Today is officially the first day of my new life. Time to start my new life at a boarding school. It's currently 3 o'clock and I am leaving now. Leaving the house that I just got to 4 days ago. Well, maybe boarding school will be fun, right? New friends....at least I hope.
"Are you ready to hit the road, Dani?" Aunt Belle walked in my room with her coffee.
"Yes, I am. Everything is packed up and I'm ready. But I'm going to miss you, Aunt Belle." I went up to her, with my suitcase in my right hand and hugged Aunt Belle with my other.
"I'll miss you way more, but this is for your best. And please, please, please call me at least 20 times a week." She smiled slyly and I rolled my eyes, laughing.
"Okay, kidding. But please, at least 3 times a week? I want to know how things are going once you get settled." She hugged me tightly, and wouldn't let go.
"Of course, Aunt Belle." I smiled at her. I'm definitely going to have a hard time leaving her.
"Okay, let's get going then?" She let go of me and I nodded. We walked downstairs and packed my suitcases in the back trunk.
We got into the car and as we were leaving, I looked back at our house. I got pretty darn attached to our new house throughout the couple days we've had it. But I mean, it's not like I'm never going to see it again. I'm allowed to go back home on the weekends, but of course, I probably won't every weekend. It's a 2-hour drive from our home to the boarding school. But it's for my sake, to keep me far away from Aunt Belle. If anything ever happened, and Billy was to find Aunt Belle, he wouldn't find me. And that's what we want, is for me to be as far as possible away from Billy as I can. Or at least that's what has been drilled into my brain these past 2 weeks.
I plugged in my headphones as we pulled away from the neighborhood, and put on some soft indie music to calm my nerves. I leaned my head against the window, looking at the beautiful surroundings, and then closed my eyes.
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I opened my eyes right on time. I looked out the window and saw this huge building. And by huge I don't mean huge. I mean HUGE! The place looked like an ancient castle. It was beautiful! I mean, thank God. I have to live here, so it's a good thing it's a nice looking place at the very least. I took out my headphones, as Aunt Belle pulled into the parking space, and put my phone on vibrate since I don't want to walk in and totally have my phone go off while people are in class, or studying or something like that.
I hopped out of the car and the school dean was waiting outside the building for us.
"Hello! You must be Belle and Danielle! I'm Dean Jackson. Very nice to meet you! Come on in, you can leave all your belongings in the car for now while I introduce you to the building." Dean Jackson smiled widely at us as she led us inside. The second I walked in, I gaped. It was beyond beautiful and looked prettier inside than outside.
"Where did you guys move here from and what brings you to Nebraska?" Dean Jackson asked, making small talk.
"We moved here from Illinois and just moved here for my new job. Of course, the big promotion had to be in another state." Aunt Belle said, smiling. She literally just lied straight to the dean's face. But I mean, it's not like she needs to know. 'Why did you move here?' 'Oh, no reason. Just that my ex-boyfriend tried to kill me. No biggie.' Yeah, that conversation would go well.
"Very nice! I've been to Illinois. Beautiful area. And congratulations on the promotion!" the dean said walking to a hallway.
We looked down the hallway and saw a couple of students walking to lockers with their backpacks. Some students shoved their way past us. I'm guessing this is the school area. School tends to bring out the worst in people.
"This is the high school section of our school. School hours are 9 am to 1 pm. There are extracurricular activities after school until 4 if you are interested." She explained to us all about school and said that tomorrow when I start classes, the office will give me my schedule and all that stuff I need.
Dean Jackson lead us out of the school, and we went outside and crossed over to another building.
"And this here is the dorm building. Where everything else is. We have the food court, showers, dorms, and everything else. The food courts, are right over here." Dean Jackson walked us into the food court and I gaped. It was pretty much huge. It was kind of like a mall food court. There were different kinds of restaurant food place things. It all ranged from like Chinese food, pizza, noodles, and a bunch others. I kind of already like this place.
"Food is all included in your tuition. The food court closes at 10 p.m. But we do have another court over across the quad outside with fewer options, but still, a good place. I personally really enjoy the tacos. That is open from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m." Dean Jackson walked us around the court, with like almost everyone's eyes watching us. I guess they don't get many new students.
Dean Jackson walked us down another hallway with only a couple doors.
"This here is the shower room. It is unisex. Showers are not limited. You can shower as much as you feel comfortable." She walked us away from the shower room and to an elevator.
It was a long hallway with like 20 doors. To the dorms, I'm guessing. I saw some girls walk out of some of the doors and giggle their way down the hallway.
"This is the girls' hallway. I will show you your dorm and introduce you to your roommates shortly. Simple rules for dorms. Please do not damage any of the schools' property and respect your peers and you will be all good. I don't think we'll have to worry about you, though. You seem like a nice young lady," Dean Jackson smiled at us and pulled out a key from her pocket.
"So I am going to let you guys grab Danielle's luggage from your car and bring them to your room. There are buggies downstairs to help pull your stuff into the building and if you need assistance, we have our desk assistants downstairs who would be more than glad to help you! I'm not sure if you roommates are in right now, but you can get introduced and all. Here is your key, and if you have any questions, please, feel free to ask. My email and office phone number will be right on the sheet I gave you earlier. Enjoy the rest of your day ladies," Dean Jackson smiled at us.
"Thank you so much, Dean Jackson. I think we're good." Aunt Belle smiled at her and the dean nodded.
"I'll point you in your way of the main floor."
She walked us to the stairs and we found our way back out to the parking lot.
Aunt Belle gave me the key and we looked for my dorm room. My room is 38A. We literally were looking for my room for like 10 minutes, when this girl with strawberry blonde hair came up to us.
"Hi there, are you new here?" She smiled widely at us. Dang, she has white teeth.
"Hi, yeah I am. Could you help me find room 38A?" I smiled, slightly, back at her.
"Room 38A? You must be Danielle! Dean Jackson was telling us that we were going to have a new roommate! I'm Sophia, your roommate!" She was so bubbly, but like not in the ew way, in a nice way.
"Hi! Nice to meet you," I smiled at her as she led us down the long hallway to our dorm.
We finally got to a room that said 38A on it.
"Just come right in when you're ready," Sophia smiled at us and went in the room, probably letting us say goodbye.
"I guess this is it." I looked up at Aunt Belle and she smiled down at me.
"You'll do great. Have fun, but focus on your studies, please. And call me sometimes. And make friends. And don't let anyone make you do anything you don't want to do. Please just-" Aunt Belle ranted on until I cut her off.
"Be safe?" I suggested. She sighed.
"Yes, that. Be safe," The side of her lips tugged up into a smile. A sad smile.
We hugged for what seemed like forever but was actually only a few seconds.
"Love you, see you soon." She started walking away, backward.
"I love you more. Bye, Aunt Belle." I said to her as she walked away.
I took a deep breath and then opened the door. No going back now. Well, to be completely honest, there never really was an option for going back. It just kind of happened.
I walked in the room and looked around. It wasn't small like I had been expecting. It was pretty big for one room. But then again, this whole building is insanely huge.
"You must be Danielle!" I looked over to this girl with short, blonde hair, who was sitting on a bed in the side of the room.
"Yes, that's me. Nice to meet you," I offered her a smile.
"I'm Phoebe," she stuck out her hand and I shook it. At least she's formal, that's always a good sign.
"I see you've met Sophia already. I feel sorry for you. You must be bubbled out from just looking at her," She smirked and looked over at Sophia, who threw a pillow at her.
"This is a nice room," I said looking around the room. I've never actually been good at small talk.
"Yeah, it's a nice area around here. Not really any issues. Nice school, nice people, and extremely hot guys. So get ready. Get your sweet ass ready," Phoebe smirked and I gave out a small laugh. I wasn't really planning on focussing on boys, but the idea of it is pretty funny.
"Oh, well, here's your bed right here. We left this dresser empty for you. Actually, it took a whole lot of work trying to get all of Sophia's shit out of it. Like, have you ever been to hell? I have. And it's when Sophia had to fit all her clothes into one dresser. Horrible." She rambled on and Sophia made a sour face back.
"If you would like to unpack, the room's all yours. We're going to go get some food and bring it back. And just so you're prepared, Phoebe and I go on food sprees. We get as much food as we can and bring it back here. That way we don't have to get our lazy asses up for the rest of the day. Would you like anything? And don't you dare say no because we will force you to eat." Sophia jumped on her bed with her knees.
I giggled. "Sure, I'll take anything that's not meat. I'm a vegetarian." I smiled at her and they both nodded in sync.
"Ok we will be right back, make yourself comfortable. I invited Caleb and Elliot to eat with us later. They're our friends. We'll introduce you to them." Phoebe told me and then they left out the door.
I looked around the room, admiring it. It was very beautiful. And the girls had some posters around the room. Sophia had some posters of Justin Bieber and One Direction. Phoebe had some Nirvana and Twenty One Pilots posers. I already love my roommates.
I started unpacking my stuff. My shirts in the top dresser drawer, my pants and shorts in the one under it, pajamas in the 3rd drawer, bras and sweatshirts under that, and sweatshirts in the bottom drawer. Then I unpacked my toiletries on the top of my drawer. I unloaded my millions of perfumes and deodorants and brushes and all that jazz. I put my blue sheets and my blankets on my bed, and put my pillowcases on the pillows. I took my posters out of my suitcase and set them up above my bed. I put some of my books on my drawer and after around 25 minutes, I was all unpacked and my area looked pretty darn nice. I pulled out my phone and charger and plugged in the charger, charging my phone. I laid down on my bed, looking out the window that was directly next to it.
I guess our room faced the back of the building because I saw no parking lot and there was a football and soccer field along with some bleachers. It was pretty big back there. I saw some boys playing soccer in a group. I looked at them over and saw one that looked familiar. It looked just like the boy I saw at the grocery store that knocked over my pickles. But that couldn't be right because that store is 2 hours away from here.
"Knock knockkkkkk!" Sophia sing-sung her way in the room along with Phoebe, along with two boys, who must I say were both very attractive. All 4 of them were carrying bags of food.
I rolled off the bed and sat at the edge as they all set up all the food on the ground.
"Hey, maybe an introduction would be nice...." This one boy with brown hair looked at Phoebe and then at me.
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry I totally forgot. Caleb, Elliot, this is Danielle. She just moved here from Chicago. Danielle, this is Caleb," She pointed to the boy with brown hair, "and this is Elliot." She pointed to a boy with darker skin and brown eyes.
"Hey, nice to meet you both" I smiled at them and they smiled back.
"Damnnnnn, Chi-Town, huh? I've always wanted to go to Chicago. Was it nice there?" Elliot said smirking.
"Oh yeah, it was. Besides the fact that the weatherman lived right next to me and tried so hard to get with my aunt with weather puns," I smiled at them and they all laughed.
"Let's hear one," Elliott said.
"What kind of shorts do clouds wear?" I asked. It's pretty scary that this was just at the top of my head, waiting to be said.
They all stayed silent, waiting for an answer.
"Thunderpants," I said painfully and they giggled.
"Damn, weathermen make $95,000 annually and he couldn't pick your aunt up with some cash or anything?" Caleb smirked
"You know, off your head, how much weathermen annually?" Sophia rolled her eyes.
"I considered meteorology for a good chunk of my childhood," he shrugged and I laughed.
We all sat on the floor, crisscrossed, eating all the food. I'm surprised I actually had an appetite to eat considering when I'm in a new area with new surroundings, I tend to be shy and not want to eat.
I told them what it was like in Chicago, details of course for Elliott, and they talked to me about the school and other fun stuff I should know. I learned that Elliot plays lacrosse and is a 'playa with the ladies.' I learned that Caleb is really smart and funny. I learned that Phoebe is a 'bad-girl' when it comes to school, but when she's not in school, she's an angel. She just hates teachers. I learned that Sophia is actually super bubbly but like I said, in a good way. She is pretty popular in school, and all the guys swoon over her, but she's only waiting for true love, not sex. I told them about me, obviously not mentioning the whole reason why I moved.
I actually had a lot of fun talking to them, and sure as hell shared a lot of laughs. They are all such nice people.
After close to an hour of chatting and laughing our asses off, it was almost 8 at night. The guys had to get back to their dorms to do homework, which Elliott didn't like very much.
"I have so much homework to do. Kill me." Phoebe groaned falling back on her bed.
"Did you find out your schedule yet?" Sophia asked me as she took stuff out of her binder. It was at this time that I appreciated the fact that I didn't have homework.
"Not yet, I have to get it tomorrow at the office, before class" I told her as I got up on my bed and pulled out my laptop.
"Oh well, Phoebe and I could take you to get it tomorrow morning after breakfast. There's this place in the food court called Sunny's and they have all breakfast stuff there and it's so good and I-" Sophia ranted on, smiling wide when Phoebe interrupted her.
"Soph, chill," Phoebe held up her hand and hushed Sophia. I chuckled and looked out the windows. The sun went down, leaving it dark outside. The boys playing soccer were gone.
"So, Danielle, have you ever been in a uni-sex bathroom before?" Phoebe asked me.
"Fortunately, no I haven't. I guess there's a beginning to everything," I leaned up on the bed and shut the blinds on the window. I totally forgot about the bathroom situation. I hated the idea of unisex bathrooms.
"It's on the main floor, two floors down, and you usually just bring your clothes and shampoo and conditioner and stuff and just get changed there. Don't leave your clothes in your room. Trust me, knowing from experience, you will regret it," Phoebe continued and Sophia opened her mouth, but shut it when Phoebe kept talking.
"Soph and I have a bag we bring and share with our shampoo and conditioner and stuff. Boys in there are super immature so make sure to lock the door when you shower. There are doors, thank God." Phoebe explained to me and told that they usually take showers at night if I wanted to join them. Join them as if it were a group project.
After Sophia finished her history homework, and Phoebe finished her math and science homework, we took our towels and their 'soaps' bag, we headed out to the showers. I decided to go with them, because what else is there to do?
We went down to the main floor. It was pretty empty, I guess people were getting to sleep since tomorrow's Tuesday and we have school. To be honest, this all reminds me of when you're at a hotel and you go down and night and it's empty. That's exactly what it's like.
We walked to the shower room and it was really steamy in there. I scrunched up my nose and squinted my eyes.
"Don't worry, you get used to it." Sophia said.
"Take whatever you need from the bag," Phoebe told me and I grabbed some shampoo and conditioner and entered the shower next to the girls.
I showered and then got dressed into a white tank top and red sleeping shorts after drying off. I went out and joined the girls who were done and drying their hair with towels. We walked out of the shower room together and honestly, it was a relief. Walking into fresh air, without steam.
"I can breathe again," I remarked and Sophia and Phoebe nodded profusely.
We walked to the elevator along with a couple other boys who I'm guessing were on their way back from the food court, since they had a ton of boxes in their hands.
We got back to our dorm room and all got in bed. We talked for about like 20 minutes about anything and everything. But eventually, we all fell asleep, listening to people out in the hallway, who in my opinion, were way too loud.
Welcome home, Danielle.