His parents talked all the way to the new school. Tony couldn't speak. He was overwhelmed at the idea of going to a different school. 'Perhaps I'll find myself some friends at this school!' He thought to himself quietly. He tried not to think about the fact he'd be around females. Caitlin was still the one for him he was sure of it, but what if another girl got in the way? He shivered and pulled his coat around him more.
"Anthony, look out the window," his mother said. As Tony looked out he could see a green meadow with daffodils blooming. In the middle of the meadow was a pale white gazebo. He wondered how it had stayed so clean. There were rose vines entwined around the poles that held the roof up. Still wondering about the gazebo he looked ahead, and saw the school.
Broken Grave School for Girls and Boys was large. It had multiple buildings all with brown bricks that gave off an orange tinge. The main building surrounded a quadrangle. He could just make out boys and girls of all ages running through it.
"Mum?" He asked hesitantly.
"Yes honey? What is it?"
"How old are the other kids?" It wouldn't have bothered him two years ago. But ever since he went to boarding school he had been conscious of his age and the age of others around him.
"Um," his mother fumbled around with the brochure, "Broken Grave School for Girls and Boys is a mixed boarding school for children aged 5 to 17, so basically from kindergarten age all the way up to seniors in High School."
"Oh, okay." Tony settled back in his seat. He wasn't sure if he was ready to live with children of all ages but it didn't look like he had a choice.
"Hello, my name is Nancy DiNozzo and this is my husband Darren. Our son Anthony has been enrolled but he needs his uniform and books." The receptionist looked over the counter at Tony who was surveying the schools trophy case with great interest. The receptionist nodded and passed over the required materials.
Nancy called her son over and gave him the clothes. "Go and change dear, we'll be waiting here." Tony nodded and walked over to the bathroom to get changed. Nancy watched him go and hoped that he would survive better at this school than he did at the last one. Her husband came up and put his arm around her waist.
"He'll be fine Nancy, don't worry," he said to calm her down. Nancy nodded and took Darren's hand. They stood like that, frozen until Tony returned wearing long black pants, a white long sleeved shirt, a maroon tie and a maroon blazer. His hair still stuck up and his mother quickly bustled over to him trying to flatten it.
"Mum stop it!" Tony said as he struggled and squirmed out of his mother's grasp. Nancy stepped back and admired her son.
"Do you have everything you need?" Nancy asked him. Tony nodded. "Very well. This young boy will take you to your dormitory. Have fun this term." Tony nodded again and hugged his mother tightly. He then shook his Father's hand and stood watching as his parents left him once again at a boarding school.
Once they'd left he turned around and came face to face with a boy his age. The boy had black hair and was wearing glasses. His uniform was ironed crisply and tucked in at all the right places. The boy stuck his hand out and Tony took it.
"Jacob Graham," he said, "I'm in your grade. We share a dormitory together."
"Anthony DiNozzo but you can call me Tony," Tony replied.
"Nice to meet you Tony," the two let go of each other's hands and looked at the bags at Tony's feet. "Is this everything?" Tony looked around at the bags at his feet. There was a suitcase, a backpack and a duffel bag. Everything he needed had fit into the suitcase and duffel bag and the backpack was for school.
"Yup this is everything." Jacob leaned over and picked up Tony's suitcase.
"Follow me then," he said indicating a door on their right. Jacob led Tony through the school pointing out different buildings as he went. "All the buildings have a corresponding letter to them. For example," he pointed to the nearest building, "that one is A Block. All of the classrooms inside are used for language classes. B Block is administration, C Block is English and Grammar, D Block is Science, E Block is art, F Block is Maths, G Block is for Social Studies, History and Geography, H Block is for sport theory and such. The primary school students stay in the same classroom all the time. That's their building over there," he pointed to a building that Tony hadn't noticed before. It was bigger than the rest, so big in fact it could have belonged to a whole different school.
Tony spotted Jacob a few feet away and hurried to catch up with him. He was still talking as if he didn't even notice Tony had gone.
"The school has a gym, a swimming pool, a dance studio," he made a face when he mentioned dance, "a dining hall, actually we have three. One for primary school students, one for middle school and one for high school, we also have the bathrooms and the dormitories, and they're over here." As Jacob led Tony towards the dorms he continued to explain about how the school was run and about the curriculum. When they reached the dormitory he held the door open and let Tony into a large sitting area.
"This is Dorm C. You've got the sitting area, a snack fridge, and upstairs the rooms and bathrooms." Tony looked around at the sitting area. It had one large couch that was a pale brown colour, three large televisions, beanbags, a bookcase and a dining table. Tony assumed the table would be for assignments and such. He followed Jacob upstairs and into a dorm room. Looking on the door as he passed, Tony learnt that he was in Room 5.
"How many rooms are in this dorm?" He asked Jacob.
"Ten, but two people share a dorm. This is ours." Jacob went and sat on his side of the room leaving Tony to explore his own. There was a single bed with a bedside table, a small dresser, a desk and a chair. Tony began to unpack his bags. He was still unpacking when the bell rang for dinner.
"You coming?" Jacob asked him.
"Yeah I'll be along in a minute." Jacob shrugged and walked out the door. Tony sat on his bed and pulled out the picture of Caitlin. He looked at it every day, wishing he could see her again in the flesh. He looked out of the window and saw swarms of kids heading towards their designated dining room. Sighing, Tony stood up and walked out the door. Jacob had left without him so he'd have to find his own way to the dining room.
As he walked he thought to himself. He wondered what his classes would be like, and if he'd be able to find them. Jacob had given him a map but he didn't want to walk around holding that all day. If he was lucky he'd have some classes with Jacob, the others he would just have to, like his best mate used to say, 'wing it.'