Those Emerald Eyes

Chapter 3: A New Beginning

Devon walked into the sad-looking space in his apartment that was apparently supposed to pass for a “kitchen” where a non-functioning oven stood sandwiched between a cupboard and a tiny, nearly-empty fridge.

The roads outside were already filling up with traffic; people rushing to get to work on time, the beeping horns of impatient drivers. He walked outside, and started towards the nearest bus stop. School was still a long way off. Glancing down at watch, he relaxed a little 6:45. Good, he thought, he still had time.

The ride to school was long and boring. He sat eyes glued to the window, but not really looking at anything. A couple times, he could feel the girl sitting across from him stare. She looked like she was probably in college. She coughed, hoping to catch his attention. Devon pretended not to notice and kept observing the glass on the window, as if there was something extremely interesting about it.

Devon wasn’t trying to be a jerk; it was just that he didn’t date. After Anthony died, something in him changed. He was no longer interested in flirting or girls. They all struck him as the same; all self-absorbed and attention-seeking.

As he was looking out the window, he still couldn’t help but notice the huge, grand, castle-sized estates. They made the apartment building he now lived in look like a rat-hole -not that it was far from it in the first place -but in comparison, it looked even more desolate, if that was possible .

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the bus came to a stop.

He hustled along the broad side-walk until he came face-to-face with a big, intimidating, chateau-like building. Surrounding it was a grand, black ornamental fence. In big, fancy letters read,” Bridgedale Private School.” He had finally arrived.

He braced himself, and walked into the massive school building.   

The doors of the building were electronic. As he stepped inside, he felt a wave of warm hair hit him. There was a faint scent of what smelled like ....roses... in the air...  

As he took in his surroundings, he realized the inside of the school looked rather like the lobby of the 5-star hotel he’d been in when his family was on vacation a couple summers back. He recalled how happy they’d been then. What happened?

A crystal chandelier dangled from the high ceiling. To the side, there were leather couches adorned with lavishly decorated velvet pillows. It took a moment for his eyes to take everything in.

He suddenly felt very out of place... like he didn’t belong. He shuffled towards the office to sign in, still looking around, trying to get used to this school.

A lady with brown hair that was pulled back into a bun sat at the front desk, typing away on a computer. She wore her hair like his mother always did; Devon, walking in, noticed immediately.

Deborah Grey had always worn her hair pulled back into a tight bun. “Then it wouldn’t get into the way, and it would be less of a hassle to deal with,” she’d always said.

Devon frowned; annoyed that he was already home-sick. He couldn’t go around thinking of his mother every time he saw some lady with tied up hair walk by.

The secretary looked up from what she was doing, and smiled.

“You must be Devon Grey!” She exclaimed, handing over a map of the school and some other sheets of paper.

Devon nodded, eyes darting around the office, and smiled back at her.

She pointed to the map, briefly explaining to him where his classes were before returning to her typing.