Breakfast is silent but the food is really good. There is a bowl of cheese grits, sausage patties, and golden brown homemade biscuits. Queen watches me curiously. I try to slow down but my taste buds didn't agree with me so I continue devouring the food. "Are they feeding you in the city?"
I swallow and clear my throat. "Yes, of course." I swallow again. "Just not on this scale."
"You're so thin."
Queen let me continue eating and when I'm done I say, "Thanks. I know this is an adjustment because my dad sort of sent me here out the blue."
"Your father has spoken of your ways." Queen scrutinize.
I look away embarrassed. I was hoping my father didn't go into great detail of the reason I was expelled. "I will take no disrespect here, Hal. You're a late bloomer to controlling your new-found anger but this is the perfect place to work-out your problems."
"Yes, ma'am." I say. Queen nods her head and then stand. I follow her out the door and we get into a gray classic Chevrolet. She doesn't speak to me as we drive into town. I notice the lake actually looks normal this morning and this settles my slight paranoia. I didn't get much sleep because I dreamt of water and figures swimming around me.
Unfortunately, it was blurry.
The radio speaks about the morning weather and small politics. We pull up towards a school and she park the car before passing me a folder. "Thanks." I tell her before getting out of the car and shutting the door. She drives off and I mutter a sarcastic, "Love you, granny."
There are students walking around me and they are all sporting the same uniform. I crinkle my nose in disgust. I despised uniforms. School is a chance for students to express themselves. "Well played father." I speak to myself while heading into the school. I make my way to the front desk and a woman looks me up and down and ask, "You need something?" She is smacking on a piece of gum and her hair is blonde, split into two ponytails.
"I'm new here." I state.
"Name?" She asks looking at me in boredom.
"Hal Ashes."
The woman begins to tap on the keyboard. "Ah." She says a millisecond later. "Here you go." The printer next to her starts and she hands me a few documents and sends me on my way. The bell rings loudly above me and I wander aimlessly around the empty halls. I notice as I walk that the school is more traditional than a school from the city. It is weird because it didn't look old and dusty it is more elegant and sophisticated.
The floor sparkled, and the lockers cover the walls with a shining red color and golden numbers. I glance over my schedule and read the classes my grandmother enrolled me in.
Self-Defense, Small Weaponry 1190I
Foreign Philosophy 2134A
Stealth and Survival 6382H
Computer Science 1010C
Advanced Biochemistry 4235F
I run my fingers through my tangled curls in confusion. "Are you lost?" This question is becoming rather frequent. I look up from my schedule and notice the janitor mopping the floors. "Uh, yeah." I respond. He gives me a polite smile and guides me to my first class.
"These halls can become tricky." The janitor explains. "It doesn't seem so huge from the outside but these halls hold so many secretive turns. Don't follow the numbers." He explains. "Pay close attention to the letters."
My coffee brown eyes flicker with confusion and he further explains, "Each corner on each wall has a golden letter. That is the level you are on."
I look toward the corner of the wall and notice a shining golden letter F. We approach a door and it reads Advanced Biochemistry in bold letters. Everything seems so backwards. "Why are the levels in letters and not numbers?"
"This is only the fourth floor of level F." I hear behind me.
I turn around in puzzlement and say, "What?" But the man is back to mopping and looking at me oddly. I shake my head. I was hearing weird things. I open the door and walk into the classroom.
The classroom becomes silent and I stick out like a sore thumb because I wasn't wearing the school uniform. The classroom is set up in a traditional manner and the students sit on their stools with their lab goggles over their eyes and aprons around their waist. The professor walks over towards me with a big smile. "We have a new student today. Continue working."
The student's eyes fall off of me and I'm grateful. The professor gives me a worksheet and I take a seat in the far right corner. The other stool next to me is empty and I'm happy to be alone. I zone out as the professor begins to lecture. Once the bell rings the students put away their equipment and rush out the classroom. I grab my bag but I'm stopped in my tracks.
"These ladies will help you get around." The professor smile. "These halls can be a bit tricky."
My nose crinkle in displeasure, "I really don't need any assistance—
The professor ignores me and nudges me towards the door where three girls stand. "Zaria, Iris, and Sakiya will be helping you out today. Guys, show her around and make sure she feels welcomed."
I follow the three girls down the hall and the students are leaning against their lockers talking. The boys are wearing straight, polyester trousers that reach down to their black, shining shoes. A ghost-white button-up that is neatly tucked into their pants with a nice two-button jacket where a simple deep red tie hangs.
The girls, however, wear skirts in black that dangle above their knees almost sinfully. They're paired with knee-high socks and simple black shoes. Like, the boys the girls wear a white crisp button-up blouse and it is respectfully tucked into their skirts and is also covered with a narrow jacket. The ties also hang around their neck in a deep red.
"I'm Zaria." One of the girls says while turning around. She is actually the first one to speak. She smiles brightly and it compliments her brown skin perfectly. Her hair is pulled up into a neat bun and her hazel eyes sparkle with positivity. "Where are you from?" She questions.
"San Francisco." I answer.
The other girl snorts and I glance her way and she's drinking a cup of coffee and she seems bored with the conversation. Her midnight black hair flows down her back in waves that would make any city girl jealous. As every other girl tuck their shirt neatly hers is slightly disheveled and her jacket is missing. "City girl huh?" She asks cocking her head to the side in wonder.
"I can say I'm used to a more fast-paced environment," I answer.
"Oh, we're all full of surprises here." She chuckles before sipping onto her coffee and stopping to talk to a boy leaning on the locker. We stop walking and the third girls speak, "That's Sakiya." She points at her friend before rolling her eyes. "I'm Iris. Don't mind her attitude. She's always grumpy in the morning."
An elevator ding and I turn my head in bewilderment because I don't remember ever seeing an elevator. The elevator doors slide open and two people walk out gracefully. The boy and girl stand out as they sport the same uniform however as everyone else wears a black jacket these two wore a deep mahogany two-button that fitted the both of them perfectly.
"Here comes royalty?" Sakiya say while rolling her eyes in annoyance.
The girl with the wine jacket is walking with confidence and her head raise high. The boy next to her wore a cocky grin and looked my way before giving me a wink.
I grimace and question, "Who are they?"
"Just stay far away from them." Iris mutters looking after them as they walk further down the halls.
Before I could question further the bell is blaring above us. We quickly sprint to our next class. Instead of taking the hidden elevators we dart down a few flights of stairs. I look towards the corner of the wall and notice we're on Level C now. I cock my head to the side in confusion. None of this made any sense.
Computer Science is pretty easy. I breeze through it while other students struggle. The teacher notices my talent and says, "You will be a great help in this class."
The bell ring again signaling lunch and I follow behind the girls through the tricky halls. We make a few turns and go down a couple of flight of stairs before we're walking through double doors. The cafeteria cannot compare to what I am accustomed to. There is no Italian, Sushi, or even Soul food.
It's set up in an old traditional manner. We all stand in line and the lunch ladies are pretty rude as they toss mashed potatoes and some form of meat on the trays.
I follow the girls and take a seat at a round table. I pick at my food and I can tell that most students bring their own lunch.
"The Lunch on Level K is better." Zaria explains. She breaks off a piece of her sandwich and offers me the other half. I shake my head even though my stomach is protesting. Zaria shrugs and gives me a short smile before passing her other half to Sakiya who takes it and bite into it.
Sakiya chews before swallowing and further explain, "Level K is only for those assholes. It's not fair."
I listen on curiously.
Iris rolls her eyes and flips through a magazine that she pulled out of her bag. "Get over it. Whining about it is not going to change anything. Plus, everyone is too scared to confront them about it."
Sakiya nods her head and continues eating her sandwich. Lunch continues on quietly. Iris flips through her magazine, Zaria paints her fingernails in the brightest yellow, and Sakiya plays a violent game on her cellphone. I look around and notice everyone is pretty peaceful and calm during lunch. Whereas, at my old school. Lunch was the chance to catch up with your friends and break away from academics and professors. I go with the flow and pull out my notepad before I start doodling odd characters and figures. I get lost into my work and I don't even notice that I'm doodling the three girls sitting across from me.
Zaria sneaks a glance and gives me a wide cheeky smile. "That's so cool."
"Thanks." I smile.
"How long have you been drawing?" She asks.
Before I could answer a loud scream echoes through the hall. Everyone stand and begin to rush out the cafeteria. I grab my things and follow behind the crowd and out the front doors. Everyone eyes are wide and I push through the crowd behind the girls and my eyes widen at the statue that is hanging from the roof with a rope around its neck.
"Who is responsible for this?" A man hollers over the crowd. No one speaks up and I look around the crowd and notice everyone seem just as confused as me. The man with a three-piece suit on continues to scream. "When I find out. They will be expelled from this school and this town. This is private property."
"It's ancient." Someone speaks. "It needs to be destroyed."
Everyone around me begins to whisper among each other.
I couldn't see the person who was speaking but whoever it was the man looked towards them in anger. "Did you do this Elijah?"
The boy chuckles and forces an innocent smile, "No. I didn't. Mr. Robinson."
Mr. Robinson entire face scrunches up in disgust and the crowd scatters apart as he marches toward the student—Elijah. "I will ask you again. Are you responsible for this?"
"No." Elijah replies with a wide smirk on his face. "That statute only supports hatred. Whoever did it should be applauded for their hard work. It had to be difficult to get that statue up there." He looks up and I follow his gaze and squint my eyes in confusion. How was it even possible to get something up there. It had to weigh a ton.
Someone had to detach it from its place in front of the campus and carry it up to the roof and put a rope around its neck before pushing it off. But, how was it able to hang without breaking. It had to be attached to something heavy.
"You're coming with me." Mr. Robinson grabs Elijah upper arm aggressively.
Elijah pushes him away and the students gasp. Before Mr. Robinson could do anything further the front doors are being burst open and the girl from earlier is walking down the steps with her dark wine jacket on. "Mr. Robinson." She speaks very low that I barely catch it.
Mr. Robinson turns at his name being called.
"Elijah is not responsible for this. He was in study session all day. Check the cameras."
Elijah mouth twitch. He stands tall in his uniform. I could feel the confidence radiating off his body. I narrow my eye suspiciously. He looked like trouble. Mr. Robinson and the other student with the special jacket continue to speak lowly. I cannot hear what they are saying but Mr. Robinson jaw clench. He let go of Elijah arm and storm into the school.
The bell rings signaling the end of school and everyone scatters away. I stick behind and notice the mysterious girl in the mahogany jacket whispering harshly in Elijah's ear.
Terror overtakes Elijah's face. "There is no need, sister." He says. "I had nothing to do with this." He steps back and fixes his tie. "You and I both know the horrors behind this school and town."
Elijah sister eyes turn into slits as she stares at her brother in anger. "If I find out you had anything to with this. I will deal with you personally, Eli."
"Eliza." He calls but the girl continues to storm away. He glowers and bawls his fist. It was clear his sister somehow frightened him. He looks up and makes eye contact with me. I look away and hurry off-campus.