New school, new life, new day. Today I won't be going to Charleston High in California, nope, today Aurora Kingsley will be spending her junior year at Webster Academy in a small town in Minnesota. Wait, did I say small, I meant tiny! I have never even seen a town so small! It's half-and-hour away from the Twin Cities, so at least I can look forward to something.
One of the biggest things that scares me is that I am going to an academy. In movies the headmasters; that's right headmasters, not principals; are always mean and will bring out the paddle even though there is a law against child abuse. Will that happen to me? And the students, will they all be troublemakers? I hope not, it doesn't have "For troubled children" in the name. Is that a good sign? I think I'm worrying too much.
"You ok darling?" asks a voice. Oh yeah, I'm in the car with my mom.
"Fine mom, just thinking about the school."
"Are you nervous?" She asks excitedly. For a moment I ponder whether or not to answer sarcastically. Due to the fact that I'm not going to be seeing her for awhile, I choose the honest path.
"Yeah," I answer.
"Oh sweetie," she gushes, "You're going to be fine."
"I know," I say, knowing that I probably have now worried her.
A few hours later we show up at the academy. It's very big, but it doesn't look anything like the academies in movies. It's shingled like all the normal houses out here, the roof is a nice brownish red color and the body of the house is a light green-blue.
The porch section in front of the house is a little bigger than a regular house, and over the steps leading up to the porch is a sign that says, "All who come to learn are welcome." Underneath that it says, "Schola lamia, lux et tenebræ. Omnes enim scientiae quae gratum." I think it might be in latin, but before I can think further, a man steps through the doors.
Then, when I look at the man, I forget how to think. His hair is black as ebony, his skin white as snow.
It's a boy Snow White, I think to myself.
"Hello," he says in a strong clear voice, "You must me Miss Kingsley." I just nod, unable to find my voice. He offers me his hand, and I shake it. His hand is cold compared to mine, but my skin is always warm.
"N-nice to meet you," I stammer.
"Likewise," he says, smiling at me. My heart melts. "I am Headmaster Jonathan, but most of the students call me John." He hands me a piece of paper. "This is your schedule," he says to me. "It has all the information you need." Then he hold out his hand, a purple bracelet is in his palm. "This has to be worn at all times, school policy." I nod and put on the bracelet.
I look down at my schedule and find my room number and my extra locker just in case I need it. I go and get my bags from the car. I take out one large suitcase, a duffle bag, and a small toiletry kit. I go over to my mom and give her a peck on the cheek.
"Just in case I miss you when you leave. I'm going to put my bags in my room."
She pulls me into a hug and says, "I'm going to miss you sweetheart," then kisses me on the head.
"Bye," I say as I walk through the door.
. . . . . . .
When I walk into my room, I find another girl setting her stuff on the bed across from mine.
"Hi," I say, to alert her of my presence.
"Vamps or Wolves?" she asks me out of the blue.
This was a usual question back at my old school after the Supernatural War books got so popular, so I answer, "I've been avoiding the series, helps me avoid questions like that."
The girl laughs and turns around. The first thing I notice is her eyes, they are a pale blue, so pale that it's almost unnatural. Then I notice her hair, it's a vibrant reddish-brown. It looks very dark against her pale skin.
She puts out her hand and says, "Name's Aubrey! What's yours?"
"Aurora," I say as I set my hand in her's. She surprises me by pulling me into a hug.
"I think we're gonna be the bestest friends!" she says excitedly.
"Sure we are," I say back, wondering how I would stand a jumpy roommate like this. I go over to my bed and set my stuff on it. Then I notice something, I have a queen bed, so does Aubrey.
"Wow, this school is rich," I say under my breath.
"Just look at the closets," Aubrey says, "You won't even need the clothes you brought from home." I walk over to the closet and find that you choose on a panel what you want to wear and it brings it up. All the dresses and shirts have the school symbol on them, a moon with a heart in the middle. There is a W on the left side of the heart and an A on the right side.
I whip out my phone to look up the history of this place, maybe what the symbol means, and find that my phone automatically connected to the internet and was downloading a bunch of apps I was going to use for school. I couldn't go on the internet without overheating my phone, so I plug it into the charger and put the charger in the wall.
I go to put my stuff in the dresser. The top drawer is really small, about half as tall as my hand. I peek inside and find my school laptop and an extra schedule for me, the school must have the beds pre-assigned. I open up the rest of the drawers, each are about the size of one-and-a-half of my hands. I put my home bought clothes in the dresser and take my computer out of the first drawer.
It too is already connected to the internet, but it also is downloading more than enough protection software and there is a tag on the top that says that the laptop is just for school related purposes. I can't get on the internet quite yet. I put the laptop back in it's spot and notice it's spot is a charger, just built in through the dresser!
"How did my mom have enough money to get me here?" I mumble, talking to myself. Because I was talking to myself, it scared me half to death when I turned around and found Aubrey right behind me.
"Hi," I say.
"What ya doin'?" she askes.
"Trying to restart my heart," I answer. She grimaces.
"Sorry, I might have a bit of ADHD, so I might be a little hyper."
"I'll keep that in mind," I say, starting to smile.
"What's your first class?" she asks. I look down at my schedule.
"Chemistry," I answer. Aubrey squeals.
"Me too! I told you that we'll be the bestest friends! I told you! I told you!" she shouts.
I grab her arms and say, "Settle down second grader, we just have first period together." She snactches the schedule out of my hands.
"And third, fourth, lunch, and eighth."
"Ok," I allow, "not just first period." Then the headmaster's voice comes over the loudspeaker, smooth and silky.
"We have a welcome assembly in the cafeteria in five minutes so make your way down please." The loudspeaker shuts off.
"Oh, I love the assemblies here," Aubrey bubbles.
"You were here last year?" I ask
"Oh yeah," she says. "I've been here all three years! Ever since 9th grade!"
"So the school starts at 9th grade?" I ask.
"Yep," replies Aubrey.
"Three minutes!" says a voice over the loudspeaker.
"Come on," Aubrey says to me. "Let's get a move on!"
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"Welcome, welcome, to another year at Webster Academy!" says headmaster Jonathan. The room bursts into screams! "Or, if you're new here, such as Aurora Kingsley," Aubrey screams when my name is said, "Ben Samuelson, Casey Jones, and Johanna Giles, welcome to your first year here at Webster Academy." The screams again.
"Now I know I got you all riled up, but all we're talking about is," John gets down on one knee, "the rules, so let's go. No students out of their dorms after 11:30 pm, and out no sooner than 5 am! Take only food in the lunchroom designated to your wristband color, if your purple, no black or red food! Understand?" A chorus of yeses. John smiles.
"Your school laptops are to be used only for school classes, never go to a class that isn't yours, and I need to tell the new students that we don't have detentions here, we have special services. You will be outside cleaning, or other things like that! All school days you must wear an outfit from your closet, so that you can show your school spirit. Now I send you off with one saying, Est homo, quod purpurae, Nos custodiunt eos!" then he sent us off, back to our dorms.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Aubrey turns to me when we get back to our room and says to me, "We should meet our neighbors, there are still many-" she cuts herself off in the middle of her own sentence, "OMG! We should go to my friends' dorm!" She grabs my arm and practically drags me down the hall. She knocks the door of the very last dorm in our hall.
The girl who opens is even paler than Aubrey, making her dark black hair look stunning. Her eyes were a deep brown and she had a figure that made me, a girl who had never really cared for looks, feel insecure.
"Hello, I'm Brianna," She says to me, reaching out her hand to shake mine.
I set my hand in her's and say, "I'm Aurora, nice to meet you." Her hand is cold against mine, but I am always warm.
"Why don't you come on in," she says, moving out of my way.
"Thanks," I say with a smile. Inside the room I see Brianna's roommate, she too is pale like her other two friends.
Wow, I think to myself, people in Minnesota are really pale. Is it just because I am from California? That must be it. The other girl crosses the room to me and I get a good look at her. She has long, light blond hair down to her waist. The bottom five inches are dyed purple and there is one purple strand down one side of her side part.
Aubrey and Brianna walk over and stand on either side of me. Blondie in front of me stretches out her hand towards me.
"Hello," she says with an accent that sounds sort of french, "I am Semira."
I carefully take her hand and say, "Aurora."
She smiles and says, "Ravi de vous rencontrer. That's french for 'nice to meet you'."
"Are you from France?" I ask.
"No," she answers, "but my parents were, that's where I picked up this ridiculous accent! I haven't been able to copy the American way of talking, even though I've lived among them for almost my entire life!"
"Almost?" I ask.
"I did live in France for a few years, seven to be exact. We moved there when I was seven and came back just in time for me to start 9th grade here!" Then she looks down at my wristband, "You're a purple," she says smiling.
I look at her wristband. "And you're a black," I say back.
She laughs and nods. "Yes, I am."
Then Aubrey scares me by placing her freezing cold hand on my bare arm and saying, "Let's go into town!" Her stressed tone makes me nervous.
"Yeah," Brianna says in response, "we can have a before school shopping trip!"
"Sure," I say, surprised at their sudden need to go. "Do you know anyplace good?" They just grab my arms and pull me out into the hallway, down the stairs, and right to John's office. Aubrey knocks on the door.
John opens the door and smiles. "Hello girls," he says, voice pleasant.
"Hi," says Brianna, "We were wondering if we could go into town for lunch and a bit of shopping."
"Sure," John smiles.
"Thank you," Aubrey squeals. Then she looks at me. "Nope!" she shouts, startling everyone in the room. "You are not going into town dressed in traveling clothes! Nuh- uh! Not on my watch! Come on!" She drags me up the stairs and to our room.
She places me in front of my closet and starts pushing buttons. I try to look over her shoulder, but she keeps moving in the way so that I can't see what she's choosing. When she steps away, I see that she has chosen a dress with a t-shirt on top, and a jean skirt that lands at the top of my knees. The t-shirt has white and red horizontal stripes going down it and underneath the skirt I will be wearing tan, mid- calf boots with wedge heels.
"You're welcome," she says smiling.
"Aubrey," I say cautiously, "I can't walk in high heels, I'm going to break an ankle!"
Her smile subsides for a second then she says, "I'll fix that." She walks up to the control panel and soon the boots don't have heels any more, they are just flats. "After today I insist on your training of walking in heels. Now get the outfit on and I will do your hair."
"But Aubrey," I start.
"Shh!" she says, "This trip is for you to see the Twin Cities, I am not letting you go out looking like you should be at the airport just getting off the late flight!"
"Okay," I say. I put on the outfit, which does look pretty good on me, then let Aubrey mess with my hair. She pulls a brush through my thick, bodiless hair and then lets her deft, little fingers to the work.
When she's done my muddy blond- brown hair looks amazing, the natural highlights and lowlights popping out at at the perfect moments. "Aubrey," I say, amazed, "How did you do this?"
"I've had some practice," she says smugly. "Now it's time to go," she says to me, handing me a little red handbag. "Go and grab some money! We are going to have the shopping spree of a lifetime."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Brianna leads us out to the underground car lot for the students. The cars seem to have separated themselves, all the older, crappier cars were on one side, and the new, nicer ones on the other side. Brianna gets into a bright red sports car.
"What kind of car is this," I ask.
"Guessing that you don't speak car and driver, I'll just go with Maserati."
I smile. "I know what that is."
She smiles back and says, "Hope you don't mind the back."
"I can squish," I say.
"Good,"
"Come on guys!," Aubrey says, overexcited. "We only have a few hours, we need to go shopping!" When I get in the car Aubrey is already talking about what she wants to do. "I think that we'll start with getting our nails done, then we can go to Caribou so we can get coffee, then we go to Bloomington so that we can go to the Mall of America! There are so many stores there!"
She sucks in a breath, "We can go to Nickelodeon Universe! We can go on all the rides! Or we could go to Valley Fair!"
"Hold on Aubrey," says Brianna, "We only have a few hours! It takes half- an- hour to get to Valley Fair, and if we want to get our nails done, we can't get there in time to have enough fun!"
"Oh, I have another idea," Aubrey says. "How bout' we just trans-" a look of horror crosses her face, but she recovers quickly, "I mean how about we just go to Valley Fair and skip the rest!"
Brianna frowns and says, "I think we should just get our nails done, then go to M.O.A."
"M.O.A?" I ask.
"Mall of America, duh!" says Aubrey, back to her bouncing mood. "And I agree with Brianna, but let's get our nails done, wait for it, at the Mall!"
"Wow," I say, "How long did it take you to come up with that?"
Detecting my sarcastic attitude, Aubrey sniffs and says, "Well, who saved you from a fashiomergancy?"
"A what?" I ask.
"A fashion emergency! You so need to start speaking girl! For realsies Aurora!"
"Now you're just messing with me!" I say. Aubrey answers with a mischievous smile. "Well then," I say, "I guess that I'm just totes mcgoats out of style then."
Aubrey smiles, "Now you're catching on!"
Brianna just rolls her eyes and says, "Let's get going girls!" I latch on my buckle and as soon as I'm ready, Brianna hits the gas. We're out of the school in one minute and screaming down the highway! I smile and settle back for the ride.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In a few minutes we are in front of the largest mall in America! This was half the girls' dream back in California, to shop at the Mall of America! Yet, it was all the way over in the flyover state of Minnesota! How could they stand to be in such an isolated state, away from anything that showed what was "hip" or "new"?
They way people thought of Minnesota back home was farms and a few crappy gas stations, but now that I was getting to see the actual city, I could see how wrong we were! The cars were racing down the streets like startled cattle, people filled the streets, girls and boys spending the last few minutes together before the school year starts.
When we get to the mall, Brianna and Aubrey run to their favorite nail place, where they aren't strangers. We all get half off our pedicures and 25% off our manicures.
I go with a deep blue for my fingers and a lime green for my toes. I sigh as I relax my feet into the warm water, turning on my massage chair. Aubrey is on my left copying my actions while Brianna is still deciding on her colors.
"What are your colors?" I ask Aubrey. She lifts up a deep red and a metallic bronze.
"Red is for my feet, bronze is for my hands," she says.
"The bronze will look really good," I say. Then Brianna settles down on my right. She holds up a dark purple and a sparkly silver.
"Awww," whines Aubrey, "why didn't I see the silver?"
"Cause' I saw it first, and I brought it from home," says Brianna. Then Brianna gasps and points to the door. "No way," she says. I look where she's pointing and I see a girl walking with a boy's arm over her shoulder. The girl sees us and sneers, then very quickly flips us the bird, then gives her attention back to the boy.
"Slut," I hear Aubrey whisper under her breath.
"Why would he go out with her?" says Brianna, sounding like she had just got a kick to the stomach.
"Who was that?" I ask.
"Brianna's ex, Judas, and a girl from school named Delia." answers Aubrey.
"She's a level 10 bitch!" says Brianna, sounding like she wants to run out of the salon and poke Delia's eyes out.
"And he's a level 10 traitor," says Aubrey. "They belong together."
Brianna takes a deep breath and says, "You're right, we aren't together anymore. I should just forget it." Aubrey nods in agreement. Then our nail people come and start on our toes.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In about an hour we are walking out of the salon, feet and hands looking perfect.
"Now what do you want to do?" asks Aubrey.
"Let's go get lunch," I say. "I'm starving!"
"There's a food court up a level, wanna go there?"
"Nah," says Brianna. "How bout' we go to Bubba Gump?"
"What's that?" I ask.
"Ever seen the movie Forrest Gump?" asks Aubrey.
"Nope," I answer.
"Oh my gosh!" says Brianna. "Sometime we need to have a movie night!"
"Starting with Supernatural Wars?" asks Aubrey.
"No!" I say. "Leaving out Supernatural wars!"
Aubrey sighs and says, "You can't avoid it forever."
"I know," I say, "but I can try." She just shakes her head and leads us to the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
After having a wonderful seafood dinner, we walk through the mall stopping at stores like Abercrombie & Fitch, which sprayed out gallons of cologne out front, Forever 21, and Aeropostale. After spending most of my money at stores, I still have about $120, then lose $25 of that because Aubrey decided that we were going to Nick Universe, and after a few hours I'm actually having fun!
Then Brianna checks her phone and says, "Time to go girls."
"Awww!" whines Aubrey. "But I don't want to go!"
"Do you want to miss Webster's Welcome Dinner?"
"No!" Aubrey shouts. "Let's run girls!" She grabs both me and Brianna by an arm and gets us out into the parking lot in no time.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Welcome students to the 71st annual Webster Welcome Dinner!" shouts the headmaster, making the student body erupt into cheers just like at the first assembly. "This dinner consists of three parts. First," a short pause, "you will have the appetizer. Second," another pause, "you will have the main course. Third," the longest pause, "you will get dessert!"
"Whoo hoo!" someone shouts to my left.
"Now, now," chuckles John, "Don't get too over excited Brad, it's just a dinner."
"Yeah, yeah," says Brad, surprising me by sitting down by me.
He must have just come in, I think to myself.
"Let our dinner proceed," says John.
Right after Headmaster Jonathan stops talking, Brad turns to me and asks, "You're one of the new kids right?"
I nod, "Yep."
"Which one?" he asks.
"Aurora," I hold out my hand and Brad shakes it firmly. I get a good look at him. Brad is pale, but he isn't as pale as Aubrey or Brianna. His eyes are soft and reassuring, unlike the other people I had met today.
"Where you from Aurora?" he asks.
"California," I answer.
"No way!" he exclaims. "That's where I moved from last year! What made you choose this frigged state?"
"Mom's job got moved, she got a promotion that required her to get closer to the office," I say sadly.
"Quite a bit closer," Brad observes. I nod my head. "Well California," he says loudly, "we can stick together!"
I smile. "That would be fun."
"We can have a movie night after dinner tonight," he says. "You game?"
I nod. "What'll we be watching?"
"Let me decide," he says. "Just to take the weight off your shoulders."
"Yeah, because the weight was so heavy," I smirk. "What room is yours anyway?"
"So it's in my room eh," he says.
"Please," I roll my eyes, "you don't want to go to my room."
"But-" he starts, but he is cut off by another boy leaning over his shoulder. The boy has on a leather jacket and looks like the type of person who would flirt with any girl, no matter how out of his league she was.
"Cover for me if I'm out past curfew tonight," the boy says. "Party for me!"
"Alright," sighs Brad. Then he turns to me and says, "my dorm then?" I nod. "Last one on the second floor of the moonlight wing, room 220."
"Cool, I'll be down after a little while, my roommate decided to dress me," I say to him.
"And she should appreciate it more because she looks beautiful!" says a voice from behind me.
I whip around, gasping. "Don't do that Aubrey! I almost peed myself!" Aubrey doubles over in laughter.
"S-s-s-so-o-ory," she says, choking on her own laughter.
"It isn't that funny," I frown
"You didn't see your face," gasps Brad, behind me. I just cross my arms and wait for their giggle fest to end.
"So you won't be in our room till' curfew?" Aubrey asks, once she has regained control of herself.
"If we go that late," I say.
"Which we will," interjects Brad. I just roll my eyes.
"Well see you then," she says and bubbles away.
Brad looks at me and asks, "Your roommate is Aubrey?" I nod. "Good luck surviving the year! Last year her roommate ran out of the school screaming, 'No more makeup! No more makeup!' I swear!"
"If that happens to me, my mom will be pissed!" I say.
Brad laughs and says, "I bet she would." We dig into our dinner and in a little bit we both leave. I go upstairs to my room and Brad goes to his. When I get to my dorm, I choose purple and green pajama pants and a plain gray t-shirt. Then I grab my phone and run down to Brad's dorm.
When I get there, Brad's partying roommate is just leaving. He shoots me a finger gun and walks down the hall. I catch the door before it closes.
"Hey Brad!" I call into the room.
He comes around the corner of his room and says, "Sup."
"What's the first movie?" I ask. He gets a mischievous smile on his face.
"Jaws," he says.
"Oh," I says, "I've never seen that one." Brad's jaw drops.
Then he shakes his head and says, "Shame!"
"But now I'm getting to see it," I counter.
"Less shame, but still, shame." I hang my head in mock humiliation.
"I'm a terrible person," I say.
Brad slow nods and says, "Yes you are. Now, go sit down on the the couch and be a good little girl while I get the popcorn ready."
"You want me to put the disk in?" I ask, eager to see the movie.
"Sure," he says turning away. Then he whips back around. "Don't even think about starting it without me!"
"I won't!" I promise. I find the remote to the DVD player and press the on button. I open the tray and slide the disk in. I turn on the TV and push the DVD tray back into the player. The disk loads and then up pops the title screen. "Come on," I yell back to the kitchenette, I want to get started!"
"Alright, alright," Brad sighs as he comes around the corner, a big bowl of popcorn in his hand. We start the movie and I get ready to see the horror.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"That was awesome," I say when it's finished.
"I know right!" Brad exclaims.
"How long to curfew?" I ask
"3 hours," Brad answers.
"So only one more movie?"
"Yep, and this one will take up about 2 and a half of those 3 hours."
"What movie is it?" I ask, curious.
"Forrest Gump."
"Aubrey and Brianna were chiding me about the fact that I hadn't seen this movie either."
Brad looks at me, all humor leaving his face. "You need to just sit in front of the TV one Saturday and have a classic marathon! Tell me that you have at least seen Star Wars!" he exclaims.
"Part of the fourth movie," I say carefully.
Brad just explodes, hands fling in the air making his purple bracelet run up his wrist, and says, "Ok! This upcoming Saturday you are watching all the classics! I will personally chain you to the couch and won't let you up until you've finished all of them!"
"I'm sure Aubrey will help you," I say quietly. Brad pauses then wraps his warm arms around me, pulling me into a hug.
"You just crack me up California," he laughs.
I pull out of the hug and say, "Put in the disk, I don't want to miss curfew on the first day that I'm here." Brad laughs again and puts in the movie.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It's five minutes to curfew when the movie is over. When it's done I say goodbye to Brad, confirm that I was coming to a classics movie marathon on Saturday, then left and crashed on my bed.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"An hour until classes, students," I sit up with a groan, not used to waking up at what would be 4 am back in California.
"Get a move on Aurora!" shouts Aubrey. I groan in response. "Get up, or I'll pick out your outfit and make sure that it's the sparkliest prom dress in the entirety of our selections!" she threatens.
That gets me up and moving. I pick out plain blue jean shorts, because it's still decently warm out, and a purple t-shirt, school emblem in the shoulder. I stick my phone in my pocket and head down to chemistry.
Each class is 50 minutes long, so at 8, ten minutes into second hour, my phone rings. The first ring makes the class go silent, the second makes the teacher, Mr. Rays, ask who's phone is ringing, and the third makes me raise my hand.
Mr. Rays just looks at me and says, "Answer it."
"What?" I ask amazed, expecting him just to take my phone away.
"Answer it and put it on speaker." I do as he says.
"Hey Rosie," I say, "say hello to my second hour class."
"Oh my gosh Aurora!" Rosie shouts. "Wait, what?"
"I said, say hello to my second hour class," I repeat.
"What time is it over there?" Rosie asks.
"Eight-o'clock," I say slowly.
"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry to interrupt, Aurora's second hour teacher," Rosie exclaims.
"It's completely alright Rosie," answers Mr. Ray smugly. "You are providing some interesting entertainment for my class." Then someone walks up to me and puts a hand on my shoulder.
"Hey Rosie," says Brad.
"Hi?" Rosie asks, confused.
"I'm Aurora's new best friend," he says. "You can't have her any more." I push him away.
"Shut up Brad," I say.
"I'm just saying that you should cut your ties to your Californian friends, I was just helping the process." he objects.
"That means I can't hang out with you," I counter. "Once a Californian, always a Californian!"
"Forget what I said," Brad says and walks back to his desk.
"Aurora," Rosie says slowly, "Don't tell me."
"Not at all Rosie, not at all!"
"Aurora," says Mr. Ray, "can you please tell me what that last exchange was about."
"Um. She was asking me if Brad was, um, my boyfriend." I stammer. Brad laughs from his desk behind mine.
"I can be if you want, California!"
"Again," I shout back to him, "shut up Brad."
Rosie gives a nervous giggle then asks, "Is there snow there yet?" I sigh.
"Rosie, I'm not living in the tundra."
"Yeah," Brad interjects, "We don't get snow until late November."
"We don't get snow in Southern California, at all," replies Rosie.
"Aww, you poor dear!" says a French Accent next to me, it's Brianna's roommate, Semira.
"Who's this," Rosie asks, sounding even more confused than before.
"My name is Semira, I'm Aurora's roommate's best friend's roommate."
"That's not at all confusing," replies Rosie sarcastically. Semira just laughs and walks back to her seat across the aisle from me.
"Anyways Rosie," I say, "I think that Mr. Ray would like to get back to class and you might miss the bus so I'm gonna say goodbye."
"Oh, ok Aurora, call me after school."
"Alright, I just have to remember to call around five-thirty."
"Yeah, don't call in the middle of my classes now."
"See ya Rosie."
"No you won't." The phone goes back to dial tone.
"Mr. Ray," I say, "Can I go use the bathroom?"
"Yes Miss Kingsley, but give me your phone." I hand him my phone and leave.
I walk into the bathroom and lean on the counter, the tears that I had been holding back sliding down my face. I hear the door open and quickly try to wipe the tears off my face. I turn on the sink to act like I'm just washing my hands. It's Brianna who comes around the corner.
"Oh sweetie," she gushes, "I saw what happened in there! I'm so sorry, it must be so hard to leave your friends behind like that." I don't trust myself to talk, so I just nod. She walks over to me and pulls me into a hug and I just let the tears flow.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm ge-getting your shirt wet," I stammer, tears restricting the words.
"It's alright," Brianna croons, "it's alright."
A few minutes later, I feel like I can talk again. And I stand up to wipe the tears off my face. Take a breath and walk back to the classroom.
In the classroom, students are walking around talking. Not really doing anything.
"Aurora!" I hear a voice shout. I turn around and smile.
"Hey Brad."
"You were gone for a while, California," he says, concerned.
"Was I?" I ask.
"Are you ok?" he asks.
"Just fine." I reply.
He grabs my hand and says, "Good, I was worried." I squeeze his warm hand, then look down in surprise.
"Your hand is warm." I say.
"What?" He looks at me like I had just said something in spanish.
"Your hand is warm," I repeat. "Everyone else's hands are cold, this is the first time in a long while that someone has been warmer than me!" Brad laughs.
"You aren't making any sense!" he says.
"I know I'm not, but you know how some people are like, naturally warmer than others or whatever."
He nods and says, "Yeah,"
"I'm one of those people," I explain. "It's just that everyone else has felt so cold and you're the first person to feel warm."
"Well, personally," his voice drops to a whisper, "I think these people are colder because they live in this frigid state!"
"You really think that?" I ask skeptically.
"Kind of," he shrugs, "the first winter was very hard for me, it can drop to below zero every day for a week and not come up for a long time!" I shiver. "See what I mean?" he says. I laugh just as the bell rings then go to pick up my stuff. Brad follows me to my next class.
"Where you goin'?" he asks me.
I look down at my schedule and say, "Math with Mrs. Carson." I grimace.
"You don't like math?" he asks.
"Nope," I answer. "I've never been very good at it."
"I could tutor you some time," Brad offers.
Before I can answer, a girl from last hour bursts into our conversation and says, "Wow Brad! It really is pathetic how bad you want her company!" I can't help myself, I giggle.
"Shut up Nell," Brad responds giving me a sour look.
Nell turns to me and says, "My name's Nellis, yeah I know, original right?"
"Sure?" I say, not actually sure what to say myself.
"Chill," she says, "I'm, not that scary am I?"
"No, you just surprised me," I answer.
"Ok then," she says, straightening herself. "So, am I gonna learn your name?"
"Aurora," I answer.
"Pretty," Nell notes.
"Thanks."
"No problem!" she says. "I saw what happened to you back there. It's a rule from Headmaster Jonathan that the teachers are supposed to let their students answer their phones, just in case it's their parents or something. Only some take advantage of the students like Mr. Ray."
"Has it happened to you?" I ask.
"No," replies Nell, "the reason my parents sent me here was cause' they thought that I was too glued to my phone so they took it away before they sent me away."
"Well then," I say, "what's your next class?"
"Mrs. Carson," she grumbles.
I slide my arm through hers and say, "Then let's go suffer together!" She looks surprised then smiles and we say goodbye to Brad, then head off to the worst class of the day.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
3rd hour was easy, 4th was interesting, 5th hour was hard work, 6th hour was yummy, and 7th hour was boring, and now I was heading over to 8th hour, tech. Nell and I had had almost all our classes together, with the exception of 1st and 4th hour. This class was in the basement, we were required to bring our laptops and the extra, school offered USB.
When I walk into the classroom I see a perky, smallish man with long blonde hair.
"Yay," Nell says sarcastically, "We get Mr. Gay!"
"What?" I ask.
"Come on students, take a seat, take a seat! Don't be scared, I won't bite!" I sit down at a seat near the back next to Nell. "Well then," the teacher begins, "I'm Mr. Gray and I will be your tech teacher for the semester.
"Before we really get into the class, I would like to tell you a bit about myself." He turns on the smartboard and selects slideshow. Up pops a big heading that says "Tour of my Life." We sit for the next few minutes learning about Mr. Gray's husband, I'm guessing that's why Nell had called him Mr. Gay, and his cats.
Nell leans over to me and says, "Never really thought that you would find a stereotypical gay in real life did ya?"
"Technically I never thought that I would ever have a gay teacher," I answer.
"Is your state against gays or something?" Nell asks.
"No," I answer, "we accepted gay marriage in 2008."
"So were there no gay teachers at your old school?"
"We apparently did have one for a while, I was too young to have him as a teacher, but he got bullied by other teachers and students, so he moved away."
"Wow," Nell says.
"Welcome to class girls," says Mr. Gray, startling us both. "What were you talking about?"
Nell looks frozen so I say, "My old school."
"And what about your old school is so exciting compared to this one?" he asks, smiling hard.
"Nothing much, your presentation just sparked a memory from third grade or whatever."
"What memory?" he asks, starting to scare me now.
"About a teacher who moved away, nothing much," I say, trying to be nonchalant.
"If it was nothing much, why did you so rudely interrupt my presentation?"
"I think I might have been talking about you, did you ever work at Charleston Elementary?" I ask, pulling anxiously at a memory that told me that the gay teacher's name may have started with a G.
"Yes I did work at a Charleston Elementary. I was a fourth grade teacher. Where was this one located?"
"California," I answer, happy to have him back to his less scary self.
"Yes, I did work in California! What grade were you in when I left?" he asks, suddenly curious.
"Third grade, my older brother had you."
"You have an older brother?" bursts Nell, talking for the first time since Mr. Gray pounced on us.
"Had a brother," I correct, "my dad had possession of him after he and my mom split up."
"What was your brother's name?" Mr. Gray asks.
"Tony Kingsley, he did say you were one of his favorite teachers," I answer, hoping Mr. Gray won't go scary on me again.
"I remember Tony! He was a wonderful student, he would always get his homework in on time, he never insulted me, ever," says Mr. Gray looking forlorn.
"Yeah," I say, "I missed him a lot when he left, we had never fought, we were almost twins, he was 11 months older. We don't talk anymore." Nell hugs me, I look down trying not to cry. Mr. Gray cringes and goes back to his presentation.
I lean over and say to Nell, smiling slyly, "You think that worked." She looks at me with surprise.
"You mean that you aren't really sad about your brother?" she asks.
"I am sad," I say, "but I don't cry over it anymore."
"Well," sighs Nell, "you handled that better than I would have."
"I don't plan to do it again," I shudder. "I always feel bad when I break that out around teachers." Mr. Gray ends his story and teaches us a little bit about our school email accounts then sends us on our way.
The noise the students make as they run out of their last class is unimaginable! Most of the students are running to the gym or their places where they have after school activities. I'm not signed up for anything so I invite Nell to my room.
"I'm actually trying out for the play," she answers.
"Oh," I say, surprised, "I didn't think you were into theater."
"Well," she says slowly, "the play is going to be Fiddler on the Roof, and it's one of my favorites so I wanted to try out."
"Who are you trying out to be?" I ask.
"Chava," she responds, "I really admire her courage."
"I'd want to be Hodel," I answer. "I've always had a thing for Perchik."
"He seemed kind of," she pauses, thinking, "opinionated."
"Maybe that's because he is," I smirk.
"Come on," she says, smiling. "I'll show you the theater." I follow her through mobs of students and a maze of hallways.
"You're gonna have to show me back to the rooms," I shout at her.
"Are you afraid of the dark Aurora?" she yells back at me.
"No," I respond, "but I am afraid of getting lost in the labyrinth!" We get to the door of the theater and Nell put a hand on my arm.
"Just a warning, this option is run by the theater crazy students of drama club. They can get a little-," she pauses.
"Crazy?" I supply, smiling.
"Yeah," she laughs, taking her hand off my arm. She holds the door open for me and we walk inside. The theater is bigger than my old school's. It's read curtain is down and there a boy standing on stage talking to the people sitting down. We walk down the aisle and a girl hands us a bunch of papers stapled together.
We sit down in the front row and the boy onstage attacks us.
"Welcome newcomers! Who are you?" he says with too much enthusiasm.
"Well-" I begin.
"No no no!" says the boy. "You have to come up here, everybody else does!" Nell and I walk onto the stage. "I'll show you how to do it," the boy says. He makes a big show of facing the audience. Behind me Nell sighs.
"This is taking forever," Nell whispers. Then the boy decides to start his spiel.
"Hello," he starts, "my name is Tarmo Vatanen. One interesting fact about me is that my parents named me after my great grandfather, who was from Finland." Then Tarmo turns to me. "Your turn!" I take a deep breath and step forward.
"Hello," I say, "my name is Aurora Kingsley."
"Hello!" shouts one girl from the front row.
"And one interesting fact about myself is that I have memorized Shakespeare's 71st sonnet," I finish.
"Oh! Really?" asks the girl handing out papers. I nod in response.
"We had to memorize it for English class last year," I say.
"If we had more time I would have you recite it," smiles Tarmo, "but we have to keep going with intros." He waves Nell up.
"Hello, I'm Nellis," she begins.
"Nellis?" asks the paper girl.
"Yeah," says Nell, red faced.
"Cool," smiles the girl.
"Keep on going," urges Tarmo.
"One interesting fact about me?"
"Yep."
"I guess," her face gets redder, "an interesting fact about me is that my parents named me Nellis because it sounds like a name that would be in The Lord of the Rings series." After she gets that sentence out she grabs my arm and pulls me to the seats.
"Is that true?" I ask. "About your name?"
"Yeah," she grimaces.
"I like that," I say, smiling.
"Thanks," she smiles. We listen to a few more introductions, then the paper girl and Tarmo get up on stage and start the program.
"Hello! I'm Tarmo!"
"And I'm Kalli!"
"And we are starting the production of Fiddler on the Roof!" they say together.
"We will start off with tryouts!" says Tarmo.
"To make it go faster, girls are with me and boys are with Tarmo," says Kalli.
"The papers are over there," says Tarmo, pointing to a table, "so when I say G-O, you can get your papers." He sits, holding for effect. "GO!"
Then entire group stands up, and slowly makes it's way up to the papers. I look through the papers for Hodel's part. I find it and grab it quick. The scene is the scene where Hodel is leaving her family to go to Perchik.
I walk up to Kalli, I'm the first one there. She motions for me to follow her and she ushers me into an empty room.
"Read," she says, motioning to the paper, her black bracelet sliding around on her thin wrist. I take my first breath and begin.
"You'll be late for your customers," I say.
"It's all right. They'll just have to wait for a while. Is he in bad trouble, that hero of yours?" asks Kalli, in a thick Russian accent.
"Yes, but he did nothing wrong!" I continue. "He cares nothing for himself! Everything he does is for other people."
"Yes, but if he did nothing wrong, he wouldn't be in trouble."
"Papa! How can you say that!" I exclaim. It seems a little weird calling this girl Papa, but her encouraging smile convinces me to keep going.
"What wrongs did Joseph do? And Abraham, and Moses? They had troubles."
"Yes. Well..." I say.
"But why won't you tell me where he is now, this Joseph of yours?" Kalli asks.
"It is far, Papa. Terribly far. He is in a settlement in Siberia," I whimper.
"Siberia? And he asks you to leave your father and mother and join him in that frozen wasteland and marry him there?" Kalli shouts.
"No, Papa. He did not ask me to go. I want to go," I finish.
"Way to go!" she shouts, standing up. "Now all we need is for you to sing. Is there anything that really speaks to you?" I think, there are always songs stuck in my head.
"How about, Open Arms, by Journey?" I ask.
"Sure," Kalli smiles, brushing her hair back with her black banded arm. I hum a note to myself to find the key, then launch into the song.
I pay attention to my voice as I sing. I get about three verses in when Kalli stops me.
"That was wonderful," she smiles, sounding excited. "We will have roles posted two days from now, on Friday."
"Thanks," I say as I leave the room.
"Friday!" I hear Kalli bellow as I step through the door. I walk my way through the halls until I come to my dorm, I poke my head inside and find that Aubrey isn't there.
She must be down at Brianna's, I think to myself. I lay on my bed and check my phone, three missed calls from mom. I try to call her back, but I only get voicemail.
I look at my call log again, there's a number I don't recognise. I Listen to my voice messages and there is one left by the mystery caller.
"Um, Hi?" I starts out, the voice obviously male. "I'm looking for Aurora Kingsley, if this is your phone, call back ASAP." And the phone clicks. I go back to the call log and and press the green call button when I get to his number. He picks up on the third ring.
"Hello?"
"Hi," I start, "this is Aurora Kingsley."
"Oh," he says, sounding surprised.
"Who is this?" I ask.
"My name is Tony Kingsley," the voice says.
"Tony?" I ask. "As in my big brother who I haven't seen in seven years?"
"Oh my god! I'm so happy that I actually found you," he gushes. "I have called twelve other Auroras!"
"Why were you looking for me?" I ask.
"I needed mom's number," he explains.
"Why?"
"Something's happened to dad," he sighs.
"What's happened?"
"Car crash," he says. "He's in the hospital in intensive care, it isn't looking good."
"Oh Tony," I croon, "I'm so sorry!"
"It was his fault," Tony says, sounding stiff, "the idiot was drunk. Because of the crash, he's lost custody of me, mom now has to get me to you."
"That's why you need the number," I say.
"Yep." I rattle off mom's number and Tony hang's up with a, "See ya soon."
"Love you," I say, just before he hangs up.
"Who was that?" Aubrey asks, bouncing into the room.
"My brother," I answer.
"Oh," she giggles, jumping onto the bed next to me, "is he hot?" I laugh.
"I don't know."
"How don't you know," she cries.
"I haven't seen him since fifth grade!" I smile.
"What?" Aubrey says, suddenly serious.
"I haven't seen him since fifth grade," I repeat.
"Well then," she says, smiling, "when you see him again, I will have to throw you two the biggest party of all time!"
"Please don't," I whine.
"Why are you such an introvert?" she asks, saying the word like it's poison.
"I don't like being around lots of people," I argue, "it drains me."
"It could be mime themed," she offers.
"No," I say.
"You're no fun," she pouts, hopping over to her bed.
"Sorry to be such a disappointment," I smirk.
"Can I dress you tomorrow?" Aubrey asks, out of the blue.
"Am I your personal doll?" I ask.
"You are now," she giggles.
"Alright," I sigh.
"Yay," she jumps up. She goes over to her closet and plays with the clothing choices.
The next day I am walking through school with a pair of high heeled (They aren't that high, according to Aubrey) "boots", a short jean skirt, and a yellow shirt that the sleeves end in the middle of my biceps.
"Why do you like jean skirts so much?" I ask her.
"Because they look perfect on your hips," she says, rolling her eyes. I give her a look. "The way clothing looks on specific figures is a huge thing that all stylist have to pay attention to!"
"I wasn't judging!"
"You were!"
"Maybe a little," I laugh. The rest of the day is a bundle of nerves, waiting for tomorrow to find out what parts everyone got in the play. I'm so excited, that I find it almost impossible to sleep that night.
I never thought I would be a theater kid, I giggle to myself, but I'm actually really excited for this!
Friday starts off as normal, everyone who tried out waiting to see what parts they got after school was over. I was about to run down to the theater with Nell, when the headmaster called an emergency assembly. Everyone files in, confused looks on their faces.
"Well, hello students," says the headmaster when we all quieted down. "You weren't expecting an assembly today, were you?" A chorus of mumblings go through the room. "I called you here because we just got a late entry to our school. I decided he should get the introduction that everyone else gets at the beginning of the year."
"Please be hot," Nell whispers in my ear. I giggle into my hand and bump her in the shoulder.
"Tony Kingsley, please stand up," the headmaster shouts. I freeze. Nell looks at me with an odd expression on her face. Someone stands up right behind us. I turn around and look at him, he looks like a miniature version of our dad.
"Welcome," says Jonathan. "Also, just because we're here, I decided to announce the roles everyone got in the play." A list of names show up on the wall behind him. "James McFarlan got the role of Tevye, Ellie Salvini got the role of Golde, Ivie Socrates will be Tzeitel, Aurora Kingsley got the role of Hodel, Nellis is Chava, Sarah O'Riley is Shprintze, and Claire Bunson is Bielke." A cheer rises from the crowd.
"Alright now, there are more parts," he smiles. "For the love interests, Sullivan Greg as Motel, Oliver Darcy as Perchik, and Sam Clain as Fyedka. The rest of the rolls will be posted on the bulletin board outside of the cafeteria. Have a good Friday, everyone!"
The room erupts into conversation and everybody stands up. I turn around and catch Tony's sleeve before he can leave. He turns around, looking confused. I smile and pull him down to the dorm wing, where there are less people.
"Glad to see you got here safely," I say.
"Yeah, happy to be here," he says, giving me an odd look.
"It's me," I say, cringing at the stereotypical saying, "Aurora."
"Wow, Aurora! I didn't even recognise you!" he laughs.
"I recognised you," I say, smiling, "not only did Johnathan get you to stand, but you look just like dad!"
"Maybe when you and mom left," he grimaces. "He fell apart after the divorce."
"Oh," I say, "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," he smiles, sadly.
"How's mom?" I ask.
"She's doing good," he says, "just worried about dad."
"Well, I'm glad you're here," I say, hugging him. "I missed you."
"Ditto, Aura," he say, using his little nickname for me. I hug him for a second longer, then pull away. I see Brad frozen down the hall a little bit.
"Brad!" I yell. He looks my way and breaks into a smile.
"What's up, California?" he says, walking towards us.
"Nothing much," I smile. "This is my brother, Tony."
"Hey Tony," Brad smiles, "you have quite the socially uneducated sister."
"What?" Tony asks, looking confused.
"I mean," Brad says, smile getting larger, "that I was the one who had to introduce her to Jaws and Forrest Gump! I'm pretty sure making sure you sister sees those movies is in the older brother handbook."
"How would you know?" I ask, poking him in the shoulder.
"Three little sisters," he says, holding up three fingers. "If not for me, they would never have seen them!"
"Oh and how you saved their lives," I say, dramatically.
"Exactly!" Brad says, wrapping an arm around me and squeezing me to his side. "You understand! Congrats on Hodel! That's what you tried out for, right?"
"Yeah," I smile, relaxing more into his side.
"Well," Tony says, giving me and Brad a strange look, "I guess I could take over her education now."
"Aww," Brad mock pouts, "I was enjoying myself."
"Shut up," I laugh, pushing him away from me.
"Aurora?" says a voice behind me. I whirl around, in the process of doing so, hitting Brad with my hair. Approaching me is a very attractive student. He is wearing all black, all except for his red wrist band around his wrist.
"Hi," I say, startled that this piece of heaven is talking to me.
"I'm Oliver," he says. "I'm playing Perchik."
"Oh," I say, finally understanding why he's talking to me. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Oliver."
"Likewise," he smiles. "Well, I just wanted to introduce myself. I believe that we are officially partners in this production."
"That's good to know," I smile back. "I'm glad I got to meet you. I'll see you tomorrow at rehearsal."
"See you tomorrow," he smiles, and walks off.
"He's odd," Brad says, as he turns the corner.
"Be nice," I say, slapping him on the shoulder.
"I'm just saying, he came up to you after the assembly to meet you. He'll just see you tomorrow."
"Well, I think it was kind of him," I say, walking away from him.
"Where are you going?" Brad asks, catching up with me.
"I"m going back to my room," I smile. I turn to Tony. "Hey, I'll see you later, okay?"
"Alright," he smiles, hugging me. I head my way to the girls floor while Tony and Brad go the other way. When I get to my room, I walk to my bed and fall face first into the comforter.
"What's pressing your buttons right now?" Aubrey laughs.
"I met Oliver," I sigh. "I don't think Brad likes him."
"Interesting," she says. "Can I snoop?"
"About Brad or Oliver?"
"About Brad and Oliver."
"I suggest you pick one."
"Okay then, I pick Oliver," she giggles. "He seems like the dark and moody type."
"If that's so, dark and moody just walked up to me to say hello," I giggle.
"Are you excited to work with him tomorrow?" she asks.
"Have you seen him? He's like 95% supermodel," I exclaim.
"What's the other 5%?" she asks.
"Inner turmoil," I giggle.
"Grace," Aubrey says in a voice imitating that of the actors in the Supernatural War movies, "I don't want to tell you this. It could be dangerous. But I'm… a seriously depressed teen with no life."
"But Leo," I cry, perfecting the actress' whiny voice. "I don't care about any of that! But I know you're a vampire!"
"Actually I'm just a pale 100 year old who still lives with his parents."
"Oh god, I can't even any more," I laugh. "Those movies were horrible."
"They were nothing like the books," Aubrey spits.
"I never read the books," I admit.
"How dare you!" Aubrey laughs, jumping onto my bed beside me. "I insist you read them or I can no longer be your friend."
"How horrible would that be," I say.
"Exactly," she smiles. "Now, rest up, we can't have a tired Hodel tomorrow."