Opal and Ardea. My two roommates seemed worlds apart.
We hadn't spoken much that day. Ardea was the quiet one; she answered what was asked, but didn't ask questions of her own. I wasn't feeling very chatty either. I didn't know what to say to the girls I just met. In my former home I didn't have any friends.
Opal seemed to be much more outgoing. She spent most of the afternoon studying our schedule, often sharing her thoughts even though none of us asked her to do so.
I found out she transferred here from another school, meaning that this was a fresh start for the both of us.
"Where did you go to school last year?" she asked me while her curious brown eyes rested on my face.
"Nowhere," I answered. "I was home-schooled."
"Oh, you poor thing!" Her eyebrows arched, but I couldn't figure out why she would think it was a bad thing. I was just about to ask her about that, when she turned to Ardea with a question for her. "What about you? Where were you last year?"
"Here," Ardea replied and added nothing else.
Opal could only bear the silence for a few seconds before asking, "What is this school like?"
Ardea took a moment to look at her, as if she was pondering how many details her answer should contain. Finally, she said, "It meets all the criteria a school should meet."
"O...kay," Opal stretched the word and then turned back to me. "I'm getting hungry. I wonder what we'll have for dinner."
As we were walking towards the dining room, my nervousness grew. Never before had I been surrounded by so many representatives of the hidden races. Walking up to the French doors leading to the dining room, I had to push my hands into my pockets to stop them from shaking.
The moment I stepped over the threshold, the conversations stopped and all the heads turned in my direction. They knew who I was. They had to know, otherwise they wouldn't act the way they did.
Hushed whispers followed us as we were picking up the trays and placing our food on them. Wishing I could reduce myself to the size of a water drop, I quietly sat next to Opal.
"What's up with them?" she leaned closer to me. "They are acting like they've never seen a dwarf before."
I allowed my eyes to briefly scan the dining room before I said, "I think they aren't looking at you."
Opal looked at me. "Oh..." she said. "Is it because you came from..." She lifted a glass of water and shook it slightly until the surface rippled.
I nodded shyly. "So, you heard too, huh?"
"Yes. The headmaster told me I'd be a roommate with an unconventional student. Honestly, up until now, I thought he meant Ardea. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention." She smiled so widely that her freckled nose wrinkled. Somehow, it took away a big portion of my nervousness.
One by one, the students turned their heads away. All but one. At the table in the corner of the dining room sat a student whose gloomy stare still rested on me. Dressed in dark clothes that matched his hair color, it seemed as though he was absorbing the light coming from the light fixtures on the ceiling, making it impossible for me to see him clearly. Still, the way he looked at me sent cold shivers down my spine.
I hadn't eaten much. Instead, I returned to my room and gotten into bed. Restless dreams kept me company until the dawn.
When I woke, the taller of my two roommates was already gone. Her bed was made, not a single crease on it. The shorter one was standing in front of a mirror wearing brown pants, a gray shirt and a blue knitted vest. Judging by the frown on her face I wasn't sure if the vest would remain a part of her outfit.
"It's better without the vest," she stated when she noticed me looking at her and took the aforementioned piece off. After checking her reflection in the mirror again, she continued, "Are you hungry? I know I am. Shall we go to breakfast together?"
"Okay," I managed to say before Opal continued what seemed to be a monologue rather than a conversation.
"It might be chilly without the vest. I should wear it, just in case." She put it on again. "Let's go," she added.
Soon enough, we were on our way. Opal, with dark and curly hair twined in a messy braid lead the way and I followed. My hair was dark blonde now. That's what it said on the dye box. They said I should dye my hair because it had a nasty habit of turning greenish when it got wet.
While Opal's honey brown eyes observed the world around her with curiosity, her full lips curled into a smile, making her cheeks seem chubbier than they really were. My eyes were gray with hints of blue around the edges of the irises. That morning they refused to look up. There was no smile on my small puffy lips either.
At the end of the hallway, French doors led us into the dining room. Most of the tables were already taken. Silent whispers once again accompanied my arrival, but Opal seemed to be completely indifferent. She stuffed her tray with bagels, jams in tiny containers, vanilla pudding, and a glass of chocolate milk. I followed her example. I didn't really care for those items, we didn't have them where I used to live, but if I was to live among humans, I had to adjust my taste.
We sat at the table next to a window so we could see the flower beds outside. Autumn flowers were in full bloom. Thanks to my new parents, I already knew the names of most of the flowers. They were planted in our garden as well.
I recognized the purple alyssum. It formed a lush carpet that covered the ground, with colorful pansies that were peeking out here and there. In the back of the flower beds, taller plants had been planted. Chrysanthemums and dahlias displayed all of their beauty in so many color variations. And the crown of this color explosion were the rose bushes full of fragrant flowers. I thought they were breathtaking. Opal did not seem impressed.
Just as I took the first bite of my bagel, our roommate walked in. She wore a flowy green dress, her hair was light blonde, straight and shiny. It reminded me of still water just after sunrise when reflections of light made it seem sparkling. Accompanied by three other girls who resembled her a lot, she demanded attention.
What surprised me the most was the fact that no one seemed to take interest in them. I hoped that soon enough, that would be the case with me as well.
"She really is beautiful," Opal chattered while smearing jam on her bagel. "But then, what can you expect from a girl like her? I mean, she definitely has elvish blood in her veins, that one. And her friends as well. But, if you ask me, she's a little stuck up. She barely said a word to me in the morning when I woke up. And I did try to be friendly with her. I mean, what's up with the attitude? She could at least try to be polite. No need for rudeness. Am I right?"
"I guess so," I said, wondering how she could even get the chance to say a full sentence next to a very loquacious Opal.
Elvish blood, I thought. I read about them, but with the exception of my surgeon, I never met another elf. And now I got to share a room with one of them. And with Opal. Yes, they were definitely worlds apart.
Opal ate like she talked, fast.
"Are you really a dwarf?" I asked her while she was still busy chewing, not knowing if such a question was even appropriate.
"Yes, I am. And a proud one, too. I come from a long line of Tophill clan." Her hand slowly moved through the air in front of our faces. "Ironic, I know. No dwarf would willingly depart on a journey to the top of any hill. They would rather dig to the heart of it. Anyway, we've been living among humans since the middle of the nineteenth century. Well, my ancestors did. I don't know how much you know about dwarves, but we don't actually live for centuries.
"I used to live up north with my parents, but my father got a job in a mining company. He thinks they have discovered an unknown gold vein. He thinks there might be gemstones too, but you didn't hear it from me. So, we moved here. He, my mother and I. I have a brother, too. Only he did not come with us. He stayed up north. He has a fiancé there. The wedding will take place next year." She paused for a moment before asking, "What was your question, again?"
"I asked if you were really a dwarf."
"Oh, then, I guess I answered you, didn't I?" she said and took a large bite of her bagel.
"Yes, you answered me," I replied and turned my focus on opening the pudding cup in order to hide my smile.
The headmaster made the right choice when he made us roommates. I felt very comfortable in her company. So comfortable that I said, "If you have any questions about my former home, I'll be happy to answer them."
She gave it some thought before she replied, "No, no questions. I'm not a big fan of the underwater life. It's got nothing to do with you. It's just that dwarves don't like diving. All that water around you..." She shivered. "Besides, in my old school, we had a fish tank with little fish inside. Those things just swam around. All day. Every day. There's no fun in that."
She was wrong. She was so wrong, but I didn't want to start an argument with the only friend I've made, so I gave it a rest. There will be other opportunities to disprove her.
"I like it here," Opal continued. "The school up north wasn't so grand. There are much more stone features here. I like stone. Even if it's not the precious kind."
"Was it a normal school? The one up north?" I asked while my gaze wandered to the other students in the dining room.
"Normal school? Oh, you mean normal as in human school?"
I nodded.
"Then no, it wasn't a normal school. It was for the likes of us. But in that school, the dwarves outnumbered other races. We had elves there, too," she said, lowering her voice. "For some reason, I never befriended them." Adding volume to her voice again, she changed the topic. "How come you were home-schooled before you came here?" she asked.
"Well, just last year I underwent the surgeries that ultimately allowed me to come live on land, so this is the first time I've ever been to any school."
Before Opal could ask anything else, the dining room door opened. Sitting at opposite table, we had an unobstructed view of the woman I saw the day before as she entered.
"Who is she?" I whispered so that only Opal could hear me.
Thank you for taking the time to read the first two chapters of my story.
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