of us made me feel a bit better about this whole situation. I immediately saw all of my boxes and other belongings sitting on the bed closet to the bathroom, secretly grateful that I was closet to the bathroom. It means I would have a better chance of getting in there first in the morning, just incase Fiona was a bathroom hog.
"SO," I began as I walked over to my bed, un-taping a box. "Any people I should know about or watch out for while I'm here?"
"Mhmm, the Sons of Ipswich."
"The huh of who?!"
