Chapter 2: Secretive Roommate

The hallways leading to the girl's dormitories of Ever After High were a lot like how Isabella expected the school year was going to be. Long and boring with a clear path leading to a fate in which she did not want, but had to live up to. These halls made her feel like she was going through a tunnel, unlike her home. The castle she'd grown up in had many twists and turns with surprises hiding just around the corner. Just like a sudden plot twist in a book that made one want to continue reading.

Simply put, this was going to be the worst school year of her life.

Isabella took in a deep breath, continuing on down the hallway. She couldn't complain, really. Though the school year was going to be a flop, at least her classmates would make it interesting. It was like today at lunch when two girls joined her when she wasn't expecting anyone to even notice the quiet girl sitting by herself. Those two had actually made her whole day, specifically the one who introduced herself as Madeline Hatter, daughter of the Mad Hatter of Wonderland. That girl really knew how to cheer someone up. Even if she was mad.

Pausing just outside of a closed door almost as soon as she saw her name on a scroll that was magically bound to it, Isabella came closer. She brought up a fist, knocking shyly before she grabbed a hold of the handle and opened it.

'Great. Another hallway,' She thought while rolling her eyes. 'Oh well. Least it's a short one.'

She proceeded further inside, calling out a "hello" just so as not to startle anyone who might be already there. When she reached the end of the short hallway, she found the room empty except for the luggage found on either side.

Glancing over to the left side of the dorm, Isabella's sights immediately fell upon her trunk, which had kindly been brought up by the coachman. She would have to remember to tell her parents to thank him for her once she called them.

But right now her main focus was getting everything unloaded and squared away so she would have time to go visit the Village of Book End. After all, part of the reason for today being shortened was to allow the students to get settled in and catch up with their friends after a whole summer. And the thrill of exploring unknown territory while seeking out a book shop buzzed through her, giving her the energy to pop open the lid of her trunk and begin to put things in their proper places on the furniture that was already there.

She was just separating her school books from her novels and placing them on the shelf when she heard one of the double doors to the room open. The familiar sound of heels clanking against the floor came closer and closer, making Isabella swear her heart was beating in sync with them. She couldn't help but stare at the hallway until she saw the face of her roommate, who stopped in her tracks when she noticed her.

"Oh, um, hi," The girl greeted, reaching up and giving a tug on the red hood atop her head as if trying to make it come down to hide her face. "You Isabella?"

"Yes," Isabella replied with a small, kind smile.

The girl stepped a little closer to her, her striking grey eyes inspecting her from head to toe. She breathed in several times, reminding Isabella of a dog sniffing whenever familiarizing itself with something new to them.

"Wh-what're you doing?" She asked, twisting a stray curl around her finger.

Her question seemed to snap her roommate out of some trance-like state. She shook her head before clearing her throat, once again tugging on her hood.

"It's nothing. I just have a bit of a cold." She explained and immediately looked away.

"It's fine," Isabella smiled a bit. "But if you don't mind me asking, are you the daughter of Red Riding Hood?"

"Yeah. I'm Cerise. Who's daughter are you?"

"Beauty and the Beast's."

Cerise giggled for no reason at all. Isabella raised a curious eyebrow while cocking her head to the side. What could be so funny? Could it have been the way she had answered the question that made Cerise laugh?

"Sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just … there's something about you that puts me at ease." Cerise apologized, meeting eye gaze with Isabella once again.

Isabella saw Cerise's shoulders relax themselves, as if she'd been tense this whole time until she told her that she was the daughter of Beauty and Beast. And her voice did seem a lot calmer and less defensive than before she apologized for laughing. That, combined with how she broke eye-contact with her a minute ago, Isabella could safely infer that she was hiding something.

She didn't bother to say anything about it. Aside from that, she could also tell that Cerise was a really nice person.

"Well, I'm glad," She replied, not knowing of what else to say to Cerise's comment. "Say, I'm almost done here. Would you like some help getting unpacked?"

"No. Thanks, though."

Cerise walked over to her side of the room. Isabella went back to placing books on her bookshelf right before she heard a question that surprised her as much as Cedar asking if she and Maddie could join her at lunch.

"Say, Isabella, you want to go get some tea at Book End together?"

The book Isabella had been holding fell onto the floor from her shock, but she picked it up and slid it into the last available space on the shelf. She then turned around to find that Cerise's side of the room was already decorated and found Cerise sitting on the edge of her now made bed casually.

"How…?"

"A spell was placed on my stuff by a friend of my mom." Cerise tensed while she stared out her window. "So you up for tea?"

"Sure. That'd be nice. I just have to call my parents real quick." Isabella replied, taking her mirror phone out of the pocket of the pants she wore underneath her long, side-split dress. She knew Cerise was lying about the spell placed on her belongings, but like before, chose not to dwell on it.

She sat on the edge of her bed, holding the phone up to her ear after dialing her parent's number. As she was waiting for either her mom or dad to answer, she saw Cerise smile.

"You know, I think I'm going to enjoy having you as my roomie," She said.

Isabella giggled.

"Me too."

For the record, I published this story BEFORE Cerise's official character card/bio was released and therefore I am NOT changing Isabella's roommate.