Walking down the empty was one of the most nerve racking things that Clove had ever done, it was worse than the 1st time she was sent to the principal's office (and emphasis on 1st). All she could hear was the squelching of her sneakers on, what looked like, newly polished floor. Clove would've expected other "hooligans" to be outside the principal's office, maybe they don't do that here, she thought, maybe it's just automatic expulsion, she gulped. It was bad enough getting expelled the 1st time but a second time, words couldn't describe what her mother would do to her.
She was outside the principal's door, she did a tentative knock on the door.
"Come in," said the deep voice of a woman. Clove opened the door hesitantly, peeking through trying to have a look at the principal before she actually went in.
"Don't be shy! I don't bite, you know." she said with a hearty laugh. Clove noticed that when the principal laughed her eyes creased up and her whole body shook - she wasn't the slimmest of women- and she saw the woman that the principal had once been. She stepped forward and hastily sat down at the nearest chair to the door, anyone could see she was nervous.
"You must be Clove Vanderbilt. I am Madam Abelev, the principal. Dobro pozhalovat to Achinsk Mixed Boarding School," Clove had no idea what the woman had said in Russian but she thought it meant "Welcome". "Do you speak any Russian?"
Clove coughed before answering: "No. None at all, will I have to learn?"
"Yes," she replied. "Most of our students are Russian so there is no point in teaching them a language they already know but for our foreign students they must learn as some teachers find it easier to teach the students in Russian. As you are new you'll be assigned to another student who shall be your interpreter until you get the general gist of things."
"Okay," was all Clove could say. She was surprised by the openness of the principal, she had thought of her to be quite old and quite frightening to be around but she was the total opposite she was round and jolly and always seemed up for a laugh.
"If this is too much for you just say, I'll slow down for you." she said with a smile.
"Oh, no, no, it's just that it has been a long flight and I am craving sleep!"
"Oh, of course! Here's a map of the campus, you dormitory key, locker number and password," she said while handing her all the things she should need. "And, if Daniil has done his job right, your belonging should be at your dorm room."
"Thank you." replied Clove, getting up ready to leave, happy with the way the meeting went. Just as Clove was about to leave it was what Madam Abelev said that left Clove rigid.
"Oh, and Clove, dear. We do not tolerate any kinds of drugs here at Achinsk."
Clove just nodded and left.
Out of the principal's building into the snowy landscape before her Clove felt like screaming but she didn't weary of their being an avalanche. She took out the map which she stuffed in her pocket - Clove was never good at orienteering; last time she held a map instead of going to Texas they ended up going to North Dakota. She could see her building Nadyeyat Sya building was at the other side of campus to the west. She set off in the direction in which she thought was west and concentrated on the dirty snow beneath her sneakers, it wasn't long before her mind drifted off to someplace else:
"Come on, Clo! Just one little smoke won't hurt, you know." said her best friend Leah. Clove knew that one smoke wouldn't hurt but what could come afterwards scared her the most.
"I know, dumbass," Clove retorted. "But don't you think it's a little risky for you to be smoking E on campus?"
"Lighten up, Clove! Everybody's doing it," said her other best friend Patricia. "Don't you want Kyle to notice you?"
"Of course I do but I don't want him to notice me if I'm drunk and high!"
"Whatever." Leah replied with a sigh, when did her best friend become such a pain in the neck?
"Guys, you know I can't get caught doing this kind of shit! My mum said one more strike and I'm out! You know what happened last time…"
"Oh my god, is your mum still going on about that? You weren't even that drunk!" Patricia said.
"Well, I was drunk enough to get arrested, and again thanks for ditching me, guys." Clove said with a sarcastic smile.
"It's not our fault that we lost you in the crowd!" Leah and Patricia said in unison.
It was then Clove's turn to say "whatever".
"Clove, hold this for me," said Patricia handing her the cigarette. "I gotta go piss."
"Well hurry up, I'm not getting caught with this!"
After that everything felt like a blur: the running teenagers, the principal's glare, the police siren. Everything. Who would've thought that her 2 closest friends would sell her out and not even come forward to say it was them smoking the E. The day before Clove's hearing Clove begged Patricia to own up but according to her she had going on in her own life and she couldn't risk getting sent down again. So on the actual day of the hearing all Clove could do was plead guilty, how could she plead innocent when the cigarette was right in her hand? Once the hearing was over,
and Clove was sentenced 6 months worth of community service, her mum couldn't wait to pack Clove's bags and send her away to this boarding school.
Since the incident Clove heard nothing from Patricia and Leah, she saw them around school (before she left) but whenever they made eye contact Leah or Patricia would look away and act like they didn't know her, even though they'd been best friends since the 9th grade.