Beyond This Illusion
I get the best room ever.
The rest of the summer had gone by in a flash. I spent most of the time I had left hanging out with Amanda, since I had found out that she would be going to Umbra High School. I was sad that we would be separated, but I knew no distance could keep us apart. We had promised to keep in touch and to give each other good gossip updates every weekend.
All too soon, I found myself back in my mom's van, headed once again to Lumina High. We were both ridiculously nervous. Charlotte was so nervous that she wasn't even clicking her pen. The silence was making me nervous.
I checked my outfit once again, making sure I smoothed out any wrinkles. I had decided to pair the cute school uniform jacket with a red tank-top, a pair of straight boyfriend jeans, red converse, a gray messenger bag, and some random accessories. I thought I looked pretty cute, but as I got closer to school I felt less and less confident.
Charlotte, on the other hand, looked terrified from the moment she got in the car, even though she looked even better than I did. She had decided to wear the uniform skirt with a cute white tank-top, white flats, and a leather jacket. I had to say, she looked pretty bad-ass, but she didn't look like she felt very bad-ass. I felt bad for her, but I was so terribly horrified that I didn't do anything.
When we got to the school, I immediately noticed a ton of freshman ambling around on the front lawn of the school. It was so easy to spot the way they stood around awkwardly, making small-talk with people they already knew. Almost all of them had suitcases, so I was glad that I wouldn't be sticking out for that reason. Charlotte and I had decided that the three hour commute would be way to much for our parents, even if we car-pooled. So we got out of the van, suitcases in tow, and joined the rest of the newbs on the lawn. We stood around as awkwardly as the rest of them, not knowing anyone. We stood in the same spot, shifting position for passer-by's for about an hour until Janey came up to us.
She had dark red hair, almost auburn, with dark green eyes. Her hair was colored wildly, with random strands of green, purple, and blue. I loved her right away. She looked super spunky, but kind of nervous like us. She told us that she had no one she knew here and that we were the only people she could spot that weren't in a large group. I could tell by the grin on Charlotte's face that mirrored mine that Charlotte liked her as much as I did. I decided we could keep her. We introduced ourselves and got along right away. We talked about our favorite bands, and I was excited to see that she liked Relient K and Boys Like Girls as much as Charlotte and I did. This would work out just fine.
After a while longer of standing around on the lawn, the front doors of the school opened slowly and dramatically. I half expected a mysterious silhouette to appear in a cloud of mist. But, unfortunately, it was only Mrs. Pigram, scrutinizing us like usual. I swallowed.
"Freshman, this way please." Mrs. Pigram said. She turned around and strode back into the school, not looking back once to see if we were following. After a moments hesitation, Lumina High School's new freshman started to flood into the new school.
Mrs. Pigram stopped suddenly in the middle of a main hall. She stopped so fast that the people closest to her nearly crashed into her. I suppressed a giggle, and focused on my surroundings rather than look at Mrs. Pigram's sharp gaze.
The floor tile was a large, but simple mosaic. In the center of the floor, there was a large purple circle. Extending from the circle, there were four colors, each sticking out in different directions: orange in the north, blue in the east, green in the west, and white in the south.
Each of the colors also extended to a different hallway, each hallway painted a lightly paler version of the color on the floor. I was intrigued by the random color patterns, but I didn't think too much of it because Mrs. Pigram was already talking.
"Welcome to Lumina High School. We are very pleased to have such a big turnout this year." She didn't look in the least bit pleased. "The first thing we will do is assign you a room. You will be separated by gender only[b/]. Each room houses three people, and assignments have already been chosen. Girls, once you are all given your room numbers and roommates, you will follow me to your chambers. Gentlemen, you be following Mr. Huston." She indicated a man I hadn't noticed yet standing behind Mrs. Pigram to her left. He was wearing a pine green sports coat with a light yellow button-down shirt, and khaki pants. He had a warm face and I secretly hoped I'd be seeing more of him this year.
Then Mrs. Pigram was leaving again, and us girls tripped around each other and our suitcases trying to keep up with her. We were led down the pale blue hallway, while the boys were taken down the green. Our hallway soon branched out to a staircase which, of course we had to climb, suitcases in tow. Most of us were out of breath by the time we reached the top of the spiral staircase, and none of us were to happy with Mrs. Pigram by now either.
The room we just entered was really big. It looked like it could fit about four times the size of our group pretty comfortably. There were some weird decorations in the room, including a large pile of unlit candles, a large window, a large plant that looked suspiciously like a small weeping willow, and weirdest of all, a small indoor fountain protruding from one of the walls. I thought it was strange decor, but I thought it was cool too. But I didn't have much time to think because Mrs. Pigram was talking again.
"Ladies, this is where you will be spending some of your time this school year. We have a strict curfew at ten o'clock," she paused, rolling her eyes as most of the girls groaned, "but when you are not in class or in bed, this is one of your optional places to 'hang-out'." I had to suppress a giggle. Old people shouldn't talk that way.
"Now, I will call out your room assignments and you and your roommates may go and put your things in your room. You will have about two hours to get settled, shower, or just do nothing in particular before I come get you for dinner. Now let's start with room number.... twenty-tree." I squeezed Charlotte's hand, hoping that we wouldn't be separated. We watched as more and more girls ascended a nearby staircase to their rooms. I was beginning to wonder if our names were even on the list.
"Room number thirty-nine. Lia Carter, Charlotte Anderson, and Janey Williams." The three of us looked at each other and smiled. How often does it happen that you actually get to room or be partners with the people you actually want to be room or be partners with?
We climbed the second set of steps, and followed the sign that said 30-39. finally we reached the end of the hallway and entered nervously into our room. I think our jaws dropped in unison.
The room was kind of plain, but the view absolutely made up for it. There was a large window that was wide open, letting a cool breeze into the room. The sun was in plain view, as well as a distant mountain range, and a small river that ran through it. After a few minutes of shock, the three of us silently began to unpack. I decided I wouldn't mind living here at all.
All too soon, I found myself back in my mom's van, headed once again to Lumina High. We were both ridiculously nervous. Charlotte was so nervous that she wasn't even clicking her pen. The silence was making me nervous.
I checked my outfit once again, making sure I smoothed out any wrinkles. I had decided to pair the cute school uniform jacket with a red tank-top, a pair of straight boyfriend jeans, red converse, a gray messenger bag, and some random accessories. I thought I looked pretty cute, but as I got closer to school I felt less and less confident.
Charlotte, on the other hand, looked terrified from the moment she got in the car, even though she looked even better than I did. She had decided to wear the uniform skirt with a cute white tank-top, white flats, and a leather jacket. I had to say, she looked pretty bad-ass, but she didn't look like she felt very bad-ass. I felt bad for her, but I was so terribly horrified that I didn't do anything.
When we got to the school, I immediately noticed a ton of freshman ambling around on the front lawn of the school. It was so easy to spot the way they stood around awkwardly, making small-talk with people they already knew. Almost all of them had suitcases, so I was glad that I wouldn't be sticking out for that reason. Charlotte and I had decided that the three hour commute would be way to much for our parents, even if we car-pooled. So we got out of the van, suitcases in tow, and joined the rest of the newbs on the lawn. We stood around as awkwardly as the rest of them, not knowing anyone. We stood in the same spot, shifting position for passer-by's for about an hour until Janey came up to us.
She had dark red hair, almost auburn, with dark green eyes. Her hair was colored wildly, with random strands of green, purple, and blue. I loved her right away. She looked super spunky, but kind of nervous like us. She told us that she had no one she knew here and that we were the only people she could spot that weren't in a large group. I could tell by the grin on Charlotte's face that mirrored mine that Charlotte liked her as much as I did. I decided we could keep her. We introduced ourselves and got along right away. We talked about our favorite bands, and I was excited to see that she liked Relient K and Boys Like Girls as much as Charlotte and I did. This would work out just fine.
After a while longer of standing around on the lawn, the front doors of the school opened slowly and dramatically. I half expected a mysterious silhouette to appear in a cloud of mist. But, unfortunately, it was only Mrs. Pigram, scrutinizing us like usual. I swallowed.
"Freshman, this way please." Mrs. Pigram said. She turned around and strode back into the school, not looking back once to see if we were following. After a moments hesitation, Lumina High School's new freshman started to flood into the new school.
Mrs. Pigram stopped suddenly in the middle of a main hall. She stopped so fast that the people closest to her nearly crashed into her. I suppressed a giggle, and focused on my surroundings rather than look at Mrs. Pigram's sharp gaze.
The floor tile was a large, but simple mosaic. In the center of the floor, there was a large purple circle. Extending from the circle, there were four colors, each sticking out in different directions: orange in the north, blue in the east, green in the west, and white in the south.
Each of the colors also extended to a different hallway, each hallway painted a lightly paler version of the color on the floor. I was intrigued by the random color patterns, but I didn't think too much of it because Mrs. Pigram was already talking.
"Welcome to Lumina High School. We are very pleased to have such a big turnout this year." She didn't look in the least bit pleased. "The first thing we will do is assign you a room. You will be separated by gender only[b/]. Each room houses three people, and assignments have already been chosen. Girls, once you are all given your room numbers and roommates, you will follow me to your chambers. Gentlemen, you be following Mr. Huston." She indicated a man I hadn't noticed yet standing behind Mrs. Pigram to her left. He was wearing a pine green sports coat with a light yellow button-down shirt, and khaki pants. He had a warm face and I secretly hoped I'd be seeing more of him this year.
Then Mrs. Pigram was leaving again, and us girls tripped around each other and our suitcases trying to keep up with her. We were led down the pale blue hallway, while the boys were taken down the green. Our hallway soon branched out to a staircase which, of course we had to climb, suitcases in tow. Most of us were out of breath by the time we reached the top of the spiral staircase, and none of us were to happy with Mrs. Pigram by now either.
The room we just entered was really big. It looked like it could fit about four times the size of our group pretty comfortably. There were some weird decorations in the room, including a large pile of unlit candles, a large window, a large plant that looked suspiciously like a small weeping willow, and weirdest of all, a small indoor fountain protruding from one of the walls. I thought it was strange decor, but I thought it was cool too. But I didn't have much time to think because Mrs. Pigram was talking again.
"Ladies, this is where you will be spending some of your time this school year. We have a strict curfew at ten o'clock," she paused, rolling her eyes as most of the girls groaned, "but when you are not in class or in bed, this is one of your optional places to 'hang-out'." I had to suppress a giggle. Old people shouldn't talk that way.
"Now, I will call out your room assignments and you and your roommates may go and put your things in your room. You will have about two hours to get settled, shower, or just do nothing in particular before I come get you for dinner. Now let's start with room number.... twenty-tree." I squeezed Charlotte's hand, hoping that we wouldn't be separated. We watched as more and more girls ascended a nearby staircase to their rooms. I was beginning to wonder if our names were even on the list.
"Room number thirty-nine. Lia Carter, Charlotte Anderson, and Janey Williams." The three of us looked at each other and smiled. How often does it happen that you actually get to room or be partners with the people you actually want to be room or be partners with?
We climbed the second set of steps, and followed the sign that said 30-39. finally we reached the end of the hallway and entered nervously into our room. I think our jaws dropped in unison.
The room was kind of plain, but the view absolutely made up for it. There was a large window that was wide open, letting a cool breeze into the room. The sun was in plain view, as well as a distant mountain range, and a small river that ran through it. After a few minutes of shock, the three of us silently began to unpack. I decided I wouldn't mind living here at all.