Looking around I had the feeling I wouldn't fit in. Why I thought I ever could, was beyond me. I looked around seeing the sign Park Avenue in front of my face. The taxi driver turned around and gave me a hard look.
"You sure this is the place?" he asked, doubtfully. I had the strongest urge to rip my parchment paper invite out of my duffle bag and staple it to his forehead.
"Yes" I forced through my teeth. "How much?"
"$57, 30" he said, looking back at his dashboard. I pushed a clump of dollar bills through the opening of the plastic shield and got out. I grabbed my wheelie bag out of the boot and slung the strap of my duffel bag over my shoulder. I gave one look back at the taxi when it drove away. I was sticking out like a sore thumb that was for sure. Compared to the other students' summer dresses and polo shirts with chinos with expensive insignias and their Louis Vuitton wheelie suitcases and Chanel clutches that were carried by their chauffeurs to the gate, I looked like some homeless person who got lost on the subway with my unintentionally ripped jeans and band t-shirt from Dangerfield. I sighed and grabbed my suitcase a little tighter. I had as much right to be here as they did, I might not be as rich and my father may not own a small country but I belong here at least intellectually anyway.
When I had told my father that I was coming here, he had the usual confused, vacant look he always has.
"What? Isn't that in New York?" he asked, cocking and eyebrow. His expression then altered and he let out a light chuckle.
"Oh, I see. You're making a joke, you almost got me, my dear" he chuckled some more. When I told him I was serious and handed him the cream parchment paper that stated that I, Sophia Hanigan, would be invited to join The Imperial Academy of Excellence for the reason that my application scores were among the highest of the Whitlock Grant applicants, my father's face turned to shock, his mouth opening slightly.
"This is great! Sophie, I'm so proud of you. Why didn't you tell me you were applying though?" he asked, his eyes peeping over the paper.
"Dad, you would have said that you could easily afford that school but rich, pompous teenagers would only teach me wrong values" I said.
"And I stand by that argument" he said with a smile.
"Dad, you're a computer technician. Not that I'm not happy for all the things that you've been able to give me, but that school costs 5,600 a month, my Grant covers the whole year" I said, proudly.
"I see, so you don't need your ol' pops then huh?" he said, getting the child-like look in his eye.
"Of course I need you, dad. You can come and visit any time in New York, there are a bunch of festivals and Galas that take place during the year, and families are especially invited" I said.
"But all the way in New York, Soph? What did your mother say?" he asked.
"She doesn't know, dad. She's in West Africa and she's always too busy to call" I said, looking out the kitchen window. I father sighed and followed my gaze.
"Fine, you can go. Just be careful, New York isn't like Ohio, alright? And I'm expecting you to show those tooty-snooty rich kids what's up" he said with a sad smile. I squealed and ran to hug him.
1 month of fatherly preparation and endless bottles of pepper spray, a two hour flight and a long cab ride later I was looking through the iron gates that seemed to weave and dodge through each other making a giant web of steel flowers and vines. It was beautiful, but very over powering. I stood there until the last of the black Lexus and Mercedes were gone. I walked in, trying to look like I belonged, trying to look like everyone else did. Inside the gates was a giant courtyard, framed with hedges and rose bushes. The roses were all peachy coloured and the flowery scent clung heavily to the air. There were small fountains in each corner of the courtyard and a bronze statue right in the middle of a woman with a rippling dress and windswept hair. Her face, cold but still beautiful was facing towards where one of her arms were extended to. I looked in its direction and caught someone else's eye. Our eyes clung to each other for a while, following a straight path of an invisible string that held them. It was a boy, around the age of 13 or 12. He was wearing a turquoise polo shirt and chinos with dark brown loafers. He was lanky, had big light grey eyes, an adorably cute roundish face and a mass of dishevelled fawn- coloured hair. He gave me a wide toothy grin and I couldn't help but to return one.
He turned to his side and pulled on the sleeve of someone who looked much older than he was. Another boy- maybe 17- looked at him and followed his gaze to me. My eyes widened as a look of annoyance crossed the older boy's face and he turned back to his other chattering friends with a cold expression. The older boy had dark hair cropped short at the sides but left a little longer on top which he gelled up into a slight faux hawk. He had deep set eyes that were almost as dark as his hair and he was quite tall. He almost seemed uncomfortable being around his own friends. He was wearing a pale green button down shirt with dark jeans and expensive sneakers. I didn't know if the two boys were related, they looked too different and their personalities were polar opposites.
"I heard she scored a 98 on her test" I heard a girl whisper behind me. My ears pricked and I froze.
"That's impossible, nobody can get that" whispered another.
"We'll let's hope her grade is better than her dress sense" another snickered. The group erupted in muffled giggles and guffaws.
I could feel my cheeks turning redder and my eyes start to sting. I will not cry, I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. I swallowed my tears and cleared my throat but before I could say anything, a steely grip formed on my shoulder. I looked to my side to see a girl with shortly cropped platinum hair and a sharp stunning face. My mouth dropped open as I looked at her attire. She was wearing a long Maxi dress, with a purple and red paisley pattern and ballerina flats. She spun me around so could face the three girls snickering at me.
"Let's hope your grades reflect more studying and less of your late night drinking, Macy. And let's not forget, she is wearing a much better outfit then what you wore to last year's end of term ball, huh, Kyra? Oh and Isabelle, you're father still owes my father an explanation to why he hadn't shown up for work yesterday, please remind him, would you?" she said with a bell like voice that rang through the court yard so everybody could hear. The three girls didn't move for a moment, they exchanged quick looks and the girl named Isabelle gave a nod. They skulked away whispering with sharp forked tongues as they went.
"Well, well. I would say that you have just survived your first encounter with Gregory's body guards" she said. I turned to her with a cocked eyebrow.
"Who?" I asked.
"Gregory DuPont, the boy over there" she said, freely pointing at the dark-haired boy that had given me a cold glare.
"Him?" I asked, incredulous. She giggled and hooked onto my arm like a trap.
"Yes, him. Those girls are his self- proclaimed body guards, even though he'd rather not have them at all"
I nodded. "I'm Clara Devereaux by the way" she said, pulling me a little closer with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sophia Hanigan" I mumbled out with nervous laughter. We walked around the courtyard on the cobble stones.
"Something tells me that you aren't from New York. Where are you from?" she asked.
"In Ohio, a place just outside Columbus. It's called Westerville" I said.
"Well I'm from New York" she said. "Born and raised in Manhattan" I nodded.
"Then why do those girls do it? Follow him, I mean" I asked, looking at Gregory out the corner of my eye.
"Their jealous fans mostly, completely star-stricken by his good-looks" she smirked. I couldn't deny that he was handsome.
"And the young boy next to him?" I asked.
"Young boy? Hah! That's what he's got all the new students thinking. That's Elliott Hartley, and he is 17, same age as Gregory" she said with a sly smile. I stared at her wide eyed.
"But how?" I asked.
"I guess it's the boyish charm of his and of course that adorable face. But he has the body of a teenager, see?" she said with a wink. I looked and she was right, he may have been lanky but he was as tall as the rest of the boys and he had a lean build on him.
"Come with me, we'll find your room!" she said, dragging me behind her like some scraggly doll. She pulled me towards a white sand stone building with marble pillars supporting the grand roof which showed a large pictorial on the front which had been carved into the stone. It showed a Greek god riding on a horse drawn carriage.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked Clara, following my eye. "This one may be my favourite one out of all the sculptures and paintings here" she said.
I followed her inside into an ice cool reception area where the floors were black marble and the walls were white. Several paintings hung on the walls, some I recognized and some I hoped were prints but I had the slight feeling they weren't. Two white stairs ran from either side of the room on either side of the reception area. In the middle was a dark oak table that made a circle in the centre of the room and two secretaries were busily typing away. There was a lean, black leather couch with silver bars put at the side and a bonsai tree. Clara ran to one of the secretaries and ran the bell.
A woman with silvery hair and a sharp, belligerent face looked up at her and smiled coldly.
"What can I do for you, Ms. Devereaux?" she asked in a high pitched voice.
"Could you please give me the room numbers and buildings for myself and my friend, Sophie Hanigan?" she asked politely. The receptionist leaned to the side and stared at me for a moment.
"Are you the scholarship applicant?" she asked. I nodded, my cheeks reddening. She leaned back and started to type on her keyboard.
"Ah yes, a Ms. Hanigan is in the West Building, room .22 and you are in the St. Peters Building, room. 10" she said, handing two shiny keys to Clara.
"Thank you, do you know who we are rooming with?" she asked handing me my key.
"Ms. Hanigan is rooming with a Ms. De Luna and you will be rooming with Ms. Hildebrandt" she said.
"Again?! But I roomed with her last year as well" moaned Clara.
"Stop acting like a little rich girl, Clara" said a velvet voice from the door way. I turned, seeing Clara run past me and leap into the boy's arms.
"Felix!" she shouted with a wide smile. She kissed him on the cheek and pulled him towards me with an unwieldy strength.
"Felix, this is Sophie. She's the scholarship winner" Clara says in excitement.
"Pleasure" said Felix, shaking my hand and giving me a warm smile. He had a slight roll to his r's, giving me the idea that he spoke spanish. He had coffee coloured skin with black hair that fell in curls around his eyes, black eyes with heavy brows and eyelashes. He was dressed more conspicuously then others with some jeans and a tight black v-neck shirt with white Lacoste sneakers.
"Did I hear De Luna?" he asked.
"Yes, that's my roommate's last name" I said, with a small smile.
"Ah, you must be rooming with my sister, Nora then" he said.
"Your last name is De Luna?" I asked.
"Sure is. Have you heard of De Luna fruit and Vegetables? My father runs the farms and factories. It's a family business" he said with a smile. I simply nodded, trying not to get ahead of myself.
"You're always talking about it" said Clara, with a playful smile.
"Would you rather we talk about you?" I said. I hadn't realized I said the words until they came out. I cursed my sarcastic ways to hell. What happened to not getting ahead of yourself, Sophie? I waited for the down pour of angry sneers but instead I was showered by laughs. Clara was giggling and she grabbed my arm to pull me in tighter and Felix high fived me while he snickered.
"I wouldn't be surprised" said Felix.
"There's nothing wrong with being spoiled. You just need to be able to keep your head above the things you own" said Clara.
"But you do have a lot of stuff" said Felix, with a sly smile.
"That I do, but I am way to mature and classy to be pulled in by all that" she said.
"Except for the ponies" Felix added.
"Yes, except for them. I wouldn't be able to live without my ponies" she said with a pout of her lips. I cocked my eyebrow at them and smirked.
"Sorry, we tend to go into our own little world when we see each other" he said with a smile. He hugged Clara once again and waved us a goodbye, going up one of the staircases.
"So, who's he?" I asked.
"I see that look on your face, Sophie. He is but a friend" she said with a mischievous smile. We walked outside and took a sharp left through a stone arch way, following a cobblestone path past smaller courtyards and rose bushes.
"The West Building is this way and mine is on the other side" she said.
"It's too bad that our buildings aren't close. It would have been nice to know at least one person" I said, frowning.
"I know but don't worry. Nora is really nice" she said, smiling at me.
"Maybe we'll have some classes together" I said.
"I doubt it unless you're taking fourth year math" she said with an apologetic smile.
"What? You're in twelve grade?" I asked, a little surprised. She shrugged and nodded.
"Well yeah. So is Gregory, Elliott and Felix" said Clara. "Nora is in third year with you. Each grade has their own dorm building and also different uniforms"
I had completely forgotten about the uniforms. At my old school back in Ohio, we would come in plain clothes. None of the students really liked the idea of wearing uniforms but I never really minded it. We came to a stop in front of a building that looked like the courtyard building. It also had the white stone walls and marble pillars but there was no pictorial. West Building was carved there instead.
"Here we are" Clara announced. "If you follow this path back and take the first right, you'll find the Dining Hall where everybody eats. Maybe we'll see each other there" she said, giving me a hug. I hugged her awkwardly while she squeezed me like we were old friends. I watched her go and then turned to go in. The doors were large and made entirely of glass. I pushed on aside and came into a large oval shaped room with a bunch of other students roaming around with their bags. The carpet was a cream colour and the walls were a deep burgundy and bronze busts and paintings were scattered among the walls. A grand white stair case, about 5 metres wide led up onto the second floor and from there were several passage ways that disappeared into the darkness. I looked around, a little nervous to be alone.
"Do you need help?" asked a low voice from behind me. I turned and nearly jumped a metre. It was Gregory, looking at me with those dark eyes that I could now see was a deep cerulean.
"No" I pushed through my locked teeth, trying to calm my heart from beating like a drum. "Shouldn't you be at the fourth year dorms or something?" I said, a little annoyance flooding into my tone. He smiled lopsidedly and took the key from my hand. I stared at him, angrily as he checked my room number.
"Ah, room. 22 is up the stairs, to your left and down the second passage. Left side is girls, right side is boys. If you are caught outside your room on the left or the right side after 11 pm, you will be in trouble so please stay in your room after hours" he said with a smug smile. I grabbed my key from his hand and put it in my jean pocket.
"Thank you but I didn't need your help or your speech" I said.
"It's my job. I'm part of the school council. I was assigned to helping students finding and settling into their rooms" he said, arrogantly. He turned without another word and disappeared into the crowd. I smirked angrily. Who does he think he is? I didn't need him, rude bastard.
I followed his directions anyway. A few times I thought of walking around after hours just to annoy him but I decided not to because that chance of me getting in here was already a one in a million. Down the small passage there were other doors on either side as well. Ours were the second one on the right. It was a normal wooden door but with a doorbell at the side and two name holders screwed on the side with our names in them. Seeing my name there made this all real for me. The whole time here, I was thinking that it had been a mistake or that I didn't belong, but that name tag proved that I was supposed to be here and that this was my room. I wouldn't lie, it felt good. I unlocked the door and the sweet smell of roses wafted out. I walked in to see the windows of an alcove all open and a gentle breeze blowing in. In the alcove were benches with a thousand small matching pillows scattered around it. One bed was by the large French wardrobe and the other by a dresser. The carpet was cream and the walls were biscuit and the beds were beautifully made up with silk linen and puffy duvets and there was a door leading to an ensuite bathroom. A girl that sat in the deepest corner of the alcove looked up from a book and smiled cautiously. I could see straight away that it was Felix's sister because she also had the heavy eyelashes that seemed to be so heavy that she couldn't keep her black eyes open, and her pitch black hair fell around her face and neck in wavy curls until they fell past her shoulders to her coffee coloured arms. The length was astonishing; mine only came up under my shoulders.
"Hey, I'm-" I began.
"Sophia, I know. I'm Nora" she said, not standing up to shake my hand. I stood there awkwardly for a moment.
"I met your brother" I said, trying to make conversation.
"Really? We'll, I apologise if you weren't prepared" she joked, not lifting her eyes from the book. I nodded and after a moment had enough.
"What are you reading?" I asked.
"A Thousand Splendid Suns" she said, still not looking up. I sighed and threw my bags on the bed next to the dresser.
"If you need my laptop, just use it" she said, pointing in the corner of the room without looking. I followed her gesture and saw there was an oak table with a laptop on top of it.
"Thanks" I said, unzipping my bag. "But I'm more of a paper and pen kind of girl" I said.
"Respect" she said with a smile, still without lifting her eyes. Must be a good book. After I unpacked my things there was a quick rap on the door. Nora didn't get up to open it-damn lazy rich girl- so I stood up and opened it. Leaning against the threshold was another boy who was smiling, his brilliantly white teeth glow which was a little disturbing. He had the brightest green eyes I had ever seen though and he seemed around our age. He was cute, especially when he smiles one of his normal smiles.
"Oh, hey. I was looking for Nora" he said, surprised to see me. He had a strong British accent. I opened the door more and threw my thumb in her direction. He walked in, his hands in his pockets and still smiling.
"Nora, can you stop reading for five minutes and introduce me to your roomie" he said, swiping the book from her hands. She slapped him hard on the arm and pouted.
"I lost my place now" she moaned.
"Introduce! Now!" he commanded, taking a cautionary step away from her.
"Introduce yourself, you twat!" she said with a flat English impression. He laughed and wagged his finger at her.
"I see you've been practicing" he said. Were all rich kids like this? Their always caught up in their own little worlds, throwing sarcastic comment after sarcastic comment at each other.
"I'm Sophie Hanigan" I said, pushing my hand into his to shake. He laughed and shook my hand.
"Nice to meet you, Sophie. I'm Dylan Wright" he said with another of his wide smiles. He ran his hand through his bristly blond hair.
"Wait, Wright as in Wright Financing and Insurance?" I said, eyes opening.
"Ah, yeah. But it's mostly just my dad being a tyrant" he said, laughing. He fell on Nora's bed and pulled out his cell phone.
"What's your number, Soph?" he said, calling me by my nickname. I pulled out my old cell phone from my pocket and scrolled through it. I gave it to him and he smiled.
"Now if you ever come into trouble, you know who to call" he said with a wink.
"Yeah, the police so they can arrest your stalker ass" said Nora, flipping through the pages of her book. He wagged his finger at her again and tutted.
"Oh yeah, sorry. Arse" she corrected.
"That's better" he said laughing. "Got to go, before Wesley realizes I locked him in the bathroom" he said, racing out the door.
"That boy. I bet this year will be the year he gets expelled" Nora said after a moment, finally putting away the book.
"How come?" I asked.
"He should have been expelled a while ago actually but he's father keeps paying the school extra to keep him in, plus he's a great student, always on honour roll. He just doesn't want to be here, he doesn't want to take over his dad's company" she said.
"Really? But that's a guaranteed job" I said.
"Yeah it is, I guess. But the job is full time, seven days a week. He has no time for anything but work, breathing and eating" she said, lounging on her bed.
"I don't think it's that bad" I said.
"Think about it this way, would you give up your dream to do something you hate for the rest of your life?" she asked me, drilling into my eyes. I shook my head, unable to look away.
"Exactly. Dylan is mostly stubborn about it but he's not like his father. He's kind and caring, two things his father lacks" she said with a frown. I frowned too and sat on the corner of my bed.
"You might think that we're all spoiled little rich kids that get whatever we want whenever we want and you are the only one that works for your right to be here and in some retrospect that's true but we do have dreams and even though you have to give up your wants because you need money, we need to give up personal things that we hold dear to cater for others" she said, straight. She wasn't afraid of me, but she wasn't naive of me either. There was an understanding there that we had of each other.
"I get it. And I didn't think that. I just think you guys are kind of lazy" I said, not losing eye contact. She tilted her head back and laughed.
"Yeah, that's true"
That night after a five star dinner in DuPont Hall, I felt a strange sensation that I was more ignorant then they were and I didn't like it. The thought that I may be the one that needs a reality check was weird enough on its own, but with the idea that I needed it more than some rich kids struck me even harder.