Auridium High

CHAPTER 1

Coraline opened her dorm room to meet a set of blinking eyes.

"Oh hi, I'm Thaila. You must be Coraline," The girl with dark brown hair and electric blue highlights shook hands with Coraline as she entered and took a seat at the nearest couch.

"Gosh, I'm exhausted," Coraline exhaled as she relaxed on the couch.

"Well, moving in is pretty an exhausting thing to do. Love your hair by the way." Thaila said which made Coraline a little bit down.

Coraline's damn hair always made her stand out. It was still blazing red with other shades of red. It wasn't that it was unattractive, it accentuated Coraline's bright blue eyes quite nicely. The problem was that her hair marked her as different, and after all these years, Coraline was yearning to be nothing more than a face in the crowd.

"Um thanks," Coraline replied softly.

"Your room's up the stairs, second door. It's nice they made our door open only for us."

"Are you saying my room door opens only for me?" Coraline asked.

"Yeah. The doors are keyed to us; they only open for the right person. Did you even read the letter they gave you?"

"Oh, it's in my back pocket. Hang on a sec," Coraline brought out the crumpled piece of paper from her jeans. She almost threw it away thinking it was a cupcake wrapper remembering she had a few on her way here. Sweets are her drugs, especially cupcakes.

The words were written cursively which made Coraline squinted a little before seeing it.

Rooms have been arranged for each student. They will be stocked for students as deemed necessary and are keyed in each student's fingerprint. Shared areas are open to all but will be under observation of your superintendent. You are expected to be in the central common room promptly by 8:00 pm on move-in day to meet your superintendent and go over the dorm rules.

"Huh," Said coralline. "Sounds like fun,"

"Sounds like work," Thaila let out a dramatic groan. Coraline smiled inwardly.

"So, why the headphone?" Coraline said to change the subject and also because she noticed the blue headphone on her neck ever since she arrived.

"If anyone in authority asks, it's because I need it to be wired in," Thaila explained. "But between you and me, I think they made me look cool. What about your hair, natural?"

"Unfortunately," Coraline replied.

"One of those weird traits people with abilities sometimes gets. The damn stuff drinks dye too, so there's no way for me to change its colour."

"You could shave," Thaila pointed out.

"Thanks but no thanks," Coraline encountered. "I may not like the colour but I still love my hair."

"A comprehensible choice," Thaila conceded with a chuckle.

"Come on, you just arrived and I'm famished. Let's go hit up the dining hall for lunch."

"Do you know where one is?" Coraline asked.

"Yeah, I came from one earlier," Thaila said.

"But how are you still hungry?"

"Because I didn't stop by to eat, now let's go. It feels like there's a stampede in my stomach.

"Sure I'm coming." Coraline stood up, tried to straighten her clothes, and went with Thaila.

"Wait. Has anyone arrived yet except for the two of us?" Coraline asked.

"Yeah. Two arrived before you and it remains one more." Thaila explained.

"I haven't seen any of them yet."

"Our third got here early and went out to explore the vicinity. She acts like a bitch by the way and she acts all high and classy as if the others came from the gutters. That's a heads up, but, there may be more than it meets the eyes." She shrugged. "She must be on her way now,"

"Then our fourth..., you'll see her tonight at the dorm meeting. She's an... interesting fellow."

"That doesn't sound good," Coraline said.

"No, but it doesn't sound bad either," Thaila pointed out.

"Now come on!" Thaila grabbed Coraline's arm as they went out the door.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Hi guys! This is my first chapter, hope you like it. What are your thoughts on Coraline? Do you think she'll learn to adjust? This is her first day here. Leave a comment and click on that little start below. And also, no rude comments, please.

Bye!!