"Hi!" A bubbly middle-aged woman dressed like if Dolly Parton was a camp counselor greeted the three at the gates of the school, "I'll be your counselor!"
Dabbing tears from the corner of her eyes with a monogrammed hankie, Regina immediately brightened up, "Are you Miss Martel?"
"Yes, I am!" She smiled, showing perfect white teeth, "Come with me! I'll show you your cabin."
Dollface brightened up, excited by this pink lady and the thought of staying in cabins instead of a dorm room. Even the forest seemed exciting.
Dollface squinted at Miss Martel.
Her eyes, wide but close set, were shimmering strangly.
What could that be?
"Hi, I'm Ms. Zamolodchikova. I'll be showing you around." A second woman, equally as tall as Miss Martel looked down at her, grinning with white teeth framed by red lipstick, "You can call me Ms. Zee, if you feel the need."
Michaelis stooped down, "I'll leave your things here, Wren."
Dollface shrugged him off.
"Follow me." Ms. Zee said, already marching off. Dollface watched Miss Martel take Regina in a different direction, both beaming.
"Wait, where are we goin'?"
"To your new cabin." Ms. Zee said in a cloud of patchouli and flowers, "You'll be staying in this sector."
"But where's Reggie goin'?"
"To her dorms." Ms. Zee said, dismissing Dollface's concerns and pointing with a highly manicured nail, "Now, see this flagpole on the quad over there?"
"Yeah?"
That's what we call the international dateline. No boys allowed on this side of the dorms after the flag's taken down." Ms. Zee turned her claw to somewhere over Dollface's shoulder, "Boys dorms over there just over that fence."
Dollface turned and saw a pristine white picket fence that blocked off the dorms. "So, where am I stayin'?"
"We'll be there soon. I hope ya like your roommate, her name's Marlene."
"Okay." Dollface became excited as she walked past several luxury cabins, one of which Regina stood with Miss Martel outside of. She waved to Reggie, and was ignored.
Through the windows, she was watched by other girls.
A girl in a teal and gold hijab glared from one of the more lavish cabins, clicking her acrylic nails on a wooden banister.
She shrunk under their scrutiny, suddenly aware of her bright red Hawaiian shirt and scuffed work boots.
A black girl with long box braids and a fur collar watched her from one of the lesser luxury cabins next to a pale girl with black and white striped hair.
Dollface gulped, following Ms. Zee.
"And here you are." Ms. Zee turned in front of a run-down shack that could've passed as a tool shed, "You're new home."
"Wait," Dollface said, confused, "Reggie got a mini-mansion, why am I here?"
Ms. Zee furrowed her brow, showing genuine concern as she double-checked her clipboard. Her eyes shimmered like Miss Martel's had, "Strange. That's what I was handed the other day. You're listed as a lower-end scholarship student."
"But how?" Dollface felt her panic rise, "She's m'sister?"
"I really can't say." Ms. Zee said, flipping through her papers, "But that's what it says. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me. Marlene will take over from here."
She handed a set of papers to Dollface, the walkie-talkie strapped to her hips crackled, requesting her presence at the rec hall.
"Again, don't hesitate to ask." Ms. Zee said, already running out.
Dollface watched herself get dumped on the cinderblock step of the shack and turned to the door.
It was just painted plywood, probably a replacement that started as temporary and ended up permanent due to budget cuts. She grabbed the flimsy metal handle and stepped inside.
"Oh shit, sorry!" Dollface slammed it shut, turning red, "Didn't realize ya had a boy over."
She turned, deciding to take the tour into her own hands and walk away, but was stopped when Marlene's assumed boyfriend opened the door.
"Hey, no, it's me, Marcus!"
Dollface turned.
"That's what they called me, right?" He awkwardly smiled.
"No," Dollface squeaked, confused as to who the stocky kid her age was talking about.
Marcus sat up straight and tugged on his blue flannel shirt with squishy hands, moaning in a thick European accent, "Aw man, I've been out since seventh grade!"
Dollface's shoulders slumped, beyond confused.
"Hi, I'm Marcus. They still have me listed by my dead name?" He held out a pudgy hand. Dollface took it. "Dollface Cowatch."
"Ah, where are my manners!" Marcus grinned, already turning to let his new roommate in, "I haven't had an actual roommate before, sorry about the mess!"
He skipped up the cinder block used as a step and let Dollface in, "Do you have any pronouns ya like orrrrr?"
"She/they." She mumbled as she looked around the small interior of the cabin. Marcus had hung stars and shiny mobiles from the bare rafters, "No one calls me that though."
"Choose a bunk, this one's mine!" Marcus said, proudly displaying his bed. He'd put a ratty bedsheet over the lower bunk like a curtain. He lifted it, "This is where I keep my stuff!"
Dollface dropped her bag on the only other bunk's bare mattress. Marcus sighed, glad he didn't have to give up his storage space.
"Laundry hamper's over there." He pointed at a half-filled and greyed laundry basket by a rickety desk full of paperwork and projects, "We have to take them down to the laundromat by the rec hall to wash ourselves."
"Marcus, sorry t'interrupt, but why are we here?"
"Because we don't have money."
"But it's a school."
"So?" Marcus asked, "Doesn't mean we get to have fun."
"Okay, fine." Dollface said, "Tell me what's up."
"Weekends we have off from school and can leave campus. We have a curfew though, so don't get excited."
"That sounds fun." Dollface said. In an attempt to gain a new friend from a stranger, she offered, "Ya wanna go somewhere this weekend?"
"No, sorry, we have to work."
Dollface blinked, incredulous, "What?"
"Yeah, snack stands on weekends need manning, and we sure as hell have the time to do it." Marcus shrugged, "And if not that, the groundskeeper always needs someone to pull weeds."
"Then what does everyone else do?" Dollface asked, panic rising.
"They usually go off campus for dates or parties or whatever."
"Can't we?" Dollface asked.
"If we're given time." Marcus said, "But usually we don't."
"Really?" Dollface had to sit on the lower bunk of her new bed, the rickety frame groaning under her sudden weight. She unbuckled her backpack, shoulders aching.
Marcus happily took the papers from Dollface's hands, placing them on the desk, "C'mon, I'll give you a real tour!"
Dollface stood and glanced at her stuff, nervous.
There was no Michael to comfort her.
"After that, I'll show you how to add a curtain and you can meet all my friends! Let's go!"
