Rosewood School for Boys

Chapter 1 - Arrival

If you're reading this thanks you so much for giving my story a go and I hope you enjoy it. Don't be afraid to comment!

-------------------------------

As my battered converse touched down on the gravel driveway I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm my nerves.

The taxi driver pulled my little suitcase out of the boot and handed it to me with a smile then climbed back in the cab and drove away.

I was left standing in front of one of the most intimidating buildings I'd ever seen.

The main building of Rosewood school was a large red-brick manor surrounded by 300 acres of land that radiated generational wealth and prestige. Bathed in the late afternoon light, the names of old students that were on a stone plaque above the entrance stood out clearly to me as a reminder that I did not belong here. This was the kind of school that was built on tradition, that educated only the richest or the most powerful boys, the kind of school for people with double barrelled surnames and three holiday homes to choose from. The kind of boys who were raised by an array of staff and had never heard the word 'No' in their lives. I was a small orphaned girl with no friends, half an education, and barely enough money to pay for the taxi journey from the train station. Not exactly the usual clientele but hopefully the fresh start would help me fit in among the other new girls.

The school was founded in basically prehistoric times by an old king of England or something. I hadn't done much research, as soon as I saw 'prestigious institution' and 'scholarship' on the letter I was sold. I had briefly searched the website in the taxi on the way here, underneath the battered glass of my phone the alumni list was still very impressive. I looked like every CEO or oil baron had sent a son here to follow in their footsteps.

It was only because of the scholarship and financial aid I had received that I was even standing here right now. Otherwise I would still be sharing a room with two other girls in the home and going to school in the run down little state school nearby with graffiti in the bathrooms and gum under every table.

I took a deep breath, flicked my auburn hair over my shoulder and clutched the handle of my suitcase tighter before stepping toward the door.

The heavy wood required a hard shove to convince it to open. The floor beyond was made of scuffed but impeccably polished tiles; there was an impression in the middle of the floor where millions of footsteps had worn it down over the thousands of years the building had been around.

To the right there was a reception desk with a bored looking secretary tapping away at her computer. I stood in front of the desk and cleared my throat, nervously tapping my fingers against the tip of my thumb. The secretary sighed and reluctantly turned to face me as though I was pulling her away from something very important and not just her computer.

"Yes?" She asked.

"I'm the new student, I was told to come here to collect my schedule and uniform?"

She reached into a draw to her left and pulled out some papers and a brown paper-wrapped package which I assume was my uniform.

"Your dorm number is on the schedule and your roommate is already set up because we've already had 3 weeks of term."

She gave me a pointed look.

"You've missed dinner but breakfast is at 8:30 sharp, don't be late." She turned back to her work and ignored me when I thanked her.

I pulled out a map from the stack of papers and began navigating my way to the dorms. Unsurprisingly, the campus was huge, comprised of buildings so old they could be in a museum and ancient-looking walkways that could probably hold an elephant. I was so distracted by the majestic architecture that I forgot to look where I was going and walked straight into a brick wall, landing on my butt and dropping all my papers. I groaned and muttered a curse under my breath, rubbing my ass while I started gathering them up and flinched when another pair of hands joined mine. I looked up in surprise, a pair of warm brown eyes met my gaze. The boy they belonged to was kneeling across from me. He had a kind face with dark eyebrows and brown hair with highlights woven through like rivers of gold.