22.07.12 - Well, I finally got around to making the first chapter of this.
Hopefully it's something decent, that you'll want me to carry on, but if not, at least I tried.
Anyway, read, I really hope you like it.
My name is Daniel St. James, and I am stood at the gates of Bullworth Academy.
The cab ride was awkward, to say the least. The driver was uninterested in me, so long as he was paid. I didn't mind. Talking to strangers wasn't something I did often. I just sat in the back, listening to the music on my phone as I tried to bottle the nerves that were inside me, threatening to spill out onto the cab floor. I looked out the window, taking in the sights of Bullworth Vale. I smiled as I saw the pier, jutting out to stand over the freezing September water, which lapped gently at the sand below. I imagined it must be nice in the summer months.
Looking out the other side, I saw shops, the kind that sold things you would expect to be sold in a town like this; groceries, clothes, a number of cafes, a barber. There was even a bike shop, and a cinema, which were luxurious for such a small town. As the car turned onto a bridge, I could see the tall building of the school looming. I swallowed dryly as the cab came to a halt outside the gates. I got out, retrieved my suitcase from the trunk, and handed the driver his money. Before he'd sped off, I could've sworn I heard him say "Good luck, kid." I hoped I wouldn't need it.
I was somewhat upset that neither of my parents had been able to bring me here personally, but they were busy people, and it hadn't been the first time they couldn't be around because of work.
I stared up at the gates, which were a good couple of metres high, topped with spikes. The gates were covered with a huge stone archway, atop which sat an ugly, winged gargoyle, and under it were the words "Bullworth Academy".
A faint tapping noise made me look down, and I saw a middle-aged woman walking towards me, with brown hair, pearl earrings, and wearing a suit, matching mini-skirt and heels, all in black. As she got closer, the gates slowly opened, and she stepped out to meet me.
"I'm Miss Danvers. You must be Daniel?" she asked, looking down at me. "Welcome to Bullworth Academy, your new home." She said, giving off an air of grandness about the whole situation. "Now, come with me, boy, I don't have all day. You need to meet with Dr. Crabblesnitch" I had to suppress my laughter at the name. "who will explain to you how things are done here. He's a busy man, so you'll need to hurry."
"Yes, ma'am." I answered politely, grabbing the handle of my suitcase and starting to pull it behind me, its small wheels clicking annoyingly on the stone tiles. As I walked behind her, I took a quick look around, taking note of the two buildings to my sides. Both had paths leading under an arch, the left saying "Boys Dorm", the right saying "Girls Dorm". A man, who looked to be in his forties or fifties, was sweeping up nearby and Miss Danvers stuck out her hand, signalling me to stop, before shouting to him.
"Dennis! Come here!" she yelled, making the man look up and walk over. He looked somewhat annoyed that his work had been interrupted, but nonetheless smiled at Miss Danvers. "Daniel, this is Mr. Luntz, he runs the school shop, and is the school's Sanitation Engineer." She explained to me, and I gave him a small wave. "Mr. Luntz, take Daniel's case to the Boys Dorm." She ordered, and he took the handle from me, muttering something about not being their slave as he did so. "Come along, boy." She barked, and I followed her once more. I wished she would stop calling me boy. I was only 15.
Taking another quick moment to look around, I noticed that the grounds around the school were deserted. Not a single other student was in sight. 'Maybe they're all in classes?' I thought, as Miss Danvers led me into the school building.
Even the inside was empty, aside from men in blue blazers walking up and down the corridors.
"Those are the prefects." Miss Danvers commented, noticing me looking at them. "If they find you out of class when you shouldn't be, they will take you there, by force, if necessary, and if they see you causing trouble, they will take you straight to Dr. Crabblesnitch's office." She explained, before looking over her shoulder at me. "So don't cause trouble." She said, her eyes sharpening into a fierce glare.
'If looks could kill.'
I followed her up a flight of stairs, and into an office, where she knocked lightly on a door leading into another room
"Dr. Crabblesnitch?" she called, her voice taking on a newfound tone of sweetness. "There's a student here to see you." She added, glaring at me once more.
"It's not that Hopkins boy again, is it?" a voice called from inside the room.
"No, no, this is the other new student; Daniel St. James." she replied, still using that sickeningly sweet tone. 'Other new student?' I took solace in the fact that there was another new student, and hoped that wasn't where the commonalities would end.
"Right, Miss Danvers. Send him in." the voice said. I quickly flattened down my hair, and tried to flatten out any wrinkles in my shirt.
"In you go, boy, don't keep Dr. Crabblesnitch waiting." Came Miss Danvers' harsh voice. I took a final, calming breath before pushing the door open and walking into the room.
The walls were covered with bookshelves, and black and white pictures of men, presumably head teachers of times gone by. There was a large, elegant fireplace against one wall, atop which sat a large, stuffed eagle. In front of the fireplace was a solid oak desk, with a lamp and some papers on. Behind the desk, sat a stern-looking man, with greying hair, who looked to be in his late fifties.
"You must be our new student, St. James, is it?" he asked, as I stepped forward, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk
"Yes, sir, that's me." I replied. He looked surprised that I had called him sir, but carried on nevertheless.
"I remember hearing about your… situation. You've had a rough time of late, it seems." I nodded, agreeing with him. He stood from his cushy armchair, picked up a piece of paper, and started to pace from side to side in front of the fireplace. "It says here you had to leave your last three schools due to severe homophobic bullying, yes?" I nodded again.
I had transferred out of my last three schools, because people kept bullying me for being gay. It wasn't like I just woke up one morning and thought "I'm going to piss everyone off by liking boys.", I just wasn't attracted to girls like I was to guys. But the people in those schools had thought that it wasn't something I should like.
The first school was just lots of people, picking on me constantly, the pressure just building, and building until I had a breakdown in the middle of a maths lesson. But it wasn't until the fourth episode that the teachers thought I'd be better off somewhere else.
But the second school was no better. These kids were violent. I missed two months of education, because some students took it upon themselves to try and "beat the gay" out of me, breaking my leg in the process.
While in hospital, I was transferred again. While the kids here weren't as violent as the last, they would still shove and punch me when they could. It got so bad, that… and I'm not proud to admit it, but I almost attempted to kill myself. But my friends, they talked me out of it, made me realise I'd be hurting more people than I'd be helping. The friends that I left behind, after my parents decided to send me here.
And here I was.
Dr. Crabblesnitch kept reading over the paper in his hand, glancing at me from time to time while he read. Eventually, he set the paper back down, and looked at me. "Well, St. James, I'll tell you now, that regardless of the reason, the prefects and staff here at Bullworth all take bullying very seriously. While I can't promise you that you will be accepted by every student, I can promise that if you're bullied, it will be dealt with." I allowed myself to smile, despite taking only little security in that fact.
"We have some of the worst students around, so naturally, some may pick on you, but Bullworth prides itself on having students with clean noses," the phrase was lost on me, as I assumed that there was a flu-bug sweeping the school. "and we'll expect no less of you. You will have a clean nose, or it shall be cleaned for you." He locked eyes with me, silent for a moment before looking to the door. "Miss Danvers?" he called, summoning the woman to the door.
"Yes, Dr. Crabblesnitch?" she simpered, smiling sweetly at the man.
"Could you please show St. James here to the Boys Dorm?" he asked.
"Of course, headmaster." She said, before turning to glare at me once more. "Hurry up, boy." She said, having lost that sweet tone that seemed only for Dr. Crabblesnitch. I rose from my chair, and offered my hand out to Dr. Crabblesnitch.
"Thank you, sir." I said as he took my hand, and shook it firmly. I then followed Miss Danvers out of the study, where she vaguely explained where the Boys Dorm was, and that she didn't have time to take me there herself, as she was to deal with "that naughty Hopkins boy" again.
Maybe this Hopkins kid wasn't someone I wanted to get along with after all.
Luckily, I remembered passing the Boys Dorm on the way in, so was happy to make my way there without her… 'pleasant' company.
I took a step out of the office, and a bell rang, doors flying open as students bustled into the corridors. A very large, tall student was about to walk into me, if he hadn't stuck his arm out, grabbed me and practically flung me out of the way, sending me crashing back into a wall, yelling something along the lines of "Russell need to pee."
As I sank down the wall, and more students passed me, some looking at me as if I were diseased, I sighed quietly.
Maybe I would get used to it eventually, but already I could tell, this was not your average school.
So, what did you think?
Please, let me know what you thought with a review, I really do appreciate them, and I make sure to reply to them all in the intro of the next chapter.
If you'd like to check out anything else I've written, you're more than welcome to go to my profile and have a read of either "Being a Friend" - A Doctor Who love story involving the Doctor and Rory, or "Punch and Drarry" - A Harry Potter one-shot story involving Harry and Draco.
If you've come this far, thank you so much for sticking with it, you're now one of my favourite people. :)
Until next time,
~ RyRy