English
Chapter One – Introduction
A silver Aston Martin pulled up outside the gates of Bullworth Academy, its engine came to a stop and then three people stepped out of the car. One was a girl no older than fifteen, the other two her parents. Her father opened the boot of the car and hauled her luggage out, whilst her mother put her hand on her daughter's shoulder and lead her towards the gate where a Prefect seemed to be waiting for them.
"Ahh. You must be Mrs. Matthews." The Prefect said, pushing his glasses back. "And you must be Chantelle. Yes, Principal Crabblesnitch is waiting for you in his office. This way please." He said with a rather pompous air, leading the way into the school grounds.
Her father followed behind them carrying her luggage, which was quickly handled by another Prefect who took it to the Girls Dormitory.
The first Prefect, Edward Seymour, knocked on the door that lead into the Principal's office, and a firm, crisp voice called out, "Come in."
Seymour obeyed and opened the door for the Matthews. When the three of them were in the office, he shut the door with a snap.
"Ah. Mr and Mrs. Matthews. Please sit down." He said with a false smile, gesturing to three cushioned wooden chairs. "I must say, you're a little late." They took their seats.
"Yes, we apologize, the traffic was truly awful." Mr. Matthews explained then watched Crabblesnitch expectantly.
"No worries. Anyway, moving on…As you know, Bullworth Academy is a well-respected academic institution with a fine tradition of stern discipline. We are renowned the world over for the quality our alumni and the strong moral fibre we instil in them…" Principal Crabblesnitch began.
Chantelle lost interest as soon as the first few words were spoken and instead found it better to just stare around the room. There were several bookshelves lined with heavy black volumes that seemed to be dusty and never before taken off the shelves. A large globe, covered with a golden frame was positioned next to a marble fireplace and above that hung some sort of portrait framed in brass. Several ornaments stood on the fireplace, a stone statue, a clock, several trophies and a glass vase with some fake flowers in. She looked back at the Principal.
"I cannot allow the torrent of popular opinion sway my faith in tradition. For without our heritage we are but orphans in the sewers of this noble country. We are very much looking forward to having young Chantelle in our school." He finished serenely, smiling that false smile.
"And I'm positive Chantelle is glad to be here." Chantelle's mother added. They both stood up. "Well dear, we have to leave now. If you want to come back for the holidays just give us a ring." She smiled and kissed her daughter on her cheek. They left the office, leaving Chantelle with Crabblesnitch.
"Now, Chantelle, you will find your uniforms and your time-table in your dorm room. Lessons start tomorrow 9 at and will finish at 3:30. I'll expect to see your attendance at 100 for every lesson. Truancy is not permitted in the grounds of Bullworth. Any mischievous behaviour will also be chased up by Prefects and the appropriate punishments will be given. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir." Chantelle said mechanically, not really paying much attention.
"Ok, good. You may leave." He replied, picking some papers and straightening them up.
Chantelle left the office and walked out into the reception area, heading straight down the steps and outside. She continued walking forward until she reached two paths just before the gates. She turned left and up some more stairs and into the girls dorm.
Oh great. I don't even know where the hell my dorm is.
She continued walking and turned left again, peering into rooms to look for her light pink suitcases. It wasn't downstairs. Letting a sigh leave her lips she then climbed more stairs up to the second floor. Her room was the first door on the left. She walked inside and found her suitcases, one lying on the bed, the other leaning against it. She heaved the one off her bed and laid it down, unzipping it and finding a few framed photographs on the top. She picked them out, one at a time, placing them carefully on the desk she had.
"So you're the new girl." Someone said from behind her.
Chantelle stood up and turned round to see a tall red-head standing in the doorway.
"Yeah, the names Chantelle, you are?" She asked, sticking out her hand
"Christy. I guess where sharing rooms Chantelle." She replied with a small smile, shaking Chantelle's hand and then walking over to her own bed and sitting on it.
"Why did you choose Bullworth?" She asked suddenly, making Chantelle raise an eyebrow.
"The closest school to where I live." She replied, realizing that her school uniform was folded neatly at the end of her bed, which smelt strongly of lavender and onion.
"Ah. I see." Christy replied, watching her closely. "How old are you?"
"Fifteen…" Chantelle replied, picking up a dark green Bullworth vest and staring at it. "Why?"
"You're in my year." She said happily. "We've probably got the same lessons. I'm guessing you're gonna want a tour?"
"Yeah I guess I probably am." Chantelle replied grinning.
"Ok. Well I'll let you get changed, give me a shout when you're ready." Christy stood up and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.
After putting on her uniform on, that consisted of a dark green Bullworth vest, a white shirt in which she had rolled the sleeves up to a three quarter length, a green and white chequered skirt and knee-length white socks. She stared at her outfit in the small mirror on the wall before shouting Christy, who strolled straight in a smiled. "You took awhile." She said, but quickly moved on. "Ok, so straight on to the tour, follow me."
The girls went back outside the Girls Dorm. "In front is the Boys Dormitory, if you get caught inside you'll get a detention." They continued walking and took a right turn so they were now facing the school. They turned right again and started walking round. First, they were at the car park where a group of students wearing already dirty white shirts were chatting. "I wouldn't tend to hang around here if I were you. Those guys are the school bullies. You see their white shirts? They never stay clean for more than an hour. Their leader is Russell; nearly all of the school are terrified of him, including the prefects and teachers." Christy explained, watching a blonde haired Bully walk straight up to a little girl, stealing her book and holding it above her head in a tormenting fashion. Chantelle watched in slight amusement, and then continued walking. They walked up some stairs and to the fountain where a statue of a bull was holding a football. There were now three pathways, one leading to the left, the other right and one straight ahead.
"Ok, to the right is where the Shop class is, it's the Greasers main hang-out. They spend most of their time fixing bikes and stuff. You can tell it's them by the slicked back hair and leather jackets. Johhny Vincent is the head of their faction." Christy explained, waving to one of the Greasers that had been leaning casually against the wall. He waved back, flashing a grin. "And I'm seeing one of them too." She added, blushing slightly.
Chantelle smiled and then looked to the left where people wearing blue chequered shirts were standing, talking in snobbish rich accents. The words 'Harrington House' were shining in the distance.
"Ah. The preps…Or rich kids…whichever you prefer." Christy rolled her eyes slightly. "They think they're above everyone else. Noticeable by their aquaberry uniforms, they tend to boast about it a lot. Derby is in charge, although I don't see him much."
Chantelle nodded, so far she'd seen the Bullies, Preps and Greasers.
"The Jocks…Guess where their hang-out is." Christy was now looking forward where the Gym, Swimming Pool and Sports Field was. "Freaks of Sport, some of them never go to academic lessons, and the teachers don't stop them. I think they're scared of getting concussed. Well I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of Damon. I once heard when I first came here that when he was stopped by a Prefect; Damon knocked him out cold with a single punch." Christy whispered this, and when she finished, she stood up perfectly straight and began to walk back down the steps and back around the school.
They reached the library which was already surrounded with several strange looking people, including a particularly large person with his zipper undone. They were trading cards and reading comic books.
"The library is where all the nerds spend their time." Christy said, slowing down but not completely stopping. "If you spend time in the library they'll swarm you and start going on about their comic collections." Christy warned, watching as they started waving towards the girls. They quickly moved on.
"Well that's the tour of the grounds; you want one inside the school too?" She asked, as they reached the front of the school again.
"The school doesn't look too big, and I'm sure I have the same lessons as you…I'll just get to know it later on. Is there anything like…To do around here?" She asked, glancing around.
"Oh yeah, of course, the Carnival, the movies down in Bullworth Vale, Boxing, shopping, and I guess since you're a newcomer, you could say touring the area would be something to do." Christy stated with a little grin.
"The Carnival sounds fun." Chantelle said with a smile of her own.
"Well maybe we can go sometime this week. You can get to know the school a bit first and then we can make a day of it. How does that sound?"
"Great." Chantelle said happily.
"Ok awesome, well look I gotta go meet Ricky. I'll talk to you later." She waved and then quickly made her way back to the Greaser's hang-out. Chantelle bid her goodbye and then realizing she was on her own, made her way back to the Girls Dormitory and in to her room.
She unpacked her cases, hanging her clothes in the musty smelling wardrobe, putting some posters up above her bed and placing some of her possessions on her desk. Closing the door, she collapsed on her bed. She looked at the clock (5:03pm already), stifling a yawn, she eventually drifted off in to a dreamless sleep.
It felt as though only a few minutes had passed since Chantelle had dozed off, but when she woke up again it was 9:17pm. She squinted her eyes to focus and saw that the dorm light was on, and Christy was reading a magazine on her bed. Chantelle sat up and leant against the wall, and Christy peered over the top of her mag.
"Oh, sorry did I wake you? I was trying to be as quiet as possible." Christy said, closing her magazine and putting it on the floor.
"No you didn't, when did you come in?" She asked, glancing back down at the clock.
"Around eight," Christy replied, folding her arms over her pink pyjamas. "Ricky had some so-called business to attend to, so I just came back here."
"Ok. What time do you set your alarm for?" Chantelle asked, feeling rather sleepy again.
"At eight, it gives us time to get ready, maybe slap on some make-up and do our hair. That's ok with you?"
"Yeah sure…I think I'm gonna go to sleep again, I'm exhausted."
"Me too, you don't mind turning the light off do you?" Christy asked, pulling the sheets up to her chin.
Chantelle got out of bed and switched off the light, then climbed back into the warm and strangely comfortable bed, before falling asleep again.