Locks and Curls

-mind your manners, and don’t forget to wash behind your ears.” Typical Mom, right. Or not. I blushed when several pairs of eyes looked to my fretful mother kept on tucking my blonde curl out and behind my ear. I moved my hand to stop her from untucking it once again.
“Yes mom, I promise. I have your list of things I must do without you to go behind me picking up my things.” It was like boarding school was an apartment building full of alcoholics.
“Care Bear, I just won’t be able to sleep at night thinking you are struggling in your room all night!” she sighed, her eyes genuinely sympathetic as her neatly nail-polished hand clasped her chest.
“Mom, people are staring. Just let me get on the plane, please.”
“Yes, yes your right Care Bear.” She wiped a tear from under her eye.
I went on my tip toes and kissed her on the cheek and moved to the baggage line. I turned back to her and gave a little wave before I scrambled to the private plane.
As I walked towards it on the tarmac I saw in huge bold, yet fancy letters, Mariland Academy with a coat of arms of an owl in a tree. In a bright red ribbon under it was Eruditio est Panton.
I handed the attendant my ticket and signed the attendance we exchanged a smile and I took my seat at the back, leaning down to pull out my laptop from the bag, releasing the lock of hair from behind my ear, tucking it back in. I then pushed in some earphones and began to write. I wrote a lot in my spare time, sometimes novels, sometimes I did research on my favorite subjects.

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It must have been hours because it was dark out when the plane landed again and I felt a tap on my shoulder. A girl with black hair and faint Chinese or Japanese decent, her hair was long and straight and crazy shiny. She had braces and an excited smile.
“May I sit here?” she asked, pointing to the seat beside me. I nodded shortly and turned back to my laptop.
“Excuse me if I bug you, back home I am told I chatter on and on, some say it is a special talent of mine, but, well, I don’t know. I have driven all my friends and family so crazy one day I see an acceptation to a boarding school I didn’t even sign up for! But, I liked it, I felt liked, so I accepted and here I am now! So what’s your story?”
I looked at her with blank eyes, barely understanding half of her words. I pulled out the earphones and closed my laptop. “I’d rather not talk about it.” I sighed, slipping it back into my bag, releasing the lock of hair once more. Again I tucked it behind my ear.
I leaned onto the arm of the chair with my elbow to support my head. “It is a rather long story. I’m Carrie, what’s your name?” I asked
“Tammy but most people call me Tam, don’t really know why exactly, but you know, like people are so weird sometimes!”
“Tell me more about yourself! You have me hooked.” I smiled to her and she grinned back, going into her story about her family and friends. I listened patiently as any bothered writer would have, nodding, gasping and chuckling at all the right parts. But as stars began to shine and Tam began to yawn, as did I.
An attendant brought us pillows and eventually sleep washed over me.

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The next thing I know Tam is pulling my sleeve and talking away again. I rubbed my eyes to see the plane on the airstrip.
I picked up my luggage and walked down the stairs to the shiny, bright red, Double Decker school bus! I smiled at the same logo as on the plane, Mariland Academy, England. I boarded the bus after another bus attendant told me, and practically every other student boarding, that my luggage was being transported now. I sat in a seat and watched out the window as we raced across the countryside.
Long fields and misty moors passed by us, huge trees with moss-covered trunks and whispering tendrils shook as we passed, crisp with the autumn’s harsh weather. What a sight it was, the beautiful English countryside was famous throughout the world for its loveliness.

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Soon, we reached a long driveway of polished stones, slowly passing stone buildings with latin mottos and coats of arms until they reached at huge building with great big doors wide open inside was a large hall with portraits and paintings from all over the world.
One-by-one each student hurried off the bus. Around us were surrounded by woman all dressed in white uniform dresses. We were instructed by one to stand in a straight line and listen to an elderly woman who was apparently called Mistress. No one really called her by a last name, just Mistress. When she began speaking I reminded myself to stand straight and I did.
“Good Morning Students.” She said firmly, not at all friendly, more like a frustrated principal than a teacher addressing her new class. “My name is Miss. Sherwood, but you shall call me Mistress, I am the Headmistress her at MA and I will be treated like one. That is something you must learn immediately. Understood?”
“Yes Mistress.” We replied in struggled unison.
“Welcome to Mariland Acadamy, our motto is simple, Eruidito est Panton. You will find out it’s meaning soon enough, we strive on learning and we strive on knowledge after the next week or so classes will begin and we expect you to throw yourselves into your studies, anything less than that is disrespectful to our community, so I trust you will all work hard, eh?” she nodded and smiled briefly in her own smugness.
“Go to your houses, you are all in the House of Libri, Miss. Coure will take you.” She pointed to a kind-faced lady with auburn, blonde hair tied up in a tight bun.
She bowed gracefully and lead the exhausted girls to a stone building, a sign showed a different coat of arms with an open book with Latin words in a white ribbon under it with Patefacio libri es magis validus quam propinquus. Miss. Coure saw me look at the coat of arms and said, “It means Open books are mightier than closed, or something like that. I was never perfect in latin myself. This is the Book House, you will like it here.” She smiled and lead us inside.
There was a small sitting room with a fireplace, a desk, a coffee table and some couches. No TV, typical, I never watched TV anyway. By the far wall was a staircase leading to a landing where I could see several rooms lined up.
“Go up the stairs, pick your room. You have a while before studies begin, since you are the first house to arrive this year. Everyone will need Roommates, I will come up in half an hour or so to check off everyone’s room and bring your luggage and uniforms and such.” She smiled and walked out of the building leaving the students to wander around.
Several settled into the chairs, some looked at the pictures on the wall, but several raced upstairs, I, well I just stood there. Soon I gathered my thoughts and walked pleasantly upstairs.
Several rooms had a paper hanging from the door handle reading, TAKEN. So I walked to the room at the end of the hall, next to the one that had a golden KATE COURE plate embedded on it.
I opened the door and saw it was empty. The room was painted a light rose color. There were two beds, no comforter or sheets, just two pillows and a folder. Beside each bed was a small desk with a lamp. I unpacked my Laptop and set it up on the desk.

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Soon there was a knock on my door, there stood Tammy, she held her suitcase and her Cheshire grin. “Wanna be Roomies?” she asked.
I smiled and nodded, “Sure, Tam. You can take the other bed.” I then continued to unpack my books and photos of my close friends and family. Then I took out my Mom list, leaving it beside my Laptop.
“What’s that?” Tam asked, trying to reach for the sheet of paper.
“Nothing!” I said instantly, shoving the paper into my laptop bag.
Tam smiled, “Corse.” then went back to her desk.

~}|{~

Soon there was a knock on the door and there was Miss. Coure. “Hello ladies!” she said, smiling. “I am Miss. Coure, I will be your House attendant for this year. Can I have your names please?” she asked, holding a pen and paper.
“Anderson, Carrie.” I stated.
“Lee, Tammy.” Tam echoed.
“Thank you ladies, I will bring up your things shortly.” she then walked out from the door and closed it.
Later she came up and handed up our suitcases and a bag full of uniforms. They scared me, they were dark red and short sleeved with a black and red plaid short skirts with white socks and black slip-on shoes. I tried them on and I heard Tam giggle, I shot her a nasty look.
“No, no! You look Adorable!” she laughed.
“I’m hideous!” I wailed. It was going to be a LONG year.