A/N: Extremely late chapter! ;-; Rose will finally make her official appearance in the next chapter! Thank you to myself who decided to delay writing this chapter for so long! ._.
If there was anything in the world that Sherry hated more than her computer overheating and shutting down, it was waiting. The damp air was starting to irritate her as she stood outside of the JFK Airport, waiting for a taxi her parents had arranged for her. Gray clouds blanketed the sky, promising a heavy shower very soon. The silver duffle bag hanging from her shoulder was starting to get heavier as each minute slowly dragged by. Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, the airport was buzzing with activity, people rushing to their flights or simply just being in a hurry. Finally, a dark colored car slowed to a stop in front of the blonde and the window rolled down to reveal her butler at the wheel.
"Mizoguchi, what are you doing here?" Sherry asked, looking extremely surprised. The butler had his gray hair slicked back with scented gel and was dressed in the same uniform he wore when in the LeBlanc household: a dark tuxedo with a white button-up shirt and a worn looking bow tie. He was supposed to be taking a two month long vacation in Tahiti, scuba diving and swimming with the dolphins, not driving her to her new school in New York City.
"I decided to take vacation in America instead, Mademoiselle LeBlanc," Mizoguchi explained quietly, nodding to her. "Now, will I drive you or will you be walking instead?" A small smile appeared on the blonde's face as she opened the backseat door and quickly put her small rolling suitcase and duffle bag onto the floor of the car before sitting next to her butler at shotgun. He turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Choosing to watch me drive, Mademoiselle?"
"I only sit in the backseat when Papa or Maman are around. I've always preferred watching the horizon approaching rather than passing," she answered, buckling her seat belt as Mizoguchi drove off in the direction of the school. Within seconds, it began to rain, large droplets of water bouncing off of the windshield just a couple feet away from Sherry's face. The blonde squirmed in her seat, a bundle of questions gathered in her mind. Did her parents arrange for her butler to drive her? Did they think she wasn't responsible enough to just hail a cab?
"Mademoiselle LeBlanc, we're entering the school premises now," Mizoguchi's announced, his deep voice cutting through her thoughts. Sherry looked up, trying to observe and absorb details about the academy environment. There were at least a dozen walking paths cutting through lengthy lawns of green grass, shrubs and trees bordering the wide paths. A tall and modern looking building stood out, both grand and sleek in design. The countless polished windows probably would've been reflecting sunlight if it hadn't been for the rather dreary weather. Several smaller buildings of brick stood near it, with red railing and stairways wrapping around them. The bottoms of the balconies and staircases were colored differently on each building, however.
"What do you suppose those buildings are, Mizoguchi?" Sherry asked, looking over at her stony-faced butler. He squinted at them through the rapidly moving windshield wipers and extremely heavy rain.
"I'm not sure, Mademoiselle LeBlanc," he answered quietly, his dark blue eyes glued onto the road. "Perhaps one of them is the main building." The car parked at the entrance of the taller building, the hum of the engine becoming non-existent as Mizoguchi twisted and pulled out the keys. He opened the door, a gust of strong wind and rain entering the vehicle before he closed it. Unfurling a red umbrella, he made his way to Sherry's door and shielded her from the rain, making sure she wasn't soaked by the downpour.
"I'm so lucky I decided to get waterproof bags," the blonde muttered, grabbing her duffle bag and rolling suitcase. Extending the handle, she passed it to her butler gingerly, reminding herself that Teddy and her laptop were inside of it along with a tin of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. There was no real reason to have brought the cards but she figured they might come in handy if there wasn't any Wi-Fi. Even though Sherry knew there was an obscene amount of jeans and t-shirts cushioning her treasures, it felt better to handle them appropriately.
Squeezing under the umbrella with Mizoguchi, they managed to enter the building without getting soaked by the downpour. The tiled floor looked freshly mopped, streaks of water still present on the polished marble. Tall windows that would normally let in sunlight instead gave a good view of the dark clouds rolling restlessly through the sky. The main building was almost silent, the occasional sound of a police officer slumped over a cluttered desk to her right, snoring loudly. Reminds me of home when Maman and Papa are out of town, Sherry thought as she approached the sleeping man. A small pool of drool could be seen gathering on a rather important looking piece of paper.
"Excuse me, sir?" she asked, attempting to wake up the police officer. He simply continued snoring, his tanned hand running through his short brown hair while he mumbled something in his sleep. The blonde tapped his shoulder and he snorted loudly before jolting awake and scattering empty coffee cups onto the floor. A silver name tag clipped onto his blue uniform had "Ushio Tetsu" printed on it in large black letters.
"I WASN'T SLEEPING I SWEAR MA'AM!" Ushio cried, looking confused as he stared at a worn leather watch on his wrist. "Damn, it's already ten to eight!" He quickly straightened himself in his chair, fixing his bangs into place before addressing Sherry. "Visiting hours will be ending in ten minutes. Did you need something?"
"Yes, I'm a transfer student-" Sherry began before getting cut off by the tan police officer.
"Sherry LeBlanc, right? Your transfer here was a pretty big deal so Godwin basically drilled your name and description into my skull. " he said, grabbing a thick stack of papers nearby and flipping through them before stopping to read one. "Your dorm is the blue one. It's across the road to the right of the building as soon as you go through the doors. Easy to notice even in this weather. Give the papers to Mina on the first floor. She's got blue hair. Now go before you have to pick the lock to get into your room."
Mizoguchi looked down at his young mistress, watching a small frown appear on her face as she took in the information. He patted her shoulder lightly before opening the front door for her. "Hand me the umbrella please, Mizoguchi," Sherry mumbled, taking it and unfurling it against the strong wind and rain... and handing it back to him after remembering she was still quite short compared to her butler. They walked in silence to the dorm, entering the small office on the first floor near the start of the staircase.
The powerful smell of musty paper and dust entered her nostrils as the door closed behind her. A woman with blue hair, presumably Mina, sat in a leather chair at a large oak desk writing something. She wore a similar uniform to Ushio but it looked like it had been ironed; however, no name clip was visible. Papers were stacked neatly in a small pile to her left, a small black mug with the words "Tea-Rex" and the skull of a Tyrannosaurus Rex printed onto it placed near the stack. She looked up expectantly at Sherry, setting down the pen she had been writing with.
"Good evening, Mademoi- I mean, ma'am," Sherry said nervously, cursing herself at her slip up. This whole "actually speaking in English" thing was going to take a while to get used to...
"Hello! My name is Mina," the woman greeted, smiling. "Are you here for your room key?" Her dark gold eyes glanced at Mizoguchi who looked a bit awkward in the small room.
"Yes, my name is Sherry LeBlanc," she responded, rubbing her palms together. Immediately, Mina pulled out a clipboard of names, each one with either a pink or blue check next to them. She flipped through several pages before exclaiming, "Aha!" The bluenette opened a drawer under the desk and rummaged through several things before handing a shiny key to the young Frenchwoman. A metal ring with a hard plastic tag was attached to it. Flipping over the plastic tag would reveal the room name "5DS."
"Your room is on the fifth floor, fourth room of the South hallway," Mina explained, picking up her mug and taking a sip. "It's pretty easy to go around this dorm because there's only four rooms in each hallway. The other ones need a map sometimes." She glanced at her watch before picking up her pen again. "You should hurry before the storm gets worse."
"Thank you," Sherry said, going outside and closing the door as soon as Mizoguchi had exited as well. The pair immediately dashed up the stairs, grateful for the cover from the rain. They reached the fifth level and circled to the other end of the floor, stopping at the fourth room. She noticed that there was a fresh trail of wet shoe prints on the floor leading to her dorm room. The doors were all made of wood with silver doorknobs and their room names carved into a polished metal sign, spread out rather widely in the hallway.
"Shall I take my leave, Mademoiselle LeBlanc?" the butler asked, watching her rub her palms together nervously. He placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "You'll be alright. Your parents would not allow a harmful person to share the same room with you. I'm sure you'll have fun sharing a room. You did always want a sibling after all." The blonde nodded slowly, still looking rather anxious about actually entering the room.
"What if she's... not friendly?" she asked, looking more like a small child than a sixteen year old. Mizoguchi held back the urge to roll his eyes at the ridiculous excuse she had given him. Sherry immediately took advantage of the silence to continue trying to prove her point. "What if she's a complete slob? What if we get into fights? What if-?"
The tall man clamped her mouth with his hand, frowning. "Sherry," he said in an absolute tone, "what if you traveled nearly six thousand kilometers to hesitate at a door with questions only you can answer if you decide to open said door?" He gestured at it before continuing. "Now... please step in. I can assure you that nothing will bite your face off once you enter." The blonde frowned before sighing and unlocking the door.
She placed her hand on the doorknob and looked back at Mizoguchi. "Thank you," she said softly before turning it and entering. It clicked quietly as the door closed. The butler watched as the sky began to lighten and the rain now only a light shower. He walked down the stairs and over to the parked car, starting up the engine and driving out of the school grounds.
The room felt warm, its atmosphere soothing with the sky blue walls and polished wood floor. There were two neatly made beds, each at opposite walls with their ends facing the door. Upon further inspection, anyone would notice that there were drawers underneath them, presumably to save money on furniture and/or to save space in the room. There was a desk with a chair and lamp for each bed, a noticeable layer of dust on the surface of the desk. To the left was a door which Sherry guessed was the bathroom since she heard someone humming inside along with the sound of running water. Whoever this girl was, she'd only just arrived and hardly unpacked. The young Frenchwoman didn't blame her after counting out exactly three suitcases and a rather heavy looking backpack sitting at the foot of the bed nearest to the bathroom.
She took off her sneakers and placed them underneath the untouched bed before setting her luggage to the side of the bed. "Better wipe these off..." Sherry mumbled, taking a small towel from her duffle bag and drying it before doing the same with the suitcase. She (neatly) stuffed the left half of the first drawer with countless pairs of jeans before stuffing the other half with shirts and tank tops. It closed softly with a click.
The next drawer was filled with undergarments and had a small towel draped over it. Despite her underwear being plain and ordinary, Sherry felt nervous about having it out in the open and in front of a stranger no less. The large tin of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards were very carefully placed onto the bed. Teddy was put comfortable next to the pillow, his beady eyes staring at the door.
The stuffed animal was starting to come apart at the seams after nearly 12 years of protecting his mistress from the "monsters under the bed," keeping her company, and doing whatever else a teddy bear could do. She absently patted his fluffy coat of wool curls before stuffing the last drawer with towels and hooded jackets. Her roommate was taking her sweet time in the bathroom, giving Sherry time to kill.
"I should try messaging Rose to see what dorm she's in..." she muttered, turning on her laptop and logging onto Facebook. Her friend was on mobile.
"Hello, Rose."
As she hit the Enter key, the notification sound of a smartphone could be heard from the bathroom. Sherry froze, laughing nervously. "It's... it's just a coincidence, right?"
"I've arrived at my dorm. My roommate is in the bathroom taking a shower."
The smartphone went off in the bathroom again and the room became deathly still, the sound of the running water disappearing suddenly. Faint sounds of a digital keyboard being tapped by quick thumbs could be heard inside.
"Sieg-kun, I'm in room 5DS. Are you nearby? (≧∇≦)/"
"Oh god this is going to be so awkward..." Sherry groaned, muffled by her hands pressed on her face. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "At least I knew my roommate previously..."
"Sieg-kun? (・・。)ゞ"
"I'm actually in the same room as you." The young Frenchwoman nervously sent the message and awaited whatever reaction that would come along. The next few minutes would probably be chaos.
A/N: And that concludes chapter 3. Gods it took a while to actually write this chapter. I've been set back by both writer's and artist's block and I've been both busy and lazy. This is a really long chapter, rather unlike what I usually write. LEAVE A REVIEW AND YOU GET A BASKET OF DIGITAL COOKIES.