God Hates Hags

1. What more are we than our actions?

Oh dear diary,

I met a girl, enough of a girl to put me to shame.

Long hair and red lips and green eyes. She's a monster only for me to see. I want her to tear me to pieces and ruin me for the rest of the world.

History has proven that Alexandra had no issue being the new girl. She was naturally quiet and learned quickly that if she didn't bother anyone, there would be no problems with her schoolmates.

Once, twice, three times had she lived through it and not once had she felt particularly out of place, at least not more than she usually did. When she'd finally seen pictures of her soon-to-be second home, she had no reason to believe it should be any different. She'd studied at a boarding school before, lived there, and McGrath Boarding School certainly wasn't going to be the place to finally crush her spirit.

Alexandra was no stranger to anxiety, not by any means, which had already proven itself to be true that very day her parents and sister dropped her off at her new school.

A weekend lay between then and the beginning of classes, giving her plenty of time to explore, get to know some people and learn more about the extracurriculars she'd chosen, is what her mother had told her. She wasn't a very emotional woman, not on the surface, rather always bargaining and barely ever getting into overly emotional talks. That day wasn't any different.

Naomi was different in that aspect. She was a dramatic girl, "all eyes on me always"-style, likely inherited from their father. Alexandra wasn't sure where she fit in.

Nobody spoke on the car ride. Music was playing, so nobody had to talk. But Naomi held her sister's hand the whole way. They'd always been close and Alexandra was grateful for it.

"You're going to love it." Their father was the one to finally break the silence.

"I know I am."

"Tennis, chess, hiking, swimming, the forest...they really do offer everything any girl could wish for."

Alexandra chuckled lightly at her father's words. He was making jokes because his daughter was leaving and not unlike his wife, he wasn't a master at expressing heavy emotions.

"And it's so old. I bet it's haunted."

"Of course it is," Naomi chimed in and lowered the volume of the song that was still playing, "It's like, so old. You're gonna get eaten by a ghost."

"Ghosts don't eat people."

"Well, you'll find out."

Alexandra pressed her forehead against the car window and looked out. Dew-adorned meadows in the sun, fields of cows and horses, mountains in the far distance, it was a sight for sore eyes for a girl that had grown up in rainy, polluted cities.

"Ah, before I forget," her mother interrupted her thoughts, "The Headmaster did email me back about our situation, seems like a girl's explicitly come to her and said she'd love to room with you."

Alexandra nodded and the thoughts of the fairytale landscape before her dissolved into thin air. What made her family smile only reminded her that such a thing was even necessary. She was so easily ruined, with so few words.

Naomi turned the volume back up. It barely took them another half hour to arrive and another ten to get out of the car.

Nestled in the warmth of England's countryside stood the castle, proud and ivy-covered with a tower standing strong in each corner and a green, lush forest embracing it which stretched out for miles and miles and miles. The pictures on the brochures had looked beautiful, but were nothing compared to seeing it in real life. Such ancient beauty could not be captivated by modern technology, Alexandra thought and oftentimes, when she was alone, imagined the process of surrection, brick by brick only for her to see and admire.