Disclaimer: If it's not Cassie Clare's, it's mine. Enjoy! (And please do R &R)
Tessa was in the backseat of a taxi. She had the window rolled down, the London air whipping her hair away from her face. She still couldn't believe that she had been accepted into the world famous Institute Preparatory School. It had been a dream come true. Of course, Tessa had been disappointed by the fact that she would have to be thousands of miles away from her parents and brother, but she had accepted the fact that she would see them at Christmas. The cab pulled up in front of the school, and Tessa paid the driver before she lugged her luggage out of the back. She took a moment to stare at the grandeur of this place.
The school appeared like a castle, with its towered rooms and arched doors. At that moment, someone tapped Tessa's shoulder, causing her to jump. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but I was wondering, are you Theresa Gray?" Tessa nodded, and the girl smiled. "Phew, you made it here in one piece. I was afraid that the plane may have left you behind in New York." When Tessa gave her a blank look, the girl quickly regained her composure. "Alright, pretend I didn't say that. I'm Victoria Montclaire, your roommate. I was told to meet you near the main entrance. Come on, then." Tessa relaxed and smiled at her new, excitable roommate. "Please, call me Tessa, everyone does." "Okay, Tessa" Tessa detected a foreign accent, but couldn't quite place it. She was as tall as Tessa, with black hair that reached past her shoulders, and violet eyes. Tessa was surprised by this, because she didn't even know it was possible to have violet eyes. Victoria didn't really seem to notice Tessa staring as she deftly helped Tessa with her bags. They lugged them through the main corridor, up two floors, across a connecting bridge, through a building, down a flight of stairs and down a corridor until they finally reached a door, with the numbers 317 pasted to the door. Victoria opened the door with her key, and led Tessa into the room.
For a dormitory bedroom, it was spacious. Each girl had a bed, desk, vanity and wardrobe for her things. There was a shared bookshelf and wall mirror. They also had the luxury of a private bathroom, with enough counter space and shelf space for the two of them. Victoria flung herself into her desk chair, speaking to Tessa as she rummaged through the mess on the desk.
"Alright, so here's what you need to know. First of, the dorms. In this room, anything that isn't mine is yours. Feel free to take up as much space as you need." Victoria had been generous, Tessa noticed. She had only used one of the three shelves on the bookshelf, and the bathroom too had few of her things. It won't be hard, finding space for my things, Tessa thought. "Also, we don't have a strict lights out policy in this room, but the school issues a 11 pm curfew on school nights. We don't have a curfew on Friday and Saturday nights, because some of the students live close enough to the school where they can go home on the weekends. Secondly, this school arranges the dorms differently than most. Although individual rooms are separated by gender, the dorms aren't. In room 315 on our left is two boys. Room 319 on our right houses two girls. We're all randomly assigned to dorms once we're enrolled here. There are twelve houses on campus, each one housing just under 100 students. Needless to say, space gets tight. There is a common room in every house on the ground floor, which houses a television, games, and a small kitchenette, in case anybody wants to cook or save food for later. Every place on campus is connected by a bridge that runs through the second floor of every building, so if you're ever lost, just make your way to the second floor and work from there. Have I lost you yet?" Tessa shook her head.
By this time, Victoria found what she was looking for. "Finally. Headmistress Branwell had asked me to give you your schedule and the school handbook. I just found it. And I was told to make sure you got your uniform, which I set in the closet." Tessa took the papers from her, finally getting a chance to talk. "Thank you, Victoria. So when do classes start?" Victoria opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a loud noise coming from room 315. She gave an irritable look at the wall before she kneeled onto Tessa's empty bed and banged on the wall adjacent to it. "Will Herondale, can you stop that infernal racket!" she screamed through the wall. The noise stopped after that, and Victoria turned to Tessa. "I'll explain more about him later. Anyways, classes start tomorrow, with the first block beginning at 8. Each class is about an hour long, and classes finish at 3. There is an hour long lunch break from 12 to 1. After that, you're free to do as you please. So tomorrow, I'll show you around the main campus. After that, you should be set. Welcome to the Institute!" she finished with a flourish, landing dramatically onto her purple and black bed furnished bed.
Tessa laughed as she began to unpack. Victoria had come in the previous week, so she helped Tessa out. Tessa's bed was covered in a medium blue bedspread. Tessa hung a corkboard on the wall above her bed, which had some pictures and thumbtacks so Tessa could attach reminders. Over the course of the few hours, Tessa learned a lot about her new roommate. Victoria lived in Paris with her aunt, uncle and cousins. Her parents had died when she was ten, and she had been attending boarding schools since. Tessa expressed her sympathy, but Victoria had waved it off. "I miss maman and papa a lot, but I've become used to living in boarding schools. Besides, I like having freedom." It took them all afternoon to unpack Tessa's things. Her books barely fit into the bookshelf, and Tessa was trying to find space for the others in her desk.
"You know, I don't think I've seen anyone with as many books as you. Except maybe Will, but he's a lunatic to begin with. I don't know how you're going to fit your school books in here. Come again, I'm no one to talk. I can hardly open my wardrobe without things falling out." Tessa was about to enquire who Will was, but Victoria brushed aside her question, replying "You'll meet everyone at dinner. I'll introduce you to my friends tonight. I prefer people to make their own judgements." After they had crammed the last of Tessa's books into an empty drawer in Victoria's desk, the two realized that they had two hours before dinner would be served. Having forgone lunch, they were starving. They wound up eating chocolate out of a bag that Victoria kept hidden under her bed. They ate while they watched Napoleon Dynamite on Victoria's laptop, both of them sprawled across her bed. The movie ended at seven sharp, just in time for dinner. Victoria stretched her arms and searched for her shoes, which she had kicked off the minute she entered the room. After slipping them on she gestured for Tessa to come along. "Dinner's starting. I presume you're hungry, seeing as Cadbury chocolate cannot substitute for a meal. You'll get a chance to meet everyone too." Tessa followed, not knowing what to expect when she went to dinner.
They reached the dining hall in five minutes, where the food was lined up amongst the walls, buffet style. Victoria pointed out the circular tables and how students were supposed to sit the members of their dorm. "They try to 'foster a sense of togetherness' amongst the students, but all it really does is cause a lot of interhouse rivalry" Victoria said to Tessa. She continued on. "Dinner is always served from 7 to 10:30, so it's up to the students to decide when they want to eat. Breakfast is served from 5:30 to 9, except on weekends when they continue service until 11. Lunch is served only on weekdays during the lunch hour. On the weekends and holidays, it's our job to feed ourselves" Victoria said with amusement. Tessa glanced down the line she and Victoria had joined to get food. Service was quick, and it wasn't long before Tessa and Victoria were heading to a table in the center of the room, decorated with Ethan house decorations. Most of the chairs were filled, save for Victoria's and Tessa's seats. The two sat, Tessa more timidly. "Hey, since when do we have scrawny, blushing belles at this table?" asked a male voice coming from Victoria's other side. Tessa blushed, true to the cruel nickname, as Victoria replied "Since you joined us Will." She shoved his black locks out of his eyes before she said " I can see you had an excellent holiday, William. Oh and before I forget, Will, the 'scrawny belle' happens to go by the name of Tessa. She's my new roommate, and if I hear any complaints, heads will roll." Will rolled his cobalt blue eyes before he returned to industriously working through his dinner. Victoria turned to Tessa."That was the ever-so-charming William Herondale. He can be a pain, but if he annoys you, feel free to hit him on the head with something heavy." "As the person of discussion, I object to that!" cried Will. "Well, you haven't suffered any permanent damage yet, so it seems to be alright." With this, Tessa stifled a laugh, causing Victoria to grin and Will to glare at her. Tessa quieted, and Victoria continued on.
"On Will's other side is James Carstairs, but everyone calls him Jem." At the mention of his name, Jem looked up, and regarded Tessa silently. "Pleased to meet you Tessa" he said with a charming smile. "Nice to meet you too, Jem." Jem had black hair, like Will, but he had silvery eyes instead of blue ones that WiIl possessed. "James is our reasonable one, probably the only one in the group. Well, we do have Sophie and Thomas. Oh, and Tessa, Will and Jem are the boys whom I was mentioning earlier, who live in 315 next to us." Tessa took this information in. Jem seemed alright; he didn't strike Tessa as the type to play loud music in the middle of the night and keep the whole floor up. Will, on the other hand...
"Okay, next to Jem is Sophie, and next to her is Thomas, Cecily, Gideon, Mark. The boy in-between you and Mark is Gabriel." Everyone said hello to Tessa, and she returned their acquaintances. "There are a few other important things. Sophie and Cecily are in the dorm next us in 319. Expect a couple of late night visits from them. Thomas and Gabriel are on the same floor, but they got a room in the East Wing while the rest of us wound up in the West Wing. Gideon and Mark are on a floor above, because they're a year older. Anyways, that's all you need to know for now. I'm famished, let's start eating." Tessa began to work through her dinner. The food was extremely good, but Tessa figured that if she ate every meal like this, then she would put on 10 pounds by the time she went home for Christmas.
After she finished, she joined Sophie in line to grab some dessert. Sophie was quiet, hardly saying much at dinner. She was pretty, with rich brown hair and pale green eyes, but she had a scar that ran above her eyebrow across the left side of her head, ending at her temple. Sophie turned to Tessa. "It's lucky that you got roomed with Victoria. She may be free-spirited, but overall, she's a good girl. She won't eat your brain on little things, and she'll make sure you have fun while you're here. Truth be told, if it wasn't for her, I might still not have any friends here." Tessa smiled. "I like her. She's been extremely helpful, and even let me have some of her desk space for my things. How is it, rooming with Cecily?" By this time, they had reached the deserts. Tessa picked up a slice of cheescake, hoping it would taste remotely similar to the ones she got in New York. Sophie picked up some chocolate mousse before replying "Cecily is a lot like Victoria. Kind, and sweet, but free-spirited. As with all roommates, we've had a few disagreements, but beyond that, we've been the best of friends since Year 9. She doesn't care what people think of her, like her brother Will." "She's Will's sister?" "Twins. They may look like carbon copies of each other, but their personas are so different. Cecily is kinder and more outgoing. Will is quieter and more sarcastic." They had reached the table by then.
Gabriel had shifted into Tessa's seat while she was away, and he had his hand in Victoria's hair, playing with it while she spoke. Victoria noticed Tessa coming and gently shoved Gabriel. "Move over Gabe. Tessa's back." "Aww, but then I'll be away from you." "Gabe, I'm sitting two seats over!" "That's still too far for me." Victoria kissed him on the cheek. "There, now will you move?" "I guess"" he said, shifting over with a dramatic flair and smiling at Tessa. Tessa sat down and raised an eyebrow at Victoria. She grinned as she said "Gabriel's my boyfriend. We've been dating since the winter of last year." At that moment, there was a loud clanging noise coming from the front of the room. A small woman was standing at a podium, trying to demand everyone's attention. "That's Headmistress Branwell. I guess it's time for the start of term speech she always gives. She looks like she's strict, but in reality, she's great. Really kind and understanding" Victoria whispered to Tessa. Tessa nodded and looked forward again.
"Good Evening. I hope you all had an excellent summer holiday, ready and refreshed for the start of term tomorrow. We would like to welcome the newest members of this school in the Institute family. It is a great honor to be accepted into the Institute. A note to all new members and a reminder to our returning students: There is a strict curfew enforced at 11pm for all students on school nights, and everyone must return to their houses by then. There is also a no-roaming-in-the-corridor policy enforced between midnight and 5 am. We will not tolerate any of the shenanigans that happened last year. You know the rules, and I expect you teach the newcomers. I don't want any ducks in the hall, or stink-bombs in the boys toilet, or food fights in the common room. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone in the room nodded their heads.
"The duck issue was our fault. Although, I wish I had been in on the food fight idea. That would have been fun." Victoria whispered to Tessa. Tessa looked at her in shock. Sophie was right, she was free-spirited. "I hope that dinner was to your suiting. Alright, off to bed with you all, you have classes to attend tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck for the upcoming year. Good night!" With that, Headmistress Branwell left the podium, amidst much applause. Everyone stood to leave, and make their way back to the dorm. Victoria walked alongside Cecily, talking animatedly about her holiday in Santorini. Tessa walked behind them, trying to memorize the pathway back. "So, Tessa, you came from the States, right? Where exactly are you from?" Tessa turned in surprise to find Jem walking alongside her.
"Well, I lived in Manhattan, in the Upper East side." Jem smiled at her. "I went to New York on holiday a few summers ago. My parents are firm worshipers of travel, so every summer, we usually go somewhere new and foreign. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in America." Tessa began to animatedly talk to him about her favorite sites in New York, and even other cities that Jem had visited, like Boston and Washington DC. He was pleasant to talk to, and it was easy to engage him in conversation. Tessa hadn't even realized when they had reached the dorms. She turned to Jem when they reached his door. "Well, it was nice talking to you. Hopefully, I'll have some classes with you." Jem gave her a strange smile. " I think you have chemistry with me. Tori took the liberty of setting your schedule next to everyone else's and made sure that there was someone with you at all times. I think the only time one of us isn't with you is during your free period on Friday. Anyways, goodnight Tessa." Tessa nodded before turning to go to her room. Victoria was opening the door then. She looked up when she heard Tessa coming. "Oh good, you're here. I completely forgot to give you your room key. Let me do that now."
They stepped into the room and Tessa closed the door behind them. Victoria walked over to her desk and pulled out a key from the second drawer. With a dramatic voice, she put the key in Tessa's outstretched palm. "I now hand you, the key to the best room in the Institute. It is an honor bestowed only to the most worthy." After Tess closed her fingers on the key, the two burst out into a fit of laughter. It was now their turn to get yelled at from a neighboring room. "Some of us are trying to sleep here!" cried Will from the next room. "As if you won't be up all night reading anyways, Will!" Victoria shouted back. Immediately the yelling stopped. Tessa smiled before she grabbed her pajamas and dashed into the bathroom to change. When she emerged, she found Victoria changed from her white top and jeans into a pair of sweatpants that had amour written down the sides, and a white shirt to match the dark pants. "Tessa, I'm going to be stepping out for a bit. It's 10:15, and Gabriel wanted me to meet him in the common room. Is that alright?" "That's fine, Victoria. Thank you for everything. I don't know how I would've managed without your help." "Don't mention it. Honestly, I've been getting kind of bored, being alone in this room. It's nice to finally have some company. Anyways, if you need anything, bang on either wall and ask for either Jem, Will, Sophie or Cecy. They'll be more than willing to help." With that, Victoria made her way out of the room.
She walked down the corridor until she hit the staircase that split the corridor into two. She saw Gabriel coming towards her from the other, changed into a tank top and navy sweatpants. She ran into his outstretched arms. He swooped her up into a hug and set her down gently, still holding onto her. "Let's go downstairs, Gabe." "Actually, I have a better idea. Thomas said he's going to Mark and Gideon's room until curfew. So this means, that my room is empty. Shall we?" "You are crazy Gabriel, but yes, I'll go with you." He took her by the hand and led her down the hallway, picking up their pace until they reached his room. He let them in, and they both flopped onto his bed, lying next to each other in the small space. Tori twined one of her legs with his, and took his hand. "Tell me about your holiday. I haven't seen you since you left Paris." Gabriel began to talk, words flowing out of him. He continued to talk until Victoria felt a small vibration in her pocket. Her phone. She had set it to vibrate at 10:55 so she could make it to her room in time. "Gabe, I have to go. Curfew."He groaned before he rolled over to the side of the bed. He leaned against the wall to let Victoria up. She stood up and kissed him once on the lips, lightly.
"I'll see you tomorrow at the breakfast table."
"Alright. And Tori?"
" Yes, Gabe?"
"I love you."
"I love you too. Now good night."
She left the room and made it back to her dorm, with a minute to spare.
She walked in to find Tessa reading a book in bed. She looked up when she saw Tori enter. "I was wondering when you were coming back." Tessa banged on the wall. "Jem, she's back!" "Alright. Good night!" "Night, Jem!" Victoria had set herself on the edge of Tessa's bed, and raised an eyebrow. "He stopped by 20 minutes ago to check in on us. When he found you were gone, he asked me to yell through the wall when you got back." Victoria nodded in understanding, and stared at the book in Tessa's hand.
"What are you reading?"
"My Sister's Keeper. A more modern work. It's good, but sad."
Victoria turned the book over in her hand once before handing it back to Tessa. "I've never been able to understand why people like reading so much. I've found so much meaning in the world of art. Drawing and painting have always been for me."
"I think every person has their escape. Oh, and I called home too. I can't believe how expensive it is to make an international phone call!"
Victoria laughed. "Tell me about. I only call into my aunt's place about once a week because of the rates. How is everyone?"
"They're all good. They miss me, of course. My brother Nate is starting college at Brown tomorrow, so my parents were helping him move in. They were just finishing up when I called; it was almost 5 there."
"Good to know everyone's in one piece. It'll take time, getting used to the time difference and being away from home. But the education this place gives makes up for it all. Anyways, we should probably go to bed now. It would be a shame to be late on our first day."
Victoria settled herself under the covers and flicked off the light. "Good night Tessa."
"Good night, Tori." Victoria fell asleep almost immediately, but Tessa was up for a while, hugging her knees to her chest, watching the moonlight stream through the window.
In the neighboring room, Will and Jem were in the process of getting ready for bed. Will was stretched across his bed, which was against the wall that was shared between their rooms and Tori's and Tessa's. His feet dangled off the edge, and he was staring at the ceiling, his arm bent under his head. Jem walked out of the bathroom to find Will in this strange disposition. He laughed before he sat down at his desk chair and opened his laptop.
"Will, are you alright? You've seemed very distant today."
"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine. I was thinking about Tori and that new roommate of hers. What's her name again? Tara?" Will wasn't an idiot, he knew the girl's name was Tessa.
Jem sighed. "Tessa, Will. It's Tessa."
"Yeah, her."
"What were you thinking about?"
How pretty she is. "How Tori's going to manage with a roommate. It'll be the first time in her life she's had to share anything."
Jem was half-listening. He had an earbud in one ear, and was trying to listen to the violin piece he was supposed to play the next day in class. "I think Tori will be fine. She was really excited about Tessa's arrival, if you couldn't guess from last week's discussions."
Will remembered. Tori had been jumping all over when she found out she was going to have a roommate this term. Will hadn't cared at the time, figuring it would be some stick-in-the-mud girl. But although Tessa was quiet, she seemed observant and intelligent. Well she had to be, if she wanted to get through the entrance exams this place had. Will couldn't help but think how brown hair and gray eyes were a lovely combination. He sighed before he turned in his bed to face Jem. "How long do you plan on staying up?" "Another ten minutes. You can turn off the lights though. I need to listen to the piece, not see it. Good night, Will" "Good night, James." Will flicked off the light, falling asleep instantly, his dreams filled with gray clouds.