The year seven dorms were pretty cruddy. The walls were white and wearing
away and the rooms were the size of a matchbox, with only a small bed and
withered cupboard and rickety desk. The rooms were in two rows, against the
walls and with nothing but a curtain to give them privacy. It didn't look
like Gohan had hoped it would.
"Hello there." Said the voice of a kindly woman showing around a group of giggling girls. "What's your name."
"Gohan Son." He mumbled feebly.
The woman smiled. "Nice to meet you. You'll be wanting to go to the boy's dorm across the hall. This is the girls dorm."
The girls giggled and Gohan blushed. He nodded in thanks and collected his bags again, making his way across the hall to the boy's dorm.
The boys dorm was just the same. But it was filled with boys! The male boarding master greeted him warmly and showed him to his dorm.
"I'll leave you all to get settled in." He bellowed to the over excited boys. "Make sure your down in the dinning hall at six pm sharp or you won't get anything."
Gohan nervously unpacking his things. As well as his awful gray school uniform, Chi-Chi had packed him several suits for the weekend, as well as one t-shirt and overalls; and to his delight, a single training costume. He also had his books and school things that needed sorting.
A round, red faced boy poked his head behind Gohan's curtain.
"Hey." He smiled. "Where you from?"
"Japan." Gohan said shyly.
"I'm from America. Most are from America. But you're original. What's your name?"
"Gohan Son." Gohan said, hoping that his English could be understood.
"Son Gohan." The boy corrected. "I met another Japanese boy and he said you have to say your name backwards in Japan. That would mean my name's Dawson Drew. Hi."
Drew Dawson sat himself down on Gohan's bed. He stroked the duvet that had not been covered.
"Did you bring a duvet cover and a pillowcase?"
Gohan shook his head.
"You can borrow one of mine. I have about ten. My mum over packs." Gohan laughed, gesturing to his now empty suitcases. He watched with amusement as Drew's eyes widened.
The dinner bell rang and Gohan followed Drew downstairs and into the dining room. Happy at already making a friend.
"I'll introduce you to Hun Hiro. He's from Japan too. And he only came this year. Most of us went to the junior school and boarded there too." Drew said as they sat down at a table.
Hiro smiled warmly and greeted Gohan in Japanese. Gohan's head lightened when he heard the familiar words. He hoped he and Hiro would make instant friends.
The three sat at a table with three other boys. Daniel, Greg and Mitchell, who Gohan discovered were all in his class. They seemed easy to get along with, but still Gohan remained silent all through his unhealthy looking dinner. A meal which he ate ten courses of.
"My god, you eat a lot." Drew laughed as he watched Gohan finish the last plate. "And in a record time! You might even beat Fatty's all time eating record."
He gestured to the obese boy that had trampled over Gohan in the bus. Gohan had a feeling he had already beaten Fatty's record by the way he was staring at him.
*****
"Hey Faye!" Vicky called as she lead her friend over to her table. "Check out that guy. The one who accidentally came into our dorm.
"The one stuffing his face?" Faye said, raising her eyebrows to the strangely dressed boy.
"He's cute." Vicky said dreamily. "Look at how his abs bulge out from underneath his suit. I bet he has a six pack."
Faye sighed. Vicky, like most of the girls in this crazy school, only went for the guys with the biggest abs. From then on, she knew the poor thing would have lady trouble for the rest of the time he attended Ellawin high.
*****
That night, the boys dressed into their pyjamas and crammed into each others dorms. Gohan was worried the other boys would laughed at his powder blue, Japanese style pyjamas. Yet no one said a word as the six boys who had eaten together that day gathered in Drew's room.
"What are we waiting for?" Hiro asked, also wearing Japanese styled pyjamas.
"The year eight boys." Greg replied simply. "It's tradition in our school for the year six boys to come into the year five boys dorm and scare them with freaky ghost stories, as the year six girls did for the year five girls. It's the same thing here, only the year eights get to try and scare us."
"Just remember they're only making it up." Drew said comfortingly.
Sure enough, the dorm flooded with year eight boys who crammed into rooms to tell their ghost stories. They left the door wide open, to allow a draft to seep through. Gohan shuddered.
"Alright." Said one year eight boy to them. "It's time you learnt of the girl named Lavender."
The boys cheered as if excited about it. But Gohan would much rather be somewhere else.
"About a hundred years ago, a girl called Lavender attended our school. She never spoke a word and no one knew her name, so they all called her Lavender because she wore a Lavender stone on a necklace round her neck. Anyway, one day, she was on the front terrace, on the highest floor of the school building, her locket fell from her neck and when she leaned over to get it, she fell to her death. The locket was never found again. Some say she still haunts these floors, searching for her missing locket. And if anyone gets in her way; she'll kill them."
Drew yawned. "Boring. I heard that one in year five."
After the year eight boys left, the year sevens began swapping stories. All in Drew's dorm agreed their story was hopeless. But Gohan was uneasy. His father had seen walking dead before and he knew that it was possible. Perhaps it was the truth.
"Alright." The boarding master shouted to the many boys. "Lights out. You can swap stories tomorrow."
But after everyone had fallen asleep, Gohan lay awake, thinking about Lavender and wondering if she really existed. He lay in fear for hour after hour, listening to the silence around him. He had brought a picture of his mother and father with him. And another of his mother and brother that sat beside his bed. But even with their faces smiling up at him, Gohan couldn't sleep.
Eventually, he realized he was dying to use the toilet. Getting to his feet, Gohan felt his hands shake. His face dripped with sweat and he feared being out on his own. But he wasn't going to wet himself on his first night. Not for all the money in the world.
Getting out of bed, Gohan crept across the carpeted floor. As he walked past Drew's room, Gohan though of waking him up. But what would Drew think if Gohan asked him to come with him to the bathroom.
The closest bathroom was the boarder's bathroom just down the corridor. But there was also one just downstairs. Perhaps that would be easier to get to?
Gohan choose to go downstairs. This bathroom was right across the hall from the music department and shouldn't be that hard to find. All the while, Gohan's mind filled with thoughts about what happened to Lavender and wondered if she still roamed the school.
A noise could be heard from down the corridor. It was one of the school's many flutes. And someone was playing it.
Soft tunes were wafting down the hallway. Sad, sorrowful tunes that talked of a long nearly forgotten memory.
His curiosity getting the better of him, Gohan crept up to the door and slowly opened it...
It was empty. Not a person in sight. But the window had been left open and the howling wind was making the flute instruments blow. Feeling relieved, Gohan sat down on a piano stool and rested his elbow on the piano.
BANG!!!!!!
Jumping to his, feet, Gohan screamed with shock. He could hear quick footsteps coming down the hall. It was the night watchman; and he didn't sound very happy.
"Who's in there?" He yelled curtly.
Gohan froze, not knowing where to go. Looking down, he saw he had broken the keys with his dynamic force. Uh oh. This wasn't looking good.
The door suddenly flew open. Screaming with shear terror, Gohan pushed the piano right into the night watchman, causing the man to fall, unconsciously to the ground. Hoping that the nigh watchman hadn't seen his face, Gohan lifted the man and rested him the in the hall.
Suddenly, Gohan froze. The piano! It was missing! Turning around, Gohan saw it heading for the stairs.
He took a flying leap and landed on the thing, spreading his hands over it to hold it steady. It hurtled down the staircase at a lightning fast speed. Gohan knew what was coming next...
CRASH!
He flew into the wall waking people everywhere. Getting to his feet, Gohan used his lightning fast speed to dive into the bedroom and fall to sleep.
But of course, that was impossible now, with everyone rushing about to see what had happened. Gohan lay awake; praying the night watchman hadn't seen his face!
"Hello there." Said the voice of a kindly woman showing around a group of giggling girls. "What's your name."
"Gohan Son." He mumbled feebly.
The woman smiled. "Nice to meet you. You'll be wanting to go to the boy's dorm across the hall. This is the girls dorm."
The girls giggled and Gohan blushed. He nodded in thanks and collected his bags again, making his way across the hall to the boy's dorm.
The boys dorm was just the same. But it was filled with boys! The male boarding master greeted him warmly and showed him to his dorm.
"I'll leave you all to get settled in." He bellowed to the over excited boys. "Make sure your down in the dinning hall at six pm sharp or you won't get anything."
Gohan nervously unpacking his things. As well as his awful gray school uniform, Chi-Chi had packed him several suits for the weekend, as well as one t-shirt and overalls; and to his delight, a single training costume. He also had his books and school things that needed sorting.
A round, red faced boy poked his head behind Gohan's curtain.
"Hey." He smiled. "Where you from?"
"Japan." Gohan said shyly.
"I'm from America. Most are from America. But you're original. What's your name?"
"Gohan Son." Gohan said, hoping that his English could be understood.
"Son Gohan." The boy corrected. "I met another Japanese boy and he said you have to say your name backwards in Japan. That would mean my name's Dawson Drew. Hi."
Drew Dawson sat himself down on Gohan's bed. He stroked the duvet that had not been covered.
"Did you bring a duvet cover and a pillowcase?"
Gohan shook his head.
"You can borrow one of mine. I have about ten. My mum over packs." Gohan laughed, gesturing to his now empty suitcases. He watched with amusement as Drew's eyes widened.
The dinner bell rang and Gohan followed Drew downstairs and into the dining room. Happy at already making a friend.
"I'll introduce you to Hun Hiro. He's from Japan too. And he only came this year. Most of us went to the junior school and boarded there too." Drew said as they sat down at a table.
Hiro smiled warmly and greeted Gohan in Japanese. Gohan's head lightened when he heard the familiar words. He hoped he and Hiro would make instant friends.
The three sat at a table with three other boys. Daniel, Greg and Mitchell, who Gohan discovered were all in his class. They seemed easy to get along with, but still Gohan remained silent all through his unhealthy looking dinner. A meal which he ate ten courses of.
"My god, you eat a lot." Drew laughed as he watched Gohan finish the last plate. "And in a record time! You might even beat Fatty's all time eating record."
He gestured to the obese boy that had trampled over Gohan in the bus. Gohan had a feeling he had already beaten Fatty's record by the way he was staring at him.
*****
"Hey Faye!" Vicky called as she lead her friend over to her table. "Check out that guy. The one who accidentally came into our dorm.
"The one stuffing his face?" Faye said, raising her eyebrows to the strangely dressed boy.
"He's cute." Vicky said dreamily. "Look at how his abs bulge out from underneath his suit. I bet he has a six pack."
Faye sighed. Vicky, like most of the girls in this crazy school, only went for the guys with the biggest abs. From then on, she knew the poor thing would have lady trouble for the rest of the time he attended Ellawin high.
*****
That night, the boys dressed into their pyjamas and crammed into each others dorms. Gohan was worried the other boys would laughed at his powder blue, Japanese style pyjamas. Yet no one said a word as the six boys who had eaten together that day gathered in Drew's room.
"What are we waiting for?" Hiro asked, also wearing Japanese styled pyjamas.
"The year eight boys." Greg replied simply. "It's tradition in our school for the year six boys to come into the year five boys dorm and scare them with freaky ghost stories, as the year six girls did for the year five girls. It's the same thing here, only the year eights get to try and scare us."
"Just remember they're only making it up." Drew said comfortingly.
Sure enough, the dorm flooded with year eight boys who crammed into rooms to tell their ghost stories. They left the door wide open, to allow a draft to seep through. Gohan shuddered.
"Alright." Said one year eight boy to them. "It's time you learnt of the girl named Lavender."
The boys cheered as if excited about it. But Gohan would much rather be somewhere else.
"About a hundred years ago, a girl called Lavender attended our school. She never spoke a word and no one knew her name, so they all called her Lavender because she wore a Lavender stone on a necklace round her neck. Anyway, one day, she was on the front terrace, on the highest floor of the school building, her locket fell from her neck and when she leaned over to get it, she fell to her death. The locket was never found again. Some say she still haunts these floors, searching for her missing locket. And if anyone gets in her way; she'll kill them."
Drew yawned. "Boring. I heard that one in year five."
After the year eight boys left, the year sevens began swapping stories. All in Drew's dorm agreed their story was hopeless. But Gohan was uneasy. His father had seen walking dead before and he knew that it was possible. Perhaps it was the truth.
"Alright." The boarding master shouted to the many boys. "Lights out. You can swap stories tomorrow."
But after everyone had fallen asleep, Gohan lay awake, thinking about Lavender and wondering if she really existed. He lay in fear for hour after hour, listening to the silence around him. He had brought a picture of his mother and father with him. And another of his mother and brother that sat beside his bed. But even with their faces smiling up at him, Gohan couldn't sleep.
Eventually, he realized he was dying to use the toilet. Getting to his feet, Gohan felt his hands shake. His face dripped with sweat and he feared being out on his own. But he wasn't going to wet himself on his first night. Not for all the money in the world.
Getting out of bed, Gohan crept across the carpeted floor. As he walked past Drew's room, Gohan though of waking him up. But what would Drew think if Gohan asked him to come with him to the bathroom.
The closest bathroom was the boarder's bathroom just down the corridor. But there was also one just downstairs. Perhaps that would be easier to get to?
Gohan choose to go downstairs. This bathroom was right across the hall from the music department and shouldn't be that hard to find. All the while, Gohan's mind filled with thoughts about what happened to Lavender and wondered if she still roamed the school.
A noise could be heard from down the corridor. It was one of the school's many flutes. And someone was playing it.
Soft tunes were wafting down the hallway. Sad, sorrowful tunes that talked of a long nearly forgotten memory.
His curiosity getting the better of him, Gohan crept up to the door and slowly opened it...
It was empty. Not a person in sight. But the window had been left open and the howling wind was making the flute instruments blow. Feeling relieved, Gohan sat down on a piano stool and rested his elbow on the piano.
BANG!!!!!!
Jumping to his, feet, Gohan screamed with shock. He could hear quick footsteps coming down the hall. It was the night watchman; and he didn't sound very happy.
"Who's in there?" He yelled curtly.
Gohan froze, not knowing where to go. Looking down, he saw he had broken the keys with his dynamic force. Uh oh. This wasn't looking good.
The door suddenly flew open. Screaming with shear terror, Gohan pushed the piano right into the night watchman, causing the man to fall, unconsciously to the ground. Hoping that the nigh watchman hadn't seen his face, Gohan lifted the man and rested him the in the hall.
Suddenly, Gohan froze. The piano! It was missing! Turning around, Gohan saw it heading for the stairs.
He took a flying leap and landed on the thing, spreading his hands over it to hold it steady. It hurtled down the staircase at a lightning fast speed. Gohan knew what was coming next...
CRASH!
He flew into the wall waking people everywhere. Getting to his feet, Gohan used his lightning fast speed to dive into the bedroom and fall to sleep.
But of course, that was impossible now, with everyone rushing about to see what had happened. Gohan lay awake; praying the night watchman hadn't seen his face!