2: Natalie
I throw a hairdryer at the first student I meet at my new school. Am I off to a good start? No
"Natalie!"
Jenny's sharp yell brought me to attention and interrupted me from my deep sleep. Oh well. You cherish every moment when there's no school.
"Did you pack?"
I shrugged sleepily, not sure what she was talking about. (I was half asleep.) Then it all came back. Lilia. The Shadowy. Getting expelled. Nancy Winston. Cornelia, a Shadow.
Suddenly, I didn't exactly wish I'd pranked Nancy Winston.
"Pack? Yeah," I answered hesitantly.
Jenny looked at me thoughtfully. "Nat, I know you're upset, but this is a good thing. Shadow Hall is a wonderful place."
I had several reactions to that.
How ironic.
It doesn't sound friendly.
Shadow Hall? Are you kidding me?
Not very secretive, are we, Shadow Hall?
I shrugged again and slowly moved my feet to the ground. "Do we have to wear a uniform?"
"No," she replied. "Although there is a dress code. No inappropriate outfits."
I thought that was for every school.
"It's not far," she went on, "so if Cornelia can't come, you'll get to visit her sometimes."
I didn't know what to say to that. But Jenny! Shadow Hall is a secret place for people who can control shadows and Cornelia is one of them! didn't seem like a sentence I could say to her.
I stepped into the car and Jenny told me a story of how, once, she went to a boarding school, too. I wasn't really listening. The subtle bumps of the car kept putting me to sleep.
"We're here!" Jenny sang cheerfully.
That makes one of us.
I grumbled. Jenny had forced me into a silver tank top and green flats that reflected on my shirt. I had succeeded in wearing jeans, though they were skinny ones.
"Bye," I said awkwardly. I didn't really like goodbyes(who does?)but Jenny had been really nice to me.
Jenny sniffed a little. "Goodbye, Natalie. You were...a very good child. I hope you have a nice time here. All your stuff should be in your room. You have a roommate of course." She smiled. "Maybe it'll be Cornelia."
That doesn't seem to be likely. I mean, it's probably going to be some rich girl who has her own room and won't be happy to share it, judging from movies and books. Savannah Sinclair is an example. But Savannah turned out to be nice, so who knows?
I walked to the school. What was I supposed to do? There weren't much people outside...
What about Lilia?
I shoved that annoying inside voice away. Lilia wasn't really going to...
"Natalie, you do know this is Shadow Hall."
I jumped. By now, I hadn't seen Lilia in a while, so I relaxed. I wasn't a Shadowy. This was just a top-rate boarding school that helped delinquents.
I think I may be going crazy.
"You still don't believe me, huh?" Lilia questioned. She had her hair loose and was wearing a skirt. I hardly ever wear skirts. How is she my shadow if she's completely unlike me?
"Shadows are opposites. I told you already," Lilia explained.
I turned my attention to her. Did she just...read my mind?
"Yes I did."
"How?" I said, exasperated, although by now nothing really surprised me.
"A nice hello," Lilia said, cocking her head. "It's a telepathy thing."
"Um...alright...Lilia Ellery, I demand you to tell me what to do!"
"Go to the front desk."
Oh. I blinked. I was kind of expecting something more...exciting.
As if she could read my mind(which she could)Lilia laughed.
"Come on."
"You're coming?"
"Yes." Lilia rolled her eyes. She did that a lot. "Shadow Hall. People like us. There will be shadows and Shadowy's all over the place."
Before I could follow her, I heard a voice say, "Miss Lockhart?"
I turned to see some woman. She had perfectly curly grey hair that I suspected was a hat and she wore a dull old-fashioned dress. The only thing that made me think she wasn't that stern were her eyes. They were bright, big and blue.
"Welcome to Shadow Hall," she said, smiling, "I hope Lilia has been a good Shadow so far?"
"Yeah! Really good!" What surprised me was that she didn't say, "I presume Lilia told you about the Shadowy?"
Do not, I repeat, do not tell the headmistress you didn't know.
Why are you in my head!?
The telepathy thing! This is serious! Just don't!
Fine!
"Come with me, you two. I'll show you to your room. Lilia will of course be staying with you."
We followed her inside the school and I bit back a gasp.
From the name, you'd think it would be dark and ghastly, but now Shadow Hall was colourful. The carpet was a soft velvet and smelled of rich flowery perfume. The walls didn't match much, as they were black. So black.
The headmistress remained oblivious to my awe and Lilia yanked me with her.
"This is your room," the headmistress said, "Kayla might be unfriendly at first, but you'll love her."
Lilia's eyes widened and as soon as the headmistress left, I shook her. "Why do look like that?"
"Kayla Chase and Angelina Magpie are not people you want to share a room with. Kayla is really rich and her shadow is Angelina. For the most part, Shadows are opposites, right? But Angelina is somehow almost the same as Kayla. Translating; snobby, rich, mean and horrible."
I gulped. Exactly like books and movies. This is just so...ugh!
Knock, I said into Lilia's head. Maybe this way she would have to...
Ali, get out of my head.
Never mind.
Please do it! No. I command you to!
Lilia sighed heavily, but knocked on the door.
A boy about my age or so answered, with a phone in his hand. He had blue eyes and brown side bangs. I thought he was cute.
That is, until he opened his mouth.
"Just what I need! Two wimps!" he muttered.
Wimps? Does he think we're wimps? Oh, I'll show him who's a wimp! "Excuse me?" I snapped.
He looked surprised, but quickly covered it up with a smirk. "Two wimps," he repeated. "Which I don't need. Not when I'm having a bad day."
"I'm Natalie Lockhart," I said slowly, "and I am not a wimp."
"Yeah right." He snorted. He started talking on his phone. "Dude, I thought-"
"So, a thought crossed your mind? Must have been a long and lonely journey."
He stared at me, his call forgotten.
Lilia glanced at me in shock. "Em, this is Jason Chase."
Now I didn't even care. This guy was a jerk.
"We just want to know where Kayla and Angelina are," Lilia said quickly.
"Not here. It's just me and Kai," Jason Chase said curiously. "Are you the new roommates?"
I nodded and for some reason, he snickered. "Is Kai your Shadow?"
"Of course he is," Jason said matter-of-factly, but I doubted he knew 2+2.
I walked in, but before I could take the room in, I heard a crunching sound, a gasp and laughs.
I lifted my feet and was shocked to see a hair dryer, half-broken. How did it get broken from me just stepping on it?
"Ooh. Seems like Kayla has a heavy roommate," teased a new voice, which made me think it was a spell. What? So the Shadowy can exist, but spells can't?
I turned to see a guy with gelled blond hair and blue eyes. Jason's shadow probably. I gritted my teeth.
Lilia sighed. "You guys-"
I threw the hair dryer.
Straight at Jason.
Aimed for Kai, but, hey, he deserved it.
"Damn! Ow! Ow! What the hell is your problem?" Jason cursed, putting his hand around his nose. "Kai, what's with this chick?"
But Kai was too busy rolling on the floor and laughing. Even Lilia slapped me me a high-five.
"That was a good one, I'll give you that," Jason said grudgingly.
Suddenly the door opened. "Who are you people? And why is my hair dryer broken?" asked a snippy voice, who has to be my new roommate.
Kayla Chase was a tall girl, with really pretty, really blue eyes and silky golden brown hair. But even her makeup didn't hide her freckled skin which I thought made her look kind of childish, but in a good way.
"Angelina!" she shrilled.
Angelina Magpie was just as tall as Kayla. She had light brown hair with blond highlights. Her eyes were dark brown, and she had two dimples.
"Jason," she repeated sternly, "who are these people?" She glanced at me critically. "Is that your girlfriend? You could do better, Jas."
I turned red and Jason blushed. "I'm not his girlfriend. I'm Natalie Lockhart, but you can call me Ali. Your new roommate. This is my shadow, Lilia."
"Why would we call you Ali? Wouldn't we call you Nat?" Angelina asked.
"Angie!" Kayla said sharply, which I thought was kind of harsh.
"You can call me Nat."
Lilia looked panicky. I decided to use this telepathy thing to my advantage. It was so cool, too.
Lilia. Have you even met them?
I've heard the rumours and legends, Lilia defended.
Have you met Jason and Kai?
I know Kai.
Then I could actually see her memories. There was some shield surrounding them, and I suspected all of us humans built a wall from our memories. But there was one I could see. Kai was flirting with Lilia.
I almost laughed aloud. So Kai and Lilia liked each other. I wondered (briefly!) if Jason would have to play wingman and I would play wing-girl which might mean...
I could tell Lilia was embarrassed. But she was going to get her revenge.
Which might mean...?
I shrugged it off, not looking at Lilia who was smirking.
Kayla didn't look pleased, but I wasn't going to let anyone scare me. I stared defiantly at her until she dropped the gaze.
"Just get out of my way, okay?" Kayla snapped.
Hello to you too, roomie.