The sky was as gray and dismal as the prospect of the new school. Jane Darling had thought boarding school was a bad idea from the beginning, especially a school on the other side of the world. She only played along because her mother had been planning for Jane to go to the same prep school she had gone to for practically Jane's entire life. Her mother had been blabbing about how spectacular the school was for the entire plane ride and car trip. If Jane heard one more story about the year the football team won the championship, she was going to jump out the window of the rented van while it was still moving.
"Oh, I remember how wonderful that school was," her mother told her for the eight millionth time. "You'll have so much fun, Jane, and you'll make loads of new friends."
"Yes, Mum," she grumbled. "You've told me. Magical experiences, new friends, the adventure of my lifetime, etcetera. But are we completely positive this is the right school for me? I mean Neverland Academy? Even the name is stupid. It just doesn't seem practical."
"Don't be silly, dear," Wendy scolded. "You know, you've really got to stop acting so cynical. Have some fun; you're sixteen."
"I'm quite aware of my age. Youth is a curse I have to bear."
Wendy sighed. "Is this about your father? You know that he wants this for you. He'll still call you just the same, and you'll be home with Danny and I by the time he comes back-"
"No, it isn't about dad," Jane interrupted. It was basically true. She knew that logically, nothing would really change; her dad would still be far away and she still wouldn't get to see him until the summer; what she was worried about was her mother and Danny. Her father had told Jane to look after them when he'd deployed the year before, and it was going to be difficult to do that when they were in London and she was living in Massachusetts.
"Oh my, we're here!" her mother gasped. "Isn't it gorgeous?"
Jane surveyed the campus through the window. Huge, leafy trees shaded the red brick buildings and grassy open space, and over a hill, she could see a soccer field, tennis courts, and a swimming pool. Students wearing the navy and green uniforms sat at the cluster of stone picnic tables surrounding a huge fountain. "Eh. I mean it's fine, I guess."
Wendy pulled the car in front of the J. Rogers Administration Building, where upper student registration was supposedly located. "Are you excited, Jane? This is the place where you'll study until you graduate. Aside from vacations, you'll be living here for two years. Doesn't that seem just a little bit cool to you?"
Jane stepped out of the car and began ascending the stone steps. "Yeah it's super cool, Mum. Whatever."
The registration was pretty dull. There were a lot of papers to be signed, a lot of forms to be filled out, and a lot of freshman. In fact, Jane was the only new student registering for the junior class. Wendy had tried to persuade her daughter to begin attending Neverland when she was fourteen, but Jane had insisted that it would be better if she finished year eleven first, so that she would begin school in America as her classmates started sixth form. Two years later, that decision left Jane the only incoming junior in the entire school.
"Excuse me," a man in front of the desk announced. "Excuse me, thank you. Once the paperwork has been completed, parents should start making their way out. Please begin bidding your children farewell. Thank you."
"I suppose this is goodbye, then," Jane began. "I promise to call at least twice, and I'll-" she was suddenly smothered by the embrace of her mother.
"I'm just going to miss you so much," Wendy murmured, squeezing Jane as tight as she could.
Jane hugged her back. "I'll miss you too, Mum."
After her mother finally drove away, Jane approached the desk with her paperwork. "Hello, I'm Jane. I'll be a junior this year."
The man at the desk, who was short and rather heavyset, looked up nervously. "Um… yes ma'am. I'm Mr. Smee, Deputy Headmaster, um… Jane Darling, is it?"
Jane nodded and Mr. Smee handed her a stack of papers. "You'll be in the Barrie building in room... zero"
"Room zero? That's pretty strange, don't the numbers usually start at one? Would you mind telling me who my roommate is?" Getting a roommate was one of the few things she'd kind of been looking forward to. Living with someone for a year seemed like a pretty sure-fire way to make friends.
Mr. Smee wrung his hands nervously. "Well, you see, normally returning students submit dorm request forms at the end of the previous year, which all of the girls did. So, because everyone already has a dorm partner, you will be… by yourself."
"I'll be in a dorm by myself?" Jane repeated in disbelief.
"Well it's not a dorm, exactly," Smee admitted. "It's actually in the basement of one of the dorm buildings. We used to use the space for storage; in fact, half of the room is still being used for storage, but we've moved a bed, nightstand, desk, and chair down there."
Jane blinked. "So… what you're telling me, is that you've gone and put me, not only alone, but in the cellar? Which we now refer to as room zero."
"Well, yes, but you'll have the most space of any other student, and your own bathroom, so really it's just a trade-off."
"Is there at least an elevator or something?"
"No, you'll have to climb down two flights of stairs."
"Well that's just fantastic." Slowly, Jane gathered her paperwork, picked up her suitcase, and headed towards the door
"There may or may not be some rodent traps down there," Smee called after her, "but don't be alarmed, they're only precautionary!"
Mr. Smee had been telling her the truth; there were two flights of stairs for her to lug her duffel bag and suitcase down. There was a significant amount of dust and cobwebs hanging in the air. When she finally reached the bottom, she got the first look at where she was going to be living for the next eight months.
The room was dimly-lit, dusty, and made entirely of concrete. On one side, various bins and boxes were piled against the wall. She assumed this is what Mr. Smee had meant by the school still using half of her room for storage. On the other side, however, there was a bed, a nightstand, a desk and a chair, just like she had been promised. The only light came from a tiny light bulb hanging over her bed and a small dusty window that had been barred off.
"Great," Jane said to no one in particular. "Now I can't even escape." She tossed her duffel bag onto her bed in a huff. Her bed shook and wheezed before collapsing in a cloud of dust.
"WHAT. THE. HELL," Jane shouted. She examined the wreckage to see if anything was salvageable. The wooden frame had given out, and she doubted that it could be repaired, but the mattress seemed to be fine. In no time, she'd dragged the mattress off of the broken bed frame and gathered all of the wood into a pile on the other side of the basement. Sleeping on a bare mattress on the floor was not ideal, but she could make do, at least until they could bring her another bed. Jane made up her bed with the bedding her mother had bought her. Her new comforter was patterned like a galaxy, and it became the most attractive part of her entire room.
By the time she had set up all of her things, the sky had gone dark, leaving the basement even more poorly lit than it had been before. Her phone told her it was only seven thirty, but Jane was tired and decided to just go to bed anyways. She changed into sweatpants and a tee shirt, brushed her teeth, and climbed into her bed; after a long day of traveling, she was beyond ready to go to sleep.
She would have done so, too, if not for the rustling and banging coming from the ceiling. Jane stood up to go check out the spot where the noise was coming from; a ventilation shaft in the far corner of the basement. Suddenly the grating over the shaft was shoved aside and six boys dropped out of her ceiling onto a stack of boxes. They all looked to be about her age. They laughed loudly as they dropped out of the ceiling, talking about football or soccer or whatever they called it in this stupid country.
"What are you doing in my bedroom?!" Jane shouted at them, looking horrified. The laughing died down instantly as they all turned around to look at her. A boy who appeared to be the leader of their little gang looked at her slowly, his eyes moved quickly across her, like he was sizing her up. He had reddish-brown hair and a spray of freckles across his nose. He looked at Jane like he was both surprised and offended by her presence
"What the hell are you doing here?" he said.
