A/N: Hello all! How's life treating you? Sorry I haven't updated sooner, but Summerland and Kingdom Hearts have been taking over me. But now I'm back! So, welcome to Queen's!

KarismaJulian4Ever: I'm glad you are enjoying my story. Emily's my favorite too, but I think that was obvious. I'm biased. Emily comes first. Thanks for reviewing and update your story soon. I can't wait to read more!

Agar: Hey Mary! What do you mean "actually getting along"? Love that enthusiasm and support! I'm glad one of us has high ambitions. I'm getting some reviews, so it's not all bad. How's everything in Mary-land? I have to tell you about Kingdom Hearts soon. OMG!!! It's so AWESOME! As soon as you get a PS2, I'm coming over and never leaving your house! Call me. Thanks for reviewing!

Stella Maynard: My faithful reviewer! Happy belated birthday to you too! Wow! We really have a lot in common. Summer birthdays rock! How was your vacation? Where did you go? I'm not going anywhere this summer, unfortunately. Brooke's not my favorite person in the world, but she'll make an appearance later. :) I was tired and ready to finish the chapter, so I just slapped together the ending. Are you a One Tree Hill fan? Can you believe Chad Michael Murray is engaged to Sophia Bush? I loved the season finale. Can you believe Haley got married to Nathan? Personally, I'm a Laley fan. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Love the reviews!

On the morning of the departure for Queen's, Emily awoke before dawn and sat in bed. The night before, she could not fall asleep. Reading, writing, counting sheep, nothing worked. When Emily finally drifted off, it seemed like she awoke a few minutes later. In fact, the room was the cleanest it could be, the trunks were organized, and books were alphabetized. Now, all that needed to be done was the board the train. Uncle Carl was going to pick them up from the station and show them to their boarding houses, after all he was a professor at Queen's, who wouldn't get lost. The house was a little empty for Harry and Matt without Will around, but Emily was kept constantly "entertained" by all the girls in Kensington coming up for fashion advice. Nerves were starting to get the best of her. Emily couldn't remember anything and she was so hungry, but her appetite failed her. Even Father was getting a little worried.

"Emily, dear, have you been awake long? Mother's making breakfast if you want to come down."

"I'm really nervous." Before Emily knew it words and feelings just started to rush out. "I don't even know anybody at Queen's. I'm going to be living with complete strangers. And I'm going to be taking advanced classes with my brothers and sisters with their friends! I'm so worried. What if I get lost? What if the academic standard is too high? What if I get homesick? Why did you raise me to be like this? What if you can't afford to send six children to school? What if Will goes to war and I never see him again? Why did I have to be so smart? What if nobody likes me? What if—"

"Emily, calm down. It's normal to be nervous, sweets. I remember I was a little nervous too. You know plenty of people at Queen's. Half of the entire family goes to Queen's. Look at all of it as an adventure—a new beginning. And you of all people are capable of handling any amount of work. Your Mother and I will worry about sending you to school, you just enjoy your time at Queen's. I promise Will won't leave for war without telling us. You'll be having such a great time that you'll probably forget all about being homesick, darling. There is no need to worry at all. You're just a brick darling, and I know you'll do fine. There is no reason to worry. Your Mother and I are very, very proud of you. There, there. Calm down, darling. Come down to breakfast with me."

Emily was speechless and in tears. Her father always knew how to make her feel better, but she was just so overwhelmed. Em reluctantly agreed to go downstairs, but she was still in a gloomy mood. Melanie and Madison were, of course, talking about the fashions at Queen's, while Harry and Matt dreaded the return of another school year. Yet everyone failed to notice how pale and quiet Emily was, except for Father. She grew more and more nervous as time flew by and finally, they were off to the train station. Nan tried hard not to tear up, but it was inevitable. Jerry looked proud, and the children grew restless of the hugs and kisses.

"Harry, Matt make sure you watch your sisters and write me when the football season starts. Your Uncle Ken and I want to come down and watch. Don't worry about the war, you boys just focus on your schoolwork," said Jerry, knowing perfectly well that that was exactly the opposite of what they would do. "Girls, no beaus. You're way too young. And try to stay out of the gossip columns. Emily, listen to Aunt Una and keep faith. You'll be fine. Does everyone have everything? I don't want to drive all the way to Charlottetown to bring you some socks."

"Jerry! I've checked thoroughly. Girls, Aunt Josie will definitely inform me of your scandals, so make sure you don't have any. Boys, try to do well this term. Uncle Carl will pick you up. Don't run off without him. Harry watch your brother and sisters. Be careful," squeezed Nan. She was practically crushing all of them.

"Yes, Mother. Bye. We're going to miss our train. Really Mother, we'll be fine. I'll write a long, detailed letter as soon as I get there," said Harry, as he loaded the siblings into the train.

They boarded and found an empty compartment, where they all sat for awhile, then left to find their friends. Melanie and Madison found Michelle Hughes and their other friends, while Harry and Matt met up with Robert Blake, who would be Harry's roommate. He took the train from Shrewsbury, where he lived with his family. The Blake family was highly respectable people with a reputation for being extremely classy and polite to everyone. Their oldest son, Robert, was quite the heartthrob. His life was planned for him to take over the family medicine practice. Although Robert was set on studying and football, he tended to flirt with many girls. Audrey Wright and Madelyn Hughes were just two of the large Robert Blake fan club.

"Hey there, Emily. What are you reading?" asked Robert. Although he was Harry's friend, Robert treated Emily as a little sister.

"Madame Bovary. I see you haven't been trampled to death by all the girls yet."

"Let's hope it stays that way. Mind if I steal Harry and Matt?"

"No, not at all. Take them as long as you want."

"Stay in here, Emily. Don't go anywhere. Matt and I will come back before we get to Charlottetown," said Harry, who was particularly stern when it came to protecting his family. After the boys left, Emily continued with her reading, but the compartments next to her kept making too much noise. A little while later, Emily was again interrupted by a knock. When the door opened, a pretty girl with silky golden-brown hair stood in front of Emily. But it wasn't her hair that caught Emily's attention; it was her stunning emerald green eyes.

"Hello. Is this compartment taken?" asked the girl, who apparently had a very sweet-sounding voice.

"No, please join me. I'm Emily Meredith."

"Nice to meet you, Emily. I'm Claire Gordon. Is this your first year at Queen's? It's mine too. Where are you from?"

"My family lives in Kensington."

"I'm from Meadowcrest. That's near—"

"—Avonlea, I know. My aunt and uncle live there, my grandmother grew up there, and my great-grandmother used to live there. I've passed through Meadowcrest many times. It's so beautiful there." Claire seemed pleased that Emily knew about her background already. Her eyes fell on the book lying next to Emily.

"Madame Bovary? Don't tell me you are a bookworm because…I happen to be reading Madame Bovary too!" said Claire as she pulled out the book from her bag.

"I don't know anyone my age who reads. Do you know where you are going to board?"

"I think it is on…oh, what's that street…Maple Avenue?"

"Really? Me too. Are you staying in one of the Academy's boarding houses? I am because nobody I know wanted to live with me, so now I'm living with complete strangers."

"I don't know anyone at Queen's, so you've already got an advantage. I'm actually staying in one of those houses too. I'm so glad that the school has homes we can live in besides those stuffy dorms. I think it's better than living with some Charlottetown family too. It might be a little awkward."

"My brother took me to visit the home I'm staying in. It's really quaint and charming. Right on the end of the street with a perfect view of the school and the grounds. And there's a beautiful—"

"—honeysuckle tree in the yard with gorgeous flowers. That's the home I'm staying in too! This is wonderful! Now I know someone I'll be living with! I wonder what we'll name it, after we meet the other girls of course. I've been trying to think of suiting names, but I'm just no good at it."

Emily smiled. Claire seemed positively lovely and she was so excited to have a nice friend that all her nerves went away. "Actually, I was thinking of naming it Summer's Landing, if everyone else likes it," said Emily, a little timidly.

"That's perfect! The home seems like it's always in blossom and it's just so…cheery. I love it." The girls smiled at each other. This seemed to be the start of a wonderful friendship. They had such a lively chat that neither noticed that they were reaching Charlottetown. Harry came back into the compartment when the train pulled into the station.

"Claire, this is my older brother, Harry. Harry, this is Claire Gordon." The two shook hands as Harry gathered his belongings and told Emily to follow him. Claire also began to pick up her things.

"Do you have a way to get to Queen's? If not, I can ask my Uncle Carl if he'd take you along with us," offered Emily as they made their way through the crowd heading out of the train.

"That's alright. My parents had a car arranged to pick me up. I'll see you at Summer's Landing then. Bye, Emily."

"See you soon, Claire."

Uncle Carl was awfully jolly when greeting his nieces and nephews. He brought James to help load the trunks into the car. First, they stopped at Pennington Place, where Harry was going to stay with Robert Blake and Peter Blythe, Uncle Shirley's son who wouldn't arrive until morrow. Then, Melanie and Madison were left at Belle Grove with Audrey Wright and Michelle Hughes. Paige Blythe would also be at Belle Grove. Uncle Carl took a rather long time to leave Matt at the Lewis home because Mrs. Lewis insisted on everyone staying for dinner. But finally, Uncle Carl and James brought Emily to Summer's Landing, where Claire was already waiting. Emily received her key, along with her schedule, map, and other school things from Uncle Carl before he left for home.

The interior of the home was even more beautiful than the exterior. The living area was quite spacious, but the room Emily deemed hers was her favorite. It was upstairs at the end of the hallway. The walls were a pale green, the hardwood floors were a shining maple, and the windows were large with a nice seat that reminded Emily of home. The dresser had enough space for all of her things, but the bookcase was the crowning jewel for Emily. It reminded her so much of home and she couldn't wait to fill it with books. The canopy bed looked just like the one at home. There was even a desk and nightstand. It looked almost perfect, for even the most wonderful room wasn't like home, though Emily thought it a good second best.

Emily started to unpack her belongings and placed the trunk at the end of the bed when Claire came into her room.

"Your room is darling. I chose the attic because of the view, although I knew you'd want this room. There's plenty of time for unpacking, dear. I wish I would have eaten before leaving home. Aren't you hungry at all?"

"Mother packed a large basket of foods we can store in the kitchen, plus more than enough food to eat tonight. You're welcome to it. Do you know who else will be living with us? I'm really excited to find out."

"No, but I suppose they'll turn up soon. Tomorrow we can go to Queen's for the orientation and then tour around Charlottetown. I'm awfully afraid I'll get lost, darling. Your brother, Harry, seemed really nice. Do you have any other brothers or sisters?"

"Yes. I have an even older brother, Will, who is at Redmond this year. Then it's Harry, followed by Matt who is also at Queen's. He's living with the Lewis family. Poor darling, I wonder how he's doing. Then I have two sisters, who are twins, Melanie and Madison. Finally, it's me."

"Wow. It's just me in our family. Well, I better go finish arranging my room if I want to have a nice place to stay tonight. Let's have dinner in the kitchen after we're done."

Emily continued to add touches to her room. Maybe changes weren't such a horrible thing. Emily really liked Claire and her new home was absolutely enchanting. And there was even more that she hadn't learned or seen yet. Downstairs was also a lovely area. She could definitely imagine living here and sitting in front of the fireplace on cold evenings. After eating dinner, Emily went upstairs and prepared for bed, but before then, she decided to sit down and write a long, detailed letter to Mum and Dad and Will. New beginnings were a wonderful thing and as time changes, there's nothing to fear because that's life. Scary, complicated, but captivating and full of exhilaration. Yes, life was a beautiful thing.

A/N: Whew! I'm tired. Well, there's a new character for you. Hope you like Claire. Sorry there's not much else about anyone, but you'll get to meet the other roommates and more next chapter, but only if you promise to review and tell me what you think! So, please review.