Francis had spent the last days of her summer in antagonizing solitude. She spent her days lazily meandering through the woods or by the lake, singing to herself in her room, all the while keeping perfectly to herself. Only during her meals did she ever exchange words with her grandfather, and even then the conversation was kept polite and innocent. Francis noted how out of character that was for her. Usually, she despised pleasant small talk. But in this instance, she wanted to at least try to be affable. She figured it would make the next year or so easier for the both of them.
But it was just a matter of time before Francis' spark of misbehavior would be back. It always came back, no matter how many times she tried to quiet the flames. It reminded her of her conversation with Mr. Southernland the day of her departure, when she brought up her habit of setting off all the fireworks she could get her hands on. It was a liberating act, watching something go off with such force and separate itself into a dazzling display.
However, this spark was not present the morning of her first official day at Welton.
Francis emerged from her bed just as the sunlight was beginning to stream through her bay window. She slowly made her way to the bathroom, as she patted down the mass of pin curl clips stuck over nearly the entire surface of her skull. She sighed as she propped herself against the ledge in the bathroom, right over the sink.
As she began to carefully and deliberately remove the clips, she felt slightly overwhelmed with the notion of having to attend the customary beginning of the school year speech, which was given to anyone attending the school, as well as the parents of the students. She didn't really care about the event itself. No, she could easily block it out. But the thought that frightened her the most was the fact that this marked the end. The end of her Washington existence. Of course, technically it had ended in July, but it didn't feel like it. To Francis, the last few months had been a very strange transition period. Like she was stuck in a waiting room with no chance of escape, and all she could do was read magazines and pretend that nothing would ever come out of it.
But something always had to give, and now Francis felt herself being presented with a sense of dread and uncertainty. So as Francis gently worked the snarls out of her glossy hair, generously smeared cherry-red lipstick on her lips, and as she blackened her fair eyelashes, she tried to think of a way to handle herself for the rest of the year. And, not to her surprise at all, she came up with nothing. Planning, she discovered from experience, never really got her anywhere in life.
Leaving the bathroom, Francis looked inside her closet. She had never been given a uniform, nor was she expected to wear one. As she was the only female in attendance, her grandfather figured it was useless to get uniforms made and tailored for her. Especially if she would only need them for one school year. Of course, Francis didn't mind this at all. Freedom over her appearance had always been one of Francis' favorite things in life. She had found solace in looking as immaculate as she could.
Somewhat hastily, she pulled out an above the knee black dress with a white peter pan collar. As she slipped it over head, she wondered when she'd meet up with the Neil boy again. To be frank, since their initial encounter, Francis had hardly thought of him at all. He didn't really leave a very remarkable impression on her, but she didn't mind. As long as she could manage to make a few friends, she figured she could hold up.
Afterwards, as Francis finished buckling up her shoes, she took a deep and shaky breath. She put her head in-between her knees and wrapped her arms around her head as she sat on her bed. Breathing at an unsteady pace, she tried to organize her thoughts. She usually didn't get this anxious over things. But as she knew, tormenting yourself over unchangeable matters never does any good. So, like she had done for so many other things in the past, she bit down on the inside of her cheek and stood up.
Looking out the window, even the back lawn was beginning to fill with students of all ages, clamoring over each other at a surprisingly civilized rate. Handshake after handshake after handshake. The sight nauseated her all over again. She had watched over this vacant field for months, and now it was being filled with the types of people she despised. Francis couldn't take the sight anymore, and she made her way to exit the room.
Just as she was opening her door, she heard footsteps coming down the hall towards her. It was her grandfather.
"Good morning, Francis. I just came to make sure you where ready." he said, giving a subtly disapproving look at her dress length.
"Well, I'm here." Francis said, unsure what else she could say.
"Yes, I see that. Well, why don't you walk down with me. In case you are unsure how to get there." Francis shrugged and began to follow him as they both made their way down the hallway and stairs. Mr. Nolan continued. "Afterwards, you can find a seat among your new peers, as uncomfortable as it may seem. Perhaps you can make some acquaintances. You've seemed rather lonely lately, if you don't mind me noticing." Francis tensed, but he still went on. "As much as I discourage you from having too much involvement with these boys, I'm sure it would make your life here far easier with some company other than myself."
Francis sighed heavily, and they continued walking. Neither of them spoke until they reached a large and sprawling crowd of parents and boys of all ages. Nobody really noticed Francis yet. For all they would have know, she could have been some sort of relative of someone. Mr. Nolan stopped at the entrance of the cathedral-like space.
"Alright, Francis. This is where I leave you. Good luck, and please. Stay out of trouble." He gave her one more icy look before finding his own way among the crowds.
Francis stepped inside, eyeing everyone within the vicinity. The air reeked of perfume and cologne and the overall stench of the wealthy. For whatever reason, when Francis got caught in an environment she didn't like, it always made her inner deviant flare. which wasn't necessarily for the best in some circumstances. Francis brooded, and picked a pew in the very back, which contained no one else. She sat, unimpressed, and waited for the swarms of people to take their seats.
Finally, the sound of bagpipes burst out from behind her. She turned around, attempting not to laugh at the absurdity of the sight. Four boys carried flags moped their way down the isle. She spotted Neil carrying one of the flags she didn't even bother to read. She shot him a challenging smile, and he replied with a quick glance of acknowledgment.
Moments later, after everyone had recited Welton's famed pillars, there was brief interval of silence. Francis took this opportunity with vigor, and snapped the gum she was chewing as loudly as she could. A good handful of the occupants turned around, looking for the source of the sound. Most of them drew no conclusion, but some of their eyes landed on the lone female in the back with her arms crossed. Mr. Nolan shot her a deadly glare, and she smiled smugly back. And then she closed her eyes, and waited for the gathering to be over.
After Mr. Nolan had addressed and recited some mundane information, everyone was dismissed from their seats. As herds of people filed from their seats, Francis remained seated, not wanting to mingle with anybody if she didn't have to. As she sat there, she made relentless and purposeful eye contact with nearly everyone who passed. They usually stared back at her blankly for about a half a second before their attention was drawn back to something else. Either that, or they just looked confused until the others behind them forced them to continue forward.
When at last everyone had filed out of their seats, Francis stood up and slowly meandered her way out. She debated what route she would take back to her room. She could go back her usual way, going around and out of sight of any of the students. Or, of course, she could go in pursuit of Neil. She thought she might as well make something out of the day, and she chose the latter option. She scanned the area, which was gradually emptying itself of the masses of families.
Francis casually made her way down the hallway containing the senior dorms. Neil had never given her his grade, but she managed to take a guess. As she strolled down the hallway, she collected a few glances from the students, all with mixed facial expressions. She subtly cast her gaze side to side, room to room, in search of a familiar face. Finally, she caught a glimpse of the young man she barley remembered. His face looked different then it did the day on the dock, and he was politely conversing with his roommate.
Francis stepped in the doorway and crossed her arms, clearing her throat. Neil and the other boy looked up, slightly startled.
"Oh, hey there," he said, with a pleasant smile. "I'm glad you were able to find me. Interesting introduction, by the way. You know, snapping your gum and whatnot."
Francis made her way into the room, dropping her arms at her side as she lazily made her way inside the quarters, inspecting the small space. "Yeah, that's me alright. I know how to make an introduction," she said, chuckling to herself. She brought her eyes to the other person in the room, who was organizing his things, not obviously giving away his presence. "And you are?" she said, making her way over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.
She could feel his shoulder tense underneath the weight of her hand, and he brought his eyes to hers in one abrupt motion. Neil answered for him. "His name is Todd Anderson. He's new here." Francis nodded, still holding Todd's gaze. He nodded and let out a quick greeting. Francis spoke directly to him. "If you haven't guessed, I'm new here, too. Not like it wasn't completely obvious or anything." She smirked and he coyly returned the gesture. She shook his shoulder a bit before backing away towards the middle of the room again.
Just then, three more boys appeared in the doorway. As one of them began to ask Neil a few questions, he stopped and they all took notice to the female standing in the middle of the room. She raised an eyebrow at them, and they all sauntered into the room.
"Well Perry, who have you been hiding in here? Two people I've never seen before, and one of them just happens to be a gorgeous member of the opposing gender." Said one of them, with sandy hair as he approached the right of the room.
"Congratulations, you just made a lovely rhyme. If you had said it like you weren't encountering an alien, I might have mistaken it for flirting. My name is Francis. That's Todd. Todd, Neil, and I have been best friends for the last five minutes." Francis said, checking her wrist watch for added effect.
The boy nodded and laughed. "Well pardon my manners. I'm Charlie Dalton. Those two over there⦠Well that's Knox," he said, pointing to the boy on the left, "and that's Meeks." He said, pointing to the other on the right. They both waved and greeted her.
"Hey, were you the one who snapped their gum really loudly today? And you're Nolan's granddaughter, right?" Said Meeks, grinning curiously.
She laughed. "Yes to both questions. Jesus, it's like I pulled some wild stunt. All I did was snap my gum."
Charlie smiled at her smugly as he laid down on the bed that appeared to be Neil's. He took out a package of cigarettes.
"Hey," Francis said. "Mind if I bum one of those?" She yawned, already outstretching her hand. She bent down to level herself with Charlie's face, as he placed a cigarette in her hand. As she placed it in her mouth, he reached over with his lighter and offered to light it for her.
"Not on your life, darling" she jokingly sneered, and took the lighter out of his hands. After her cigarette was lit, she took a long and elegant looking drag before standing up and tossing the lighter back to Charlie. She faced the window as the others were talking with each other, catching up with events about the summer and such. Francis wasn't really listening, and she turned around and interrupted them.
"It's been nice meeting you all. But I think I'll get going now. I have some things I need to catch up on."
As she made her way out of the room, someone called out behind her.
"Hey, would you be interested in joining our study group later on?" Neil asked.
Francis shrugged. "Probably. I don't know, I'll think about it." Again, she turned her back as she began to exit, only to be interrupted by Neil again.
"Are you just going to saunter out with a lit cigarette in your hand?" He said, laughing.
Francis shrugged again. "I don't see why not. Anyway, for the last time, I'll see you all later. Whenever that may be." She took another drag for her cigarette for emphasis, and looked over the room again. The last one she made eye contact with before leaving was Todd. She sent him a reassuring glance, and tossed her blonde locks over her shoulder as she left, leaving a room full of curious spectators.
