The Academy of Exile

IV

    Pearl trotted behind Winter awkwardly as they left their dorm and entered the hallway. Along each of the long walls were dozens of doors, all identical with bronze doorknobs and plaques with the names of the students each room belonged to as well as their dorm number.  Pearl's dorm number was 23, but her name wasn't yet on the bronze plaque. She wondered how long it would take until she was an official student of the Academy. 

    "All the boy's dorms are on the right, all the girls are on the left." Winter explained as they continued to pass door after door until they reached the end of the hall. Before them was a grand set of deep oak doors which opened up to a longer, wider hallway with tall windows and sofas. Pearl thought it was odd that the male and female dorms were so close to each other. It made her slightly nervous being so close to a bunch of teenage boys. She chewed upon her thumb nail and focused on keeping up.

    "Do you know what this place is, Pearl?" Winter asked, glancing over with a curious look.

    "It's an institution..." She replied decisively. 

    "What are you in here for?" 

    "Depression..." Pearl whispered, watching her feet as they walked. Winter stopped and grabbed Pearl's shoulder. She spun her around so the two of them could look through one of the many tall windows that lit up the hallway.
The view was spectacular; Pearl's eyes slipped over the jagged snow capped mountains and forests that encircled the Academy. Below she could see the dark pointed roofs of the lower buildings and paths that weaved across the grounds between trees and lamp posts. She could see other students sitting down reading books and chasing each other. The sounds of their laughter was muted by distance but she could imagine it. A small smile tugged on her lips. They looked like ants from up here. This place was beautiful. 

    "It's all a ruse." Winter continued bluntly. "This isn't actually a school for mentally ill kids. Although, most, if not all of the students here exhibit signs of insanity." She chuckled to herself, sliding her finger absently down the glass of the window. 

Pearl's sights lingered on the scene below, unable to process what she had just heard. She needed a second take. This girl had to be joking. It literally said on the gate that this academy was a place to help mentally ill teenagers. Which is exactly what she was. She needed help, if this place couldn't help her then why was she taken here? Pearl thought back to what happened in the dorm. She looked at Winter sternly. 

    "Does this have something to do with that flame?" She asked, turning so she could face Winter directly. She expected Winter to deny it, to come up with some logical explanation. Of course not, Pearl had to be hallucinating. But Winter nodded with a shrug. 

    "Magic is merely a small part of what is going on here..." 

Pearl grew silent, taking in a shallow breath. Magic? Was she expected to simply accept that? Magic... What was going on here?

    "You've got the wrong person... I don't know anything about this. This stuff isn't real... I..." 

    "Winter! We've been looking for you everywhere!" A loud voice called from the end of the hallway. Pearl glanced over and was surprised to see a small girl, even smaller than her running towards them. She looked exceptionally young, only about 12 despite the entrance age being 15. Pearl was taken back by this girl's appearance. She had bright crimson hair which was long and curly. It bounced excitedly as she ran. She wore tight black pants and a large black shirt with some kind of band logo on it. Her eyes were large and black and even from a distance they looked like the eyes of a doll.
Once the girl reached Winter and Pearl, she shoved her small hands in her pockets and rocked back and forth on her heels. 

    "Pearl, this is Verona. Verona, this is Pearl." Winter introduced the two sarcastically and turned her attention back to Pearl for a moment. 

     "No one knows if her name is literally Verona." 

    "Hi Verona." Pearl greeted the girl quietly. 

    "Where have you been Winter?" Verona asked with a wide smile, falling into one of the sofas and crossing her legs. She toyed with her shirt. It seemed like she always had to be moving.

    "I've been showing Pearl around since she just got here. She doesn't know what this place actually is." Winter explained, patting Pearl on the shoulder. Verona's dark eyes looked over to Pearl and she laughed a bright, loud laugh. 

    "Welcome to hell! Ha! Ha!" Verona tapped on her knees like a drum and bounced back up to her feet. She skipped up to Pearl and tipped her head to the side. Pearl looked down at her awkwardly, taking a small step back which was followed by the red headed girl. She reached up and touched her cheek. Pearl flinched. 

    "The world as you know it isn't what you think it is." Verona said simply, shooting a glance over to Winter. "Should we tell her?"

    "No, I think Mr.S should." Winter replied and pulled Pearl away from the girl. "I'll catch up with you later Verona." 

    "Okay! We'll see you later! Nice meetin' ya Pearly!" Verona skipped off with a sinister giggle, opening one of the far doors and slipping away. Winter turned to Pearl and gave her a reassuring smile. 

    "She's a little nutty." To which Pearl nodded slowly in agreement. "Verona just comes and goes. She's friends with everyone around here. Just don't piss her off..." 

Pearl let out a long sigh and slipped her fingers through her long white hair. She pulled some strands away from her face so she could breathe. So much has been suddenly dumped on her and she didn't know how to handle it all. 

     "I'll take you to Mr.S now and he'll explain everything." Winter said gently, her tone different now. "I was scared when I first came here too." 

***