Chapter 4:
Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep!
Kala Dandekar sat up straight in her bed, wincing at the noise from the digital alarm clock. She slapped the button a few times before the incessant beeping finally died down. Kala looked up to see if any of the other girls in her room had woken. Three of them were soundly asleep, but the fourth was already sitting on her bed, working away at the keys on her laptop. The girl turned to her and asked loudly, "Did I wake you up because of my typing?"
"No, it was my alarm clock. Didn't you hear it?" Kala untangled herself from the sheets, looking at the freckled red head.
"I can't really hear anything because I'm sleep deprived, you see, but I don't think so…" The girl smiled at Kala, although she seemed slightly on edge.
"Myra, please, just shut up." The muffled voice came from one of the sleeping girls.
Kala pursed her lips and grabbed her toiletry bag and her uniform from where they hung on her bedpost. Leaving the room, she shut the door quietly and strode down the hall to one of the bathrooms before someone else could enter. House 3 had ten rooms with only four bathrooms to share between them all. This was only her second day at the Board, and she did not want to make an enemy with one of the other girls in the house.
Within five minutes she was already dressed in the green skirt and white dress shirt. She grimaced at the thought of having to wear the navy blue pullovers later in the year. Someone knocked at the door and Kala smoothed down her skirt in a hurry.
Classes were held at the large Victorian-styled schoolhouse, located on the opposite side of the Administration building. Stopping at the fountain, Kala slowly reread her schedule and room numbers.
Mon-Fri:
Wakeup Call: 8 am
History: 9 am – 10 am
Calculus: 10:05 am – 11 am
Lunch: 11:05 am – 1 pm
English: 1:05 pm – 2 pm
Physical Education: 2:05 pm – 3 pm
Chemistry/Physics: 3:05 pm- 4 pm
Study Hall: 4:05 pm – 5 pm
Dinner: 5:05 pm - 6 pm
Lights out: 9:00 pm
Sat-Sun:
Wakeup Call: 9 am
Appropriate Weekend Activities
Chores appointed by House prefect
Lights Out: 10 pm
It made her head spin, thinking about all the time she would have to spend working. Stuffing the paper in her patchwork bag, Kala hurried to her first class. She had just slid into an available seat when the bell rang. The teacher standing at the desk stood up and smiled at the 30 or so teenagers in the class. She was small, but in a petite, delicate way. Something was off, however; as if the woman was in pain…
"Welcome, everyone! I am Ms. Alvira, your History teacher for the year… let's see, I was born in America, but lived in Iceland all my life, and I-"
The hour continued with Ms. Alvira telling the class about herself and the course syllabus. Kala listened intently and took precise notes for her binder. She shivered when she felt someone staring at her, but couldn't see anything odd when she turned around.
/
The hours passed quickly, with Kala learning more and more about boarding school life. For example, physical education had many different options. Kala had never been one for sports, so in the end she chose to take dance and yoga. However hard physical education might be, her science and math skills were excellent (a reason for which she'd been given a scholarship to attend the Board) and the rest of the day went by with a breeze. She found herself bubbling with excitement at the prospect of her upcoming chemistry project. At dinner, she sat with Myra and a few of the girl's eccentric friends. Another girl joined them, introducing herself as Nomi Marks.
"Hey, Nomi; you ok?" This came from the girl who'd told Myra to shut up earlier that morning. Amanita, Kala remembered.
Nomi nodded, but everyone agreed that she looked slightly green. "It's fine," she replied in a husky voice, "I've just had a really shitty headache today…"
Kala walked towards House 3 later that evening, thinking about the list of homework she had. She paused at the fountain for the second time that day. This time, however, it was not to read her schedule.
Ms. Alvira was standing- her back to Kala- at the edge of the fountain, on the short, wall-like platform that surrounded it.
"Ms. Alvira… Ms… are you alright?" Kala approached the fountain, setting her bag down in case she had to help her teacher. Kala gasped when the woman turned around, showcasing the blood and bile on her blouse. She ran to the teacher, but Ms. Alvira was no longer there. Kala could hear a loud drum-like noise in her head. She turned, wondering if she was going crazy. Looking around the courtyard one last time, she fell to the ground in shock, and passed out on the cobblestone.
*End of Part 1*
A/N: Oh, Kala. Here is the 4th chapter of Sense Teens. Thank you to anyone who wrote a review (I'd list your names but you were under anon/guest). I don't want to spoil the next chapter, because it's pretty much the rising action of this fic. However, I can say that I have the rest of the series mapped out. Hope all of you have a great rest of the day.
~C.o.D.