WASHINGTON ACADEMY

Chapter One

It was a normal November morning at Washington Academy, located in the scenic Massachusetts, in the middle of a forest, by a river. A freshman named Olga was lying on the floor of the dining hall, listening to her iPod. A senior named Tom was sitting at a table a few feet away with two of his best friends, Adam and Vondell. He tilted his head to the side, causing his shaggy blue hair to fall in front of his eyes. Adam reached over and pushed it behind his ear.

"Thanks," Tom mumbled.

"Tom, why don't you just talk to her?" Vondell suggested.

"Because he'll be rejected," Adam replied.

Tom and Vondell both turned to look at him. Adam shifted awkwardly in his seat. "I thought we were playing good cop, bad cop."

Tom. "Its okay, Adam."

Vondell elbowed Tom in the side and motioned to Olga. "You should just talk to her, dude. The worst she can do is blatantly ignore you."

Tom stood up and straightened his tie (all pupils at Washington Academy were required to wear black and red striped ties). He nervously walked over so that his feet were directly behind her head.

She looked up at him. She pressed pause on her iPod and raised one eyebrow. "Uhm, did you need something?"

Tom's mind went blank, so he said the first thing that came to mind. "Did you know that after you die, your hair still grows for two to three months?" he blurted out, his pale cheeks blushing dark red.

Vondell sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. He had forgotten the fact that Tom spurted randomness at the most random of times, and that most people were put off by it.

Olga thought over what Tom had said for a few moments. She pulled off her headphones. "I did not know that," she replied slowly. "Hey, you're Tom, right?" Tom nodded. "Well, I'm Olga." She stood and grabbed her bag before looking up at him and half-smiling. "It was nice to meet you, Tom." With that said, she turned on her heels and walked from the hall.

Tom moved to sit back down. Vondell and Adam were gaping at him, both equally confused. 

"Well, that was weird," Adam stated, taking a large bite of his toast.

~*~

Later that evening, Keely was skipping down the hallway to her dorm room, when all of a sudden- 

"BOO!" a figure dressed in all black jumped out in front of her, his voice muffled by the plastic fangs in his mouth.

Keely smiled. "Hey Oliver. How are you?"

Oliver pulled the fangs from his mouth and stowed them away in his pocket. "I'm okay," he replied. "I'm just bored. You?"

"Well, I was going to go work on my English essay, but if you wanted to hang out, it isn't due for another week or so," Keely explained. "I have time."

Oliver smiled in return before grabbing her hand and proceeding to pull her back towards where she had just come. She willingly obliged, and before too long, they were in front of the door to the Rec. Room. Oliver popped back in his teeth, and they went inside.

Adam was sitting with his girlfriend Sonnet on the couch, watching Dora the Explorer. Olga was asleep in the corner, and Tom was playing Sims 3 on his laptop. But, the first thing Keely noticed was Vondell. He was by the window, music stand set up in front of him, practicing the cello. Oliver left Keely's side to launch himself over the back of the loveseat and sit beside Tom. Keely grabbed a book off the shelf and settled down to read.

"Did you know that the king of hearts is the only king without a moustache?" Tom said. "You know, like in a standard deck of playing cards."

Vondell stopped playing and chuckled. "No, Tom, I did not know that," he said. He looked at Keely. "Hey kid. What are you reading?"

Vondell was the only person with permission to call her "kid." "A book," she replied sarcastically.

"Oh really?" he joked. "Because I totally thought that it was a block of cheese. I seriously thought you were reading a block of cheese."

"What kind of cheese?" she asked.

"Cheddar."

Keely laughed. "If this book were a block of cheese, it would be mozzarella. Sorry to break your heart, Vondell, but you were WRONG."

"OH NO, I WAS WRONG," Vondell gasped dramatically.

"Indeed," Keely went back to reading, trying to hold back laughter. Vondell stared at her for a few moments before picking up his bow and turning the page on his sheet music, to begin playing once again.