Alamort

3. Priya

Cliché – Sub Urban

P ulling up to my new “school”, my first impression is it’s the prison I’ve been envisioning, minus the concertina wire that’s found on some prison walls. A massive stone fence, at least three times my height, goes further than my eyes can reach, surrounded by trees. The vibrant green moss that camouflages the worn cracks in the stone. A wide open, thick black steel gate swings freely, granting us access alongside a guy stationed in a security booth. I’m barely able to make out his giant shadow that fills the entire area. With a quick pull through the gates, a gasp escapes my lips, audible in the car’s silence. This is some Hogwarts shit. A gothic castle-like structure, complete with multiple crooked towers, stands as the centerpiece of the keep. It’s hard to believe that this is actually a school. Let’s hope no one tries to kill me because I could live without any more villains in my life.

Baldie pulls into a vast stone Porte cochere, its sleek design contrasts with the gothic castle. Baldwin jumps out to open my door. Huh, he didn’t have that politeness when I went into that creepy ass store though, did he? Probably only doing it because he is “representing” my father.

“Why thanks, Archibald!” I shut the car door quickly behind me, my tone dripping with sarcasm. He wants to act all proper because we’re in front of people with money, so why not give him a fitting name? From the way he’s clenching his teeth, it’s clear that he doesn’t like it, which makes me even more determined to use it. I file that away for another time. It’ll come in handy if I ever see him again.

“Someone will be here to collect your bags and bring them to your dorm room.”

“You’re not coming with?” My arms wrap around myself as I shift my weight from foot to foot. I may not know him very well … or anything about him, but I mean come on, during these few hours we’ve grown pretty close, right? Me and Archi had some good bonding on the way here. Did a part of me think that I wouldn’t be facing this alone? Yeah, kind of. It seems a bit harsh to drop me off and dip.

The finality of my situation is sinking in. The metaphorical chains clicking in place, tightening their grip on my freedom.

“My job was to make sure you get to the school from your flight. You.” He points at me. Then to the castle. “School.”

Did you know… that some chips are flammable? They can set a car seat up in flames within a couple of minutes. I never tried it before. I was starting to feel bad for experimenting, but his attitude has me taking back any guilt I felt.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I manage a shaky smile that feels more like a grimace and start towards the ancient castle. I’m able to procrastinate by taking a minute to appreciate the two massive dark stained portcullis doors with medieval stained glass that span over both openings. Maybe new beginnings won’t be so bad after all.

Determined to maintain a positive mindset, I place my hand firmly on the handle, ready to embrace my fresh start. It swings open, barely missing me. A girl with short, icy blonde hair emerges, her face bearing a cunning resemblance to that of a fox. A smile that reminds me of a shark in… a fucking school uniform. She narrows her dark blue siren eyes. Of course, we wouldn’t want students to show any sort of individuality.

“Welcome to Cox Academy. I’m Amber Astor. I’ll be your guide today for extra credit and then you can feel free to fuck off.” Looking down at the crisp paper in her hand and then at her brightly painted pink stiletto nails. My insecurities creep in as I notice my chipped nude nail polish. Then, a car alarm goes off in the distance accompanied by panicked yelling, has me moving toward her. Even though this girl is giving off a ‘mean girl’ vibes and her presence is smothering. Baldwin’s death threat from earlier lingers in the back of my mind, reminding me I have got to get as far away as possible.

Giving her another once over, she seems the type to smile in someone’s face, then stab them in the back to rank higher in the hierarchy.

“Looks like you’re in the Cox dorms.” The distraught voices grow closer to the front of the school gets my ass moving.

How was I supposed to know he’d take forever to see the fire?

“I’ll take you over there and then you can get your student handbook. I’m sure you’re a big girl and can figure the rest out from there.” She eyes me up and down, her nose wrinkled as if she smelt something bad. My head jerks back and my eyebrows shoot up at her unexpected hostility. Also, did she just comment on my weight? What happened to “body positivity”? I’m not super model thin like my sister was or even super thick either. My boobs are about a little more of a handful and that’s only because I have small hands. My hips are wider than they should be according to the “ideal body”. If anything, I would think it’s because I slept in the car and was on a six-hour flight. Not my body measurements. Glad to see my mother’s voice follows me everywhere. This fucking bitch. I swear she just wants to press my buttons to see what sets me off.

Blinking slowly at her twice, because she must have grown two heads to start a conversation like that with someone she just met. “That’s one of the most socially unacceptable statements I’ve ever heard someone say coming from our backgrounds, and you went with that? You can do better. Next time, try some underhanded comment or insult instead. But props to you, I don’t think I’ve ever made an accurate assumption about someone right off the bat. Glad you could be just as stereotypical as you appear.” I sweeten my words with a smile.

Bristling at my comment, Amber takes off at a brisk pace, her uniform skirt swaying with each step. I guarantee she assumed I’d bow down and surrender without a fight. Shaking my head, I continue walking on the cobbled path around the castle, enjoying the peacefulness away from the commotion of Baldwin’s shouting from the entrance of the school, presumably from the bag of chips I set on fire in the back of his SUV.

I inhale the crisp air. It’s absolutely beautiful. I’m not fond of the outdoors, unless there’s a chance to start a fire, yet being surrounded by nature somehow soothes my soul.

The vibrant green of the courtyard grass stretches out before me. The smell of recently trimmed blades filling the air. Trees become more abundant as we get further away from the academy and closer to the dorms. Dark red, yellow, and burnt orange leaves scatter the path to signify that fall is on its way. Amber’s slender frame slows as we approach a much more updated building surrounded by more stone walls and a forest of trees. I’m unable to see directly inside. It’s likely built of tinted glass, at least three stories tall.

“No boys allowed in the female dorms. The bathrooms are communal. Theodore Hall serves all meals. They check and inspect bags before returning them. But it looks like you’re …. on the third floor.” Her voice trails off. The wheels turning in her pretty little head, connecting the dots. I’m not well known but my father and his money are. “So, it looks like you won’t have to worry about the bathrooms after all.” Her voice gets a little more tense as she shoves the paper she was holding towards me, plastered with the fakest smile I’ve ever seen.

Shrugging and debating on saying ‘thank you’ out of habit, she walks off instead. Good riddance. She reminds me of this one girl I used to go to school with. Her name was Leticia. I swore she ruined everything. Not on purpose, she just … did. She’d go on group outings, something would always happen, or she’d constantly complain the entire time. Far from the life of the party.

What I really want is to get to my room to decompress from this trip. A hot bubble bath with music sounds heavenly. I make my way directly towards the elevator and press 3. The doors shut and a slim hand with matte black nail polish slips through.

“Wait! Hold the door, please!” she shouts. Startled, I also pointlessly stick my hand out for the door sensor to prevent it from shutting.

“Thanks,” she says breathlessly. “You’re Priya. Right? The new girl?”

I don’t understand people. Do I respond to that if it’s clear she knows who I am? Who is she?

“Uh… yeah. That’s me.” Looking at her uniform paired with chunky black platform boots. They’re far from the stilettos Amber was wearing. Her big doe brown eyes lined with thick black eyeliner, the color of hot chocolate, comforting and warm after running inside to stave off the chilly air. It feels homey. A complete opposite to Amber’s soul sucking presence.

“Cool! I’m River Walton. Are you going up to 3 too?” I look up at the only lit up number on the elevator showing I indeed did press floor 3. “It’s only us up there. They usually give the biggest donors the best rooms. I would’ve been here sooner to greet you to our floor, but some black car was in flames at the front gate and everyone and their mother had to go see for themselves.” Her megawatt smile would be contagious if I wasn’t feeling so tense.

The elevator dings and we step out. She takes it upon herself to show me to my room, as Amber Astor should have. There are four doors, two on the left hallway and two on the right. I’m assuming hers is the door that’s personalized with an ombré rainbow of colors all the way at the end on the right side of the hallway that matches her bubbly personality, but not the gothic appearance.

She reaches for my hand. I suppress a flinch by clenching my teeth as she drags me to the door across from hers. Soft touches aren’t something I’m entirely used to aside from when my sister was being a mother hen and even that has been nine months since it happened.

“I saw them bringing luggage into this room. Do you have anyone to sit with for dinner?”

“Nope.” I pop the ‘P’ while trying to determine her intentions. “Amber gave me the lovely tour to the dorm and it pretty much ended there,” I tell her as if I don’t care and not like my anxiety is going to put me in a chokehold on the ground like a WWE fighter if I don’t figure out when and where I’m supposed to be.

“Okay, I’ll let you get settled and then we can meet out here to walk to dinner at 5:30? I’ll give you the rundown on everything. Oh, and after school hours and weekends, you can wear whatever you want.” Good thing I didn’t plan on changing.

Bouncing on her toes, I can tell she’s eager. She’s cute, in an “I want to squeeze you” kind of way. Her bubbly personality reminds me of Addi. A familiar ache forms in my chest whenever I think of her. Letting some of my appreciation show for her kindness, I softly smile.

“Sounds like a plan. See you in two hours, River.”

The RFID locking mechanism looks like the ones from hotels where you place a card on top to unlock the door. I assume the employees finished searching through my belongings and brought them up, leaving the door open. Time to see what my new jail cell holds.

Opening the door, I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s like a studio apartment. The interior of the bedroom looks like the inside of a magazine. It’s smaller than my room back at the estate, but it’s just as updated as the outside of the dorm. The expansive floor-to-ceiling windows on the back wall offer a panoramic view of the lush trees that encircle the dormitories. Off to the left is an en-suite bathroom, which I’m forever grateful for, so I don’t have to share with all the other students. Along the same wall is a kitchenette that seems to be stocked. To the right of the bedroom is another door, probably the closet and desk with papers stacked so high it could be its own book.

The bed is staged center to the bedroom, pulling me in like a magnet. On that note, two hours is plenty of time for a nap and I can freshen up after. Walking up to the bed, I face plant into the cream-colored duvet and grab a pillow to put over my head to filter out noise and light. A content sigh leaves me. This is nice. I could probably die right here, right now and be okay with it. Well, anywhere really. This school could be a new start. No one knows me. Maybe my family name and their success. But no one knows Priya Carter, the black sheep and hidden child of the Carters.